View report page

99
was in respect of a mobile canteen. One hawker ceased to trade and
his name was removed from the register.
Most of the hawkers who are registered retail greengrocery on
regular days of the week on established rounds. Their supervision and
control presents little difficulty. The position is very different though
in the case of the casual trader who appears only when certain fruits or
vegetables are in season. There has, however, been a marked fall in the
numbers of casual hawkers coming to the district and taking up stands
in roads leading off the main shopping centres. This was largely due
to the Order made by the Council in October, 1952, prohibiting street
trading during the hours of 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in many of the roads which
attract street traders.
The Police have been most helpful in enforcing the provisions of the
Order.
(D) ADULTERATION OF FOOD
The Food and Drugs Act, 1938, provided that County District
Councils of over forty thousand population should be Food and Drugs
Authorities. There was, however, the proviso that if a County Council
satisfied the Minister that the area in respect of which they would be
the Food and Drugs Authority would be rendered inconvenient in size,
shape or situation for the efficient performance of their duties as Food
and Drugs Authority, the Minister could direct that the County Council
should be the Food and Drugs Authority as respects the district or
districts of any one or more of the local authorities who but for such
direction would be the Food and Drugs Authority under the Act but
were not such authorities under the law in force immediately before.
Before the passing of the 1938 Act, the County Council had always
been the Food and Drugs Authority for the whole county. In 1938
sixteen of the county districts in Middlesex had a population of over
forty thousand. The County Council applied to the Minister of Health
for a direction that it should be the authority in each of these county
districts. This direction was given so the County Council remained as
before the Food and Drugs Authority for the whole county.
One result of the coming into operation of the Milk (Special
Designations) (Pasteurised and Sterilised Milk) Regulations, 1949, was
the transfer from the District Council to the County Council as Food
and Drugs Authority of the responsibility for the licensing of milk
pasteurisers and the periodic inspection of plant, although the District
Council remain responsible for the inspection, etc., of the structural
condition of the premises. This was felt to be a further argument in
favour of the District Councils being made the Food and Drugs Authority.
On being approached about this, however, the County Council saw no
reason at the time that any alteration should be made in the County
Council's position as Food and Drugs Authority for the whole of the
county.
Towards the end of the year the County Council, considering the
question of delegation of certain of their functions to District Councils,
discussed a suggestion that the County District Councils should be given
an opportunity of exercising the functions of the County Council as Food