London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Richmond upon Thames 1970
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Richmond upon Thames]
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lack of adequate and satisfactory storage space. In such circumstances it is easy for
the occupier to disregard the standards of hygiene and it is only by regular inspection
and enforcement of the regulations that these premises are kept up to standard.
The food processing factory in the Borough which opened in 1969 and provides
prepacked food especially for catering, has continued to expand. Samples of various
meals have been taken, and in Co-operation with the Public Health Laboratory Service
a more complete picture is being built up of the bacteriological content; previous to
this sampling there had been very little work done in this field, and it is hoped that on
completion the results will establish a basis for future comparison.
Legal proceedings were taken in the following cases :
1. A greengrocer was fined £60 with £5 costs in respect of 5 contraventions.
2. A cafe proprietor was fined £60 in respect of 6 contraventions.
3. A restaurant proprietor was fined £180 with £5. 5s. 0d. costs in respect of 5
contraventions.
4. A butcher was conditionally discharged with £5 costs in respect of 1 contravention.
The classification of food premises in the Borough by trade or principal business
is shown in the following table together with the visits made to each class of premises.
There are no poultry processing establishments in the Borough.
| Type of Premises. | No. of Premises | No. of Premises which comply with Reg. 16* | No. of Premises to which Reg. 19 applies† | No. of Premises which comply with Reg. 19 | No. of Visits carried out. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bakehouses | 28 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 81 |
| Butchers' Shops | 124 | 124 | 124 | 124 | 301 |
| Confectioners (Flour) | 66 | 65 | – | – | 105 |
| Confectioners (Sugar) | 260 | 260 | – | – | 282 |
| Dairies | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 21 |
| Fishmongers and Poulterers | 39 | 39 | 39 | 39 | 69 |
| Fried Fish Shops | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 53 |
| Greengrocers and Fruiterers | 140 | 140 | 140 | 140 | 232 |
| Grocers | 296 | 292 | 296 | 296 | 643 |
| Ice Cream Premises—Manufacture | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 109 |
| Ice Cream Premises—Sale and Storage | 580 | 580 | – | – | |
| Public Houses and Licensed Premises | 247 | 242 | 247 | 244 | 335 |
| Restaurants, Cafes and Canteens | 370 | 356 | 370 | 367 | 677 |
| 2188 | 2163 | 1282 | 1276 | 2908 |
* Regulation 16 deals with the provision of hand washing facilities for all persons engaged in the
handling of food.
† Regulation 19 deals with the provision of facilities for washing food and equipment.
(4) Stalls and Vehicles
During the summer months numerous ice cream vendors congregated around
popular spots such as Hampton Court Palace. They created a difficult problem in as
much as their stalls did not comply with the Food Hygiene (Markets, Stalls and
Delivery Vehicles) Regulations, 1966, and that they gave false names and addresses.
The same problem occurred again during the winter months when hot dog vendors
were in large numbers outside Twickenham Rugby Ground. It would appear that the
only answer to this problem is for the public health inspectors to make an inspection
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