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Foods containing any preservative not permitted by the Regulations
may be considered as unfit for human consumption.
During the current year in Circulars 1/62, 3/62, 8/62 and
12/62 the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has approved the use of specified chemicals as alternatives to steam or boiling
water in the cleansing of vessels used for storage or conveyance of
milk and for the purposes of the Public Health (Imported Food)
Regulations, 1937/48. certificates in respect of South Africa and
South West Africa were officially recognised.
Milk
Milk consists of approximately 87% of water holding proteins,
sugar, vitamins and certain salts in solution, has an average specific
gravity of 1.032 and has suspended in it finely divided globules of
fat to which it owes its whiteness. Normally milk contains 3% fat
and 8-5% solids-not-fat; it freezes at about—0.53°C. and its
chemical composition is subject to variation on a number of counts
such as the season and time of milking, the breed of cow, type of
feeding, etc. Milk as drawn aseptically from a healthy cow, contains few bacteria but as it forms an excellent medium for the
growth of organisms every precaution should be taken to prevent
its contamination. It is, therefore, to be expected that this commodity is one which is sampled extensively during the year.
Milk Supply.—The supply of milk continues to be under the
direction of the Milk Marketing Board, who, in this connection, act
as agents to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The
greater proportion of the milk which enters the Borough originates
from the Home Counties and the remainder which is of a higher fat
content, arrives from Devon and the Channel Islands.
Milk and Dairies (General) Regulations, 1959.—Under the
provisions of these Regulations each person retailing milk in the
Borough must be registered as a Distributor. The number of
Distributors registered at the end of the year was 112, an increase
of 3 over 1961.
On 52 occasions the premises of distributors and dairies were
visited other than for sampling purposes, and defects, when detected
were remedied as and when necessary.
The Milk (Special Designation) Regulations, 1960.—These
regulations, operative from the 1st October, 1960, replaced and
consolidated, with amendments, The Milk (Special Designation)
(Raw Milk) Regulations, 1949-1954 and the Milk (Special Designation) (Pateurised and Sterilised Milk) Regulations, 1949-1953.
All milk now sold in the Borough has been Sterilised, Pasteurised