[Report 1963] / Medical Officer of Health, Birkenhead County Borough.
- Birkenhead (England). County Borough Council.
- Date:
- 1963
Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Credit: [Report 1963] / Medical Officer of Health, Birkenhead County Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![MILK SUPPLY. The arrangements for the processing, bottling and distribution of milk in Birkenhead continue to be satisfactory. The two dairies situated in the Borough process a total of about 24,000 gallons each day. This amount constitutes the major proportion of milk sold in the town and therefore supervision and sampling control are directed mainly at these two places. Samples are also taken from milk sold in the Borough, but originating elsewhere. The details given later show that a high standard is maintained. The Milk (Special Designation) Regulations 1963 were issued this year. Although the main provisions do not come into force until 1964, the description ’’Tuberculin Tested Milk (Pasteurised)” may now be used as an alternative to ’’Pasteurised Milk”. This change is due to the culmination of the Attested IHerd scheme, whereby all milk produced is of ’’Tuberculin Tested” |quality. The price differential has also been abolished. This year has seen the introduction of homogenised |pasteurised milk by some dairies. This process distributes the icream evenly throughout the milk and has always been applied to Sterilised milk. The bulk transport of raw milk from the farms commenced this year, and three tankers are now bringing about 4,500 gallons a day to the dairies. Instead of storing his milk in ten gallon churns, the producer now has a refrigerated storage tank at the ]farm from which the milk is pumped into the tanker. Each lorry |collects from at least seven farms and on arrival at the dairy, the mixed milk is pumped into a storage tank to await 'pasteurisation. Samples are taken at each farm by the lorry idriver, but these are not tested for hygienic or compositional iquality, until arrival at the dairy. Carelessness or lack of Ihygiene on the part of one farmer can therefore render unfit for *use a whole consignment of up to 1750 gallons of milk from a number of farms. Similarly the adulteration of milk by one farm is easily jmasked by the good quality of the milk from the other farms, land sampling by the driver and testing by the dairy have no significance under the Food and Drugs Act. Therefore, while there fare economic and hygienic advantages in the bulk storage and [transport of milk from the farms, the local authority will have [less control in future over farm milk sent into the Borough, The numbers of registered dairies and dairymen and of licences issued under the Milk (Special Designation) Regulations lare I No. of registered dairies 43 No, of registered dairymen 304 Dealers licences to sell pre-packed milk 302 Dealers licences to bottle Tuberculin Tested Milk 1 I Processor's licences to pasteurise milk 2 ' Numbers of visits to dairymen's premises 311](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b28927576_0077.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
