THE CITY MILK SUPPLY.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 139, 18 July 1914, Page 8

THE CITY MILK SUPPLY.

NO GUARANTEE of purity. DAIRIES CLEAN AND OTHERWISE. [By the Agricultural Editor of THE SUN.] No human food is so susceptibly to its surroundings as milk. Therefore it is the first duty of the authorities to see to it that such art- indispensable article of diet is produced under the most sanitary conditions by the healthiest cows, and distributed to the consumer in such a manner that will ensure it being received in a satisfactory condition.

The average person has a vague notion that milk is produced under stringent and rigidly, enforced regulations. How foolish this popular notion is was revealed' to the writer, who recently set out to investigate the matter. It would seem .that the system of inspection is not -at, all- as. effective as the seriousness of the question demands. Many people are perhaps made indifferent by the fact that occasionally they read of prosecutions, possibly at Auckland or Wellington. They fondly imagine that all is; well. Yet an investigation would demonstrate that there are instances of, almost criminal neglect in the production of this article of food. „ DUAL CONTROL.- / The inspection of dairies is under dual control. Why it is so is difficult to understand. The Live Stock Division of the Department of Agriculture undertakes the responsibility of inspecting up to the time the milk is placed on the cart at the farms, ready for delivery to the distributing depot, or the consumers ' jugs. At this stage it is the function of the Health Department to supervise the delivery. Nothing could be more absurd. Assuming that the Health Department takes a Case against a retailer for the adulteration of milk, it can only proceed against the person found in possession of the diluted fluid. It has uo right to seek out the real offender and punish him. The law requires remedying in this respect. This system, or lack of system, Avas introduced some six or seven years ago. It has been admitted by everyone questioned upon the subject that the inspection now is not nearly as efficient as it was previous to the change. The Dairy Industry Act Avas passed by the Legislature in 1900. „ It provided for the registration and inspection of all dairies catering for town supply. A fairly effectiA T e inspection Avas carried out for about seven years, but the change appears to have been for the worse. The,: farm inspection has been placed in o\*erburdened hands. One inspector has to deal Avith all the registered dairies. The number of farms that supply milk

and t cream to Christeliureh runs into

several hundred. The- work-of inspecting these, if the inspection is to be of any value, -is beyond the powers of one man. IS THERE LAXITY? What has been done in regard to, prosecutions of offenders against the Acts concerned in recent years?. It is so long ago since there was a* prosecution locally that one might be excused for asking if, the Act lias been suspended in this community. / Are the. people engaged in dairying in and around Christchurch any more particular as a class than in other centres. Under the Dairy Industry Act it was illegal to sell milk other than as it came from the cow. The Public Health Act prescribes a test of 3.5 per cent, of J) utter-fat. By the addition of a quantity, of water and a little sugar to milk above a 3.5 test it is . possible to cover up the fact that the fluid lias been adulterated. k MODEL DAIRY.

A truly model dairy is one which is conducted in the best practicable manner known to dairying science. It is not necessarily a place where money has been lavishly spent upon expensive buildings and fine cattle. But it is a dairy where milk as clean and wholesome as milk can be is produced and handled: the cows are in good condition, free from' disease of any sort, and are frequently examined by an expert who removes from the herd any animals "suffering from any disease. None but sound, healthy cows are kept. The cowshed is abundantly lighted, and well ventilated, often cleaned, and kept in a thoroughly sanitary condition. Those engaged •in milking, etc., are scrupulously clean, iand healthy, all utensils are thoroughly sterilised daily, and care is taken to sterilise the milk. Such milk is promptly cooled, and should eontain less than one thousandth part as many bacteria as are found in much of the milk Regularly sold. These, briefly, are the requirements for a model dairy. How far many of the dairies supplying milk to Cliristchurcli complv with these "requirements was brought home vividly to the writer when visiting some of the farms engaged in this work. Presumably, they are registered and inspected. A DIRTY DAIRY.

The writer closely inspected a number of dairies that are licensed to supply milk for human consumption. The majority of them failed signally to reassure one as to the efficiency of our system of inspection. The first visited was selected on account of its accessibility. To reach it one has to journey less than three miles from Cathedral Square. In 110 outback portion of the King Country where road metal is not obtainable would it be possible to find dairying carried on under more primitive conditions. In the muddiest parts

of Tai-aiiaki it would not be possible " to find conditions around a cowshed -more filthy,, more dilapidated than at this one—-a stone's throw from one of the main tram routes of the eity:^'And yet tlxis place is' licenced and* ostensiblysubject to inspection; licensed' to- sell ■milk-for- humaii consumption;- licensed•to distribute germs for human-'con-sumption ! The time of my visit was * about 3 p.m. JTlie cow yard bordered a CTeek; the 'person who built the cowshed evidently intended it to drain into • this •running stream. Apparently some time after, this the shed had been concreted, and the effect was to drain all the manure, etc., to the side of the shed where it remained stagnant. There was not the slightest provision for a water- supply—highly necessary provision.. .There was no provision for cooltile bails until milking was completed. A filthy looking kerosene tin, and an equally filthy cloth, proclaimed the'fact " that the udders of the Cows were washed from this tin. The part of the yard.which was-not concreted was knee deep in mud and filth.- It did' not need a vivid imagination to picture - the milking scene. The milk 'from that dairy should not be sold.' The whole- -surroundings . were- the quintessence of uns&nitariness. And-how far was all this from the glass-fronted sanatorium on Cashmere Hills! ANOTHER BAD CASE.

The next farm visited was iiot far from the dairy previously mentioned; the same class of lean-to wooden Tmilding with iron roofing was fiere alsov The walls were in an advanced state of decaj'. . The surface water of ii large area filtered into shed and yards. As it was milking time when I visited the shed, I' had an opportunity of observing the habits and persona! cleanliness of the milkers. They would not have satisfied the most careless inspector. Here again there was no- provision for a-reasonable supply, no cooling apparatus, no place to remove the milk to. A BRIGHTER SIDE.

It must not be assumed ' ail dairies are similar to the premises previously dealt with. Such is not the case. Some are models of cleanliness and sanitation, but unfortunately they are few and far between. The thir<| farm visited was in sharp contrast t® the others. Here the business was conducted on model lines. The cowshed was large and airy. The floors of sheds and yards were concreted throughout. There was water i» abundance for cleansing the premises, and utensils. The milk was drawn by means of machines. Mechanical milling, unless the parts of the machine through-which the milk passes are kept scrupulously clean, is ten times more dangerous and insanitary than even, dirty hand milking. Here the machines were regularly/cleansed, and the milk was immediately removed to a convenient dairy some yards away, where it was passed over a water jacketed cooler that ensured its keeping qualities. But above all, what called for approval was the system of inspection of the animals. Ev.ery cow when it comes to profit is subjected to the tuberculin tjsfet. The reason is that the owner has a coptrapt; with one of our public, institutions, irhich has every reason to know the. danger of tubercle-infected milk. Does this not show that those in authority have little faith in the present' system... of inspection?