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Registration of Food Premises
All premises used for the sale or the manufacture for the purpose of sale of
ice-cream, or the storage of ice-cream intended for sale, or the preparation or
manufacture of sausages or potted, pressed, pickled or preserved food intended for
sale, must be registered for that purpose by the local authority. There are 721 premises
in the borough registered in respect of ice-cream and 362 in respect of sausages, etc.
Under the provisions of the Middlesex County Council Act, 1950, all hawkers
of food must be licensed by the local authority. In all cases the vehicles and food
storage arrangements are inspected and must be satisfactory before a licence is
granted.
At the end of the year there were 48 persons licensed as hawkers of food by the
Council.
In accordance with the provisions of the Ice-cream (Heat Treatment, etc.)
Regulations, 1959, samples of loose or soft ice-cream were submitted to the public
health laboratory for bacteriological examination. The 20 samples falling within
the grades III or IV as determined by the methylene blue test were considered
unsatisfactory but after advice to traders on proper methods of sterilising equipment
and utensils, satisfactory results were obtained.
Pre-packed ice-cream is now mainly in the hands of two large national manufacturers
who exercise strict quality and hygiene control and it is generally agreed to
be a safe food.
Emphasis in sampling is placed, therefore, on the individual manufacturers of
loose ice-cream from the continuous extruder type of machine.
Food Poisoning
This aspect of food control is described in the section of this report on the
Prevalence and Control of Infectious Disease.
Milk, Dairies and Cream Substitutes
The Milk (Special Designations) Specified Areas Order, 1951, restricts the sale
of milk by retail in this borough to the designated milks, i.e. Pasteurised, Sterilised,
Ultra Heat Treated and Untreated.
The Milk (Special Designation) Regulations 1963/65 prescribe the specific tests
for these milks and require any person carrying out the production, treatment,
storage, or distribution of such milks to be licensed, and to comply with all the
relevant provisions in these regulations and the Milk and Dairies (General)
Regulations, 1959.
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