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Compulsory pasteurisation of milk
1932.
PUBLIC HEALTH.
lbu
Correspondence. The Editor does not accept responsibility for the opinions of correspondents. CO hi P U I . S O R Y PAST:E U R I S A T 1 O N OF MILK. MANCHESTER'S LEAD.
GLASGOW AND COMPULSORY PASTEURISATION.
To the Editor of PUBLIC HEALTH.
Sn~,---In the current number of PUBliC ttF.aLTH there appears an excellent article by Dr. H. Leslie Cronk on " A County Health Officer and the Milk Problem," in which he discusses in an admirably judicial manner the question of pasteurisation o.f milk. I observe also from the Lancet of January 9th, that the Manchester Public Health Committee have approved of a memorandum from I)r. R. Veitch Clark, the Medical Officer of Health, proposing that the City Council should obtain powers to insist that all milk supplied to the city, except " Certified " and " Grade A " (Tuberculin tested), should in future be pasteurised. W h e n the gradinoo of milk was under discussion in 1926, the Corporation of Glasgow recommended that two. grades of milk should alone be recognised: (a) pasteurised milk, and (b) milk produced from Tuberculin-tested cows. In July o.f last year a report by the Veterinary Surgeon and myself, dealing with the whole question of infections conveved by milk and containing the following recommendation, was submitted to a SubCommittee:-" We are of opinion that powers should be secured to enable a large centre of population like Glasgow to require, should the local authoritity so decide (a) " that all milk brought into the area for consumption or produced and consumed in the area, unless it comes within the category of ' Certified ' or ' Grade A' (Tuberculin tested) milk, should be efficiently
SLR,--It is to be hoped that Manchester's lead in seeking parliamentary powers to coinpel tim pasteurisation of the whole of the city's milk supply, with the exception of " Certified Milk," and " Grade A (Tuberculin tested) milk," will be followed speedily by others. As one who ]ms carefully studied the problems that attach to the public milk supply, I have no hesitation in declaring that the heating of milk is the only practicable means of ensuring, its safety, and surely it is a deplorable circumstance that we go on submitting to. occasio.nal outbreaks of milk-borne infections and to the stilt serious results from the infection of children by the germ of cow tuberculosis, when a simple and effective preventive measure, which leaves the valuable food properties of milk practically unimpaired (as testitied by the Ministry of Health), is at hand. In t:he United States of America compulsory t)asteurisation has been enforced for several years in the majority of the chief centres of population, and the .direct result has been to reduce considerably the toll of milk-borne disease. The small rninority of those who are opposed to the action of the Manchester City Council will soon g r o w to realise that the community needs such protection--and is likely to need it for many years to come; that it is not a difficult matter to comply with the conditions imposed ; and that the City Council has but acled in a way that is consistent with its duties as a public health authority. It is not the first time that Manchester has .clo*m pioneer public health xvork that has given a lead to the whole country. I am,
Yours faithfully, HENRY KEN~VOOD,
Emeritus Professor of Public Health, University o[. London. I,ondon, N.4.
January 9th, 1982.
To the Edilor of PcsLlc tlE.~.LTH.
pasteurised before distribution; (b) that the process of pasteurisation should be by approved methods ; (c) that pasteurising plants should be subject to the approval and supervision of the Iocal authority; and (d) that these provisions should be enforceable after a reasonable period sufficient to allow the milk industry to adapt itself to the required standards."
The general argumcnls employed in the report were based upon the incidence of tubercle bacilli in ordinary milk, the spread of other infections by means of milk, and the admittedly small effect of pasteurisation on nutritive value. Following upon this report, the Corporalion decided to communicate with the Corporations o.f Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen, in order to ascertain if they would be prepared to co-operate with Glasgow in obtaining the
PUBLIC HEALTH.
lbu
Correspondence. The Editor does not accept responsibility for the opinions of correspondents. CO hi P U I . S O R Y PAST:E U R I S A T 1 O N OF MILK. MANCHESTER'S LEAD.
GLASGOW AND COMPULSORY PASTEURISATION.
To the Editor of PUBLIC HEALTH.
Sn~,---In the current number of PUBliC ttF.aLTH there appears an excellent article by Dr. H. Leslie Cronk on " A County Health Officer and the Milk Problem," in which he discusses in an admirably judicial manner the question of pasteurisation o.f milk. I observe also from the Lancet of January 9th, that the Manchester Public Health Committee have approved of a memorandum from I)r. R. Veitch Clark, the Medical Officer of Health, proposing that the City Council should obtain powers to insist that all milk supplied to the city, except " Certified " and " Grade A " (Tuberculin tested), should in future be pasteurised. W h e n the gradinoo of milk was under discussion in 1926, the Corporation of Glasgow recommended that two. grades of milk should alone be recognised: (a) pasteurised milk, and (b) milk produced from Tuberculin-tested cows. In July o.f last year a report by the Veterinary Surgeon and myself, dealing with the whole question of infections conveved by milk and containing the following recommendation, was submitted to a SubCommittee:-" We are of opinion that powers should be secured to enable a large centre of population like Glasgow to require, should the local authoritity so decide (a) " that all milk brought into the area for consumption or produced and consumed in the area, unless it comes within the category of ' Certified ' or ' Grade A' (Tuberculin tested) milk, should be efficiently
SLR,--It is to be hoped that Manchester's lead in seeking parliamentary powers to coinpel tim pasteurisation of the whole of the city's milk supply, with the exception of " Certified Milk," and " Grade A (Tuberculin tested) milk," will be followed speedily by others. As one who ]ms carefully studied the problems that attach to the public milk supply, I have no hesitation in declaring that the heating of milk is the only practicable means of ensuring, its safety, and surely it is a deplorable circumstance that we go on submitting to. occasio.nal outbreaks of milk-borne infections and to the stilt serious results from the infection of children by the germ of cow tuberculosis, when a simple and effective preventive measure, which leaves the valuable food properties of milk practically unimpaired (as testitied by the Ministry of Health), is at hand. In t:he United States of America compulsory t)asteurisation has been enforced for several years in the majority of the chief centres of population, and the .direct result has been to reduce considerably the toll of milk-borne disease. The small rninority of those who are opposed to the action of the Manchester City Council will soon g r o w to realise that the community needs such protection--and is likely to need it for many years to come; that it is not a difficult matter to comply with the conditions imposed ; and that the City Council has but acled in a way that is consistent with its duties as a public health authority. It is not the first time that Manchester has .clo*m pioneer public health xvork that has given a lead to the whole country. I am,
Yours faithfully, HENRY KEN~VOOD,
Emeritus Professor of Public Health, University o[. London. I,ondon, N.4.
January 9th, 1982.
To the Edilor of PcsLlc tlE.~.LTH.
pasteurised before distribution; (b) that the process of pasteurisation should be by approved methods ; (c) that pasteurising plants should be subject to the approval and supervision of the Iocal authority; and (d) that these provisions should be enforceable after a reasonable period sufficient to allow the milk industry to adapt itself to the required standards."
The general argumcnls employed in the report were based upon the incidence of tubercle bacilli in ordinary milk, the spread of other infections by means of milk, and the admittedly small effect of pasteurisation on nutritive value. Following upon this report, the Corporalion decided to communicate with the Corporations o.f Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen, in order to ascertain if they would be prepared to co-operate with Glasgow in obtaining the