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FOOD
The powers and duties of the Council in relation to food derive from the Pood and Drugs
Act, 1955, and the Food Hygiene (General) Regulations, 1960.
FOOD AND DRUGS ACT, 1955
Samples of food and drugs are submitted for chemical analysis to ensure that they contain
no harmful substances, that legal standards existing for particular foods and drugs are complied
with and that any label is correct and is not misleading to the public.
Before 1 April 1965 the Hampstead Borough Council employed Mr. E. Voelcker as the
Public Analyst whilst Mr. J.H.E. Marshall was similarly employed by the Holborn and St. Pancras
Borough Councils. Since the formation of the London Borough of Camden, Mr. Voelcker deals with
samples from the northern part of the borough and Mr. Marshall with those from the southern part.
Whilst the Act applies to both food and drugs, the sampling of drugs has been limited and
in general restricted to those drugs which may be freely purchased by members of the public,
without a prescription.
In general, informal samples are taken. Formal samples are taken of certain items such
as wines and spirits; or where an informal sample was unsatisfactory; or where there has been a
complaint. During the year 922 samples were submitted for chemical analysis and of these 50 were
unsatisfactory. Details of these samples are given in table 9 in the Appendix.
In addition to the samples sent for chemical analysis, 404 other food samples were
submitted to the Public Health Laboratory Service at County Hall for bacteriological examination.
These foods were mainly milk, ice cream, liquid egg, and shell fish, together with food suspected
of causing outbreaks of food poisoning.
Whilst the sampling of food has virtually abolished the wilful adulteration of food, there
are still many cases of food being sold in an unsound condition owing to improper storage or
negligent contamination in preparation.
The number of complaints received during 1965 concerning food purchased in the Borough
was 59. All were investigated, and legal proceedings were authorised in 15 cases, when fines
totalling £188 were imposed with costs of £38.
FOOD HYGIENE (GENERAL) REGULATIONS, 1960
These Regulations are concerned with the conditions under which food is prepared,
stored, transported or sold and lay down standards both for premises and for methods and practices
in the handling of food.
The food inspectors are largely responsible for the inspections required for the enforcement
of the Regulations, and routine visits are made to all food premises in the Borough. The
total number of food premises is 4,540, of which 2,644 are shops, 728 are cafes or restaurants,
272 are food manufacturing premises, 531 licensed premises. 302 canteens and clubs, and 63
wholesale food stores.
It would be misleading to give figures for types of food shops or premises as many
shops now deal with a great variety of foods. Thus they range from bakers shops selling bread
and cakes only to large stores dealing in almost every kind of food, and having perhaps in
addition a restaurant and selling goods which are quite unconnected with food.
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