WATER IN DAIRIES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22540, 3 October 1936, Page 14

WATER IN DAIRIES

CRITICISM OF BAN CITY COUNCIL'S PROTEST EFFECTS OF REGULATION NO ACTION TO BE TAKEN [HV TKI.KG It A Pit —OWN CORTt ES PON I) I '.NT ] Oil RISTCHURCH, Friday No action is to be taken by the chief city inspector in enforcing a recent amendment to the health regulations prohibiting the storing of water in dairies. This amendment was gazetted about two months ago, but it drow a protest from the Christchureh City Council on the ground that its enforcement would be impossible as well as contrary to the interests oi tho consumer. A reply by the Health Department in Wellington to this protest has been received by the by-laws committee of the council and tho committee has instructed the inspector to tako no steps to enforce the regulation. Tho regulation reads: No person shall keep or store in the same room or part of any premises where milk is kept or stored for sale any water or stale milk o'' any other fluid capable of being used for diluting or mixing with milk. In its protest to the Health Department the City Council stated that a number of dairymen kept milk cool by storing it in ice and, although ice was not fluid, it was quite capable of diluting milk. Moreover, dairymen had constructed their dairies in such a manner that artesian water was constantly flowing through a trough in which cans of milk were stored overnight, and to prohibit these practices would not only mean alterations to licensed dairies, but would be directly opposed to tho interests of the consumer. To this tho Health Department has replied that although it might appear that tho keeping of milk cans in iee or in troughs of water was prohibited, these were cases in which reasonable discretion might be exercised. " The troughs are a convenient and long-established method of keeping the milk cool, and if they are removed the milk vendor, if he desires to adulterate his milk, still has ample facilities for doing so," the letter stated. " On tho other hand the keeping of water in a licensed milk shop will not be for any obviously legitimate purpose and should be prohibited." * The chairman of the council by-laws committee. Mr. JO. H. Andrews, said yesterday that it seemed ridiculous to make such a regulation and then allow part of it to be applied with discretion. It appeared that the last sentence of the department's letter referred to water not kepf in troughs and that therefore it was illegal to have water in a dairy except in a trough. Thus a dairy could not have water for washing purposes. Tne whole regulation was obviously incapable of fair application.