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57
the butchers to adopt a standstill attitude with regard to this most
desirable method of preventing contamination of the meat exposed
for sale.
The provision of fixed glazed windows to many of the shops in
the district has proved beneficial both from the point of view of
preventing contamination and maintaining longer the saleable
qualities of the meat. Having regard to this improvement in
certain instances, the reason for the absence of a positive policy on
the matter in the Regulations is rather obscure and I venture to
suggest in fairness to those butchers who have provided fixed windows
on request, that provisions should be made, in the near future,
for enforcing compulsorily, that all meat shall only be exposed and
sold behind fixed glazed windows without any qualifications.
There are in all 54 butchers' shops in the district. Up to the
present, 36 have been provided with fixed windows, of which number
4 were new shops in 1931, one is provided with one fixed window
and one window made to open, 2 have one fixed window and two
windows made to open, and the remainder have windows made to
open.
INSPECTION OF OTHER FOODS.
Section 72 of the Public Health Act, 1925, provides, in some
measure, for the prevention of contamination of food stuffs (other
than meat) when stored or kept on enclosed premises; but there
appear to be no provisions made for dealing with the contamination
of foodstuffs deposited for sale, in an open manner, on forecourts to
shops and on stalls and barrows standing or moving about the roadways
of a district.
I wish again to draw attention to the want of perspective in
the way in which meat is dealt with, and such things as figs, dates,
sweets and biscuits, which are eaten raw, are exposed in open shop
fronts, barrows, and on street vendors' trays, on which horse dung
and other filth has blown, whereas meat is cooked before being eaten.
The time has come when legislation should be provided to insist
that all such foods should be kept inside, and if possible under cover.