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SMOKE CONTROL
In April consideration was given to re-phasing the smoke Control programme hitherto
approved by the former authorities of Walthamstow, Leyton and Chingford. At the time of amalgamation,
16 smoke control orders were in operation, embracing 3,583 acres, about one-third of the new
Borough.
For the purpose of programming, the part of the Borough not already under smoke control
was divided into twenty-two proposed smoke control areas, each covering on average 282 acres.
The new programme aimed at dealing with 4,000 premises per year, which means that the whole
Borough should be under smoke control within ten years. Since this programme was approved by
the Council in May, one smoke control order (No.9) has been submitted to the Minister of Housing
and Local Government for confirmation, and survey work in respect of the second area (No. 10) was
completed by the end of the year.
FOOD-INSPECTION AND SAMPLING
The inspection of food premises and the taking of samples of food for bacteriological and
chemical examination forms an important part of the work of the public health inspectors in the
campaign for clean and safe food. The sampling of food for bacteriological examination at the
point of sale is complementary to visual inspection of food establishments under the Food Hygiene
(General) Regulations. Although there are no statutory bacteriological standards of food, laboratory
tests on ice cream to determine its bacterial quality and provisional grading provide a useful
indication where further investigation is called for into the practices of manufacturers, distributors
and retailers. Bacteriological reports on samples of cooked meats and other susceptible foods are
also of great practical value in assessing standards of hygiene in the manufacture, distribution,
storage and handling of food. Such reports may disclose defective refrigeration, inadequate
cleansing and utensils and equipment, etc., and may also demonstrate a fault or deficiency in the
process of pasteurisation or sterilisation.
The principles and tenets of food reform are unchanged, but now the field has enlarged and
some aspects of the work are only just beginning. Compositional standards, bacteriological purity and
hygienic practices have all come to be accepted, although their maintenance calls for unrelaxing
vigilance, but the possible dangers arising from chemical additives to food, and hazards arising
from the use of poisonous insecticides and pest control agents in agriculture and food storage have
yet to be accurately assessed. These dangers are felt rather than seen, as unpredictable and
portentous as vitamins must have been to the concepts of nutrition.
In November the Council accepted a recommendation to participate with other local
authorities in a scheme for group sampling of foodstuffs which would produce an annual record
of the presence of residues of toxic chemicals with quantitative details in a specified number of
samples throughout the country.
This brief review covers a wide field of activity; the conditions in which people live and
and work, their food and drink, and the air they breath, must have a considerable influence on their
health and general well-being. The aim of the environmental health services is to control or
eliminate those factors which are, or may be, harmful.
Despite staff shortages, and the manifold technical, administrative and personal problems
arising from the upheaval of amalgamation, the department settled down remarkably quickly, and
considerable progress has been made. This reflects high credit on staff at all levels; I have been
most impressed by the esprit de corps which prevails throughout the department, and wish to thank
my colleagues for their loyal co-operation and support.
B.J.Ashcroft
Chief Public Health Inspector
-11-