REPORT OF BACTERIOLOGICAL EXAMINATIONS 
189 
RESULTS OF ANALYSES OF BUTTER, CREAM, STERILIZED MILK, 
CONDENSED MILKS, CHEESE, LARD, AND MARGARINE 
Butter. Twenty-one samples were analysed and the tubercle bacillus found 
in one case. If tubercle is present in milk, it can also be present in butter, cream, 
and margarine, and, therefore, the finding it in these food-stuffs is a further reason for 
increasing the vigilance ot dairy supervision. 
Creams. Eight samples of cream were examined and the Bacillus coli found 
twice and the Bacillus enteritidis sporogenes once. 
Sterilized Milks. Of the nine samples examined one was found not to be 
sterile. The sterilization of milk is difficult on account of the presence of spore- 
bearing bacilli, the resistance of which to heat is very considerable. 
Condensed Milks. Twenty-five samples were examined and the great majority 
were not sterile. There is no doubt that condensed milk is a most unsatisfactory 
product. Bacteria are usually present, and the milk, which was originally condensed, 
might have contained various products of the decomposition of bacteria. These 
products are masked subsequently by the large quantity ot sugar present, but their 
irritant properties are not destroyed. 
Cheese. Thirteen samples were examined. In one case the Bacillus coli was 
present, and in another sample the Bacillus enteritidis sporogenes. The probability 
is that in cheese, organisms like the Bacillus coli and Bacillus tuberculosis, which 
might have been originally present in the milk from which the cheese was made, tend 
to die out in the process of fermentation. 
Lard and Margarine. Twenty-one samples were examined. No tubercle 
was found, and the Bacillus enteritidis in only one sample of margarine. 
Bacteria present in Shell Fish. Some kinds ot shell fish, like milk and milk 
products, are for the most part eaten uncooked ; they are in consequence liable to 
convey infection if they become contaminated with pathogenic bacteria. Contamination 
may occur in the transit and storing of the shell fish, but more especially in the collecting 
grounds. It is not uncommon to find that sewage has access to oyster, mussel, and 
cockle beds. One hundred and fifty-four samples were examined for evidence of the 
Bacillus coli and Bacillus enteritidis sporogenes. The Bacillus coli was present 
seventeen times, the Bacillus enteritidis thirty-seven times. The Bacillus coli was 
more frequently present in oysters and mussels, the Bacillus enteritidis in peri- 
winkles and cockles. Thus again, as in the case of the milks, there is little uniformity 
between the occurrence of these two bacilli. It is fortunate that Bacillus coli is not more 
abundant in shell fish in Liverpool, but no efforts must be spared to make the 
collecting grounds above suspicion of sewage contamination. In the case of cockles and 
mussels, this is difficult, as they are often taken from the mouths ot estuaries where pol- 
lution unfortunately occurs to a great extent owing to the discharge of crude sewage. 
