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17
Current Building Programme.
The erection of 13 single storey Old Persons' Dwellings in
terraces on land at the rear of Popham Gardens are under construction.
Future Housing Programme.
Ham Close Site — 192 Dwellings.
The Minister of Housing and Local Government has now agreed
that, in addition to the approval given for the invitation of tenders
for 84 dwellings during 1962, the Council would be given authority
for a further 50 or 60 dwellings to be commenced in May or June,
1963, and the remainder of the dwellings to complete the redevelopment
commenced in January, 1964.
SECTION E. — INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION
OF FOOD.
1. Unsound Food Complaints.
Twenty-four complaints alleging that food had been sold to the
dissatisfaction of the customer were received during the year. The
investigations which followed showed that, in the majority of complaints,
there had been a failure to turn over stocks of the food and
that deterioration, usually by mould or souring, had resulted. A few
cases revealed carelessness in food preparation, giving rise to complaints
of string (from flour sacks) or pieces of old dough in bread.
Investigating complaints of unsound food is a task demanding
an open mind and careful enquiry as the following case illustrated.
A housewife brought to the office some currant buns which had been
sliced, toasted and buttered in her home; she reported with some
concern that a fragment of glass had been found in the substance of
a piece of bun as it was being eaten. Before interviewing the baker
who had made the buns, a visit was made to the complainant's home
and her recollection was that there had been no accident involving any
breakage of glass which might have caused a fragment to fly on to
the buns or butter. Nevertheless when the butter dish was examined
it was found to be chipped in one corner and the fragment found in
the buttered bun exactly fitted the missing section. The housewife,
in this case, had made a genuine mistake which could have resulted
in more serious consequences for the baker.
It is pleasing to report that no legal proceedings were authorised
in respect of food complaints.