PURE MILK SUPPLY FOR THE CITY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14819, 24 October 1911, Page 5

PURE MILK SUPPLY FOR THE CITY.

. -Sir,—-I note with interest in your issue of to-day „ the report made by the honorary medical staff of the hospital on the production of pure milk -fort that ; institution, bufc' I .was sorry to see that the suggestions contained , therein were treated so lightly by :, some, of the members of the Board. '.'Mem- : , bers of the medical profession are all fully,: alive to the fact that bad milk /is/-the/ greatest single factor in the production of the enormous death rate of infants under one year of age. It also figures largely in the propagation of typhoid fever, diphtheria, scarlet fever, and tuberculosis, - and numerous digestive disturbances. i.The regulation, therefore, _ of. milk ~production,:. transportation, and 'its. subsequent handling, becomes one of our most serious health problems. . The problem is too large' and too serious to be considered' and dealt with by 'the single report that has been made. It should bo the duty of those entrusted with safe- ! guarding of public health to establish laws and ordinances which will, absolutely protect; tho thousands of consumers from ; the dangers of bad milk, and all .those engaged in the supplying and handlins; of milk for large . cities" should be required ' to ocnform strictly' i to these laws and ordinances. The larg '• cities of Denmark, Switzerland, and Germany many years ago established a system of such laws as would be conducive to! the : production of a pure milk supply. Within. the past five years the larger cities ?of - the United States have adopted this ; « plan ■of governing their milk supply. The,, result is that the demand for what is. known as "certified milk" is rapidly growing, as the public becomes acquainted with? the benefits derived from such. Tho establislunent of proper regulation of milk supply will naturally result in some advance in the price of milk tc the consumer, but, in so far as has been observed, and according to data, that has ■ been gathered 'from time to time by commissions set up to inquire into the milk business, it has been found possible to continue at the satisfactory profit to all concerned. As an illustration ■of .this, since ! the establishment of a system of inspection. | in New 'York, approximately 5000 additional ! farms have engaged in the shipment of milk to that City'. ' ; '' -■-' : ■;-•; The practice of dispensing milk by means j of dipping from cans into receptacles pro- |.. vided . bv ,the consumers is one that should i be.eliminated as nearly as possible. The ! milk should be placed in wide-mouthed glass ' jars at the place of production as soon as it I is properly cooled,, these > jars being very j much easier to sterilise and keep clean. No doubt most of the cans are kept aft clean ■as; possible,. but they all .become more or less" dented after having been used for any length of time. Such cans are impossible to be sterilised. Furthermore, the insanitary procedure,; of holding,; vessels/which/' are ; brought to be filled immediately over 3 the ; milkcah during the process of ' filling them [ is one that would be done away with by:the ; bottling method. Any of the vessels brought I to be filled are liable .to come from houses i in which contagious -'■diseases exist, and in ; some cases, perhaps, .from/ the rooms of j patients. . -The handling of, milk in such a i manner is one. that is constantly fraught . with danger. , . . . The scheme proposed by Dr. ; Pabsfc is a I step in the right direction, but something I more far-reaching should: be...undertaken- by the municipal authorities. A commission. ;• consisting of medical and veterinary medical members, 'should-be set up by them. ■ The {report- . submitted .by such, a /commission. J would be -well worth the small expense it i would entail as' compared with the benefits i derived therefrom. _ ~,,,■« W. O. &IXG, V.M.B