1909 



MILK COMMISSION. 



13 



with sewage, absorption of disease germs, infection of cows or any other generally 

 recognized cause/' Cans, bottles or. other vessels used for milk must be thoroughly 

 washed before using and kept dust-proof when in use. An inspector is employed 

 to enforce the terms of this by-law within the city and hence in its practical work- 

 ing out it applies only to distributing plants and retail shops. These are visited 

 at varying intervals. If they are found in a moderate state of cleanliness, they 

 are reported as "fair," while if they are in a good state, they are reported as "per- 

 fectly satisfactory." Those with a reputation of being clean are inspected not 

 more than three times a year; those found very bad are visited frequently until 

 they improve. This is the extent of the inspection and there is no supervision over 

 conditions on the farm. A few years ago the Health Officer dumped milk which he 

 believed to be contaminated into the ditch. A lawsuit followed, but it was settled 

 out of court. JSTo further attempt was made to exercise any authority outside the 

 city limits. 



SOME STARTLING FIGURES. 



Numerous samples are taken each week and submitted to the City Analyst 

 for food value analysis. In addition, during the past summer between 300 and 

 400 samples were examined for preservatives and in none was formaldehyde or 

 other preservative found. A different story, however, is told by the food value 

 tes1;s. Dr. Sheard, Medical Health Officer, showed your Commission the record of 

 these tests and some astounding figures were revealed. Whereas three per cent, 

 of butter fat and twelve per cent, of solids are considered as a reasonably moderate 

 standard, some samples went as low as 1.91 per cent, of butter fat and 9.07 per 

 cent, of total solids. That it is 1 not a matter of a few isolated cases is shown by 

 the fact that of 2,541 samples tested up to October 29th, 1,014, or about forty per 

 cent., were below three per cent. The deductions from these figures of the City 

 Analyst are confirmed by examinations of the Dominion Analyst, who tested samples 

 from all parts of Canada and found the milk from Toronto district the poorest in 

 quality. The following figures picked at random give an idea of Toronto's daily 

 milk supply: 



