ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF PASTEURIZATION 509 



ization it should be kept cold and used as soon as possible. Cream 

 does not rise as rapidly or separate as completely in pasteurized milk 

 as in raw milk." 



Advantages and Disadvantages of Pasteurization. Pasteurization has 

 its advantages and its disadvantages. It has its enthusiastic advo- 

 cates and those who are opposed to the wholesale pasteurization of 

 the milk supply of a big city. Rosenau gives his views as follows : 



" One of the chief objections to pasteurization is that it promotes 

 carelessness and discourages the efforts to produce clean milk. It 

 is believed that the general adoption of pasteurization will set back 

 improvements at the source of supply and encourage dirty habits. 

 It will cause the farmers and those who handle the milk to believe 

 that it is unnecessary to be quite so particular, as the dirt that gets 

 into the milk is going to be cooked and made harmless. It is not 

 proposed that pasteurization shall take the place of inspection and 

 improvements in dairy methods. To insure the public a pure and 

 safe milk supply should be regarded as one of the most important 

 duties of the health officer. Whether pasteurization is adopted by 

 a city for its general milk supply or not, no milk should be accepted 

 that does not comply with certain reasonable chemical and bac- 

 teriologic standards. This would aid the inspectors in enforcing 

 good dairy methods. Pasteurization then must not be used as an 

 excuse to bolster up milk unfit for home consumption. To insure 

 this end the health officer should have authority to condemn and 

 destroy bad milk, whether or not pasteurization is practised. 



"There is a prevalent impression that the pasteurization of milk 

 improves that important article of diet. Heating does not render 

 milk better in any way as a food. All it does is to destroy certain 

 bacteria and some of their toxic products. It checks certain pro- 

 cesses of fermentation and putrefaction, thus rendering the milk 

 safer. On the other hand the evidence seems clear that the pasteur- 

 ization of milk at 60 C. for twenty minutes does not appreciably 

 deteriorate its quality or lessen its food value. 



"Theoretically, pasteurization should not be necessary; practically, 

 we find it forced upon us. The heating of milk has certain dis- 

 advantages which must be given consideration, but it effectually 

 prevents much disease and death, especially in infants during the 

 summer months." 



Among the objections to pasteurization, Jensen mentioned the 

 following: "Even by the use of a self-regulating pasteurizer it is 

 difficult to provide absolute guarantee that all milk has been heated 

 to the required temperature. To a certain degree pasteurization 

 may conceal a tainted condition, which exists before heating. Quite 

 an abundance of bacteria of putrefaction and other bacteria may 

 be present or the lactic-acid fermentation may have begun to take 

 place; these bacteria are killed by pasteurization; consequently the 

 fermentation and changes that were under way are interrupted. 



