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Byelaws relating to sanitary conditions and management of
private slaughterhouses are in force in the district. They are
based on the Model Byelaws but improve on them by making provision
for (a) hanging accommodation for meat outside the
slaughtering or dressing room, (b) covered accommodation for
the storage of manure, (c) the taking of all reasonable precautions
to prevent access by domestic birds or animals not intended
for slaughter into slaughterhouses.
Three slaughtermen's licences were issued.
Food Hygiene.
Pood hygiene is now more a matter of correct methods of
handling rather than of suitable premises. There is little
scope for further improvement in the hygienic equipment and construction
of food premises. In recent years laminated plastics,
stainless steel, glazed tiles and other easy-to-clean materials
have been used in prodigious quantities; browns and greens for
painted surfaces have been replaced by bright, light colours;
hot water, detergents and sterilants are used in profusion,
sinks and wash basins have been fixed in every conceivable nook
and cranny with printed exhortations about handwashing displayed
in close proximity, and glass or perspex covers for sandwiches,
cakes etc. provided in abundance. In spite of all this there
is still much to do before one can be satisfied that food hygiene
has reached a satisfactory standard, e.g. there are still many
shopkeepers who are not courageous enough to ask their customers
to leave their dogs outside and still many customers who are not
sufficiently discriminating or, worse still, sufficiently interested,
to patronise only those shops where hygienic standards
are high and keep out of those shops where standards are not so
high.
In the field of food hygiene the education of food handlers
is now the major outstanding problem. The difficulty of this
was well illustrated during an investigation into an outbreak
of food poisoning in a large works canteen. It was found that
25% of the kitchen staff had been employed for less than 3
months and that this rate of turnover was normal with this type
of job. However, everything possible is being done and it is
an essential part of the Public Health Inspectors duties during
their visits to food premises to watch closely the habits and
methods of food handlers and to point out any undesirable practices
and explain the dangers that might arise from them.
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