View report page

It is for the catering trade to realise their responsibilities in this matter and to devise new methods
for the preparation of food in large quantity. Food prepared one or two days before it is to be eaten, allowed
to cool slowly—often in a warm kitchen—and then reheated slowly to a moderate temperature before it is
served is potentially dangerous to the customer. If it is impossible for meals in canteens and restaurants
to be prepared and eaten within a few hours, then apparatus for the rapid cooling of food and refrigeration
at 4°C. until it is to be reheated must be brought into general use. When such food is reheated, it must be
brought to boiling point before it is served.
Food poisoning is not only the result of unsatisfactory methods of preparation. Much of it is due
to a disregard of elementary personal hygiene. Staphylococcal outbreaks almost always result from
contamination of food by the food handlers. As in previous years in a number of outbreaks the epidemic
phage type of staphylococcus has been found on the hands, in the nose or in boils or abrasions on the face,
hands or forearms of the food handlers.
It is clear that, until food handlers are educated in personal hygiene, outbreaks will continue to
occur. Hot water, soap and towels in kitchens and food preparation rooms, and the frequent use of them
by food handlers during the course of their work would make a great and immediate contribution to the
solution of the problem. When the salmonella infections are considered, the need for personal hygiene
and washing of hands after visits to the water closet is of paramount importance.
Whatever may be shown to be the most common source of contamination of food, all foodstuffs
and especially food which is not cooked and eaten hot, must be protected from the excreta of vermin, animals
and birds, from flies and cockroaches, and from the excreta-soiled hands of these engaged in preparing
food."
Some people, basing their opinions solely on personal experience and information, tend to play down
the drive for food hygiene and the prevention of food poisoning. A consideration of local and national
outbreaks shows the ever present danger and the need for care and vigilance by all responsible in any way
for the preparation, handling and storage of food.
During the year the Sanitary Inspectors have continued their efforts to educate food handlers and
to secure genuine compliance with the byelaws " with regard to the handling, wrapping and delivery of
food and the sale of food in the open air " introduced by the Council in June, 1950.
SANITARY CIRCUMSTANCES
Physical Characteristics.—The Borough has an area of 7,261 acres and lies in the Thames Valley
on the north bank of the river. From the river the land rises slowly until at North Hyde it is about 100 feet
above sea level. The subsoil consists of " drift gravels " and lying on them in places are patches of clay.
The following open spaces are laid out and controlled by the Borough Council:—
Park Farm and Avenue House, Cranford 40.29 acres
Heston Fair Ground 9.38 „
Church Meadow, Bath Road 9.20 „
Children's Playground, Sutton Lane 0.60 „
Kingsley Road Playing Field 0.95 „
Greenhams Land, London Road 14.75 ,,
St. John's Gardens, Isleworth 5.73 „
Riverside Walk, Isleworth 0.75 „
Children's Playground, Northcote Avenue 0.85 ,,
Playground, London Road 1.84 ,,
Bowling Green, Jersey Gardens 0.59 „
Isleworth Promenade 1.0 „
Heston Park 14.29 „
Lampton Park 24.20 „
Beaversfield Park 9.77 „
Inwood Park 10.25 „
Redlees Park 16.47 „
Jersey Gardens 7.87 ,,
Football Ground, Denbigh Road 3.70 ,,
Midsummer Children's Playground 1.52 ,,
Water Supply.—The water supply of the Borough is derived almost wholly from the Metropolitan
Water Board. A small portion of the Cranford area is supplied by the South-West Suburban Water Company.
There are 41 shallow wells in use in the Borough. They serve 22 houses and 21 business premises
and at 29 of the premises (11 houses and 18 business) an alternative supply from the mains is available.
The water from 6 wells is known to be unsatisfactory, but as new housing and industrial development is
taking place in the vicinity it is hoped to replace these wells by a main supply at an early date. The
following work in connection with water supplies was carried out during the year:—
Supplies provided or reinstated 13
Cisterns cleansed, repaired, etc. 15
Draw-off taps connected direct to main 3
Service pipes or taps repaired 16
Cases where mains supplied substituted for well supply Nil
Samples taken from wells for analysis 4
Samples taken from mains for analysis 1
Wells abolished Nil
13