OLD BEER FOR NEW

Greymouth Evening Star, 23 August 1930, Page 8

OLD BEER FOR NEW

p>»' MEDICAL OFFICER'S EXPOSURE. LONDON, June 28. Remarkable allegations as to the practice of reselling the leavings of beer from glasses are made by the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington in a report on an inspection of public houses in the borough, which will come before the Borough Council. “This objectionable practice cannot be too strongly condemned, and it should be prohibited,” comments the medical officer. “The health and habits of people using public houses cannot be guaranteed.” He divides waste beer into four classes:—-Drips from taps, leavings in glasses, bottoms of bottles, and dregs of barrels. “There are drip sinks under the counters immediately below the taps or pumps,” he says. “A pipe connects the drip sink with the cellar; this pipe is known, as the waste pipe. After passing through the waste pipe the beer is sometimes collected directly into containers, filtered, mixed with one of the cheaper brands of beer, and resold. “In connection with the fourteen premises now under review special observations were made from the bars, and the council’s food inspector and an-

other inspector made a practice of entering the premises as ordinary customers and keeping a watch on the methods employed. “In ten of the fourteen premised direct evidence was obtained that the leavings in glasses were thrown into the sink. “In one house, after the inspectors had kept observation for nearly half an hour, and had seen the leavings, of all glasses tipped into the drip sink, they were told by the licensee that he strongly disapproved of the practice, and that it was not adopted in his house. When it was pointed out to him that observations had been kept for the purpose of detecting this practice, he readily admitted that he had told an Untruth, but ho remarked I hat it was; a most pernicious habit, and he could not defend it in any way. “In all cases the waste-pipes were examined, and some were found to be exceedingly dirty. When a finger was; inserted into three of these waste pipes it came in’to contact with a slimy mass.”