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2.1 FOOD-WATER SUPPLY AND SAMPLING
The condition of the food we eat, and the manner in which it is prepared
and handled, is a prime health consideration.
The Public Health Inspector can influence the position by ensuring that a
high standard of hygiene is maintained at food premises. The condition of food
premises can be readily judged when routine inspections are carried out, but
methods of handling which may be performed in an exemplary manner when an
Inspector is present can be carelessly carried out a few minutes later. During the
Clean Food Campaign to be held in 1972 it is intended to emphasise the
importance of good handling practices to housewives and to all staff employed
in the food trade. Housewives can do a great deal to raise standards of food
hygiene by selecting to make their purchases at shops where assistants do not
lick their fingers, blow into bags, unnecessarily handle food, wear grubby overalls
smoke or expose food to the risk of contamination.
2.2 FOOD PREMISES AND VEHICLES
Two thousand eight hundred and thirty visits and inspections were made
during the year and one hundred and eighty-three notices were served regarding
unsatisfactory conditions. Details are shown in the table on the next page.
2.3 FOOD COMPLAINTS
The number of complaints received from members of the public continues
to rise, not necessarily because standards are deteriorating but because of increasing
public interest in food hygiene and standards and their awareness that a Health
Department Service exists.