CITY MILK SUPPLY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26636, 5 December 1947, Page 6

CITY MILK SUPPLY

NEW TESTING SCHEME DRIVE FOR HIGHER QUALITY AIMS OF BOARD OUTLINED The determination of the Metropolitan Milk Board to restrain the delivery of milk which did not comply with the new test recently adopted by the board was expressed in a statement issued by the chairman, Mr W. B. Taverner. The weakness in the city’s milk supply was in the main on the farm, Mr Taverner said, and the cause of poor milk must be remedied or the delivery of it suspended. A scheme of testing the city milk supply was commenced on November 17, Mr Taverner went on. The testing was being undertaken by a graduate of the Home Science School and the board desired to keep the public fully informed of any developments in the testing scheme. The board would rather see a temporary shortage of milk than that consumers should be compelled to use some of the milk which had been the subject of testing and which had failed to comply with the requirements of the test, he added. The Reductase Test Explaining the testing scheme, Mr Taverner said that the laboratory and equipment at the Milk Treatment Station in King street was made available to the board by the director of the Milk Marketing Division, the tests there being carried out under the direction of Mr G. Hepburn, the manager, and his test-room assistant. The only test undertaken at present was the methylene blue reductase test, the standard for which was four hours, Mr Taverner stated. Although the resazurin test, which would give the results required in one hour, would be much more economical in time and labour, it had not so far been adopted as a standard test in New Zealand, though it was recognised in England and Amercia.

Owing to a shortage of sample bottles, and the inability with the present equipment to wash and sterilise the number of bottles required, only the milk coming in from the farms to, the milk treatment plants, the Dairy Farmers’ Company depot in Bauchop street and the company’s town milk depot in Frederick street, is able to be tested at present. ‘ “It is hoped to extend the tests to include milk obtained by vendors direct from farms around the city, and a scheme to obtain samples of all this milk is now being worked out,” Mr Taverner added. Samples from Farm Cans “The samples at the places mentioned are taken by the person in charge of the depot from the farmers’ cans as soon as they are brought in each day by the carriers,” he said. The bottles, propertly labelled and identified, are placed in the cool room. Then they are picked up twice each morning and taken to the treatment station laboratory. “The results are available the following morning and a copy is sent to the supply association concerned and to the livestock division of the Department of Agriculture in order that they may ascertain the cause of non-complying samples and take steps to remedy the position. In addition to the reductase test, phosphase tests and bacteriological tests are also carried out as routine practice. “As soon as equipment can be obtained, tests for dirt contamination will also be in operation,” Mr Taverner concluded.