CERTIFIED MILK 



RECOGNITION of the dangers that may lurk in milk, especially 

 when used as food for infants or invalids, has led health author- 

 ities to assume control of public milk-supplies. Sometimes such 

 control is accomplished by suitable legislation either by state or 

 municipal authorities, and sometimes by conferring the neces- 

 sary authority on boards of health. The large amount of milk 

 consumed and the variety of sources from which it is derived 

 necessarily hinder progress whenever such control is attempted. 

 Therefore in 1891 a movement was inaugurated to supply a limited 

 amount of milk of dependable quality worth the recommendation 

 of physicians. The originator of this movement was Dr. Henry 

 L. Coit, of Newark, N. J., who outlined the production of this 

 kind of milk in the following way: "The legal requirements are 

 stringent and binding. The code includes ample sureties for its 

 fulfilment necessary forfeiture clauses, a territorial limit for the 

 sale of the product, and provision for the compensation of the 

 experts employed by the commission. It controls the charac- 

 ter of the land used for pasturage and the cultivation of fodder; 

 determines the construction, location, ventilation, and drainage of 

 buildings; provides for an abundant and pure water-supply, and 

 prevents the use of water from wells or springs holding surface 

 drainage. It requires in the stable cleanliness and order, and 

 disallows the keeping of live stock, except the cow, within 300 

 yards of the dairy buildings. It regulates the assortment of the 

 herd with reference to uniform results, as well as the health, the 

 breed, and temperament of the animals. It excludes animals 

 that are tuberculous or are found in a state of health prejudicial 

 to the herd. It provides for proper housing and shelter of the 

 animals, together with their grooming, their treatment, and the 

 prompt removal of their waste from the stable. It regulates the 

 feeding with reference to uniformity in the chemical composition 

 of the product, and restrains the use of all questionable or ex- 

 hausted materials for food. It governs the collection and hand- 

 ling of milk by insisting upon a proper regard for cleanliness as 

 viewed by the bacteriologist in its relation to the animal, her sur- 

 roundings, the milkers' hands, the vessels, and the association of 

 persons handling the milk with immediate or remote sources of 

 infection. It controls by minute specified requirements every 

 step in the cooling of the milk and its preparation for shipment, 



482 



