THE ADULTERATION OF DAIRY PRODUCTS 115 



preservation of milk are principally borax, boric acid, 

 formalin, and salicylic acid. Medical authorities 

 object to the use of preservatives in dairy prod- 

 ucts and other foods because they interfere with the 

 normal process of digestion. Then, too, when milk 

 is preserved with chemicals, there is a tendency to 

 practice unclean methods in its handling, and less 

 care generally is taken of the milk. Abnormal 

 amounts of preservatives have been found added to 

 market milk to prevent its becoming sour. The 

 producer, the wholesale milk dealer, and the retailer 

 each adding a small amount make in the aggregate 

 an abnormal and objectionable quantity of preserva- 

 tives, which may have an unfavorable action upon 

 the human body. In the creamery and cheese fac- 

 tory, the addition of formalin and other preservatives 

 prevents the normal ripening of milk and results in 

 the production of butter and cheese of poor quality. 

 Not only from a sanitary but also from a financial 

 point of view, preservatives are objectionable and 

 should not be used in the dairy. Various trade 

 names have been applied to the different preserva- 

 tives, but they are almost invariably composed of 

 borax, boric acid, formalin, or salicylic acid. 



In addition to the Babcock test, a number of other 

 methods have been proposed and are occasionally 

 used for the testing of milk and detecting any adul- 

 terations. Many of these methods give accurate re- 

 sults, but they require more skill on the part of the 

 operator, are more expensive, and require more time 



