USE OF MILK.

Waikato Times, Volume 116, Issue 19353, 5 September 1934, Page 9

USE OF MILK.

KEEN PUBLIC INTEREST. EFFECTS ON HEALTH. IMPORTANCE IN NUTRITION. “It is an interesting, but none the less desirable, manifestation of the times that keen public interest has recently been aroused in schemes aimed at Increasing the consumption of milk and milk products by the community,” states the DirectorGeneral of Health, Dr. M. H. Watt, in his annual report, tabled in the House of Representatives. "For many years the Health Department has drawn attention to the fact that the consumption of milk in New Zealand falls far short of what is desirable, and that the increased use of milk a 3 a food would be of great benefit, particularly in the case of children. Successful demonstrations have been given, here as elsewhere, of the practicability and value of large-scale methods of distributing milk to children in the school. “These demonstrations, which have been carried out under the general supervision and direction of the School Medical Service, have been rendered possible by the activities of organisations sucli as the Smith Family, the Red Cross, Rotary, etc., to whom the utmost credit is due for their generosity: At the present time, particularly, this supplementary milk ration has proved of great benefit in reducing any tendency towards under-nutrition amongst school children. Milk is a unique food and occupies a particularly important place in the dietary. This is due alike to the high quality of its proteins, to the presence of vitamin A and D in its generous store of easily assimilable fats, and to the large amounts of salts, particularly lime and phosphorus, which it contains. These are the constituents which have earned for milk the name of a ‘protective food’. "Unfortunately milk is a favourable medium for the growth of microorganisms pathogenic to man, and outbreaks of disease have occasionally been associated with its use. These outbreaks, it should be made clear, are due to faulty methods of milk production and milk handling, and can be obviated by suitable means. New' Zealand compares not unfavourably with other countries in respect of the wholesomeness of its milk supply, and milk-borne diseases do not figure with undue prominence In our health records. Indeed, so far as tuberculosis, perhaps the most dreaded of milk-borne diseases, is concerned, New Zealand appears in a particularity favourable light. In any case, in pasteurisation we have a proved and highly effective method of making milk safe. “To sum up, then, it can be said—“l. Milk is a most important food, and should occupy an important place in the dietary. “2. The consumption of milk in New Zealand (rather less than half a pint per head per day) is far below what is- desirable. Every child should have at least one pint, and, preferably, one and a half pints daily. Every adult should have at least half a pint, and preferably one pint, daily. “3. Raw milk Is occasionally infected, either from the cow or from human beings, with micro-organisms that are pathogenic to man. “4. Milk may be rendered safe by some form of heat treatment. Of the various forms available low-tempera-ture pasteurisation appears to be the most satisfactory, as, efficiently carried out, it destroys all pathogenic micro-organisms without any appreciable impairment of the nutritive qualities of the milk. “5. Pasteurisation is not to be regarded as a substitute for cleanliness in the production and handling of milk. The Ideal is pasteurisation superimposed as an additional precautionary measure on milk which has been produced from a healthy herd by liealthy milkers under hygienic conditions. "G. Where pasteurisation is not practicable the householder can make the' milk safe by boiling it immediately before use."-