View report page

64
We frequently have complaints that milk is deficient in fat,
but invariably when a sample is taken, the milk is found to Contain
more than the legal minimum of 3 per cent, of cream.
The effect of pasteurization on the vitamins in milk is important.
Milk contains three vitamins—the fat soluble A vitamin, the water
soluble B vitamin, and the anti-scurvy vitamin C. The two former
have a relatively high resistance .to heat so that pasteurization has
Practically no effect upon them. The anti-scurvy vitamin C,
however, is sensitive to heat above 122° F., and there seems to be
little doubt that pasteurization at 145° F. for thirty minutes
Weakens the anti-scorbutic property of milk.
The ideal milk, of course, would be that obtained from perfectly
healthy cows under the cleanest conditions and consumed immediately
with the least possible manipulation or handling, and
certified milk complies with. these conditions, but the cost of
Producing such a milk places it beyond the reach of most people.
The great advantage of pasteurization is that it confers its
benefits without any serious disadvantages such as appreciable
impairment of appearance, taste, flavour, or nutritive value.
It is generally admitted that a great improvement has recently
occurred in the conditions under which milk is being produced and
distributed. Not only is the milk cleaner, but adulteration is far
less frequent than it used to be. The result is seen in the increasing
consumption of raw milk. Five years ago, dried milk was rapidly
puscing raw milk, especially in infant feeding. But there are
Hidications that liquid milk is gaining in popularity, and the sale
of dried milk is not advancing and increasing to the extent which
it did a decade ago.
A great deal of propaganda work for the increasing consumption
°f milk has been done, but it was pointed out by Medical Officers
°f Health that the best means of propaganda was by the production
°f a cleaner and purer article.
It is admitted that milk is not only a valuable food, but also a
cheap one, and for young children it was almost indispensable.
But so long as the conditions under which it was produced and
distributed were unsatisfactory, the increasing use of milk could
not be expected. The conditions have improved, and the money
spenc on the improvement is proving a good investment to those
concerned.