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Given the expansion of the multi‐unit fast‐food chains in the take‐away market from the late 1970s, looks at the prospects of the small take‐away firms in the UK. Charts the trends in the take‐away market and provides pointers for small firms to move forward and compete.

Two stores offering furniture on a take‐away basis form the theme of this picture‐feature. They are the first Take‐Away Habitat, in Wythenshawe in Lancashire, and Home Interiors, an upmarket furniture store recently opened by Cambridge Co‐op.

The progression from fish and chips to fried chicken spans an era of radical social change—from smoky street corner fish and chip shops to the fluorescent and chromium American style suburban outlet. Questions of hygiene apart, such a “progression” to an alien and plastic style of eating‐out seems doubtful to say the least. One can therefore view with a certain detachment the pressures on the fast food industry, here discussed by Roger Cox, of inflated raw material prices, decline in custom, and tangles with legislation.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the location of fast-food outlets around secondary schools and the influence of fast-food availability on the food choices of school children in an inner-London borough.

A number of methods including: mapping of outlets relative to schools; sampling food; gathering data on secondary school food policies; observing food behaviour in fast food outlets and focus groups with young people. Findings were fed back to a committee consisting of representatives from nutrition, public health, planning services and local community groups.

There are concentrations of fast-food outlets near schools and students reported use of these, including “stories” of skipping lunch in order to save money and eat after school at these outlets. Food from fast-food outlets was high in fat, saturated fat and salt, but these are not the only source of high such foods, with many of the students reporting buying from shops near the school or on the way to or from school. At lunchtime food outlets were less likely to be used by school students in areas near schools that have a “closed gate” policy.

The “snapshot” nature of the research limited what can be said about the food behaviours of the children outside school hours.

The local policy context requires action to improve both the food offered in schools and the immediate environment around the school in order to tackle fast-food and other competitive foods on offer outside the school.

This is one of the first studies in the UK to systematically map fast food outlets around schools and explore what might be done. This research shows how it is possible to link the findings of local research and develop local responses from both public health and local authority planning perspectives. The research moves away from a mere documenting of problems to devising integrated public health solutions. The findings show how public health and planning services can work together to the mutual benefit of each other.

THOMAS Carlyle's personal crusade for the opening of a lending library in London and his enlisting for the support of that cause influential and wealthy patrons such as Lord Clarendon, Bulwer‐Lytton, Lord Lyttelton, Dean Milman, Lord Houghton, W. E. Gladstone, Sir G. Cornewall Lewis, Henry Hallam—amongst a host of other now forgotten early Victorian luminaries—is well documented. According to Robert Harrison's Preface to the 1888 fifth edition of the Catalogue of the London Library, it opened on 3 May 1841 “with a collection of about 3,000 volumes, which, by the following March, when the first Catalogue was published, had increased to 13,000” (p.viii). The Library was declared formally open on 24 May 1841 using a hired hall in Pall Mall. There were 500 members. In April 1845 the Library moved to its present location in St. James's Square.

Women with learning disabilities are at high risk of losing their children, yet their experience of this process remains under‐investigated. This study looks at the experiences of eight mothers with learning disabilities who lose custody of their children. In‐depth, semi‐structured interviews were conducted to explore their experiences. Findings suggest that concern about the women's parenting tend to be raised by other people, rather than the women themselves. Many of the women appeared not to understand the process of their children's removal, and said that they felt bullied and victimised by it. All blamed their violent partner or the social workers for what had happened, while some blamed their ‘learning disabilities’. All commented that they had received inadequate support from both services and their families before and after their children were removed. All described intense feelings of loss. The psychological impact seemed to reinforce their feelings of powerlessness and brought the salience of their learning disabilities into focus. Service and clinical implications are addressed.

This study aims to assess Brazilian adult consumers’ behavior, aged 18–70, when purchasing ready-to-eat food during the first months of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Participants answered an online questionnaire about behaviors related to the purchase of ready-to-eat food from food services: changes in usage frequency during the pandemic, reasons for altering purchase habits, types of food and beverages bought before and during the pandemic and the frequency of on-site (consumption in food services) and off-site (delivery, take-away and drive-through) service utilization at lunch and dinner.

