COMPULSORY PASTEURISATION.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1134, 23 May 1911, Page 8

COMPULSORY PASTEURISATION.

/ FAVOURED BY TARANAKI , FARMERS. —. . ' As it has been .rumoui'cd occasionally 1 that the pasteurisation of the by-products \ of milk is to bo made compulsory, a dis- i cussion on the subject, which arose at the ' annual conference of' the Tnranaki | branches of tho Farmers' Union, is in- ] teresting. • v Mr. Swindlehuvst (Eltham) moved and ' Mr. E. Maxwell (a member of the exccu- . tive) seconded: "That the 1 ' pasteurisation < of milk and whey be made compulsory." . Mr. Maxwell referred to this as the most i important remit on the order paper, as . it was one of the best means of stamping out. tuberculosis in pigs and calves. Departmental experiments had proved this. Mr. IV. Swadling (Kapangn) said that. in. ' his district unpasteurisod skim milk was giving better results than the pasteurised x milk. Tho trouble was that there was too much filth on some of the farms, and too little inspection. Some of the farmers, seemed to think that pasteurised ; milk could be put anywhere, in any dirty ' I cans or troughs, and in any surroundings, .! and still remain sweet. , Mr. A. Hunter (Hawora) said the ex- . i pcriiuents by the Agricultural Depart- j ! ment, were most conclusive. ', Mr. J. Conaglen (Opunakc) said the ex- ; perienco of pasteurising- whey at Auroa ■■.wis very satisfactory. . Mr. IJ. T. Williams (Kaimata branch) ' opposed the remit, urging that the case for compulsory pasteurisation had not been / made out. In the first, place, it would c cause a good deal of txpensc to dairy companies. But dirty surroundings, star- . vation, and exposure had more than skimmilk to do with the spread of tuberculosis. ' Ko pasteurised milk would remain pure if it were taken liome and tipped into a barrel or some other utensil that had not seen water for a'couple,of years or so. He knew of cows that wers often, left standing in saleyards whilst a cold southerly gale was blowing, for eight or nine hours. Then they would be driven some miles, and placed into a corner y of a so-called a.ccommodaiibn paddock, with six barbed wires for shelter. If . they treated 18-months-old cattle like that "something must go inside." , . Mr. H. Lnmbie (l'ihama) said that if the-herds were clean there would be no aeed for pasteurising skim-milk. . Mr. Maxwell: But jf there's one cow i wsound you make all the milk unsound. Mr. Lnmbie: Well, she must be put out. Tho .president said pasteurisation was , a proved success, .not only in reducing mortality from tuberculosis, but in adding to the feed value of skim-milk and whey..'.Of .course; starvation and exposure had much, to do with it. Killing off infected cattle was urged, he said, but by the time they were found they had done ■mischief through their skim-milk being . fed to Were their milk pasteurised, ■ there would be no danger of-it. Ha thought the fanners should help the Department in this matter. The remit was carried by 13 to G.