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34.
sold in Fried Fish Shops, and the occupiers of these premises have cooperated
fully with the Public Health Department in this respect.
A small point, but a very important one, is the question of the
common handling of salt in pie and cooked-meat shops. This matter has
been dealt with, and in a number of cases where salt was available only
in small bowls, occupiers have agreed, when requested, to replace these
bowls with proper salt oruets to avoid contamination.
Every chemist shop in the Borough has been inspected and in those
premises where there was no supply of constant hot water, this has been
insisted upon in each case, and in all cases complied with •
The number of registered premises where milk is sold was reduced
from 91 to 85 during the year.
There is now only one dairy where milk-bottling is carried out. In
this case both bottle-washing and filling is done mechanically.
The opening of new cafes, the installation of canteens in factories,
the provision of main meals in licensed premises, and the sale of icecream,
has been continually on the increase, so that the total number of
these premises has been advanced by over 50 during the past year.
It is pleasing to record that there was no notified case of Food
Poisoning in the Borough during the year. The nearest approach we had
was a report received one Monday morning that a number of boys and
masters from a local school had been affected by symptomatic diarrhoea.
All had completely recovered when we were first imformed. On making
enquiries it was found that the meal which was of stewed steak etc.
was served at the school in question, but was prepared at another school
in the district where no cases occurred. After careful investigation
it was ascertained that the food was prepared and the bowls containing
the food left on the table in the storeroom overnight. The cooking of
the meal was done at the other school on the previous afternoon, the cut
up meat being plaoed in one bowl and the gravy in two separate bowls.
As the food was too hot to put into the refrigerator, the bowls were
covered with muslin and left on a table in the storeroom overnight. The
meat and gravy were reheated the following morning, and freshly - cooked
vegetables added. Great oare was taken in the sterilisation of all
utensils immediately after use, but after being in a partly closed
cupboard for 24 hours, the gravy bowls were not even rinsed before being
filled with gravy prior to their all-night incubation. Similarly, all
containers were opened and plaoed in the entrance lobby immediately
after sterilisation ("to prevent Dustiness") until the following day
when they were merely rinsed with hot water just before use. By leaving
the vessels open there is no doubt that they were contaminated by dust,
and this may have been the cause of the trouble.
Hone of the affected persons lived in Shoreditch, but the three
principal workers conoerned had specimens of faeces examined with
negative results.