[Report 1972] / Medical Officer of Health, Godalming Borough.

  • Godalming (England). Borough Council.
Date:
1972
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1972] / Medical Officer of Health, Godalming Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    is always room for improvement and efforts are directed to this aim. More time should be spent on this aspect of the work but other duties often take precedence and limits the amount of time available for routine inspections Contraventions of the various Regulations found upon inspection were dealt -with in the customary way of issuing verbal or written informal notices covering a very wi.de ranee of works ranging from simple cleansing works to major reconstruction and improvement schemes. Advice, recommendation and instructions are given to all occupiers and owners of food premises and the food traders in an endeavour to maintain and improve standards of food hygiene at all stages. Progress continues in the general reconditioning and improvement of premises which have become outmoded and also unsatisfactory. Improvement schemes eliminate poor design and layout, poor construction and surfaces and the use of unsuitable equipment and materials. Where proposals are submitted for any works to food premises, discussions are held with all those concerned so that advice and suggestions can be considered at an early stage and included in the scheme so that the premises can not only be designed and constructed to meet all requirements but also that it can be readily and easily maintained to a high standard with the minimum amount of labour and complication. RESTAURANTS, CAFES, SCHOOL AND FACTORY CANTEENS Routine inspections are made at all premises classed under this heading. Generally, the standards maintained are very good the few exceptions to this being dealt with at the time of inspection by written or verbal informal notices and revisits to the premises to ensure compliance with the notices. Emphasis is placed on general cleanliness and the necessity for hand-washing and the statutory requirement for notice to be displayed as a constant reminder to employees to carry out this simple, but very necessary duty. These items remain amongst the most important factors necessary to prevent the spread of food poisoning and other infections. BAKERIES AND CAKE SHOPS There are six premises in the Borough used primarily for the sale of bread, cakes and sugar confectionery. These foods are also sold by many other shops but are usually packed, wrapped goods produced by the large multiple firms with manufacturing premises outside the Borough. There are two large Bakeries in the Borough both with their own retail and wholesale outlets and one very small bakehouse specialising in the production of cakes and sugar confectionery. GROCERS, GREENGROCERS, ETC. There are 42 such, premises in use in the Borough, all are subject to routine inspections from time to time. Verbal and written informal notices were served to deal with contraventions of the Regulations and in each case these notices were satisfactorily complied with. Many of these premises sell a wide range of foods, in some cases including milk, ice cream and meat. Frozen foods are a particular item of importance due to the danger of filling the cabinets above the recommended load line. Bread, pies, sausages, cooked meats etc. need careful storage in accordance with the manufacturers recommended codes of practice and 'visual aid coding systems' to ensure proper stock rotation.