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85
The Administrative side of the Section has been faced with
parallel problems. Reorganisation of office techniques has been
carried through and when shortage of clerical staff has been resolved
three "teams" will be charged with providing the necessary clerical
assistance for the three geographical Divisions.
In the early days of the Borough the office accommodation at
the Walnuts was extremely unsatisfactory but improvements and
adaptations have now rendered conditions more tolerable.
One of the most important duties which falls upon the
Inspectorate is the supervision of all matters relating to the
production and sale of food. The Orpington area, particularly, has
a number of large food factories and depots and there is one
slaughterhouse and one milk bottling plant in the Borough. Much
of the meat and food produced at these premises is sold outside
the administrative area.
If food is to be wholesome and free from dangers to consumers,
constant vigilance is needed to ensure that conditions,
enforceable under the Food Hygiene (General) Regulations and
other legislation, are entirely satisfactory. For the most part the
structure of premises where food is prepared, where it is stored,
and from which it is sold are reasonably good which is a testimony
to the work of the constituent authorities. Nevertheless, some action
will always be necessary to maintain standards and in this connection
it was necessary to take proceedings against the owner of one
factory canteen in which it was thought that washing facilities for
kitchen staff were not conveniently placed. The magistrates agreed
with this contention and inflicted a penalty. The owner then
installed a wash basin in a position approved by the Department.
This was one of the first recorded instances of the legal enforcement
of this Section.
There are known to be 2,133 "food premises" in the area and
a total of 4,241 visits were made by Inspectors. Although 300
defects were remedied after the service of 54 written notices, this
rate of inspection cannot be considered to be sufficient but it was
the best that could be achieved under the circumstances. A
lowering of standards will inevitably result from any decrease in
the attention paid to these cafes, bakeries, food shops, etc.
Some indication of the failure of standards attained by
management of food factories, etc., can be gained by the number of
complaints received from the public concerning the sale of food
containing foreign bodies or being otherwise out of condition.
The investigation of food complaints serves a very useful
purpose in that manufacturers and others concerned are able (and
usually very willing) to institute improvements and more methodic
control of stock. For example a defect in the metal of a can of
corned beef led to the packers introducing a stronger can.