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24 FOOD HYGIENE AND FOOD AND DRUGS ADMINISTRATION
Clean Food Scheme
In the furtherance of the Council's Clean Food Campaign
17 lectures were given to a total of 322 food handlers;
certificates of attendance were awarded to those who
completed their course. Twelve lectures were given to
470 secondary school children approaching leaving age
and the Public Health Inspectors also lectured to 9
women's organisations with 193 members.
Copies of the filmstrip "Food Poisoning" were still
available for sale to local authorities and other interested
bodies. It is interesting to note that although this film
strip was made in 1954 it is still popular and in regular
demand and 222 copies have been sold, many of them to
health education bodies overseas.
Inspection of food premises
A total of 4,551 visits, including re-inspections, was
made to food premises in the borough and as a result
2839 improvements were effected including 428 items of
equipment cleansed, 275 floors repaired, 291 tables and
working surfaces made impervious, 437 walls and
ceilings cleansed and 109 water closets repaired.
Seven prosecutions for contraventions of the Food
Hygiene (General) Regulations 1960 were taken during
the year.
One case involved the service of 22 summonses for
offences including dirty premises as a whole, dirty
equipment, dirty shelving, absence of soap or towel,
absence of first aid equipment, defective and dirty
floors, accumulations of refuse in food rooms and
flaking paintwork. The defendant was fined a total of
£370 with £20 costs.
A second case was for offences involving insanitary
condition of kitchen, dirty equipment, dirty shelving,
food not protected from contamination, unfit food not
kept separate, dirty protective clothing, absence of supply
of hot water, absence of first aid box, and dirty walls,
floors and ceilings. Fines totalling £190 were imposed
with £10 costs.
In a third case, 12 offences occurred involving premises
in a dirty condition generally, food stored so as to involve
risk of contamination, floor covering defective and dirty,
sanitary convenience communicating directly with a food
room and dirty shelving. £390 in fines were imposed with
£25 costs.
A fourth defendant was summonsed on two occasions for
a total of twelve offences, including floors in filthy
condition, food open to contamination especially to rodent
excreta, waIIs and ceilings dirty, WC communicating
directly with a food room and used as storage and absence
of wash hand basin. He was fined a total of £410 with
£30 costs.
The sixth and seventh cases were less flagrant and fines
of £10 were imposed in each case with costs totalling £3.
A certificate of exemption was granted under Regulation
17 of the Food Hygiene (General) Regulations 1970
relating to water supply as alternative faci lities were
available in nearby premises.
Table eight gives details of the number of food premises
in the borough according to the particular category of use.
Food Hygiene (Market Stalls and Delivery Vehicles)
Regulations 1966
There were 4 prosecutions during the year for 13 contraventions
of the Regulations: Three cases were successful
and fines tota I ling £120 were imposed with £20 costs.
The fourth case was dismissed by the Magistrates because
the evidence given showed that the defendant was not
actually trading at the time the alleged offence took
place; costs of £10 were given against the Council.
Milk and Dairies (General) Regulations 1959
In accordance with the provisions of Regulation 8, 22
persons were added to the register of distributors of milk.
At the end of the year two dairies and 192 distributors
of milk at 221 premises were left on the register. One of
the dairies operates a standard pasteurising and bottling
plant, and eighteen washed bottles taken at random
before being filled with milk were found on bacteriological
examination to be satisfactory. At the second dairy the
plant is designed for the pasteurisation of cream which
is packed only into special disposable plastic containers.
In spite of the precautions taken by dairy firms in general,
complaints were received on 14 occasions from members
of the public regarding milk in dirty bottles or with
foreign matter therein.
Two prosecutions were taken, one for fragments of glass
in a bottle of mi Ik and the other for selling miIk in a
dirty bottle. Fines of £30 were imposed with £12 costs.
Milk (Special Designation) Regulations 1963 and 1965
Twenty-two new dealers (prepacked milk) licences were
issued making 192 distributors and 2 pasteurisers with
257 premises on the register at the end of the year.
Samples taken to ensure that they were genuine and
reached the required standards for fat and mi Ik solids
other than fat were also subjected to the prescribed
tests for designated milk with the following satisfactory
results:-