NEW YORK MILK COMMITTEE 177 



New York has no bacteriological standard for milk. The 

 laboratory examination of milk for bacteria is fully recognized 

 when properly carried out as a reliable method for determining 

 the sanitary character of milk. This thought is well expressed 

 by the Milk Commission of the County Medical Society in one 

 of its publications, in these words, "The most practical stand- 

 ard for the estimation of cleanliness in the handling and care 

 of milk is its relative freedom from bacteria." Chicago has 

 now obtained legal recognition for the bacteria count of milk 

 by bringing successful prosecutions against those milk dealers 

 who market milk containing excessive numbers of bacteria. 

 The numbers of bacteria in New York's milk supply are at 

 times enormous. Milk prosecutions are made on a butter fat 

 basis but a dealer may sell milk containing millions of bacteria 

 without prosecution. Such classification as has been suggested 

 in our ordinances is purely a voluntary one and there is no 

 compulsory bacteriological standard. The milk dealer and 

 the milk consumer are at liberty to produce and to purchase 

 milk containing bacteria without limit. I want to say, there- 

 fore, that in view of the knowledge which we have at the pres- 

 ent time of the relation of bacteria to milk, I believe New 

 York City should have bacteriological standards for raw milk, 

 for pasteurized milk, and also for milk before it is pasteurized. 

 Such standards may be made liberal at first and more strict as 

 improvements are brought about. 



A large portion of this city's supply comes from cattle which 

 have tuberculosis, and is produced under conditions which cer- 

 tainly expose it to other infectious diseases. New York City 

 has no ordinances making the tuberculin testing of cattle com- 

 pulsory. Some of our milk contains tubercle bacilli, some of 

 it does not. No man can tell from the appearance of the milk 

 bottle which is which. It is admitted that the state authorities 

 and that our own health department are unable to control 

 bovine tuberculosis or to prevent milk from being shipped to 

 the city containing these tubercle bacilli. The raw milk sup- 

 plied to the consumers of New York at the present time is a 

 mystery. It carries no label to indicate whether it is good or 

 bad. The public is in the dark. They have the right to as- 

 sume that since the Department of Health issues permits and 

 allows this milk to be delivered at the door, it is safe. Certi- 



