PASTEURISATION

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18235, 2 November 1933, Page 6

PASTEURISATION

GISBORNE MILK SUPPLIES i'RACTK ‘H DISCONTINUED OFFICIAL HEALTH REPORT 1 "In Gisborne, this bactenologuWcontrol revealed the failure of tioii to maintain consistently good results,” states Dr. H. B. Turbott, medical officer of health at Gisborne, in his official report on the bacteriological control of milk supplies in the East Cape health district. The bacteriological control, the excellent results of which were reviewed in the Herald some months ago, superseded the sedimentation test five years ago, and showed a very large proportion of vendors’ milks to be within the highest English standard. After referring to results from a pasteurisation plant not now in operation, and asserting that several "good group” producers under continuous control had beyii able to market consistently better quality milk, Dr. Turbott states: "The moral is easily read: Pasteurisation is an excellent safeguard against disease; it must lie efficient, however, and should lie hacteriologically controlled." The report also indicated that it was possible, from bacteriological results, to indicate the presence of diseased cows. For instance, an Opotiki result led to the culling out of two mammitis cows from the herd on the same day as the discovery was made. “Finally,” the report concluded, “after four years and a-half of bacteriological control, the raw milks of Gisborne Borough can be classified through monthly samples as follows: —10,COO colonies or less, 13 per cent; 10,000 to 39.090 colonies, 35 per cent.; 30,000 to 100.000 colonies, 29 per cent.; 100,000 to 205.000 colonies, 9 per cent.; 209.000 to 500.000 colonies, 7 per cent.; 500.000 to 1.0C0,005 colonies, 2 per cent.; 1,000,000 colonies and over, 5 per cent. “This should be very encouraging to both health and agricultural departments’ instructors and to the milk suppliers themselves, when it is remembered that the English milk order nominated 30,0 CG and 200.000 colonies per cubic centimetre as the level of ‘certified’ and ‘grade A tuberculin-tested’ respectively. There is no doubt that the bacteriological laboratory is invaluable to a medical officer of health attempting the control and improvement of milk supplies.”