19O9 MILK COMMISSION. 53 



WASHING BOTTLES; COUNTING BACTERIA. 



New York has a regulation not common to many cities by which it declares 

 it to be the duty of everyone to clean or cause to be cleaned immediately upon 

 emptying, all bottles, cans or other receptacles used in handling milk. It is also 

 made an offence to use such bottles, cans, or other receptacles for any purpose 

 other than holding milk. The object is to prevent bottles and cans from getting 

 into such a filthy condition as to almost defy the most thorough sterilizing. It 

 was found that if a bottle or can is merely rinsed and water left standing in it 

 until it is returned to the dairy to be sterilized, it is in a much cleaner, s'weeter 

 condition than if the dregs of the milk were left to sour and become putrefactive. 



Of course the Department has a laboratory in which bacteriological tests are 

 made, but no special emphasis is laid on this phase of the work. No bacteria 

 limit is fixed, but the term ''excessive" is used instead, and when the number found 

 i regarded as "excessive," the dealers are notified that improvements must be made. 

 The Health Department determines what constitutes "excessive/'' Speaking of 

 the bacteriological tests, in the latest report of the Department it is said : "In many 

 instances pasteurized milk was found to contain bacteria by the million, while 

 some milk shipped from the country in raw state had very low counts, some being 

 as low as 10,000 per cc/' 



Reports are demanded each week as to the existence or non-existence of ty- 

 phoid, tuberculosis, diphtheria, scarlet fever, dysentery or any other infectious 

 diseases among any of thos'e handling milk. 



Great importance is attached by the Health Department to the necessity for 

 keeping the milk cold at all stages. When milk is cold the bacteria will not pro- 

 liferate. The ordinance calls for a temperature below 50 degrees F., and in 1907 

 over 31,000 quarts of milk were destroyed because the temperature exceeded that 

 limit. Last year there were altogether over 11,000 prosecutions in the courts of 

 New York in respect to the milk laws for lack of cooling, adulteration and other 

 offences. Adulterated milk is defined in the code as follows: 



(1) Milk containing more than eighty-eight per centum of water or fluids; 



(2) Milk containing less than twelve per centum of milk solids; 



(3) Milk containing less than three per centum of fats; 



(4) Milk drawn from animals within fifteen days before or five days after 

 parturition ; 



(5) Milk drawn from animals fed on distillery waste, or any substance in a 

 state of fermentation or putrefaction, or on any unwholesome food; 



( 6 ) Milk drawn from cows kept in a crowded or unhealthy condition ; 



(7) Milk from which any part of the cream has been removed; 



(8) Milk which has been diluted with water or any other fluid, or to which 

 has been added, or into which has been introduced, any foreign substance 

 whatever ; 



(9) Milk, the temperature of which is higher than 50 degrees Fahren- 

 heit or which contains an excessive number of bacteria. 



DR. PARK ON MILK BACTERIOLOGY. 



Your Commission also had the advantage of an interview with Dr. W. H. 

 Park, head of the Bacteriological Department of the New York Board of Health 

 and one of the very foremost bacteriologists. In reference to pasteurization, he 

 intimated that pasteurized milk had disadvantages as against pure, clean milk for 



