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FOOD PREMISES - INSPECTION
Routine inspection of food premises in the Borough to ensure compliance with the
Food Hygiene (General) Regulations, 1960 and other relevant legislation has continued.
102 notices were served during the year in connection with contraventions, and the total
number of inspections was 1379.
As usual it was found that the majority of food traders quickly complied with the
provisions of such notices, and in only one case was it necessary to institute legal
proceedings under the regulations. This case related to a butchers' premises, where,
despite numerous visits and the service of a notice, conditions were found to be
consistently bad. A further summons under the provisions of Section 8 of the Food and
Drugs Act, 1955, was issued against the butcher as a result of the seizure of 4 cwt. of
beef in an unfit condition, and fines totalling £18 and costs of £3.3. 0d. were awarded
against him.
The number of new registrations and/or licences dealt with during the year was 217.
In accordance with recent practice, the Ministries of Health and Agriculture,
Fisheries and Food have published jointly a further Food Hygiene Code of Practice this
year entitled "Food Hygiene Code of Practice No. 5 - Poultry Dressing and Packing."
An innovation this year has been the supply of school milk in the Borough in waxed
cartons instead of the traditional one-third pint bottles. The advantages claimed are
less noise in handling, no accident risk from glass splinters, with crates lighter and
easier to carry. However, the introduction of cartons instead of bottles has not been
completely free from teething troubles, and one drawback appears to be the difficulty
in ascertaining the condition of the milk, due to the opacity of the carton. This, in
the absence of an effective coding system, has resulted in the discovery of school milk
in a sour and clotted condition, which was not noticed until the pupils opened the
carton. Fortunately, however, few such incidents have so far occurred, and the possibility
of coding is being investigated.
Routine inspection of food stalls was again maintained at the Council's pleasure
ground at Lea Bridge Road during the Easter, Whitsun and August Fairs, and the Cricket
Festival held on the Sports Ground, High Road, E. 10., also received regular visits.
FOOD - INSPECTION AND SAMPLING
The number of complaints relating to unsound and/or adulterated food investigated
and reported to the Public Health Committee during the year was 13. The foods concerned
were:- Bread (6); Cake (2); Cheese (1); and Milk (4); while the reason for complaint
was either the discovery of foreign bodies such as a nail, pin, glass, grease, tobacco,
and a mouse, or that the food was stale and out of condition. Once again these complaints
have included particles of lubricating grease found in loaves of bread which have been
manufactured by machinery, and having regard to the enormous quantity of loaves baked
in this way it would appear that a number of such complaints are inevitable despite the
most stringent measures taken at the factory to avoid this nuisance. The problem of
the dirty milk bottle is also one for which there appears to be no complete solution
and two such complaints were dealt with during the year.
The decision of the Public Health Committee in relation to the food contraventions
reported were:- prosecutions (5); warning letter (7), no further action (1).
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