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(vii) FOOD HYGIENE REGULATIONS, 1955
The Public Health Inspectors continue to devote a considerable
amount of time to the inspection of food premises of all types
to ensure that the requirements of the above Regulations are complied
with.
Provision is not made in these Regulations for the service of
Statutory Notices in the case of contraventions and legally every
contravention found by the Inspectors could result in prosecution.
However, in practice it is rare that the contraventions observed
are sufficiently serious as to warrant immediate legal action. When
contraventions are noted they are immediately drawn to the attention
of the occupier and the need for improvement explained. This
verbal intimation is always followed by a letter indicating the
nature of the offence and allowing the offender a period of grace
in which to comply with the Regulations. This procedure has
been adopted with a view to educating food traders rather than to
prosecute, and it appears to be paying dividends as the general
standard of food shops in the district has greatly improved.
In addition, to the inspection of food shops and restaurants
frequent visits are made to factory and school canteens and other
food preparing premises. The two main difficulties experienced
with the enforcement of the Regulations are (a) the protection
of open foodstuffs exposed for sale on stalls in the open market
and (b) smoking by food handlers.
It is extremely difficult to impress on stallholders in the
Market the need for protecting foodstuffs from contamination in
the open air, but there has been a marked improvement especially
with regard to the stalls used for the sale of meat and fish. Some
concern is still felt, however, regarding the stalls used for the
retail trade of biscuits, cakes and sugar confectionery. It is considered
that the only way to ensure that the Food Hygiene Regulations
are complied with is to request these stallholders to provide
their own mobile stalls constructed on a caravan basis, so that they
are properly enclosed and service is only made from behind a
screened counter.
It it pleasing to report that during the past year, several
of the stalls selling open food have been modernised to comply
with the Regulations.
As regards smoking, the main difficulty is that this habit is
so widespread and ingrained that some food handlers, especially
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