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Environmental Health 83
Tuberculosis is not a matter of great concern at present, as all herds are now free from the disease;
brucellosis, however, is of extreme public health importance when untreated milk is consumed. In
view of this, and the possibility that farm workers and their families will be supplied with raw milk
direct from the farm, samples are regularly taken from all the supplying farms in the borough and
submited 10 the Public Helth Laboratry For examination.

The number of dairy farms within the borough remains the same—19. The hygiene of milk
production on the farm is a responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
Milk Distribution
It is essential to ensure that there is no post-treatment contamination of milk supplies and so
churns and bottles washed at the processing plants have been examined bacteriologically to assess the
effectiveness of the washing process.
Samples taken at supply points in catering establishments have proved disappointing. Of a total
of 41 samples, 23 were unsatisfactory. The method of storage is to some extent at fault, but the greatest
source of contamination appears to be from unsatisfactory handling—this is illustrated by the table
below.

Failure to comply with the manufacturer's recommendations for cleaning undoubtedly accounted
for the very high percentage of unsatisfactory results obtained from refrigerated dispensers. When the
cleaning of this equipment was properly carried out under supervision, satisfactory results were obtained.
The use of disposable packs would be a ready solution to this problem, but unfortunately, at the
moment, cost weighs against their use.
Cream
Whilst the bacteriological safety of milk is safeguarded by statutory requirements, the same does
not apply to cream. However, samples of cream were submitted to assess the degree of cleanliness of
preparation and packing and the correctness of storage and stock rotation. The tests applied were the