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62
Dr. J. L. Van Ryn, Rijkslandbouwconsulent der Nederlanden
Netherland Agricultural Commissioner Voor Groot-Britannie en Ireland,
for Great Britain and Ireland. 50, Mount Park Road,
Ealing, London.
The Medical Officer of Health, 5th December, 1912.
Port of London, Greenwich.
Sir,
I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 3rd instant, and note
with great pleasure that the difficulties with regard to condensed milk are now
removed.
I may add that I fully agree with the recommendations made by you, and
that I will take the necessary steps to give effect to them.
Our only desire is to supply this market with foodstuffs to which no
reasonable objections can be raised, and you can rest assured that I shall always
be pleased to co-operate with you to obtain that result.
I am, Sir,
Your obedient Servant,
(Signed) J. J. L. VAN RYN,
Agricultural Commissioner to the
Netherlands Government.
The position is one of some difficulty. There is, on the one hand, the protection
of the public, especially the infant life, and on the other there is the interference with a
large trade, but there is no doubt that the milk should be sterilised before being
canned, which would lessen any risk to the health of infants.
The following is Dr. Andrewes' report in full detail :—
REPORT ON CONDENSED MILKS.
On 31st October, 1912, I received from Dr. Williams a tin of condensed milk. He
stated that he had reason to suspect its quality.
I found the sediment of this milk to consist largely of polynuclear leucocytes with
large numbers of staphylococci and hardly any other microbes. The appearance of the
stained film so strongly suggested pus that I felt no hesitation in condemning the
sample.
During the following few days Dr. Williams sent me further samples of machine
skimmed condensed milks. I found them all to contain an abundance of polynuclear
leucocytes and staphylococci, and they seemed equally worthy of condemnation. It
appeared later that all the milks emanated from the same factory under different names.
Shortly afterwards I received further samples of similar milks. These also were
found to present much the same characters, though the abundance of polynuclear
leucocytes and staphylococci was not quite so marked as in the former brands, so that,
though with some misgiving, I did not feel justified in condemning them off-hand
as I had condemned the other samples.