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45
by the local authority. Three applications for registration were received
during the year. The number of premises now registered is 122.
Registration of Hawkers
The Middlesex County Council Act 1950 requires that any person
not being a shopkeeper retailing any food from a cart, barrow, basket or
any other receptacle shall be registered by the local authority, and that the
storage premises used by him should also be registered.
During the year 15 hawkers ceased to trade and their names were
removed from the register; over the same period there were two new
registrations. The number registered as trading in the district at the end
of the year was 53. Of these 20 were trading from storage premises in
Harrow and 33 from premises outside the district.
(D) ADULTERATION OF FOOD
The view of the Middlesex Local Government Conference Committee
on the administration of the Food and Drugs Act was that it was not
practicable at the present time for the County Council to delegate such
functions to County District Councils; but they did request the County
Council to send more frequent reports of action which they had taken
under the Food and Drugs Act to County District Councils for their
information. Neither the Public Health Committee nor the General
Purposes Committee decided to submit any observations on this ruling.
(E) HYGIENE OF FOOD
Although there was no increase in the number of applications from
those responsible for premises in which food is handled for the issue of
the authority's certificates, this year has seen steady progress in the clean
food campaign. It has all along been felt that the first requirement was
for there to be a general awareness by the public that there was a problem
of food hygiene and a need for action of some kind. It is on these lines
that it is felt that progress is being made. During the year 73 talks
were given at schools and clinics and to local associations, and a further
30 were given in the office. In addition on 13 occasions film strip
demonstrations were given to those attending the ante-natal clinics. While
at most of these talks and demonstrations the main topic dealt with is one
of the various aspects of food hygiene or food poisoning and its prevention,
the range of the talks has steadily widened and now embraces a wider
field of subjects on environmental health conditions.
At the annual delegate conference a health exhibition was prepared
in which again special emphasis was laid on this subject. The exhibit
was later shown at six local branch libraries and was seen by very large
audiences.
By the kindness of the management of some of the local cinemas
oioured slides on food hygiene were seen by large audiences. A trial
approach to school children was made when Dr. Emrys Davies of the
Central Council of Health Education gave a recorded talk on the
"Poison Trail " at one of the local cinemas on a Saturday morning,
illustrating talk with lightning sketches. Some of these were photographed
and have been made into slides which with a sound recording of
the talk have been shown at many schools.