[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London, City of ].

  • City of London (London, England). Corporation of London.
Date:
[1953]
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: [Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London, City of ]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    4 ground which has been covered in the past during what might be called the 'hey day' of the catering world; the time of the establishing of many new businesses, the fitting out of many premises and dealing with new names to the trade. During that period, i.e., just after the war, materials and skilled labour were in short supply or unobtainable, and with a view to being as co-operative as possible, substitutes for some of the essential materials in catering establishments were accepted in all good faith. Experience has shown, some might even call it bitter experience, that some of these are quite unsatisfactory. We feel that nothing less than the following standards should be the acceptable basis when considering catering licences or the re-conditioning of existing premises. (1) Floors. It is considered that a quarry tile properly laid is the only satisfactory floor finish for kitchens. We have seen many compositions or substitute floorings during the past year, which comparatively speaking, have had only nominal wear and tear, i.e., they were laid with our approval three or four years ago, but which could not now be accepted as satisfactory. Clean ing difficulties, porosity and troubles with grease penetration are present in all of them to a greater or lesser degree. No doubt it will be argued that certain upper floors cannot be regarded as suitable for tiles on account of the additional weight involved, but we feel that in such a case the floor in question should not be used as a kitchen. Some objections are raised by the staff employed about slipperiness of tiles, but this alleged disadvantage can be discounted if the floors are kept clean. (2) Walls. Here again, we have in the past accepted walls which have been patched and painted, but experience has shown there is no real substitute for tiles, at least up to five or six feet from the floor. (3) Ventilation. For some time at the beginning of the 'expansion' of the catering trade in the City, we were prepared, in spite of some misgivings, to accept in basement kitchens, and in kitchens above ground in which natural ventilation was poor, a standard of mechanical ventilation to give twenty changes per hour. We found that systems designed to effect twenty changes very often fell considerably short of the designed performance. When this fault became apparent, we increased our demands to thirty changes an hour— hoping at least to achieve something over 20. This did in fact occur, but we feel that to have to base our ventilation requirements on the number of air changes alone, does not necessarily fulfil the basic requirement of securing good working conditions. We have been forced to accept a numerical basis in order to give at least some guidance to the person asking our requirements; but this does not ensure satisfactory ventilation as many other factors impinge, such as the amount of equipment in a given space, type of heat used for cooking, etc. Basements obviously give rise to the most difficulties in this direction and the time may occur when it will be necessary for serious consideration to be given to the whole question of basement kitchens. Why should they in fact be considered less harmful to the kitchen staff, than bakehouses which cannot now be established anew in basements? (4) Equipment and Design. Under this heading most of the features in the kitchens with which we have difficulties both as regards suitability and use, can be considered. Sinks. It is quite apparent now that we should insist on stainless steel sinks with no alternatives. This may seem somewhat arbitrary, but we have seen the results of the alternatives, i.e., glazed stoneware which in a comparatively short time looks like an old sandstone trough; hard wood washing-up sinks which are grease soaked and quite objectionable, and galvanized steel which by the nature of the cold-dip zinc coating does not give a good surface even when new. We feel that we should accept no other material than stainless steel. Hot Water Supplies. During the post-war rush to get food preparing businesses going, hot water to sinks was often provided by gas geysers. Having seen these in operation for a number of years we are convinced that they fall a long way short of providing an adequate constant hot water supply.' With our insistence on the provision of multiple sinks wherever possible, the deficiency of the gas geyser is most marked. Hot water supply, by whatever means must involve ample storage capacity capable of meeting peak loads, and we have during the past year endeavoured to reach this target wherever possible. We have been compelled on a number of occasions, to give approval to kitchens which in our experience are likely to prove unsatisfactory owing to their small size. The occupiers are often willing to provide the equipment and surfaces required, but we find difficulty in dissuading them from continuing with their schemes on account of lack of space generally. At present, except in the case of schools there is no minimum size which can be enforced, but we feel, in view of our past experience, applications for new catering licences should be rejected if there is insufficient space for the efficient running of a kitchen. Naturally it would be easier if there was a ' yardstick ' whereby we could assess an applicant's proposals, but the lack of specific regulation should not allow him to proceed against our known experience. The design and lay-out of kitchens for whatever purpose, should comply with the following simple requirements:— Central siting of cooking equipment, sinks in units with sufficient space about them in which to work ; tables, preparing benches, etc., not to be fixed and of a size and weight whereby they can easily be upturned and moved for washing purposes. Almost any space in which it is pro posed to start a kitchen can be arranged to meet these requirements if the minimum floor area is available.