View report page

52
members attending. The committee favoured the setting up of a Guild
of Hygiene of the food handlers, with separate sections for the various
interests, and for each of which a code of practice was to be prepared.
Membership of the Guild would be conditional on the premises attaining
certain standards and subject to the conforming by all employees of a
satisfactory technique. By the end of the year, the Catering sub-committee
were preparing their code of practice which would be applicable
to those in this section of the trade. The intention, then, was that
other sections were to be approached in a similar manner so that ultimately
all those dealing with the preparation or handling of food in
this district would be included. While much work falls to the traders'
sub-committee in the early stage, particularly in preparing the code of
practice which, being of a standard high enough to achieve the objects of
the campaign, would nevertheless be practicable, it is anticipated that
afterwards each sub-committee would need to meet only infrequently,
the main labours then falling on the Advisory Council, which would
comprise the members of the Council's Food Hygiene sub-committee
and members representing all the various trades and
interests. Essentially the campaign is one of education to make all
those concerned in the handling of food at any stage aware of the dangers
of contamination of foodstuffs, but more than that to endeavour to
raise the levels of aesthetic standards, so that precautions are taken or
things are not done not because of the risk that the consumers of the
food might develop some illness, but because the action is an offence to
decent standards. The campaign might result in an improvement in
the structural state of some premises; the Council might be able to help
the traders to obtain those items which will make it easier to attain a
state of cleanliness but at the back of it all is the object of developing
first an awareness of the problem in the minds of all those who are dealing
with food and then encouragement and stimulation so that all will
naturally in their practice attain these high standards.