Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1892-05-26
THE MILK BUSINESS.
Robbery Of Producers and Consumers by
SIkimmiIk AduIteration.

AAOHDCEt VI anu OolnGnaGhH "
SIimmiIl AduIteration.
The Rural New Yorker pays its re-
spects to the New York Milk exchange
in an article from which we make an
extract.
All through tlse milk producing re
gions members Of the exchange have es-
tablished milk receiving stations, where
they buy milk of the producers, paying
for it generally half cent rer quart
less than the net price in New York. In
other words, they meet in New York 13
per cent. Of solids and or more Per
cent. of fat See how easy it Is for these
interruptions men to toadulterate the milk
by adding SKINNED milk to pure. Look
at these figures:
80 quarts milk. solids I3... - $50
10 quarts skinned milk. solids ln..-..-... 100
40 quarts, total solids. ds...-.-.......-........ 450
quart, .-....--.---..--....-...... l2}s
This shows that in the case of milk
showing l3 per cent. Of solids and per
cent. of fat, they could safely mix ten
quarts Of SKINNED milk with thirty
quarts Of pure and the mixture would
stand the legal test. 1t is perfectly safe
to say that the milk received at the ex-
change creaIneries for eleven months in
the year is rich enough to allow them
to put five quarts Of SKINNED milk into
every forty quart can without subject
ing themselves to the penalties Of the law
We append few extracts from the
fourth annual report of the state dairy
commissioner of this state:
Some creamery men are no doubt practicing
the adulteration nf milk by adding certain
percentage of skimmilk to each can shipped to
market, they having discovered that they can
do this without reducing the milk below the
lowest standard required by law.
One creamery man bad the audacity to come
to me and make the following statement: That
he was selling his milk at wholesale ANA retail
in Brooklyn; that he thought some OF the farm
crs delivering their milk at his creamery MIA
tered i'll that he feared that the milk would he
brought below the standard by reason Of tie
supposed watering and the addition by him
self as lie acknowledged. vi i've quarts Gf
skimmilk to every thirty-iiv of pure milk, and
that he was fearful lest the dairy commissioner
OF the board Of health should prosecute him.
In fine he wanted to be protected against the
fraud Of the farmers in order TO rnnsummate
his own fraud on his customers.
find that the detection 0f the above uffense
closed doors it is not easy iO detect H.
Another creamery man delivered his milk at
railroad depot The agent noticed that the cans
were not full and called the attention Of The
party delivering the milk % the fact lie an
swered that he had forgotten 10 add the skim
milk, and returned 70 the creamery ard
brought what was presumably skimmilk to
the depot and filed the cans.
The farreaching effects IF this per-
sistent adulteration IRE apparent when
we lock into the figures. A careful es-
innate puts the amount of milk shipped
to New York from exchange crcamer-
les at about !, 600 cans daily If we as-
sumo that these contain, Oh an average.
only five quarts of SKINNED milk apiece.
it VIII be seen that the aggregate
amounts to 25,000 quarts Or G25 cans
daily-a quantity larger than the ter
rible surplus about which - much
has been said and which has been such
potent factor in beating down the
price in the hands Of the exchange The
evil is a monstrous one.
The milk law needs amending. The
proportion Of fat solids is too small and
should be changed. The law today
makes any farmer who sells his milk to
a butter or cheese factory, and who adds
water or subtracts any cream, guilty of
a misdeneanor, and that is as It should
Be. Now let us have the same medicine
for the dealer, ana let as be empowered
to call the employees in crcalneries a.
witnesses. If it can be proved that "a
creamery man has added SKINNED milk
10 his other milk and offered the mixture
for sale, let it be misde1neanor. no
matter what analysis Of it shows. II il
is good law for the farmer 1t il good law
for the exchange man.