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48
In the quarterly report received from the Public
Analyst, eight samples are shown to be deficient in fat
during the past quarter.
In the majority of instances "Appeal to the Cow" sampling
has shown either that the milk was of the same quality as
delivered, or if of a better quality, an explanation could
be offered which would be likely to be accepted by a Court.
The effect is that the public are receiving milk which,
though genuine, is nevertheless of a poor quality. This
position is borne out by figures quoted in an article by
the Chief Analyst to one of the largest distributors, who
quotes figures for milk analyses during the past fifty years,
showing a deterioration in quality illustrated by the
following figures:-
Period Adjusted
weighted averages
Fat S.N.F
1900-05 3.78 9.05
1906-10 3.70 9.13
1911-15 3.74 9.10
1916-20 3.80 9.20
1921-25 3.76 9.18
1926-30 3.81 9.09
1931-35 3.74 8.98
1936-40 3.72 8.96
1941-45 3.67 8.85
1946-50 3.62 8.74
Figures for samples taken in Kensington by the
Council's Sampling Officer show the same general tendency.
This is shown in the following table, which covers a
period of twenty-five years, omitting the war years.
Fat S.N.F
1926-30 3.66 8.78
1931-35 3.65 8.88
1936-40 3.59 8.81
1946-50 3.52 8.8
It is well recognised that the quality of milk is
influenced by such factors as the breed of cattle, the
feeding, the milking times and the time of year, and modern
tendencies are in the direction of using herds which produce
a large quantity of milk which in many instances is of a
low fat and/or low solids-not-fat content.
The position has been examined by a Working Party on
Quality Milk Production, among whose members consumers as
such do not appear to have had any noticeable representation.
In a recently published Report they state that there has been
some deterioration in the composition in milk in England and
Wales over the past thirty years and that the decline in
solids-not-fat has been more marked than that in fat.
The Working Party considered that there was evidence to
suggest that the decline had been arrested at least in some
areas. Nevertheless, milk of poor compositional quality is
still being produced throughout the year by too many producers.
In the early spring and occasionally at other seasons,
substantial quantities of milk in many parts of England and
Wales fall below the presumptive minimum standards. There is,