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259
[1907
Milkshops and Dairies.—There are now on the register as many as
532 milkshops and dairies, which are regularly visited by the district sanitary
inspectors, and to which they paid 2,145 visits during the year. Many of them
are really not suitable places from which to sell an article so easily contaminated
as milk, but as the powers regulating them are so limited nothing can be done
to prevent their use. It is to be hoped, however, that legislation, which the
Government intend to introduce with respect to milk will put an end to the
present state of affairs. The Medical Officer of Health's views on this subject
were more fully indicated in his report for 1906.
During the year the Chief Inspector (Mr. J. R. Leggatt) made an inspection
of all the milkshops of the Borough and submitted the following report:—
Town Hall,
Upper Street, N.,
10th October, 1907.
To A. E. Harris, Esq.,
Medical Officer of Health.
Dear Sir,
I beg to report that I have recently inspected the whole of the Dairies and
Milkshops in tae Borough. There are 41 of the former, which I found on ihe
whole in a satisfactory condition. There is, however, a great tendency on the
part of those engaged in the trade to overlook the necessity of thoroughly
sterilizing the utensils used by dairymen for the reception, storage or delivery
of milk. The regulation as to Dairies, vide "Dairies, Cowsheds and Milkshops
Order, 1885," provides that "all utensils and vessels used by a dairyman for
"the reception, storage, or delivery of milk shall be thorougly cleansed with
"steam or scalding water as frequently as may be necessary for keeping such
"utensils and vessels clean and sweet, and only clean water shall be used for
"the purpose."
It is quite possible to keep utensils clean and sweet, but having regard to
the fact that such utensils, viz., hand cans, are frequently left at houses where
infectious disease exists, it is of the utmost importance that each can should be
separately scalded. I have repeatedly, both verbally and by letter, drawn
attention to the manner in which the cleansing is carried out. It is not unusual
to find cans being washed in water which is scarcely tepid; no doubt it was
boiling in the first instance, but by a gradual process of dealing with a great
number of cans, it became almost cold before the work had been completed.
The arrangements for carrying out this important work was in a great many
cases most unsatisfactory. The copper used for boiling the water is generally
to be found in the basement, sometimes in a dark, unventilated room with
unp'easant surroundings, and in a great many cases it is used for washing
clothes, etc. These remarks do not apply to dairies in particular, but to milk
sellers who have a round. It is pleasing to note that the majority of the
dairymen avail themselves of up-to-date methods to enable them to efficiently
and expeditiously carry on their business. It is, however, only by constant
supervision that we can expect those engaged in the trade to be fully alive to