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26
Number of licences issued:
Premises Premises
in outside
Willesden Willesden
Pasteurised milk 61 7
Sterilised milk 72 3
Tuberculin Tested milk (heat treated milk not subject to licensing) 37 7
Total number of licences issued 170 17
Number of inspections made 298
During the year the interior walls and ceilings of 12 premises were cleaned after verbal intimation had
been given without the service of formal notice. In 3 of these cases the defects were found during the year 1948.
Food Poisoning:
Although there was no serious outbreak of food poisoning reported during the year, there were
20 suspected cases. Thorough investigations were made in all these cases, and, where it was available, suspected
food was collected and sent for bacteriological examination. It was impossible to establish with certainty the
actual cause of infection in any of these cases, but the bacteriological reports showed that the food was
contaminated. Owing to the time interval between the occurrence and the notification of a case, and the length
of time required to make bacteriological examinations, it is often very difficult to determine the actual origin
and spread of the germs.
Four persons were taken to hospital suffering from gastritis following a meal of fish and chips. The
cause of the illness was probably due to palm kernel oil used as a substitute for frying oil.
Food is often contaminated in the home due to unsatisfactory methods of storing, preparing and serving.
At the present time the facilities for storing, cooking and serving food in many homes are very poor, and bad
housing conditions are often responsible for increasing the risks of food poisoning. Many families are living
in one or two-room flats which are not provided with a well-ventilated larder. Special attention has therefore
been given to the provision of properly ventilated food stores when Housing Act notices have been served.
Lack of adequate washing facilities in the home makes it difficult to maintain a satisfactory standard of personal
cleanliness; dirty cooking utensils, dirty plates and dirty food are not always due to lax and careless habits :
they are often due to the absence of wash basins, sinks and hot water. This makes it almost impossible for even
the most conscientious to maintain reasonable hygienic standards in the preparation and service of food in
the home.
The improvement in housing conditions with the provision of adequate washing facilities is an essential
step in the prevention of ill health caused by infected food.
Clean Food Campaign:
The Willesden Hygienic Food Committee, which was first formed in May, 1948, and expanded in
September, 1948, by the addition of six representatives of the Borough Council, continued its work of improving
the hygienic standards of the preparation and distribution of food in the Borough.
To prevent the spread of infection by contaminated food, it is essential to start with fresh, good quality
food, and ensure that the utmost cleanliness is maintained in its preparation and distribution to the customer.
Contamination of the food before it reaches the customer may lead to widespread epidemics involving many
people.
The campaign for clean food does not stop, however, with the traders; food can become contaminated
in the home and spread disease in the family.
Three major tasks confronted the Committee. Firstly, they had to encourage the food traders to improve
the facilities in their premises for the clean handling of food. Secondly, they had to train food employees to
appreciate the dangers of dirty and careless handling of food; and lastly, they had to educate housewives to
prevent the spread of food poisoning germs in the home.
The first task was probably the most important, for it was impossible to encourage employees in the
food trade to maintain a high standard of cleanliness if there were inadequate washing facilities and insanitary
conditions in the shop, canteen or preparation room. The Borough Council has statutory duties under Section 13
of the Food and Drugs Act, 1938, for the precautions to be taken to prevent the contamination of food in rooms
where food is prepared or stored prior to sale.
The Committee were anxious to stimulate the trader to set his own house in order and to avoid statutory
action as far as possible. With this end in view, standard codes of practice for the hygienic preparation of food
were drawn up by the Committee for each trade, and certificates of registration were issued to food traders
who conformed to the appropriate code of practice. The traders were asked to display the certificates on their
premises to encourage the public to give their custom to them as owners of approved premises. A fee of 10s. Od.
was payable on registration; the certificate was renewable annually and subject to withdrawal in the event of
non-compliance with the code.
In March, 1949, approximately 1,400 traders were circularised, inviting them to apply for registration
within a period of one month in the first instance. This period was chosen by the Committee so that all traders
who were anxious to join, would have the opportunity of receiving their certificates on the same day—234
applications were received in the first month and certificates were issued to 154 traders—52 applications
were rejected, and the remaining 28 traders were informed of the minor alterations and improvements which
were required to bring their standards to the level of the code of practice. Table 1 is a summary of the
improvements effected following inspections made after applications for certificates.
Four of the sanitary inspectors attended a special course on food hygiene and food poisoning, and in
the course of their inspections were able to give valuable advice to the traders on the hygienic handling of food.