Clean Food by Order?
The rapid increase over the past ten years or so of the habit of eating out has produced a situation in which 236,000 catering establishments serve in the course of an average week 103,000,000 meals, 171,000,000 snacks and 311,000,000 hot beverages. These figures are reported by the Working Party on the catering trade, which was set up in 1948, after an impressive display of public interest in the subject, to consider ways of improving cleanliness in catering establishments. The standard code of hygienic practice which the Working Party suggests, and which is only intended to include essential as distinct from ideal requirements, sounds formidable in itself, and its full application would no doubt involve many existing catering establishments in considerable new expense. But in fact it is the essential minimum, and incidentally its full effect could only be assured if it could be observed in all domestic kitchens, as well as in catering establishments. Up to a point expense cannot be allowed to stand in the way. But that there is a point at which such considerations apply is recognised by the Working Party itself, which feels that certain buffets and public houses should be exempted and which has recognised the rather surprising fact that the number of cases of alleged food-poisoning requiring investigation is very low. For instance. in Westminster in 1948 it amounted to only one case per 3,400,000 meals served. Unreported cases might possibly swell the figure, but still the danger does not seem to be as great as it is generally thought to be. Nevertheless the attempt to give the public complete assurance must go on. and above all the occasional insanitary dens which are the most common cause of misgiving must be dealt with. But it is doubtful whether the inevitably expensive system of registra- tion of establishments which the Working Party calls for would achieve these ends. The Catering Association's own suggestion of a widespread campaign for education in hygiene might well get better results for the same amount of money, for no rules•on this subject will ever be effective unless all the people who handle food are properly convinced of the need for cleanliness.
Previous page
