Sanitary Survey of Beverage Establishments with Reference to Sanitary Condition of Glassware.

SINCE the repeal of prohibition, there have sprung into existence numerous road-houses, taverns, saloons, and miscellaneous establishments for the dispensing of alcoholic beverages. To an alarming extent, these establishments are inadequately equipped to clean and sterilize the glassware used. Furthermore, there is a deplorable lack of information as to methods of cleaning and sterilizing and a surprising array of hurriedly concocted compounds purporting to be disinfectants on the market. To determine how effectively beverage glasses were being cleaned and sterilized, a survey was conducted in Lansing with the cooperation of the local department of health. Several months prior to this study, the City Council had passed an ordinance requiring the use of chlorine sterilizers and specifically stated that rinse waters must contain 200 p.p.m. of available chlorine. No attempt had been made to see whether these regulations were being obeyed. A preliminary survey showed that few places were even attempting proper care in the handling of glassware, and in most of these the chlorine sterilizers were being grossly misused. Few places in the entire city had satisfactory glass-