Out of 970 individuals who participated in the study, during the pandemic, 38% of participants reduced their food service usage, whereas 18% stopped using it. The main reasons given by participants who reduced and stopped food service usage were cooking at home (52% and 59%, respectively) and feeling afraid of contracting COVID-19 (26% and 22%, respectively). The reduction was more frequent among divorced/widowed/single individuals (p = 0.001) and in total social distancing, that is, all day long (p = 0.03). A significant reduction in on-site consumption frequency occurred for lunch and dinner (p < 0.001), whereas an increase in the off-site consumption frequency service for lunch (p = 0.016) and a reduction for dinner (p = 0.01) occurred compared to pre-COVID-19. However, 48% of participants used these services at least once a week in both periods. Most consumed foods and drinks before and during the pandemic were pasta/pizza (74% and 64%, respectively), snack/burgers (66% and 59%, respectively), soft drinks (41% and 37%, respectively) and alcoholic beverages (37% and 25%, respectively).

Knowledge about food choices away from home during the pandemic is scarce. High consumption of food away from home has been associated with a greater risk of developing chronic non-communicable diseases, such as obesity, diabetes and others. Eating behavior is influenced by the cultural, social, economic and personal characteristics of each individual. Understanding the main changes related to the consumption of ready-to-eat food and what the affected consumers profile in a time of unprecedented crisis, it is important to provide scientific knowledge that allows one to anticipate the implications for the future of individuals’ health and food systems and, consequently, to develop public policy or awareness and promotion actions of public health that encourage adopting healthier and balanced eating habits.

Every seaport with foreign‐going shiping trade has always had its “foreign” quarters; every large city hat had its Oriental traders and services, eg., Chinese laundries, Indian restaurants, Italian restaurants, greengrocers, ice cream and biscuit manufacturers; all of which has meant that foreign foods were not unknown to food inspectors and the general public in its discerning quest for exotic food dishes. It was then largely a matter of stores specially stocking these foods for their few users. Now it is no longer the coming and going of the foreign seaman, the isolated laundry, restaurant, but large tightly knit communities of what have come to be known as the “ethnic minorities”, from the large scale immigration of coloured peoples from the old Empire countries, who have brought their families, industry and above all their food and eating habits with them. Feeding the ethnic minorities has become a large and expanding area within the food industry. There are cities in which large areas have been virtually taken over by the immigrant.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the microbial profile of food contact surfaces (FCS) in foodservice industry of Serbia.

The research covered 21,485 samples collected from 1,085 foodservice establishments during a period of 43 months. Results were deployed in terms of food contact materials, types of FCS and types of foodservice establishments.

Highest share of results=2 log₁₀ CFU/cm² were present on plastic surfaces during Autumn, while on ceramic and stainless steel surfaces highest share were observed during the Summer season. Take-away food establishments had the highest share of results=2 log₁₀ CFU/cm² for both stainless steel and plastic surfaces. Highest share of stainless steel surfaces with microbial load=2 log₁₀ CFU/cm² were cutlery, dishes and knives. Plastic dishes had the highest share of results=2 log₁₀ CFU/cm² while cutting boards had the majority of results between 1 log₁₀ CFU/cm² and 2 log₁₀ CFU/cm².

Limitations of the research stem from the discussion of the nature of the FCS like porosity and other physical characteristics.

This research has a practical application in terms of establishing process hygiene levels depending on types of food contact materials and types of FCS and seasonal variations.

The findings of this study are worthy, in respect to possible correlation between seasonal variation and process hygiene requirements and can facilitate a better understanding of microbial risks associated with food preparation.

The purpose of this paper is to consider the applicability and challenges of using asset forfeiture mechanisms in taking away the illicit gains of Somali piracy for ransoms.

The paper presents a desk research on the issue. It is based on analysis of the key principles in the area and relevant literature on the subject.

Asset forfeiture mechanisms can be used to facilitate the seizure of Somali piracy proceeds. It is applicable to those who directly or indirectly benefited from piracy: the foot soldiers, financiers and other beneficiaries. This would enable withdrawal of piracy re-investment capital and hence may act as a disincentive for current and prospective offenders.

For the initiative to work, various states and other actors need to cooperate. However, incentives such as corruption, the personal interests of individuals and states that have benefited from Somali piracy, may make them unwilling to collaborate. This would definitely hinder the implementation and effectiveness of using asset forfeiture.

Much of the literature on Somali piracy for ransoms has focussed on maritime solutions. Further, authors and organisations have advocated for following the money trail. As a result, consideration of the benefits and challenges of doing so needs to be done. This paper seeks to fill this gap.