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
Kensington 1933
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
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45
Milk (Special Designations) Order, 1923.—Under the Order the council are authorised to grant
licences to persons other than producers to sell milk under special designations. Every licence
granted is valid for a period ending on the 31st December in the year in respect of which it is granted.
The Order lays down a schedule of fees to be paid by applicants for licences.
The licences granted in 1933 were as follows:—
(a) Dealers' licences to use the designation " Certified Milk " 12
(b) Dealers' licences to use the designation " Grade A (Tuberculin Tested)
Milk" 18
(c) Dealers' licences to use the designation " Pasteurised Milk " 42
In all but five cases the licences were granted for the purpose of authorising the dealers to sell
specially designated milk from shops within the borough. No application was made for a licence
to set up a pasteurising establishment within the borough.
During the year, twenty.four samples of " Certified Milk," seven of " Grade A (Tuberculin
Tested) Milk," and sixteen of " Pasteurised Milk " were taken for the purpose of ascertaining whether
they complied with the bacteriological standards laid down in the Milk (Special Designations) Order,
which are as follows :—
Maximum number of
Special grade of milk. bacteria permitted per c.c. Standard for bacillus coli.
" Certified Milk " 30,000 Must not be found in one.
tenth c.c.
" Grade A. (Tuberculin Tested) Milk " 200,000 Must not be found in one.
hundredth c.c.
" Pasteurised Milk " 100,000 No standard prescribed.
The results of the examinations, together with the action taken, are shown in the following tables:-
| Sample collectionon | Bacteria per1 c.c. | Coli per1/10th c.c. | Sample collectionon | Bacteria per1 c.c. | Coli per1/10th c.c. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28th March | 600 | Nil. | 9th August ... | 27,800 | Nil. |
| 4th April | 500 | „ | „ „ | 770 | Present. |
| 11th „ | 280 | „ | 15th „ | 690 | Nil. |
| 9th May | 310 | „ | „ „ | 1,150 | „ |
| „ „ | 270 | „ | 19th September | 960 | „ |
| 13th June | 200 | „ | „ „ | 470 | „ |
| „ | 570 | „ | 26th | 180 | „ |
| 20th „ | 820 | „ | „ „ | 3,100 | „ |
| 12th July | 580 | „ | 10th October ... | 360 | „ |
| „ „ | 220 | „ | „ „ | 500 | „ |
| 18th „ | 1,880 | „ | 14th November | 360 | „ |
| 31st „ | 570 | „ | „ „ | 3,500 | „ |
The results in each case were forwarded to the Minister of Health, who grants the licences to
producers.
" Grade A (Tuberculin Tested) Milk."
Bacteria Coli per
Sample collected on per 1 c.c. l/100th c.c.
26th April 210 Nil.
420
31st July 1,740
12th September 310 „
13th „ 540
17th October 230 „
31st „ 1,360
| Sample collected on | Bacteria per 1 c.c. | Sample collected on | Bacteria per 1 c.c. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28th March | Plates un | 18th July | 4,480 |
| countable | 12th September | 61,000 | |
| owing to | 3rd October | 3,100 | |
| spreading | „„ | 29,600 | |
| organisms. | 28th November | 27,000 | |
| 4th April | Do. | „„ | 1,800 |
| 11th „ | 10,000 | 13th December | 4,800 |
| 16th May | 2,500 | „„ | 1,000 |
| „„ | 5,100 | ||
| 30th „ | 7,500 |
With one exception, every sample of graded milk came within the standards prescribed in the
Order. With the exception of two certified " and three " pasteurised " samples, the results show
that these designated milks were of a very high degree of purity. The council have for some years
taken firm action with a view to securing a high degree of purity in designated milks, and it must be
gratifying to note the extraordinary improvements over previous years which the results for 1933
show.