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104
DAIRIES, COWSHEDS, AND MILKSHOPS "ORDERS."
There are now 581 purveyors of milk registered in the City of London
under the Dairies, Cowsheds, and Milkshops "Orders," as compared with
567 in 1905—an increase of 14. Ninety.eight of those on the Register are
foreigners.
In the course of the year the sale of milk was discontinued at 20 premises,
and the owners' names removed from the Register, 34 new premises were
added, and 46 changes in ownership, necessitating re.registration, occurred.
The whole of the premises where milk is sold within the City are periodically
and systematically inspected, and a great improvement in the conditions
under which milk is sold to the consumer has been effected since the revised
regulations for milkshops, &c., in the City became operative in September,
1903. In no case has there been occasion to take action owing to lack of
cleanliness of vessels or utensils, and in one case only was milk found
deposited in a coverless vessel; in this instance the owner's attention was
directed to the matter, and a cover was at once provided.
There is, however, a good deal of carelessness on the part of employes,
&c., in failing to re.close the lids of milk pans after serving customers, and
thereby exposing the contents of the vessels to contamination from dust and
other impurity. In 28 cases of such neglect no less than 20 of the offenders
were foreigners. In all cases cautionary letters were sent to the offenders.
Only one case of infectious disease (scarlet fever) was notified in a shop
occupied by a registered purveyor of milk.
In this case there being no efficient means of isolation, the occupier was
required to either remove the child (to which the parents had previously
objected) or to cease the business of milk purveyor, in accordance with the
Regulation No. 20 for the conduct of milk stores and milk shops, viz.: —
"20.—Every purveyor of milk, or person selling milk by retail, shall,
"immediately on such outbreak coming to his knowledge, remove all milk for
"sale, and all utensils for containing milk for sale, from such building ; and shall
"cease to keep milk for sale or to sell milk in such building until the same has
"been disinfected and declared by the Medical Officer of Health for the City of
"London to be free from infection."
Faced with this alternative, the parents placed no further obstacles in the
way of the removal of the child to hospital, where it subsequently made
a good recovery.