CHAPTER XVIII 

 THE BACTERIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF FOODS 



The various American governmental units, national, 

 State, and municipal, are all expending much effort in at- 

 tempting to control the quality of food supplies. While 

 national activity is confined to foods embraced in interstate 

 commerce, and in the main is concerned with those tluit, 

 are preserved, yet the interstate control of fresh meats is 

 a large factor in governmental enterprise. As far as mu- 

 nicipal control is concerned, the regulatory service includes 

 in the main only fresh food products, and of these milk is 

 of the most importance. With the recognition of the fact 

 that milk is the chief food product in its relation to health, 

 especially of children, much more attention has been given 

 of late years to the formulation of sanitary rules than ever 

 before. Even small cities and towns are now dealing in a 

 direct way with dairymen, so that by far the larger part 

 of milk supplies used for direct consumption now comes 

 under some kind of supervision. 



In order to have the milk reach the consumer in the city 

 in an unchanged condition, the greatest care must be ob- 

 served by all who handle it. The regulations that a mod- 

 ern city imposes on the milk dealer and on the producer 

 are complex and cover every phase of its production and 

 handling that can in any way affect the value of the milk 

 as human food. A city can enforce its regulations by re- 

 fusing to allow the sale of milk that has not been produced 

 in conformity therewith. In order to determine whether 

 the regulations are observed, two types of inspection are 



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