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35
CONTAMINATED AND UNSOUND FOODS
Eighty-six complaints about foodstuffs were received from members of the public (Table 39). They
alleged souring or decomposition, mouldiness, or the presence of dirt or foreign bodies including insects.
Twenty-one of these complaints, although made in good faith, were found on professional examination of the
foods to be not justified; seven were referred to other local authorities for attention; and it was decided to
take no action in fourteen others. Of the remaining forty-four cases, the Council decided to send forty-one
warning letters and to prosecute in three cases.
The results of the prosecutions and of two carried over from 1967 were:—
(a) Insects in cereal—case dismissed. No order as to costs.
(b) Dirty milk bottle—fined £10.0.0d. £3.3.0d. costs.
(c) Mouldy croquette—conditional discharge. £10.10.0d. costs.
(d) Dirty milk bottle—fined £15.0.0d. £5.5.0d. costs.
(e) Mouldy fruit pie—fined £10.0.0d. £5.5.0d. costs.
SAMPLING OF FOOD AND DRUGS
The Council became a food and drugs Authority on 1st April, 1965, and by the provision of the
Food and Drugs Act, 1955, the medical officer of health and the public health inspectors are by virtue of
their appointments, authorised Officers for the purposes of the Act, including the procuring of samples. The
former County Analyst was appointed Public Analyst to the London Borough of Brent.
Marking and labelling of Food
Whilst it is not at present a requirement at law to identify by a label the type or variety of an open
food, any misdescription can be a contravention of the Food and Drugs Act. Certain packeted or canned food
must, however, by the Labelling of Food Order, 1953, bear the name of the food, its ingredients, and the name
and address of the packer or a registered trade mark. Again, some imported foods must, when exposed for
sale, carry an indication of their origin in accordance with the Merchandise Marks Acts, and Orders made thereunder.
713 visits of inspection for the general purpose of checking the accuracy of marking and labelling
food exposed for sale were made, and first warnings were given in 25 instances.
Composition of Food
Of 858 samples taken, 192 were submitted to the Public Health Laboratory for bacteriological
examination, 516 to the Public Analyst (9 taken formally), and 150 were examined in the Department (Table
40).
With regard to labelling contraventions, undertakings were received to amend 6 labels, the sale of
3 incorrectly labelled imported foods ceased, 4 warnings were given and 2 were the subject of legal proceedings.
Of the samples adversely reported upon as to composition, 3 resulted in the local stock being returned
to wholesalers for condemnation, in 4 cases new recipes were adopted by the manufacturers, 3 led to prosecutions,
3 warnings were given, and no further action was practicable in 2 cases.
The following results were obtained in the prosecutions:—
(a) Improper use of preservatives—case withdrawn.
(b) Rancid ingredients in sausages (2)—case withdrawn.
(c) Failure to label canned food correctly (2)—fined £10.0.0d. and £6.6.0d. costs.
MILK AND DAIRIES REGULATIONS
The Borough is a specified area in which it is permissible only to sell milk to which a special designation
is applied, i.e. pasteurised, sterilised, ultra-heat treated or untreated. Assuming that the consumption
of milk in the Borough conforms to the national average, some 214,000 pints are sold daily. The amount of
untreated (Kedassia) milk is less than 12 pints per day.
There is no bottling plant in the Borough, but there are 259 persons registered as distributors, all
being licensed as dealers in pre-packed milk to which special designations apply.
Samples of milk were submitted for bacteriological examination and compositional analysis, with
the results shown in Table 41.
REGISTRATION OF HAWKERS
Hawkers of food, and premises used by them for storage accommodation, must be registered with
the Council (Section 11 of the Middlesex County Council Act, 1950).
One hundred hawkers are on the current register (38 selling fruit and vegetables, 27 mobile canteens
and hot dog vendors, 19 selling ice-cream, 5 fish, 2 cooked poultry, 2 groceries, 5 fish and chips, 1 bread and
confectionery and 1 selling milk drinks). Eight were newly registered during the year.
Some hawkers are also licensed street traders at fixed sites, but the majority are itinerant, many
appearing in the Borough only when events of national or international importance take place at Wembley
Stadium. At such times there is also an influx of unregistered hawkers and reference has already been made
to prosecutions for lapses in food hygiene in this connection. In addition, two hawkers were prosecuted for
trading whilst not being registered, resulting in fines of £16.0.0d. being imposed.
Many more cases would have been taken but for misleading information being given by individuals
as to their names and addresses. In a number of cases addresses were found on subsequent enquiry to be
obviously false and in four other instances the court officers were unable to serve summonses, one of which
led to the withdrawal of a case owing to the non-appearance of a witness when costs of £10.10.0d. were
awarded against the Council.