NEW YORK MILK COMMITTEE 125 



What then is the utility of bacterial standards for milk? 

 To my mind the great utility of quantitative standards for 

 milk is to draw attention to the faulty dairy methods which 

 would otherwise escape notice because of too infrequent in- 

 spections, and to stimulate methods of excellence among pro- 

 ducers. 



There can be no question as to the utility of such standards, 

 but they should be considered only as an index as to whether 

 other requirements, such as cleanliness, temperature, and the 

 maintenance of an efficient inspection service, have been car- 

 ried out. Such standards are of the greatest value in aiding 

 the health authorities to detect whether improper dairy meth- 

 ods are employed between the dairy inspections, such as the 

 use of unclean utensils, not cooling the milk sufficiently, or 

 keeping it too long; but they must always be considered as a 

 part of the inspection service and not as a substitute. 



Bacterial standards are also of great value to the adminis- 

 trative officer in maintaining a high efficiency of his inspection 

 service ; for if his inspectors make too infrequent visits to the 

 farms or are lax in their work, the result will surely be read in 

 the laboratory. 



A maximum bacterial standard is not applicable alike to 

 every dairy shipping milk into a city of considerable size, since 

 it is known that a great increase in the bacterial content of 

 milk takes place dependent upon the conditions and distance 

 of shipment. If it were practicable to have milk collection 

 centers where these examinations could be made, and if the 

 milk could be shipped under entirely proper conditions from 

 those centers to the city, a definite bacterial standard might be 

 feasible and would be of value. 



It must be remembered that if the bacterial count be made 

 from samples taken at the railroad station no account is had 

 of what happens to the milk between the station and the con- 

 sumer. 



Qualitative bacteriological standards, such as the presence 

 of streptococci or an excess of leucocytes, while not of as gen- 

 eral utility as the quantitative standard, still have their place. 

 They are of great value to the health authorities and to pro- 

 gressive dairymen who are able to have examinations made in 

 accordance with such standards. By their use it is possible to 



