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70
Environmental Health
Untreated milk, that is milk which has not been subjected to heat treatment, is supplied from
two sources within the Borough, both of which supply milk to members of the Jewish faith.
A farmer outside the Borough also sells untreated milk within the Borough and one factory
canteen uses this grade of milk for catering purposes.
The Regulations specify the tests which milk shall satisfy and samples for this purpose are taken
and submitted to the Public Health Laboratory for examination.
Samples of milk are also taken for examination by the Public Analyst to determine composition
in accordance with the provisions of the Food and Drugs Act 1955, and this is dealt with later in
the report.
Regular sampling of "untreated" milk is undertaken from the 14 farms in the Borough. These
samples are examined in the department's laboratory for composition and submitted to the Public
Health Laboratory Service for the T.T.C. Test (Triphenyltetrazolium Chloride) to determine the
presence or absence of antibiotics and for bacteriological examination—in particular for the presence
of the organism Brucella abortus.

All milk which gave a positive result to the ring test was re-directed to processing plants for
heat treatment and producers warned of the risk in supplying their employees with the suspect milk.
As the ring test is only a screening test, positive results are followed up by guinea-pig tests. If a
positive reaction is obtained to this test the farmer is advised and the affected cows are invariably
removed from the herd and in most cases sent for slaughter.
Milk Processing
The two milk processing plants operating within the Borough are concerned solely with the
pasteurization of milk. Regular inspections of the premises and plant were carried out and all samples
of the processed milk were found to be satisfactory.

Milk Distribution and Dispensing
It is important to ensure that milk, having been properly processed, is correctly handled and
treated so as to prevent post-treatment contamination. The main problem is the dispensing of milk
at catering premises.