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outbreak of infectious or contagious disease within the building
or upon the premises in which he keeps milk, or amongst the
persons employed in his business, to give notice of such outbreak
to the Board ; . . . , to remove all milk for sale,
and all utensils for containing milk for sale, from such building;
and to 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 District to be free from
infection." The Regulations further provide for the preservation
of milk from contamination by " gases or effluvia arising
from sewers, drains, gullies, cesspools, or closets, or by any
offensive effluvia from putrid or offensive substances," etc.
We learn from the Board's Annual Report that since the
Order of 1879 came into operation, to the end of 1887, upwards
of 26,800 registrations, or transfers of registrations, have been
effected, and that there are now some 9,000 registered premises
in the Metropolis, including' those of about 750 cowkeepers
who keep nearly 10,000 cows. In the larger dairies and milk
stores, it is stated, " much improvement has taken place, and
they are generally in a satisfactory condition;" while in the
small shops where milk is sold, " there has been considerable
improvement in point of cleanliness, and in the separation from
the place of storage of substances likely to contaminate the
milk."
It is a fact, which may be considered satisfactory or otherwise,
that proceedings under the Dairies Order had to be taken
in nine cases only during the year, after 7,506 inspections of
cowsheds and 15,216 inspections of dairies, milk stores, and milk
3hops—viz., in two cases for keeping cows on unlicensed
premises, and in two cases for breaches of the regulations as to
cowsheds ; in two cases against persons who carried on the sale
of milk without complying with the Order as to registration,
and in three cases for neglect of the regulations applying to
dairies. In many instances, however, letters and cautions were
sent to occupiers of registered premises.