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11
Contaminated food
Twenty-nine specimens of contaminated food were dealt with by the department. They included
foreign matter in a pork pie, loaves of bread and bottles of milk; a fly in a bread roll and a bottle of milk;
honey bee in a tin of apricots; mould in a coconut wafer, a meat pie, pork sausages, oakes and loaves of
bread; unsound steak and kidney pie, crab meat, sausage rolls, tapioca, rice, and corned beef; and bottles of
sour milk.
No action was taken in 16 cases because of insufficient evidence; of the remaining 13, the Council
Decided to caution seven firms and to prosecute the other six.
The results of the prosecutions were as follows:—
(a) Fined £25 0s. 0d. with £10 10s. 0d. costs for selling a bottle of milk containing foreign matter;
(b) Fined £25 0s. 0d. with £5 5s. 0d. costs for selling an unsound steak and kidney pie;
(c) Fined £12 0s. 0d. with £6 6s. 0d. costs for selling four unsound sausage rolls;
(d) Fined £20 0s. 0d. with £10 10s 0d. costs for selling a wrapped loaf containing mould;
(e) Fined £10 0s. 0d. with £5 5s. 0d. costs for selling a mouldy Swiss roll;
(f) Fined £10 0s. 0d. with £10 10s. 0d. costs for selling a bottle of milk containing foreign matter.
Clean food sampling
The Middlesex County Council is responsible for taking samples and for supervising the control of
food adulteration in accordance with the provisions of the Food and Drugs Act, 1955; the administration of
the Emulsifiers and Stabilisers in Food Regulations, 1962; the Preservatives in Food Regulations, 1962; the
Merchandise Marks Acts, 1887-1953; and the Labelling of Food Order, 1953.
The Chief Officer of the Public Control Department is unable to supply details of his Department's
work this year because shortage of staff made it impossible to complete statistical tables and extract the information
required before the reorganisation of London Government on 1st April, 1965.
Milk and Dairies Regulations
Milk sales are regulated by the Food and Drugs Act, 1955, the Milk and Dairies (General) Regulations,
1959, and the Milk (Special Designation) Regulations, 1960.
Willesden has been a specified area since October, 1951: all milk sold by retail is sterilised, pasteurised,
or tuberculin tested; the sale of raw milk is prohibited.
The provisions of paragraph 6 of Part II of the Second Schedule to the Milk (Special Designation)
Regulations, 1960, restricted the bottling of milk to the three premises in the borough where the milk is
pasteurised. These Regulations transferred the issue of dealers' licences from the Borough Council to the food
and drugs authority for the area, the Middlesex County Council.
110 persons are registered by the Council to trade as distributors and three premises are registered
as dairies. Thirteen inspections were made of the three dairies; no defects were found.
10 samples of milk were submitted for bacteriological examination (see Table 9).
One dirty milk bottle was reported by a head teacher of a school, and one by another local authority.
The Council issued an official caution in each case.
FACTORY INSPECTION
There was a decrease of 37 in the total number of factories in the borough compared with the
previous year (Table 37).
The Council supervise sanitary conveniences in all factories and, in addition, cleanliness, overcrowding,
temperature, ventilation and drainage of floors in non-power factories. Details of inspections and notices
served, defects found and remedied, are given in Tables 37 and 38. One firm was prosecuted for failing to
maintain suitable sanitary conveniences. The ventilation in one convenience was insufficient and the lighting
inadequate; and there was no intervening ventilated lobby to the other convenience and the door fastener
was missing. The defendants were fined £5 on each count plus £10 10s. Od. costs.
Basement bakehouses
The local authority is responsible for the supervision of basement bakehouses under the Factories
Act, 1961. Basement bakehouse is defined as a bakehouse any baking room of which is so situated that the
surface of the floor is more than three feet below the surface of the footway of the adjoining street or of the
ground adjoining or nearest to the room. Any basement bakehouse which is not used for 12 months cannot be
used again.
Certificates of suitability are issued to the occupiers of basement bakehouses and have to be reconsidered
by the Council every five y ears. Provided the bakehouse is still suitable as regards construction,
height, light, ventilation and any hygienic respect, the certificate must be renewed. Six certificates were renewed
in 1958. Since then one bakehouse has been demolished and four are no longer used. The Council
agreed to the renewal of the certificate in respect of the remaining bakehouse.
Outworkers and homeworkers
In February and August of each year factory owners send to the local authority lists of names and
addresses of all persons who have worked at home for them during the previous six months on certain jobs.
187 were employed during the year, the largest number, 117, altering and making clothing. Public Health
Inspectors inspected these workers' homes, which were all found to be satisfactory (Table 39).