THE SOLICITOR. 803 



[Transcript from Bureau of Animal Industry Ctrcular 114, relatli>g to classification of milk.] 



CLASSIFICATION OP MILK. 



In order that the milk supply of the District may be pure, it must come from healthy 

 cows, properly fed, that are neither about to calve nor have recently calved. The 

 milk from these cows must be drawn in a cleanly manner and be promptly cooled. 

 All persons engaged in handling milk must be free from communicable diseases and 

 of cleanly habits. All receptacles into which the milk passes and all utensils and 

 apparatus used in handling it must be perfectly clean, and the milk after having 

 been promptly cooled must be kept cool until delivered to the consumer. Actually 

 to attain ideal conditions with respect to milk is difficult and expensive, and adds 

 materially to the cost of the milk, and therefore to the selling price. But to undertake 

 earnestly to approximate such conditions is less difficult and less expensive, and for 

 practical purposes may be regarded as yielding a reasonably satisfactory and reasonably 

 safe milk. 



The conference recommends that there be recognized by law three grades of milk, 

 as follows: 



Class 1. Certified milk. — The use of this term should be limited to milk produced 

 at dairies subjected to periodic inspection and the products of which are subjected 

 to frequent analyses. The cows producing such milk must be properly fed and 

 watered, free from tuberculosis, as shown by the tuberculin test, and from all other 

 communicable diseases, and from all diseases and conditions whatsoever likely to 

 deteriorate the milk. They are to be housed in clean stables, properly ventilated, 

 and to be kept clean. All those who come in contact with the milk must exercise 

 scrupulous cleanliness, and such persons must not harbor the germs of typhoid fever, 

 tuberculosis, diphtheria, and other infections liable to be conveyed by the milk. 

 Milk must be drawn under all precautions necessary to avoid infection, and be imme- 

 diately strained and cooled, packed in sterilized bottles, and kept at a temperature 

 not exceeding 50° F. until delivered to the consumer. Pure water, as determined 

 by chemical and bacteriological examination, is to be provided for use throughout 

 the dairy farm and dairy. Certified milk should not contain more than 10,000 bacteria 

 per cubic centimeter, and should not be more than 12 hours old when delivered. 

 Such milk shall be certified by the health officer of the District of Columbia. 



Class 2. Inspected milk. — This term should be limited to clean raw milk from healthy 

 cows, as determined by the tuberculin test and physical examination by a qualified 

 veterinary surgeon. The cows are to be fed, watered, housed, and milked under 

 good conditions, but not necessarily equal to the conditions provided for class 1. All 

 those who come in contact with the milk must exercise scrupulous cleanliness, and 

 such persons must not harbor the germs of typhoid fever, tuberculosis, diphtheria, 

 and other infections liable to be conveyed by the milk. This milk is to be delivered 

 in sterilized containers, and is to be kept at a temperature not exceeding 50° F. until 

 it reaches the consumer. It shall contain not more than 100,000 bacteria per cubic 

 centimeter. 



Class S, Pasteurized milk. — Milk from the dairies not able to comply with the re- 

 quirements specified for the production of milk of classes 1 and 2 is to be pasteurized 

 before being sold, and must be sold under the designation "pasteurized milk." MUk 

 for pasteurization shall be kept at all times at a temperature not exceeding 60° F., 

 while in transit from the dairy farm to the pasteurization plant, and milk after pasteur- 

 ization shall be placed in sterilized containers and delivered to the consumer at a tem- 

 perature not exceeding 50° F. All milk of an unknown origin shall be placed in class 3 

 and subjected to clarification and pasteurization. No cow in any way unfit for the 

 production of milk for use by man, as determined upon physical examination by an 

 authorized veterinarian, and no cow suffering from a communicable disease, except 

 as specified below, shall be permitted to remain on any dairy farm on which milk of 

 class 3 is produced, except that cows which upon physical examination do not show 

 physical signs of tuberculosis may be included in dairy herds supplying milk of this 

 class, although they may have reacted to the tuberculin test. 



This milk is to be clarified and pasteurized at central pasteurization plants, which 

 shall be under the personal supervdsion of an officer or officers of the health department. 

 These pasteurizing plants may be provided either by private enterprise or by the 

 District Government, and shall be located within the city of Washington. 



By the term "pasteurization," as used herein, is meant the heating of milk to a tem- 

 perature of 150° F. or 65° C. for 20 minutes, or 1G0° F. or 70° C. for 10 minutes, as soon 

 as practicable after milking, in inclased vessels, preferably the final containers, and 

 after such heating immediate cooling to a temperature not exceeding 50° F. or 10° C. 



No milk shall be regarded as pure and wholesome which, after standing for two hours 

 or less, reveals a visible sediment at the bottom of the bottle. 



