MARKET MILK 179 



necessary, however, to see that the milk is not contaminated 

 during cooling and capping. 



Pasteurization in bottles eliminates the danger of reinfection, 

 provided no water is introduced into the bottles during cooling. 

 From a sanitary standpoint this process is very satisfactory. 

 In the past, on account of the difficulty of treating large quan- 

 tities of milk, pasteurization in bottles has not been used to 

 any great extent in large plants. 



The bottling of hot pasteurized milk in steamed bottles is 

 a process which eliminates the danger of reinfection and can 

 easily be adapted to the treatment of milk in large quantities. 



Any one of these methods of pasteurization is satisfactory, 

 provided a temperature of 145° F. is maintained for thirty 

 minutes and reinfection is prevented during subsequent han- 

 dling of the milk. 

 Handling pasteurized milk. 



The pasteurization of milk destroys about 99 per cent of the 

 bacteria ; consequently the milk is not sterile. On account of 

 this fact pasteurized milk is still a perishable product, and must 

 be handled with the same care as raw milk. This is a point 

 for both the consumer and the milkman to remember. 



Milk after pasteurization should be cooled to about 40° F. 

 and kept at that temperature until delivery. During warm 

 weather it should be iced on the delivery wagons. From a 

 sanitary standpoint all milk, whether raw or pasteurized, 

 should be delivered as soon as possible, in order that the con- 

 sumer may get it in the best condition. In the best pasteurized 

 milk, when held at about 40° F., there is only a slight bac- 

 terial increase during the first 24 hours. In many cases the 

 pasteurization and delivery may be so arranged that the con- 

 sumer gets the milk before much, if any, change has taken place 

 in the bacterial content. The tops of the bottles should have 

 overlapping caps to protect them from dust, dirt, or other 

 contamination, and the cap should be marked "Pasteurized" 



