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80
Environmental Health
and demonstrated the ease with which the equipment could be dismantled for cleaning. The operators
had not been instructed in the process and furthermore had not been informed that the manufacturers
regularly ran a servicing course for the benefit of staff maintaining their equipment.
New Premises
All plans submitted to the Building Surveyor in connection with proposed new buildings or
alterations to existing buildings are passed to this department for examination and comment. This
provides an invaluable opportunity for ensuring that such work will comply fully with the requirements
of the Food Hygiene (General) Regulations 1960 and enables advice to be given regarding layout,
finishes, etc. By this means it is possible to prevent a repetition of mistakes in design and layout which
have been found to create hygiene difficulties in the past.
During the year, ninety-five plans of food premises were received for comment from the Building
Surveyor and other sources. The premises involved ranged from blocks of shops, conversions of
shops into restaurants, factory canteens, school kitchens and hotel extensions, to tea rooms and
additional food stores.
Bacteriological Assessment of Hygiene Standards
While it is proving a difficult enough task to secure the physical cleanliness of food rooms, the
maintenance of a satisfactory standard of cleanliness alone does not ensure the safety of the food
prepared. A plate washed in lukewarm water and dried with a dirty cloth may appear clean yet
harbour large numbers of organisms. Incorrectly stored cooked meat can present an even greater
health hazard.
There are two main ways in which these conditions may be detected and effectively demonstrated
to the food handlers concerned. These are: (1) the bacteriological examination of the food, and (2)
the examination of swabs of equipment.
Bacteriological Examination of Food
Samples of food are frequently taken and submitted to the Food Hygiene Laboratory at Colindale
for examination. Details of the foods sampled and the results obtained are shown below:—