338 THE MILK SITUATION IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



Milk containing 500,000 bacteria or over per cubic centimeter is hereby 

 declared to be unfit for human consumption. Owing to the fact that bacterial 

 counts can not be determined until the day after the samples are collected for 

 examination, it is impossible to condemn any special lot of milk on account of 

 its high bacterial content. A single sample of this kind, however, shows that 

 something is radically wrong. When, therefore, a sample of milk, as delivered 

 on the Richmond market, is found to contain 500,000 bacteria or over per 

 cubic centimeter, the fact shall be at once reported to the chief health officer, 

 who shall order further shipments from the farm at which said milk was pro- 

 duced stopped until the cause for this unjustifiably high bacterial content has 

 been found and corrected, unless, in his opinion, satisfactory arrangements can 

 be made for using the milk from such dairy farm or butter-making purposes 

 only until the difficulty has been found and corrected. 



During the entire year of 1909 only 39 samples of milk (or 3.8 per cent of 

 the 1,018 samples examined by the Richmond Health Department) were found 

 to contain as many as 250,000 bacteria per cubic centimeter. Only 2 of these 

 39 (or two-tenths of 1 per cent of all the samples examined) contained over 

 500,000 bacteria per cubic centimeter. These results show that it is entirely 

 practicable and reasonable to insist that no milk containing over 250,000 

 bacteria per cubic centimeter shall come on the Richmond market. 



All bacterial counts for the purpose of these rules shall be made by plating the 

 milk (in the proper dilutions) on agar made in accordance with the recom- 

 mendations of the committee on standard methods of water analysis of the 

 American Public Health Association, and the counts shall be made after incu- 

 bating the plates at body temperature for 18 to 24 hours. 



The words " Certified milk " are universally understood as applicable only 

 to milk complying with certain especially high standards and certified to by a 

 body competent to furnish such certificate. The unauthorized use of these 

 words on bottle caps, in circulars, in advertisements, or in any manner what- 

 soever in connection with milk not complying with the conditions commonly 

 demanded for certified milk is hereby declared to be improper and misleading, 

 and any person guilty of such improper use of the words " Certified milk " will 

 be reported to the police court. 



Pasteurization of milk or cream, or any other process of a similar character, 

 will not be accepted by the Richmond Health Department as a substitute for 

 cleanliness in the production and handling of milk. Pasteurization of milk or 

 cream is not prohibited, but the milk or cream so treated shall be produced 

 under conditions in all respects equal to those demanded for the production 

 of milk or cream not subjected to pasteurization. 



All milk wagons from which milk is sold by measure shall be provided with 

 a tight metal receptacle for all measures and other utensils used in the 

 handling of milk on the streets, which receptacle shall have a false, removable, 

 perforated metal bottom. All measures and utensils shall be kept in this 

 receptacle while the wagon is on its rounds and the receptacle shall be 

 thoroughly cleansed and aired twice a day, the false bottom being taken out 

 for cleaning. 



No dairyman shall deliver bottled milk at any house in which there is a 

 case of contagious or infectious disease. In such cases, the householder shall 

 provide his own receptacle for milk, which shall not be taken to the dairy. 

 The presence of a warning sign of the Richmond Health Department on the 

 premises shall be considered sufficient notice to the driver of the presence of 

 contagious disease, but for those diseases which are not placarded (especially 

 typhoid fever), the chief health officer will, so far as possible, send written 

 notices to the dairyman in each case. Whenever any person in whose home 

 there is a case of contagious or infectious disease changes milkmen before the 

 case has recovered it shall be the duty of the dairyman who discontinues the 

 delivery of milk at said house to inform the chief health officer at once in 

 order that his successor may also be notified. 



No person shall use, or cause or permit to be used for any other purpose 

 than the holding of milk or cream any milk bottle, can, or other receptacle 

 used for the transportation or delivery of milk. 



It shall be the duty of all persons having in their possession bottles, cans, or 

 other receptacles used for the transportation or delivery of milk or cream to 

 cleanse, or cause to be cleansed, all such milk vessels immediately after empty- 

 ing. All dairymen are requested to report to the health department any person 

 who returns milk bottles in dirty condition or milk bottles which have appar- 

 ently been used for other purposes. 



