134 THE MILK SITUATION IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



BUTTERMILK. 



Buttermilk is defined in the Standards of Purity for Food Prod- 

 ucts, 1 issued by the Secretary of Agriculture in pursuance of authority 

 by Congress in the food and drugs act of June 30, 1906, as " The 

 product that remains when butter is removed from milk or cream in 

 the process of churning." 



NECESSITY FOR MAINTAINING MILK PRODUCTS AT LOW TEMPERATURES. 



In response to an inquiry addressed to the Bureau of Animal 

 Industry as to whether there is reason for requiring that butter, 

 cheese, and other milk products be maintained at low temperatures, 

 the committee is informed that while low temperatures retard and 

 inhibit the growth and multiplication of pathogenic germs they can 

 not be relied upon to destroy such germs, and the requirement that 

 dairy products be held at low temperatures would therefore not 

 remove the danger. The bureau recommends the pasteurization of 

 cream or milk before making into butter or cheese as the best method 

 of accomplishing the object desired. 



REMEDIAL LEGISLATION RECOMMENDED. 



Reference is made elsewhere in this report (p. 76) to the resolutions 

 unanimously adopted by the board of directors of the local Associa- 

 tion for the Prevention of Tuberculosis on December 27, 1910 (Ap- 

 pendix AE ) , reciting that it has been shown by indisputable evidence 

 that typhoid fever and other diseases are traceable to contaminated 

 dairy products, and urging that Congress investigate the relation of 

 dairy products to the public health with a view to the enactment of 

 remedial legislation. 



XIII. SUMMARY RECOMMENDATIONS. 



The recommendations of the committee may be summarized as 

 follows : 



1. That unless washing, bottling, and capping machines, and other 

 apparatus and the maintenance of a separate salesroom be uniformly 

 insisted upon, no demerit be recorded by the health department 

 against the small dealer not possessing these appurtenances. 



2. That the requirement of concrete floors (over which a movable 

 wooden or other covering may be placed) be continued in force. 



3. That specific approval be secured from Congress for proposed 

 changes of large importance in the regulations affecting our local 

 milk industry. 



4. That Congress provide a suitable increase in the number of in- 

 spectors to fully meet the requirements of the milk-inspection service. 



That the regulations issued by the District Commissioners on 

 April 21, 1903, prescribing under penalty that any person in the 

 District of Columbia who receives milk or cream for sale shall, 

 immediately after emptying the receptacle in which such milk or 

 cream has been received, thoroughly rinse such receptacle so as to 



* Circular No. 19, Bureau of Chemistry, U. S. Department of Agriculture. 



