﻿20 BULLETIN 1, U. S. DEPAKTMENT OF AGRICULTUEE. 



delivered within 6 hours after its production, while some was not 

 placed on the market until it was 48 hours old. The average age 

 when delivered was 20 hours. As some of this milk will not be used 

 until 24 hours after its delivery, it is possible for some certified milk 

 to be consumed after it is 72 hours old. 



SANITARY CONDITION OF CERTIFIED-MILK DAIRIES. 



In the past about 37 certified farms have been scored by represent- 

 atives of the Dairy Division. An average of all these scores shows 

 that the condition of certified-milk farms is about 90 points out 

 of a possible 100. This is a remarkably good showing, in view of the 

 fact that to attain a mark of 100 conditions must be absolutely per- 

 fect in every respect ; that is, that not a speck of dust or dirt could be 

 found on the cattle or in the stables or milk house and that every- 

 thing else was above criticism in every respect. That certified 

 dairies have maintained a high standard is evidenced by the com- 

 parison of their standing with the scores of ordinary dairies in gen- 

 eral. Dairies supplying market milk to various cities in this country 

 have been scored and will average between 40. and 45, depending 

 upon the section of the country and the efficiency of the inspection 

 sj^stem which governs them. A total of 953 dairies, the scores of 

 which were filed in this division in one year, show an average score 

 of 41.6 out of a possible 100 ; so that it will be seen that the average 

 certified dairy scores more than twice as high as the average market- 

 milk dairy. The lowest score of a certified-milk dairy of which there 

 is any record in this department is 73.6. 



QUALITY OF CERTIFIED MILK. 



An index to the quality of certified milk is the result of complete 

 analyses and examinations of this product at various milk contests, 

 descriptions of which will be found in Bureau of Animal Industry 

 Circular 205. Eighty-nine samples of certified milk and cream were 

 scored in these contests, and the average score was 87.96 for certified 

 milk and 87.82 for certified cream. The greatest fault in these sam- 

 ples was that relating to flavor and odor rather than to the bacterial 

 count. When it is realized that in order to score perfect on bacterial 

 count in these contests the average number of organisms found must 

 be less than 400 to the cubic centimeter, it will readily be seen that 

 certified milk has maintained a high standard as regards quality. 

 Certified milk and cream both scored considerably higher than did 

 milk and cream in the market classes. The average bacterial count 

 for all the samples of certified milk submitted in these contests was 

 between 7,000 and 8,000 to the cubic centimeter. It must be remem- 

 bered that many of these samples were prepared especially for the 



