London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Dagenham 1928
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Dagenham]
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32
dairymen were registered, of whom 5 remain. 5 of the 15
registered in 1923 remain as part of the 26 registered in 1928
From 1926 to 1928, 2 cowkeepers and retailers have moved ou;
of the district, 1 cowshed has been demolished, 3 cowshed;
have been discontinued and 1 cowshed has changed hands
2 retailers have discontinued and 4 retailers have been absorbed
by a Company. In 1928, 2 retailers were absorbed, 1 cowshed
discontinued, and of the 2 cowsheds proposed, 1 proposal was
abandoned.
Milk Sampling.
During the year 130 milk samples were analysed. The following table shows the results of the analysis of the 108 samples of ordinary milk, divided into those produced on a small scale (subdivided according as to whether or not produced in this district) and those on a large scale.
| No of Bacteria. per c.c. | Small Dealers. | Large Scale | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local produce. | Not local. | Satisfactory | NOT | |||
| Satisfactory | NOT | Satisfactory | NOT | |||
| Under 30,000 | 5 | 8 | - | 3 | — | |
| 30,000 to 200,000 | 19 | 3 | 27 | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| 200,000 to 500,000 | — | 2 | 3 | 6 | — | 2 |
| Over 500,000 | — | 5 | — | 7 | — | 2 |
Standards now in operation under the Milk (Special Designations)
Order, 1923, for the various classes of milk are that
the number of Bacteria per c.c. shall not exceed, in the case
of Certified milk 30,000 (with no B. Coli in .1 c.c.), Grade "A
milk 200,000 (no B. Coli in .01 c.c.), for Pasteurised milk
100,000. In the table those considered unsatisfactory in spite
of small counts are due to causes such as excessive numbers
of B. Coli indicating excremental contamination, presence of
cells suggesting mastitis, ctc.
It can be seen that the small producers without any
elaborate plant compare more than favourably with the large
scale dealers; also that it is reasonable to expect any of them
to have a count below 200,000, viz.: that of Grade "A
milk.
The present system of milk sampling is to take all in turn,
but where a bad or doubtful result is obtained, to follow that
up with another to ensure that steps have been taken to remedy
the fault. This results in some cases of another poor sampleincreasing
the proportion o't the unsatisfactory ones in the
table.