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Detailed instructions are laid down with regard to the method of carrying
out the bacteriological examination but unfortunately there are no regulations
as to the method of obtaining the sample from a churn. The results of the
bacteriological examination are useless if the sample is not properly taken,
ihe Ministry of Health in reply to a question as to methods of sampling
stated "that the question of the method of plunging or mixing the milk
prior to a sample being taken is one for the consideration of Local Authorities
and the Courts and the Minister has no power to prescribe any method for this
purpose."
With regard to the magistrate's second point, the Regulations read as
follows:—
"On collection the bottles must be transferred forthwith to a
carrying-case and well packed in ice, and must be kept in this condition
until plated at the laboratory. (This precaution may be dispensed with
only if the bacteriologist considers it unnecessary on account of the
proximity of the laboratory to the place in which the samples are
collected)."
The magistrate disregarded the bracketed portion of the above paragraph.
This clause is important as it is clear, from the Regulations, that packing
in ice is only necessary when the sample has to be dispatched by train or
other means to a laboratory which is some distance from the farm or dairy
where the sample is taken. In reply to a request for a ruling on this point
the Ministry of Health stated that if the sample is taken locally, the principle
to be observed was that the milk at the time of examination should be in
approximately the same condition as the remainder of the consignment when
delivered to the consumer and under such circumstances no special precautions
such as the packing of the sample in ice should be necessary.
In a similar case at Camberwell where the same wholesaler was summoned
for selling pasteurised milk containing an excessive number of organisms
the case was dismissed on the grounds that the method adopted in taking a
sample was not calculated to give a correct indication of the bulk.
In order to meet this difficulty when sampling churns and to comply
with the decision of the magistrate that the milk must be plunged, I have
devised a sampling outfit consisting of a copper box containing (1) a collapsible
plunger which can be extended without touching with the hand (except the
handle) ; (2) a sampling tube in case to sample beneath the surface; (3) a