Evening star., 1949-11-17
Britain Opens Drive
AGAINST Razor Blades
And Mice in Food
By the Associated Press

SAlIu tIIvV Ill ] WV
BY the Associated Press
LONDON, Nov. II. Disease
conscious authorities want the
walters thumb taken out Of Brit
aims soup.
In drive to clean up food
handling, the Food Ministry has
offered local councils a set Of
model laws to tougher national
legislation covering the restau-
rant. hotel and food trades.
The food and health ministries
worked out the models after wide
spread newspaper protests said
the Briton sometimes Is getting
mice in his meat pie, old razor
blades and cigarette butts in his
bun and wide range Of infectious
diseases from his carelessly
washed teacup.
Loudest complainer in the
House of Commons was Laborite
T. c. Skefington-Lodge who made
members vince at his figures in
a demand for a crack down on
walters, cooks, butchers and fish,
mongers with dirty habits.
He said, blown fish. poul-
try and meat are all too often ex-
posed openly in shops or wrapped
in newspaper and other unsuitable
wrappings.
Slovenly Habits Hit.
dogs are allowed into food
shops. Cats sun themselves among
the sweets, sit on counters, or
rummage among vegetables and
other eatableS."
He attacked "slovenly habits"
In Britain's ordinary kitchen on
one hand and our luxury hotels
on the other"
Mr.. Skef1ngton-Lodge warned
that splitting, dirty fingernails,
finger-licking, unguarded cough
ing and sneezing, and dirty hands"
must be checked.
DR.. Edith Summerskill, parlia-
mentary secretary to the Food
Ministry, supported him: The
curious thing is that these are
things we all know about and see
in our daily life when we go into
any small cafe. Unfortunately the
public conscience is not sufficiently
aroused to demand an alteration"
The parliamentary spotlight To-
cused on the dirty food problem
only q few hours after Bristol
health inspectors found half a
razor blade in a loaf of bread.
1.-THE rest of the blade has prob
ably been eaten," the city's chief
sanitary inspector observed.
Milk Spoilage Noted.
In the Lancashire agricultural
area Of milk short Britain,
health officer said dirty habits
among farmers and farmhands are
causing spoilage Of big quantities
of milk. "It is time" he added
that elementary principles Of per-
sonal hygiene were more widely
- understood and enforced"
The remains of a mouse recently
turned up in a Londoner's meat
pie and health cases involving
cigarette butts, cigar ends, and
assorted small objects In bread
and buns are frequent in British
courts. .n....,
Strongest newspaper pressure Isl
directed at badly washed and
cracked crockery IN restaurants.
Restaurant and hotel operatorA
retort however that the sNazi blitzi
smashed a large part Of prewar
crockery and the export drive lin
tied the flow Of new cups, saucers.
and plates into the home market.
Full-scale campaigns for less
dirt have been carried on by the
Laborite Daily Herald, Liberal
News-Chronicle and the Indepen-
dent Daily Mirror. Even the
august times made editorial pleas
for cleaner hands and dishes.
Campaigns Launched.
Britain's restrictions on bread
wrapping-set up early in the war
to save labor and paper-were
lifted November /.
In many British towns and
cities, cleaner food campaigns
have been launched, partly as q
lure to llar-bearing American
tourists and partly because wave
of public complaint swept across
Britain in the last two or three
months.
In the st. Pancras borough Of
London, sanitary inspectors
checking on pub" lavatories
found only 80 clean ones in 238.
They found IS sanitary defects in
kitchens, 1873 in cellars, 118 in
bars, and 68 behind counters.
A health inspector touring rs
hotel and restaurant kitchens
found 201 out Of 615 utensils
bearing potentially dangerous
bacteria.
British railways, restaurants and
tearooms, where slovenly watt
resses with dirty hands and grim
fer clothing serve buns in their
fingers, have long been q favorite
target of clean food campaigners.
If Britain's city, town and rural
councils adopt the Food Ministry's
model laws, a Food Ministry
spokesman said, q sharp cut in
food poisoning cases is hoped for.
Adoption of the laws may also
see the end Of one tourist point
of interest that hasn't changed
much since William the Con-
queror-open-air f1shmonger's and
butchers slabs alive with flies In
midsummer.
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