186 MILK HYGIENE 



in respect to marking milk for sale form quite an impor- 

 tant part of the regulations on the handling of milk, be- 

 cause these have a very important bearing on the pre- 

 vention of adulteration. The kinds of milk and milk 

 products which are of importance are whole milk, ' ' half 

 milk," skim milk, cream and buttermilk. 



Whole milk is the usual name for normal cow's milk 

 which has not been deprived of any of its fat or other 

 ingredients. As the fat content of milk is far from being 

 uniform, and as partial skimming, or the addition of 

 skimmed milk, is, therefore, not easily detected, many 

 attempts are made to deceive by these falsifications. In 

 order to prevent the sale of milk that may be unadulter- 

 ated but which is too poor in fats, and in order to lessen 

 the number of adulterations, a minimum content of fat 

 and solids has been established in many cities, as well as 

 the limits of the specific gravity. Milk which does not 

 contain the required amount of fat cannot be sold as 

 whole milk; if it is so sold it is considered adulterated. 



Eeinsch *^ has made a comparison of these require- 

 ments in the German cities. Among 63 ordinances, 60 

 contain such a minimum limit for fat; 37 of these place 

 the limit at 2.7 per cent., 5 at 2.4 per cent, to 2.5 per 

 cent., 7 at 2.8 per cent., 9 at 3 per cent, and only 2 have 

 established a higher minimum at 3.2 per cent, to 3.3 

 per cent. In 19 ordinances, the minimum content of 

 solids varies between 10.5 per cent, and 12 per cent. ; 

 most require 11 per cent, to 11.5 per cent. Twenty- 

 five place the limits of specific gravity; 10 of these as 

 1.028 to 1.034, 8 as 1.029 to 1.033 and 5 as 1.029 to 1.034, 

 while a single one provides 1.027 to 1.034. 



[The German standards are low because the fat con- 

 tent of the milk of some of the breeds of dairy cows 



*" Die gesetzliohe Regelung des Milchverkehrs in Deutschland, 

 Hamburg, 1903. 



