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41
Many of these seem prepared to accept pasteurising as the entire
remedy, irrespective of the original condition of the milk before
treatment. Given the advantages of the process, it is cssenti;
that it should be realised that it should be only one step in the
attempt to produce a safe milk. Production of milk should be
compared with large scale furnishing of water. In that, the water
shed is inspected and kept, as clean as possible and then the wate
is filtered or purified before being passed on to the consumer
This double process of prevention of contamination and of subsequent
purification should be applied to milk. Milk should be
produced from healthy cattle kept under cleanly conditions
maintained so by systematic inspection so that the milk before
entering the pasteurising plant has the minimum of bacteria
and organic pollution. The issue then is not pasteurisation as
opposed to or as a substitute for the production of milk under
cleanly conditions, but that pasteurisation is fitted in as one step
in the process which results in the sale of a safe product. Pasteurising
docs not result in sterilisation. It effects only a percentage
reduction of bacteria and is much less effective when the milk
contains organic matter.
Pasteurisation has probably already been a factor militating
against the production of clean milk. In the absence of pasteurisation
and since the prohibition of the addition of preservatives to
milk, long distance transport could have been effected only of
milk with the minimum of contamination.
Even pasteurised milk is not absolutely without its dangers.
The Montreal outbreak of Tvphoid Fever in 1927 showed the risks
of dealing with milk on a large scale. Infection of milk by the
small producer results in a localised outbreak. Infection of the
issued article from a plant supplying a large area can give rise to a
very extensive outbreak.
Two samples of "Pasteurised milk" submitted for analysis
showed units of 122,000 and 1,850,000 organisms per c.c.
Distribution in bottles, which is an essential feature of the
pasteurised milk, has certain disadvantages, particularly the risk
of infection of the bottles. Overworked cleansing plants do no
always result in an absolutely clean bottle and multiplication"
any pathogenic organisms in milk as a culture medium might
easily reach a dangerous dose. This disadvantage can be remove
by distributing the milk in non-returnable containers.
One retailer had, during the year, a number of doubtful
samples, some of which suggested udder trouble in some cows
the herd. The supply was from a number of producers. For the
worst of them the contract was not renewed. In July a count was