MILK STANDARDS 59 



MILK STANDARDS 



For the regulation of the sale of milk, various standards 

 have been established which the mixed milk of a herd of cows 

 might reasonably comply with, and it is, at least, this mini- 

 mum quality that a purchaser expects to be supplied with. In 

 England no specific standard has been adopted by statute but a 

 standard of 3.0 per cent of fat and 8.5 per cent of solids-not-fat 

 was adopted many years ago by the Society of Public Analysts 

 as a guidance for analysts for milk that is of the nature, sub- 

 stance, and quality that might reasonably be demanded by the 

 purchaser. The onus of proof regarding this contention, how- 

 ever, was upon the analyst, and it was not until 1901 that this 

 was transferred to the vendor by an order of the Board of Agri- 

 culture which stated that milk containing less than 3.0 per cent 

 of fat or 8.5 per cent of solids-not-fat shall be presumed to be 

 not genuine until the contrary is proved. This has led to the 

 " appeal to the cow " or the " stall " or " byre " test in which 

 the cows are completely milked in the presence of a witness 

 or witnesses and the milk afterwards analysed for comparison 

 with the previous sample. If the results agree, the sample is 

 to be regarded as genuine and to comply with the provisions of 

 the Food and Drugs Act. It is obvious that great care should 

 be taken in obtaining the test sample by insisting upon all the 

 cows being thoroughly stripped of milk and, if possible, making 

 the test on the same day of the week and at the same milking from 

 which the first sample was obtained. Such a procedure evidently 

 regards milk as the secretion of healthy cows without having 

 regard to the breed, nature and quantity of food supply, and 

 treatment of the cow, and this is apparently also the view of the 

 Scottish High Court of Judiciary as expressed during the appeal 

 of Scott v. Jack. Lord Johnston expressed the opinion that 

 " milk in the sense of the statute is milk drawn from the cow, 

 not milk in the process of formation in the chyle, in the blood, 

 in the glands of the cow. ..." This decision that milk is to be 

 regarded as the secretion of healthy cattle leaves much to be 



