264 



THE MILK QUESTION 



istry. Chemical standards have been and remain very use- 

 ful — indeed, necessary to detect adulteration, frauds, and 

 to determine the grades of milk, etc. 



Milk that meets standard requirements is not necessarily 

 standard milk. The legal standards are minimum require- 

 ments and express inferiority if anything. The standards 

 are the lowest grades that the law will permit. There are, 

 in fact, three standards by which milk should be judged: 

 (1) the chemical standards; (2) bacteriological standards; 

 (3) standards determined by inspection. All three are 

 necessary for the satisfactory control of the milk supply. 



The principal chemical standards are those for butter- 

 fat and total solids. The legal requirements for the butter- 

 fat and total solids in milk vary somewhat in different states, 

 as shown by the following table: — 



LEGAL REQUIREMENTS — COMPOSITION OP MILK 



Fat 

 Per 

 cent 



3.0 



3.2 

 3.25 



3.35 

 3.5 



Idaho 



California, Illinois, New Jersey,* New 

 Yorli,* Wisconsin 



Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Porto 

 Rico 



Iowa,* Michigan,* Oklahoma* .... 



Oregon, Utah 



Association of Official Agricultural 

 Chemists, Connecticut, Georgia, In- 

 diana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri, 

 North Carolina, South Dakota, Ten- 

 nessee, Texas, Virginia 



Washington 



Massachusetts* 



Hawaii* 



District of Columbia, Maryland * . . . 



Louisiana, New Hampshire 



* These states marlced do not diiectly specify the solids not fat. The figure given in snch 

 cases is the difference between the requiied total Bolida and the required fat. 



It has been found an advantage to keep the butter-fat 

 standard relatively high and the total solids at a minimum 

 of 12 per cent. This allows 8.5 per cent for solids not fat. 



