﻿MEDICAL MILK COMMISSIONS AND CERTIFIED MILK. 7 



INSPECTION OF DAIRY AND PRODUCT. 



The answers from the various commissions relative to inspections 

 show considerable variation. In some instances the inspections are 

 made by members of the commission and in others paid inspectors 

 are employed to do the work. As a rule, inspections of the dairy 

 are made monthly by either a veterinarian or a member of the com- 

 mission, or both, and in some instances inspections are made every 

 two weeks. The tuberculin test is usually applied annually, but in 

 some cases this is done every six months. Chemical and bacteri- 

 ological examinations range all the way from once a week to once in 

 two months; in most instances, however, it is the practice to make 

 tests every two weeks or oftener. 



HEALTH OF EMPLOYEES. 



The employees in certified-milk plants are required to be clean in 

 habits and appearance and are not admitted to the stables or dairy if 

 not in good health. Some commissions require that employees be 

 regularly examined by a physician and given certificates of health. 

 In some certified-milk plants attendants when ill are cared for in a 

 building specially set apart for the purpose. 



PRECAUTIONS TO PREVENT SPREAD OF CONTAGIOUS DISEASES. 



Where a large milk business is conducted and several thousand 

 customers are served daily, there is danger that some contagious 

 disease may be brought into the dairy in some of the bottles. To 

 avoid this, in some instances a wagon makes a special trip to collect 

 bottles from any house where a contagious disease is known to exist. 

 These bottles are thoroughly boiled in a special room before they 

 come to the dairy proper. They are then subjected to the same 

 cleansing process as all the others. 



SOME GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 



IS THE DEMAND FOR CERTIFIED MILK INCREASING? 



Although there has been a remarkable increase in the quantity of 

 certified milk produced between 1907 and 1912, it must be admitted 

 that the demand is not as great as might be expected. In nearly all 

 localities it is a hard fight for the milk commissions to educate the 

 consumers to the consumption of certified milk. There are two main 

 reasons for this. First, it has been found that there is a general 

 apathy among consumers as to the purity of their milk supply. This 

 would hold good as well with certified as with market milk. 

 Another reason is that the price of certified milk is considerably 

 higher than that of market milk, and it is hard to get people to pay 

 the extra cost. Reports were received from 45 commissions as to the 



