View report page

1929
12
shops, but in view of the changed conditions, it is doubtful if it
can uphold the view that nothing but articles of food shall be sold
in a shop registered for the sale of milk. In 1923, the conditions
under which milk was stored and distributed were such that it was
considered unsafe to allow such distribution to take in general
shops. But the conditions have entirely changed in the last 10
years. For years public health authorities have been urgent in
their demands for a pure milk supply, and they are still asking
for many improvements, but it is no exaggeration to state that
the methods of production and distribution of milk have in recent
years produced a quiet revolution. I do not think this has
been mainly due to the action of public health authorities, because
their powers were limited, but it has been brought about largely
by the pressure of economic factors. The methods of production
and distribution of milk which had been general in the past not
only retarded the growth of the consumption of milk but were also
responsible for very serious losses. These losses to the milk industry
through souring alone, have been enormous. It would be
interesting to know the relative loss to wholesalers and retailers
through souring, say in the hot summer of 1911 and last year
which also was a dry, hot year. Whatever the causes, changes
have taken place and the old taunt that milk was undiluted sewage
no longer applies. The improvement has taken place in all directions,
from the udder of the cow to the feeding bottle and milk
jug.
The changes with which we are more directly concerned are
those in the methods of storage and distribution. Formerly the
milk to the houses was carried through the streets in churns, and
measured out into jugs. The filling of the jugs was necessarily
done in the open street and the milk was liable to contamination
by dust or any other material.
The churns were cleaned by the retailer and his facilities
were not always of a superior kind.
In the shops the milk was kept in a large china receptacle
and the latter was sometimes covered and sometimes uncovered.
The retailer did not always have at hand sufficient quantities of
hot water or steam for cleansing purposes.
These methods of distribution have almost entirely disappeared.
Most of the milk to the houses is delivered in sealed
bottles, and in the shops a large quantity of milk is sold in sealed
bottles. In some milk shops, milk is still being sold out of a
china receptacle.
The distribution in bottles is a great advance on the old
method, but it is not ideal, and some of its disadvantages have
already become apparent.
The cost, because of breakages is great, and for soem