THE MILK TROUBLE

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 96, 16 January 1918, Page 8

THE MILK TROUBLE

Sir, —Ratepayers are asking wbati tlio council did to upset the city milk: supply and cause so much bad milk to! be distributed. It did those things it ought not to have done. It caused;', vendors to scud their milk to badly-j designed, inadequate premises afcj Thorndon passenger station, which aro< dusty, unprotected from the sun, and} further overheated by hot water and; hot-water pipes, connected with the l , sowers by unventilated traps, and in-i fested by thousands of flies. Milk is; polluted by dust, flies, and sewer gas,! and quickly decomposes with tempera<j tures between 70 and 100 degrees. It: also left undone the things it oujjht to have done. It did not pasteurise or; cool the milk. The delav occasioned: great trouble to private homes, the , hospitals, nursing homes, and restaur-: ants, and especially to children. When; the milk was eventually delivered much , , of it was unfit for human consumption, or quickly became so after delivery.

It had been publicly pointed out by tho Deputy Chief Health Officer that' such results must be expected from the , council's proposed action, at the meeting between the Minister and the' Mayor last December. The council went on with its proposals, in spite of this condemnation. Has the Health Department no power to promptly stop grossly insanitary methods from beingadopted aftor condemnation? The council is said to contemplate renewing its action at Thorndon station. It is to be hoped ratepayers will protest to the Government against such a nroceeding. No failure of milk-vendors has even approached in magnitude or character the mischievous and insanitary results achieved by the council in its two days' operations, carried out in the face of the previous condemnation of the Health Department.—l am, etc., RATEPAYER. January 15.