THE NEW DAIRY REGULATIONS

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1523, 28 February 1901, Page 52

THE NEW DAIRY REGULATIONS

CONTROL OF THE, MILK SUPPLY. 1 .. —«£-—’ 11. (By L. Ei. Braeher, Associate of the Sanitary Institute, London). In order to illustrate further the wisdom of and the necessity for the new Dairy Regulations, it- will, be interesting to state what is being done in other Countries with regal’d to- control of the milk supply. Dr Newsholme, a well-known writer and lecturer on hygiene, medical officer of health for Brighton (England), and bon, editor of “Public Health/ - ’ gives the following account of the work done by some milk supply associations in Denmark, Sweden and Berlin. In all oases it will be seen that the problem of a pure milk supply, resolves itself into a question of minute attention to detail; but the details are SO'- important and carefully worked out ’ that they deserve to foe widely known. The guarantees that the' Copenhagen Milk. © Supply.. Association give of the.. purity of their milk are:,—(!) Veterinary .chfiij c the cpyf.Si err the"farms and. • exclusion.-,.0f ; :. the.:, milk from, suspected r animals; (2). cooling of the. .milk by ice to 41 deg. F., or lo wer, at the farms and at the' company’s depot; (3) filtration of the whole .of' the milk through fire gravel; and (4) .absolute cleanliness of all tlie bottles and cans used/ and the fact, that. they are "delivered. under... the security of the, company’s seal."/ ./'///

The company hast-m its-service seven veterinary surgeons, one of whom devotes the whole of lib time to the work of visiting the farms in rotation. One of the conditions is that all cows in stmimer must'bo fed in. the open fields on gratis } and 'clover. ' Stall feeding,/ except in.winter, is strictly prohibited. In Denmark the custom is, universal to tether the cattle but at short distances from one another, so that every inch of ground, is covered, and the. farmer can. estimate.almost- exactly how much grass: lias,been eaten a "The ■veterinary surgeon examines each cow at every visit, only as. regards the condition of the udder. Each farm is visited twice- a month. Last year, among the 5000 or 6000 cows supplying milk to the company, 122 were found tK> be tuberculous, but only in tAVo of obese was the udder affected. .If the veterinary surgeon detects ,a tuberculous coav, it must be at once separated from the; others and got rid of as soon as ; possible. ' Or if he- thinks that the health of a cow is so bad that the milk may be prejudicially affected thereby, he may order the withdrawal of the milk for a certain time. The farmer is bound' to. report every, case of illness occurring between .' the • Veterinary surgeon’s • visits and to Av-ithhold the milk until he arrives. Infectious disease occurring amongst the employees must be at once reported to the compa. ny, and the milk kept back; Other .conditions which are Bet down in the agreement between the farmer and the. company have reference to the storage of milk and the feeding of the- animals. The greatest cleanliness must be observed in the milking, and, as i .has been, stated,., the milk must at. ' once be cooled to 41deg. F. by ice, having first been strained through a sieve covered by a clear, woollen cloth. The food an . winter consists<;chiefly .of‘'rape-... seed,- - oilcake/ hay -and straw • anything, likely to give the -milk an iniplea sahtf, taste, such hs turnips, etc., is absolutely forbidden. /It might very naturally, bo asked: “How have the farmers .been brought to asquiesc©. in these strict conditions, entailing both,extra trouble and expense, imposed on. them .by the com--pany?” The ’answer is simply that it lias been done by an appeal to their pockets, the company agreeing to pay them a better price than they could get fiiont any other buyer; y Even the milk that Is withheld, owing to temporary sickness of an animal or employee is paid for at full price,: just as though it were used.: The company's premises are close to the railway, so that very little time is lost in transit. When th© whole of the milk for the day has arrived, the milk from every can is tested, and a sample from' ©very farm is 'taken for analysis, '/e. The- milk is then filtered, ■ the ’ arrangements for which are unique. In the filtering apparatus The filtering material is fine gravel placed in perforated tin trays. The gravel in the lowest tray is about the size of a split pea, and. in the highest that of a pin's". head. The milk is poured into the receptacle, and. passes by a process of upward filtration into the receiver, from which the cans and litre bottles are filled. The amount and nature of the filth kept back by the grave! have to be seen to be believed, and this, too,, notwithstanding the precautions taken in milking. The cans and bottles are then placed in trays contain.-. ing ice until required* for distribution. About 3000 litre bottles are filled every evening, and the milk in them is guaranteed to keep fresh for 24 hours. Every, can and bottle is most scrupulously cleansed before being used. For cleansing the cans a little soda, is introduced, and ©a strong, jet of steam/ Is made to ploy upon,.fhe interior. . Nor is the. size

