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29
It is evident that alteration in the law in this respect is
urgently needed.
It should be remembered that, as a rule, most milk
is consumed either by infants or invalids, to whom, of
course, in both cases the quality and purity of the milk
is of prime importance.
Bacteria develop in milk with extreme facility, and
some of these bacteria may originate in unhealthy cows,
whilst others come from an extraneous source, such as
the air, the fingers of the milkers, or the water used for
cleansing the vessels. These organisms multiply rapidly
when introduced into the digestive system of, in
particular, children, and give rise to serious disturbances,
such as diarrhœa, and more particularly to
the infantile summer diarrhœa, which is so prevalent
during the hot weather, and so fatal to children. This
disease is caused by an organism which multiplies
prodigiously in milk. Milk should, therefore, remain
absolutely unaltered from the time of milking to the
time of using, in addition to which no opportunity
for the admission of any germ should be afforded.
Cooling the milk does not destroy either the pathogenic
or non-pathogenic germs, but heat, such as is
used in pasteurisation or sterilisation, is of material
value. In the process of pasteurisation the liquid
should be heated once to 50° C. and then rapidly cooled ;
this method enables the milk being sent long distances
if properly sealed down. It retards the multiplication,
but does not kill the organisms normally found in milk,
while sterilisation of milk is achieved by heating the