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41
Apart from the retail of milk from premises in the district, a certain
amount is sold here from premises outside the area. Pasteurised milk
is so supplied from eight premises and tuberculin tested milk from five.
The number of dairymen retailing raw milk in the loose state from
premises in Harrow is three.
Before the war, to a growing extent, milk was sold in sealed containers
from a number of small stores, the sale of milk being quite a
subsidiary line to the main activities of the shop. The objections to
this practice were perhaps more on aesthetic than on sanitary grounds,
as of course it was a condition that the milk should remain in its sealed
container. In such circumstances a dairyman was not required to be
registered under the Milk and Dairies Regulations. During the war the
practice declined to very small proportions, and at present there are only
five premises from which milk is sold in this way.
Sampling.
The laboratory examination of milk, as distributed to the homes of
the consumer, is a useful index of its state. It was the practice then, at
intervals, to take routine samples for analysis. These would be taken
more in the warmer than in the colder weather, and special attention
was paid to the milk produced locally. Any unsatisfactory sample
would be followed by an investigation of the cause, and, on the taking
of those steps considered necessary, further samples would be taken
until a series of good samples obtained, from which it would be assumed
that the trouble leading to the unsatisfactory state had been overcome.
It has been possible to carry out far less of this sampling in the war years.
Gn the other hand there has been less necessity for sampling at the former
frequency, as reports are received regularly of the results of analyses of
samples taken by the County War Agricultural Committee. Local
sampling is now fitted in to alternate with that of the County.
Last year, of the 11 samples of pasteurised milk, two proved unsatisfactory,
failing to pass the phosphatase test. Of the two samples
of tuberculin tested pasteurised milk, one similarly failed to pass the
phosphatase test (this was from the same firm as supplied one of the
failures of the pasteurised milk sample). The single samples of raw milk
and of tuberculin tested milk were both satisfactory.
Supervision.
It is one of the duties of the sanitary inspector to see that the milk
supplied to the householder is of satisfactory quality. He exercises
supervision over its production, seeing to the sanitation of the premises
and to the soundness of the routine adopted. In such an area as this,
though, where so little milk is produced locally, his activities are directed
more to the methods of distribution, though, of course, he exercises
supervision of the pasteurising process. Routine visits are paid to all
premises where milk is handled and any irregularity corrected. Thus
the results of the analysis of samples submitted to laboratory examination
might point to the need of a correction of some process. Above
this, though, is the investigation of all complaints about the unsatisfactory
state of milk as delivered, or about its poor keeping qualities. For some
time past complaints have not been uncommon about the condition of