Pasteurization of Milk 



cle of food should be avoided. These 

 vitamines have not been definitely iso- 

 lated from foods, and little is known of| 

 them in a pure state. Their presence 

 or absence can only be determined in a 

 food substance by its effect on ani- 

 mals, when used exclusively as a food 

 by them. 



Experiments have been conducted by 

 a number of scientists to determine 

 the effect 5f heat on the vitamines con- 

 tained in milk. It has been shown 

 that the growth producing vitamine 

 occurs in the butter fat.* It is very 

 resistant to heat, and is not affected by 

 ordinary pasteurization. The antiscor- 

 butic substance is much less resistant 

 to heat. For this reason its properties 

 have been carefully studied. The best 

 known work along this line was done 

 by Hess in New York.** Since 1912, 

 he has had a considerable number of 

 cases of scurvy develop in infants be- 

 ing fed on pasteurized milk in an in- 

 stitution where the diet could be ab- 

 solutely regulated. At first milk was 

 used which was pasteurized in the hos- 

 pital at a temperature of 165 degrees F. 

 for 20 minutes. 'During the past year, 

 however, pasteurized milk which has 

 been heated to 145 degrees F. for 20 

 minutes at the plant of a New York 

 dealer was used. Several children de- 

 veloped mild but recognizable cases of 

 scurvy on this diet, while others in the 

 same ward, fed on an identical diet, did 

 not contract the disease. Raw milk 

 was then substituted for the pasteur- 

 ized, all other conditions remaining 

 the same, and in two weeks the scor- 

 butic symptoms wholly disappeared. 

 Hess, therefore, concludes that pas- 

 teurized milk plays an important role 

 in the production of the disease, but is 



*McConum, E. v., and Davis, M, "Observation on 

 the Isolation of the Substance in Butter Fat which 

 Exerts a Stimulating Influence on Growth.'* Journal 

 Biol. Chemistry, Vol. 19, p. 245. 



••Hess, A. v., Infantile Scurvy. The Blood, the 

 Bloodvessels and the Diet. Am. Jour, of Diseases of 

 Children, Vol. VIII, Dec. 1914, pp. 386-405. Hess, 

 A. F. Subacute and Latent Infantile Scurvy. Jour. 

 A. M. A., Vol. LXVIII, Jan. 27, 1917, pp. 235-2.39. 



not the sole factor. There seems to be 

 a sufficient amount of antiscorbutic 

 substance in cow's milk to prevent the 

 development of infantile scurvy, but 

 this substance is destroyed to such an 

 extent by pasteurization that it is not 

 safe to feed an infant, solely, a diet of 

 pasteurized milk. This discovery need 

 work no practical hardship and should 

 not be used as an argument against 

 pasteurization. An ounce or two of 

 fresh orange juice or potato water 

 given daily entirely eliminates all 

 chance of contracting the disease for 

 these substances contain the vitamine 

 in considerable quantities. Some such 

 substance should be given, however, 

 to an infant fed on pasteurized milk. 



Work of a similar nature* has been 

 done by feeding small animals, such 

 as guinea pigs, a pasteurized milk diet. 

 It was found that such animals soon 

 died. Control pigs fed on raw cow's 

 milk likewise were unable to exist. 

 This work, although much discussed 

 and rather generally used as an argu- , 

 ment against pasteurization, is of little 

 value. It only substantiates the al- 

 ready known fact that guinea pigs can- 

 not exist on any form of cow's milk 

 alone. This work is cited simply to 

 emphasize the fact that feeding expe- 

 riments conducted on children consti- 

 tutes the only reliable source of infor- 

 mation regarding the suitability of any 

 particular diet for infant feeding. 



(3) Infant Feeding vs. Communi- 

 cable Disease. Hess' work should not 

 be interpreted in any way as an argu- 

 ment against pasteurization. Parker** 

 summarizes the situation well when he 

 says : "It is now recognized that in 

 our large cities it is not feasible to 

 bring the whole milk supply up to the 

 standard of thai required for infant 

 feeding. The procuring of a supply 



•Moore. J. J., Jackson, L., Exp. Scurvy Produced 

 in Guinea-pigs by Milk and Milk Products, Vol. 

 LXVII. Dec. 23, 1916, p. 1931. 



••Parker, H. N., City Milk Supply, p. 282. 



