Raw Milk Supply

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28661, 11 August 1958, Page 3

Raw Milk Supply

Sir, —Contamination of milk during milking or bottling is no mere bogy; it is an ever-present risk and many millions of cases of typhoid and other serious diseases have been proved by bacteriological tests beyond any possibility of doubt or error to be due to infected milk. A proved local instance was the outbreak of typhoid in Kaikoura some years ago. I wish the anti-pas-teurisationists would take the trouble to look up statistics and scientific facts before they rush into print with their theories and ideas.—Yours, etc., D. E. CURRIE. August 7, 1958.

Sir, —Congratulations to the Munnings Brothers in proving they have a completely diseasefree herd. An even more interesting factor has now emerged from this controversy. An animal is only as healthy as the land on which it is reared, and the authorities should now examine the reasons why the Munnings herd should be absolutely free of the diseases found in other herds producing the city’s milk supply. One factor may be that the Munnings brothers do not use chemical fertilisers on their land. They use lime, certainly, but their general metlTods of land improvement would be considered “oldfashioned*.’—Yours, etcl, GEO. M. EDMONDS. August 7, 1958. Sir, —The Parliamentary report issued by the Department of Health proves beyond all doubt that the pasteurisation of milk is right and necessary.—Yours, etc., (MRS) J. JONES. August 6, 1958.