View report page

123
Routine sampling is regularly carried out to check upon the great variety of
Food and Drugs on the market today.
(ii) Bacteriological -
Water Supply: Four samples of water supplied to the Borough by The Metropolitan
Water Board and the South Essex Waterworks Company were taken and
found satisfactory.
Swimming Baths: Monthly samples from The Public Swimming Baths ant those
in our schools were taken in order to ensure that they were suitable for the purpose
of swimming. A total of 48 samples were taken during 1968 and all were found
satisfactory.
The purchase of the Lovibond comparator water test kit in 1968, which has
enabled the Public Health Inspectors to carry out immediate bath-side checks,
has already proved of considerable value with a worthwhile financial saving in
respect of the preliminary investigations made.
Ice Cream: Samples of ice cream were taken. These were largely from itinerant
traders, for very obvious reasons.

Milk: 36 samples of milk were talen from schools, milk-roundsmen and vending
machines. All were found satisfactory.
(c) Inspection of Food:
The constant inspection of food premises whether retail, wholesale, manufacturing
or hawkers has been maintained during the year to ensure that food for
sale or manufacture or preparation for sale is fit for human consumption.
There are no slaughter houses or knackers yards within the borough, but there
are several large, wholesale food depots, and a meat depot and cold store. Very
frequent inspections are made of these premises.
With the growth of "container* food traffic from the continent, the duties of
the Public Health Inspectors under the Imported Food Regulations is likely to
increase. Inspections previously carried out by Port Health Inspectors are now
being carried out at the destination of the "container", usually a wholesale food
depot.
The large quantities and varieties of food dealt with as unfit for human consumption
are enumerated in Appendix 24.