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Sewerage and sewage disposal
I am satisfied that the sewerage and sewage disposal
arrangements are adequate for the majority of the premises
in the Borough. However the one area which does cause
concern relates to the caravans which are illegally stationed
at various places. A manhole with a hinged lid is provided
on the temporary caravan site but there are indications
that this is rarely used and the caravan dwellers on the site
together with the occupants of the illegally stationed vans,
tend to dispose of their faecal matter in places where it
could be a health nuisance.
Common lodging houses
There are no premises used for this purpose within the
borough.
Services under the food and drugs legislation
The public of this country, quite rightly, accept as normal
a high standard of food hygiene, together with a high
standard of bacteriological and chemical quality for the
foods they purchase. The considerable economic pressures
in the food industry means that these standards are only
achieved and maintained by the continual vigilance of the
environmental health team. The following paragraphs
briefly indicate the areas where the department's resources
are applied but I must again stress that it is this area of
routine inspections which is usually the first to suffer
when the shortages of staff are felt. In 1970, 8610 routine
visits were paid to food premises, this figure fell to 2260 in
1971 and in the year under review it was 1956. This is not
satisfactory and should be a source of concern to all those
involved in providing an environmental health service.
Milk
Persons selling milk must be registered and licensed with
the Council in accordance with the milk and dairies
legislation. The trend observed last year, towards a greater
number of retail shops selling milk continues, there being
a further rise of 10 in the number of premises registered,
brining the total to 177. A number of the new registrations
relate to garages which now offer a wide range of services
and frequently have self service shops associated with them.
Close scrutiny is given to such applications.
Details of the current licences are as under
Dealer's (Pasteuriser's) license 1
Dealer's (Prepacked) licenses
Pasteurised 149
Sterilized 66
Ultra heat treated 84
Untreated 6
Each of the unsatisfactory pasteurised milk samples were
traced to unsatisfactory stock control and the ultra heat
treated sample was found to be an isolated case.
During the year the increased usage of substitute milks
has been examined. Many large catering organisations
together with the council's Education Department use these
products. Basically these are dried skimmed milk to which
has been added vegetable fat and sometimes a little sugar.
The product has the appearance of milk and has virtually
the same nutritional value when reconstituted with water.
It is however the perfect media for the growth of bacteria
and strict control has to be exercised over its
reconstitution. The department prepared a code of
practice for its reconstitution which is used by the catering
staff in school kitchens. 36 samples of this substitute
milk were taken but as yet no standard has been
formulated by which the results may be assessed.
Discussions are continuing between the department and the
Public Health Laboratory for this purpose but in those
cases where apparently high bacterial counts have been
obtained, detailed investigations have been carried out.
Raw milk samples were examined on behalf of the
department by the Pathology Department of Harefield
Hospital. Details of unsatisfactory results are conveyed to
the local authority in whose area the farm source is
situated and also to the Regional Milk Officer. 66 samples
were examined with the following results :
Tuberculosis Nil
Brucellosis 20
Currently there is a national eradication scheme for
Brucellosis. Whilst this has not made any significant
difference in the number of infected animals in the areas
with which we are concerned, it is hoped that eventually
this disease will be totally eradicated from cattle.
During the year a problem was encountered when a
major food company introduced onto the market a short
life fresh milk concentrate. A survey carried out by the
department revealed that frequently the product was being
sold in an unsatisfactory condition whilst a significant
period of its stated shelf life remained. Furthermore the
legislation which controls the labelling and description of
milk products did not allow such a product to be sold.
Authority from the Health Committee was sought for the
institution of legal proceedings and summonses were
issued. However these were not pursued as the company
concerned removed the product from the market.
Regulation 27 of the Milk and Dairies (General)
Regulations requires that all milk containers shall be in
a thorough state of cleanliness prior to being filled. 14
complaints were received concerning dirty milk vessels,
13 of which related to bottles and 1 in respect of a 5 gallon
churn which was delivered to a school and contained 2
slugs. Legal proceedings were instituted on 8 occasions
(including for the churn) and fines and costs totalling
£386.00 were levied by the courts.