of the cans so great that the bottom cannot b& easily reached by the hand and well scrubbed. The bottles are cleansed by a soda, solution, and the insertion iof a brush turned by machinery, being washed out afterwards Avith - sterilized water. "When empty all bottles and cans are placed on racks bottom upwards, so that air can not only circulate round them, but under them as well. The oonmpany does a large business in cream also, which is treated in r just the saute way, even to the filtering. > The cream is, however, never got by the use of a separator, as it is contended - that ordinary skimmed milk is still a most valuable food. Another great feature of the company’s work is the pro- - , duction of “children’s milk.*’ Only the / milk from the best and healthiest cows > is used for this, and special regulations r exist as to their food in winter. A great . impetus, too, has recently been given to i, the preparation of “Pasteurised milk.” , Bottles of the milk to be pasteurised are placed in frames in a trough of "water. A coil of steam pipes heats this to a , ,i. temperature of 75. deg. C., where a coni .tact thermometer rings a bell which gives the signal for shutting off the - steam. When the water has cooled down to 60 deg. C. the bottles of milk are '■/-‘ taken out and placed in ice.' It is guaranteed to keep for 48 hours.- For . the sake of infants that must be bottlefed, pasteurised milk variously diluted i-s----prep-ared. A Cumberland filter supplies the water,. and the bottles , Avitli the' . degrees of dilution labelled on them are . sold in cruets containing’ just such a number as is sufficient for one clay. . The . / feeding nipple fits on to the neck of the v/- bottle, so that there is no length of India rubber tubing to become foul. Analyses of the milk are made not only at the company’s depot, but also under the direction of Professor Bohr, who publish.es monthly the results of the daily analyses. All the milk that remains unsold, is used for making butter. . The price paid for the milk is as follows : —Children’s milk, -Is per gallon; sweet milk, 10c! a gallon ; half-skimmed milk, 5d per gallon ; No. I cream, 5s per gallon; No. 2. cream, 3s per gallon. The company is on a firm financial basis, and. ■ pays its dividend of 5 per cent, oil the ; capital invested. More than this it is not allowed to pay, as when the company was started in 1878 express provision was mad© that anything over and above too 5 per cent, interest should be devoteu to lowering th© price of the milk, and to Improving the general arrangements. It is interesting to know that the founder „ of the company would net undertake the task without first receiving an assurance of support from the 'medical profession. The company in Stockholm undertakes the sale of two kinds of milk—namely, controlled and uncontrolled. What is . meant by “controlled milk” is that coming from-the company’s own cows under the most careful supervision possible. On its large estate, some 30 miles from the city, th© company has built two large cowsheds; the walls, floors and feeding trough® axe cemented; the sheds are well lighted and ventilated; ' one shed . has 150, the other 180 cows. The great * difference between the Copenhagen and Stockholm arrangements is that in the latter, and almost invariably in Sweden the cows are kept in sheds both summer and winter, only occasionally getting out for exercise, whereas in the former they must be out m the fields throughout the .summer. A staff of men is constantly ■ engaged in cleaning the animals and removing the refuse. There is no smell in -./•the ■ buildings, as everything is quickly absorbed! by the dried peat, which partially fills the channel into which the excreta pass. Before milking is begun the floor is swept perfectly clean, and the milkmaids must wash their hands, wear special aprons., and clean the. udders carefully. All the cans are washed Avith boiling water, and the milk is strained through muslin and A*ery fine copper wire gauze before being removed toi the cool, ing room, where is is kept in ice till sent awajn The most important poiut in the sanitary control is the fact that the company employs a qualified veterinary surgeon,.; who lives on the estate and 1 regularly examines the animals, paying careful attention to the detection of tubercle. Any- animal found to be with tubercle must be got rid of. Nor does the company keep any COWS mqce.t'kaii a few years. After they ’ have calved two or three times they are sold, so that only those at their best milking periods are in the stalls. The milk from cows that have newly calved must be withheld seven days. Great •stress ts laid on the Importance of keep- - ing the standard of /"children’s milk” as high As. possible., all the finest and healthiest cows being set- aside to furnish it. The charge for the controlled milk is 18 •ore per litre, .(about 2d), and for uncontrolled' 15 ore, a ; difference which, con-. sidering the infinitely superior guarantee as to ; purity given by the former, is not great, .-On. the estate -there is a - small hospital, for 'isolating, any case of infection© diseasq~ thatomay occur amongst the employees on the farm; .

