CHAPTER VIII 



CERTIFIED MILK 



Definition. Commercial certified milk is a com- 

 paratively new product in this country, and, strictly 

 speaking, includes milk the qualities of which, especi- 

 ally those that depend upon strict sanitary precau- 

 tions, are certified to or guaranteed by some official 

 organization, usually a milk commission, appointed by 

 a medical society or a board of health. Such com- 

 missions maintain a somewhat strict supervision over 

 the production and handling of the milk, and certify 

 to its quality as to cleanliness, purity and composition. 

 This guarantee, or certification, gives the consumer a 

 fairly satisfactory assurance that he receives milk of 

 superior quality. In a somewhat broader sense, the 

 term certified milk may include milk of like quality 

 produced with equal care, although it may not be 

 certified to by any official organization. Originally 

 the term certified milk was copyrighted, and rightly 

 used only by a medical society in New Jersey that 

 first certified to milk in the United States. 



Origin of certified milk. Primarily, certified milk 

 was produced for infant -feeding and for hospital use. 

 The high mortality of infants in the great cities led 

 boards of health to seek for a purer and more 



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