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99
1. Constant dipping and manipulation.
2. Dust from the air.
3. Flies.
If a pan of milk is exposed to the dusty air of a small general
provision shop, as it is in 180 shops in Finsbury, for from two to
twelve hours, it gains an almost incredible amount of dust and dirt.
A frequent use of the dipper must inevitably convey some small
quantity of dust into the milk. But this is unavoidable, and a negligible
quantity. Exposure to dusty atmosphere for a number of hours
carries into the milk much more, and flies are responsible for a
third dose of filth. I entered a milk shop in the Borough only recently
and found nine flies in the milk pan. The pan was nearly empty
and the vendor had occasion to empty it while I was in the
shop, and it was easy to show him a black deposit of dirt at
the bottom of his pan. Flies are responsible for a great deal of
the pollution of milk. They pass from putrifying animal and
vegetable matter in the street to the nearest milk pan and deposit in
the milk the filth attaching to their bodies, mandibles, wings, and
legs. It is thus that typhoid fever infection was spread in the
Spanish-American War and in the South African War. It is thus
that every kind of objectionable filth finds its way into unprotected
vessels of milk. There are only 60 (or 16 per cent, of the total)
shops in Finsbury where the milk is protected from such pollution.
Cleanliness of Utensils.—I am glad to report that the matter
of cleanliness of vessels receives increasing attention of milksellers
in Finsbury. As a result of this enquiry it appears that in
five shops only were the milk pans, milk cans, and other similar
utensils absolutely dirty. In 204 shops the vessels used were fairly
clean, and in 12 instances they were " thoroughly clean " and in
every way beyond criticism. The importance of this matter cannot
be overstated. At a, moderate computation some 8,000 milk vessels
are used daily in the Borough. Any dust or dirt which they contain
will naturally pass into the milk supply. Fifty-two shops use housecans
in their trade. These vary in size from half-a-pint to one
quart, and it appears that 7,579 of them are in daily use. Milk is
*American War Department, Official Report, 1900; British Medical Journal,
1901, vol. i., pp. 642, 770 ; and 1902, vol. ii., 936.