[Report 1960] / Medical Officer of Health, Winchester U.D.C. / City.

  • Winchester (England). Urban District Council.
Date:
1960
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1960] / Medical Officer of Health, Winchester U.D.C. / City. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    39/76 (page 37)
    FOOD HYGIENE According to the demands of newly introduced legislation or to immediate or long term health needs, priority in the work of the Public Health Inspector, will inevitably vary from year to year. It is pleasing to report, therefore, that despite the heavy demands from meat inspection and housing duties, the value of the sustained efforts of your Inspectors in connection with food hygiene is indicated by the considerable reduction in the number of contraventions found since the Food Hygiene Regulations came into force on the 1st January 1956:- Contraventions found in I960 CB 55 11 11 1939 74 ti it 1958 = 152 it it ” 1957 C9 162 11 11 1956 = 216 In food handling, the supply of equipment must measure up to modern con¬ ceptions of the work,. The equipment has now, for the most part, been provided — much of it in the spirit of co-operation and goodwill and the remainder, quite a small percentage of the whole, following stern prompting and sometimes legal pro¬ ceedings, Staffs have been issued with instructions, and in many cases taught the needs of the situation. If there is one particular point in which a significant amount of success has beoiachieved, it is possibly that of hand washing. The slogan untouched by hand however, should not mean mauled by mucky machinery <5 If those people who think that advocating the use of cake tongs automatically furthers the clean food cause, were to see the condition of some of these utensils, it is certain they would hastily revise their opinion. They might then become more insistent upon cleanli¬ ness as a basic principle to be followed, irrespective of handling methods. Refrigeration requirements have been a great help, although in many cases there is a tendency to feel that in the refrigerator lies the key to the whole problem. Consequently, other hygiene requirements are neglected. On the question of wrapping of food, some traders still avoid the use of clean wrapping papers and yet more ease their conscience by the use of a few square inches of paper laid across the centre of a sheet of newspaper., Perhaps the greatest offenders are to be found in fish frying establishments. ► Unfortunately, we still have to deal with the so-called mobile food stall which represents an anachronism in these hygiene conscious days, and which seems to be diminishing at a rate out of harmony with the needs of our times. Some are described as converted single decker buses - the word converted often a mis¬ nomer - but there is usually little attempt at conversion - with dismal results. Such contraptions as are still met on ourv housing estates are an embarrassment to the Health Inspector especially, when so often happens, they are called upon by the private trader to explain the difference in treatment meted out between one type of trader and another. As would be expected, however, it is usually found that the better vehicle operates from established and reputable premises, the other being more frequently the project of the back street trader who has the misfortune °f trading from undesirable premises.