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146
food and drugs authorities, and arrangements with the pharmaceutical
industry for the suitable labelling of antibiotic preparations.
It reminds farmers of the need for withholding the milk
from treated animals for the requisite period and informs interested
authorities of its efforts in the publicity field.
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 99, an increase
of one over that for 1963.
On 84 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, 1963.—These
regulations, fully operative from the 1st October, 1964, re-enact,
with amendments, The Milk (Special Designation) Regulations,
1960. The principal features of the new Regulations are that: —
(i) from the 1st October, 1964, "Untreated" will replace
"Tuberculin Tested" as the special designation for raw
milk. The provisions of the Regulations enabling producers'
and dealers' licences to use the special designation
"Untreated' to be applied for and issued will come