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A total of 821 inspections of restaurants and cafes, and 271 of factory and
school canteens were made.
The occupiers of the majority of the catering establishments continued to be
co-operative and showed willingness to improve the facilities and conditions of
their premises. It was, however, necessary in 18 instances to serve informal notices
requiring work to be carried out, and in one instance it was necessary to serve a
formal notice under the Food and Drugs Act, 1938. Some 105 defects were
remedied during the year. In no case was it found necessary to institute legal
•proceedings.
Unsound Food.
The Council's Food Inspectors are required to examine food suspected of being
unsound. If considered unfit for human consumption the food is surrendered and a
Certificate of Condemnation issued.
A large number of such Certificates were issued during the year. Whilst no
food was seized and formally condemned, 43,309 articles of food weighing approximately
103 tons were voluntarily surrendered as unfit for human consumption. The
majority of these articles, weighing approximately 85 tons, were /rom the large
Abattoir in the Borough. The food is utilised for animal feeding and for fertilizers.
Complaints of Unsound Food.
Altogether 50 complaints were received during the year of unsound food. The
majority of these referred to alleged unsound bread and of milk containing glass
or dirt. Ten complaints were received concerning unsound bread of which three
related to foreign matter in bread, and the others included the following objects in
bread—a pencil, a fly, a bus ticket, an insect and other foreign matter. In two
instances the foreign substance was found to be oil and oiled dough, and the bakers
of this bread were in each case warned. The alleged bus ticket was found to be a
flour bag label and the bakers were similarly warned regarding this matter.
A number of complaints were received during the year relating to foreign
matter in milk. Altogether nine such cases were investigated, four of which concerned
alleged glass in milk and three of dirt in milk. The other two related to a
piece of soap in milk, and other foreign matter which was found to be dust. The
Council decided to institute legal proceedings in respect of one of the complaints
of glass in milk, and the suppliers were fined £10 and £2 2s. Od. costs. Of the
remaining complaints of unsound food it was necessary to institute legal proceedings
following a complaint of tea which contained foreign matter (cigarette ends) and
the suppliers were fined £8 and £2 2s. Od. costs.
With regard to a complaint alleging a piece of tooth in a mince pie, the object
was found on examination to be a nut. The suppliers of biscuits which contained
metal were warned regarding any future offences, as were the suppliers of cream
found to contain a piece of string. A complaint of a nail in cheese of Empire origin
was also investigated and the Ministry of Food, the importers of the cheese, were
asked to investigate this complaint.
On investigation of a number of other complaints of adulterated food, the
articles of food complained of were found to be genuine, for example, alleged
unsound carrots, corned beef, and alleged unfit confectionery.
In those cases where the cause of complaint was justified the food preparing
premises were investigated by the Council's Food Inspectors and the food handlers
concerned were advised.
Food Sampling, 1954.
During the year ended 31st December, 1954, 823 samples (i.e. 578 informal
and 245 formal samples) were submitted for analysis to the Public Analyst. Of
these, 20 formal and 12 informal samples were reported to be adulterated or otherwise
not complying with the statutory requirements, giving a percentage of 3'8
compared with 3 2 in 1953, and 6 6 in 1952. No private samples were examined
during the year.
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