The, 'methods adopted "by these two companies-are. being largely imitated- on the- Continent, s lii Berlin afip two/large milk, businesses.: Th.p Milch’ Kuransia.lt -of Herr Grub., is des.iguje.cL ,'to provide milk of, two.-. first-.quciHto--., for children and im-

Avoids. No cream, butter, or cheese is made. Stalls for 256 cows are provided; they are lofty and! well ventilated; the floor is made of cement, and the Avails, to a height of eight feet, are covered with white glazed porcelain tiles. Dried peat serves to absorb the excreta, and prevents any unpleasant smell. Only -such animals as come from the healthiest breeds (chiefly Swiss) are bought, and, as a rule, they are not kept for mors than one year. No animal is accepted without the district A’eterinary surgeon’s certificate as to its healthy condition; andjbefore its milk is utilised, it is placed in an obserAUtion stall for some days, under the control of the company’s own veterinary surgeon, who also regularly examines all the animals in the institution. As food stuffs, only hay from the Iwia Alps, and Avheat-meai are allowed. Brewers’ grain, \vrrious oil-cakes, and even grass are excluded. Before milking the udder is carefully washed and the milk is received into pails made out of one piece of metal with no' sharp angles. Great - stress is laid on the importance of removing as quickly as possible from the cowshed the milk that-is drawn, and therefore, as soon as 5 or 6 pails ar© full, they are removed, and the milk is. cooled doivu in a Lawrence cooler. The litre bottles, having previously been cleaned by washing in soda solution and brushing, c-.ro then filled, stoppered by a patent porcelain cap, stamped with a leaden stamp, and despatched to- the city tivice daily. A large business is. also done iu the preparation, of sterilised milk.

Th© other company in Berlin has between 30,000 and" 40,000 customers. JNo cows are kept on the ail the milk coining tivice dully to the central station from , the farmers Avith whom the company has mao.e contracts. Conditions. are imposed on these similar to those in foic-e in Copenhagen; also the company has its own veterinary surgeon. All the mnk x as soon as it arrives, is filtered through three layers of fine gravel. The amk is .sold in bottles, all sealed and 'stamped, and also from cans provided' with a tap, A large business is done by this company m the way of sterilised milk, cream, butter and cream cheese.

.From the abov® account it wifi be clearly seen that a muen needed reform in the retail milk trade hero, is the distribution of milk in sealed bofcties, so that no possible contamination can take place while it is in transit to tlie consumer.

Another point of importance is the primary necessity of a pure milk supply for infants and young children. The new regulations, when carried into effect, should produce, as one result, a loAvering of the Ingii death-rate of children under ©me year of age. Infants and young children are more susceptible to the attacks: of disease producing microbes than adults, therefore it is a matter of the greatest importance (especially since the birth-rate is falling.) that those infants who have to be ted. on cow’s milk should receive a pure supply. The New Zealand Lear Book for 1369- state's that 89 out of every 1060 male children and 70 out of every 1000 Q females born in this country die before attaining the age of one year. The high death rate of infants is, however, by no means to be entirely attributed to a contaminated milk-supply. Most probably the majority of deaths are caused to/ ignorance on the part of the mothers of the simple laws of health governing the functions of the digestive organs. Somehow, even so-called “"well-educated” women seem to regard milk as only a. drink, and not a food for infants. Good cow's milk is a perfect- food, and drink for infants (it requires to be diluted with two- parts water and! a little sugar added, for very young babies); it contains all that is necessary for the growth and development of a child’s body until it is eight or nine months old. Many mothers, persist in 'giving- their babies arrowroot, cornflour, etc., by so doing, they are, if not actually killing the child, ruining its digestive organs for life probably. In France the Government, despairing, of any increase in te birth-rate Of their land, are now endeavouring to save the lives of the few children that are born. Accordingly they have passed laws for-. bidding, under severe penalties, thegiving of solid food to infants'under one' year of age, unless it &e ordered by a; legally qualified doctor’s prescription, also forbidding nurses to use any feed- . ing-bottles with rubber tubes for infants. . . .to., Will the/New Zealand women realise their, responsibility to the nation in this matter, or-will it. be necessary'for the Government here to pass similar string-, ent laivs regarding ; the, feeding of infants ? M hen the more thoughtful women realise the importance for the present and future generations of the study, know-/ ledge and practice of the laws of health, they will perhaps band themselves into' a women's national health society, which, will take, as one of its chief duties, the spfiead of information amongst women of the proper, feeding of. infants and young children. The English Women’s" National Health Society, of which the late Duke of Westminster was the president.; do£k a great/ deal of useful work in thi i

