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Inspection and Supervision of Food.
The following is the record of inspection of food premises :—
Meat
Fish
Provisions
Greengroceries and Fruit
Hawkers' Food Stuffs
Food Preparation Places Inspected
Number of other Food Inspections
1,117
191
300
324
128
257
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Fried Fish Shops.—A new trouble has arisen in connection with the Fish Frying trade
where control is obtained in the District by reason of the trade being scheduled as a nuisance. This
is being evaded by means of mobile fish restaurants of two classes, one of which can be controlled
and the other cannot, under the present ruling.
In the first class, the frying is actually done on the mobile restaurant. These are elaborately
fitted up but are capable of being a very considerable nuisance by reason that they take their offensive
smell wherever they go.
The second class gets over the ruling in the areas where fish frying is scheduled as an offensive
trade by frying outside the area, and then bringing the fried fisli in specially jacketed containers
into the district where the trade of fish frying is scheduled as a nuisance. Be it said at once, that
the class of fish which is carried in is not nearly as satisfactory as that which is purchased direct
from the shop.
In this District, control has been exercised so that the number of fried fish shops is definitely
limited. A plan of campaign has been agreed upon by the Public Health Committee with the double
object of controlling the nuisance and to ensure that for those that want fried fish they can get a
good article by reason of the fact that the businesses established are sufficiently far apart to make
it really worth while to do the thing properly.
There is obviously some further legislation wanted. The opinion has been expressed that
the re-heating of fried fish is carrying on the business of fish frying, but the maintenance of heat by
means of the jacketed containers does not seem to contravene the Byelaws which control the fish
frying business. If there are sufficient of the public who like this sodden stuff it may become a matter
of considerable competition with those who, under the control of the Council, are supplying the public
with a really satisfactory article.
Milk.—I want again to emphasise the extent of sale of sterilised milk. The amount that
the public purchases has forced into the market well-known purveyors who have done their best
to keep out of it.
The point which seems to be of paramount importance in the sale of sterilised milk is the
homogenisation. Cream-line pasteurised milk can never be re-assembled so as to give a proper
mixture of the cream with the milk from which it has separated out.
There is no doubt, to my mind, that homogenised milk makes a far better cup of tea and coffee,
and there is also the fact that the housewife claims that homogenised makes far better milk puddings
than the ordinary pasteurised milk, and it is to this fact I think must be attributed the enormous
sale of sterilised milk.
It seems a thousand pities that homogenised milk cannot be kept free from the periodic spoiling
by the oily or turnipy flavour which seems to afflict it. I have taken it up with the milk companies,
and they do not seem to be able completely to eliminate this drawback. If this can be definitely
eliminated, in my opinion the days of the cream-line pasteurised milk are doomed, as compared with
homogenised pasteurised milk for household purposes, as everything is in favour of the homogenised
product.
In addition to a note of the number of samples of milk taken under the Food and Drugs Act
for analysis, I have received the following report from the County Medical Officer with regard to the
action taken to safeguard the milk supply of the district :—
" During the year 1933, eight samples of milk were taken from a retailer in the district.
These samples were submitted to the Lister Institute for animal inoculation tests for the
presence of tubercle bacilli. One sample was found to contain living tubercle bacilli. This
sample was traced to a farm in Berkshire. Information was received from the County Medica.1
Officer of Berkshire that three individual samples and one bulk sample were taken from the
herd at this farm, and that the results of the biological test are not yet available.
During 1933 two cows were reported by owners as shewing symptoms suspicious of tuberculosis
and were examined by one of the County Council's veterinary surgeons, one proved
positive to the tuberculin test and the other shewed clinical symptoms of tuberculosis. Both
were slaughtered under the Tuberculosis Order, 1925, of the Ministry of Agriculture."
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