direction, by means of lectures, classes and. th© pnoiicatnon of cheap pampniet-s written by competent authonoies.’' Vveil dees Jtieroert opencersay : —"jlxiio wieoge which subserves direct seif-preservation by preventing a, less of health is of primary importance. As vigorous health, and its accompanying high spirits are large elements or happiness, the teaching now to maintain them is a teaching that yields in moment to- no other whatever. Ls it not- monstrous that the fate of a new generation should be left to the chances of unreasoning custom, impulse, fancy —joined with the suggestion of ignorant nurses and the prejudiced counsel of grandmothers It should not be forgotten that good, cow’s nnik is a most valuable rood lor young children, as well as for infants. Though the price of milk is raised, a workingman, with, a limited income, will do more wisely to spend money in buying plenty or good milk for his children, than in purchasing many loaves of white bread and pounds or tea. He need not object to x>ay more for the milk, if be can depend on the supply being pure and good. " ' Many cases of disease caused by cow’a milk are not due to the dairyman’s carelessness, but to insanitary treatment of the milk after it has been given into the. householders charge. Ic is important that care should be exercised as to keeping and storing the milk m private houses, especially in small town houses, where no proper pantries are provided: In such cases, the milk is often placed in a dark ill-ventilated cupboard, winch, does duty as a pantry, or it is kept in. such a piace that bad smells from, drains, or sinks, or the dust from the street can gain access to it. Now milk is a very absorbent fluid, and is-quickly contaminated by bad gases, effluvia, or germs that are in the atmosphere. Milk’, should never be kept in a kitchen where there is a sink; in nine cases out of ten, the sink pip© smells badly, particularly in hot Aveather. In a case of typhoid in an English town, the milk boivl was kept on a shelf above the. sink, . the sink-pipe was in direct communication Avith a sew-age-drain \ATiich was in a most insani-, tary condition, in fact, quite blocked. As there were no other cases of typhoid near, and the sufferer, a child, Avas fed every day with, milk from this bowl, undobtedly this case of enteric, ivhiek came under the writer’s OAvrf observation, Avas caused by carelessness and ignorance in storing the milk supply in the house.

As soon as the milk has been taken - into the house from the . milkman :t should be boiled at once, and then kept in a safe, well-ventilated place. Also , all pans, jugs, or bowls used for boiling. . Or storing the milk should be carefully ; cleansed with very hot water and soda, and should invariably be washed first before greasy meat-plates, vegetable dishes, etc., the cloth used for washing should be clean and sAveet (it should be hitng out of doors after being used, and should never b© kept on or near the sink) and ; * not, as is so often the caseAn" all kit- 17 chens where there is a careless" mistress, ’ or still more earless domestics,- in a dirty ( and iil-smelling condition. It is letter// when possible, to keep a certain pan and bowls, solely for the milk, .White enamel pans and bowls, or china jugs, are the ° best-. . .."

The chemical / composition- of- milk \ changes when it stands for some time,-*] so it is ahvaysi better used as fresh hS-T possible.- Where much , coav’s: ■ milk ddsjfo used in a household/for children or in-’; valids, 'a supply from the milkman should • be taken twice daily. ' " ‘‘ " "d It wilL.be a glad day for sanitarians : when everyone agrees with” Sir James ” Crichton Browne,, who in a lecture cii / “th© Prevention.. of Consumption” . to a ‘ deeply-interested audience ,of thousands,/' including many workingmen and women, at Liverpool/ during a Sanitary Institute Congress., said : —“I would. as soon, tliink: of eating raw 'meat- -as' -of drinking - an-. boiled milk I” - • /"