South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-05-07
HEALTH OFFICER TALKS BACK

Editor News-Times.
The attempt to raise the standard
Of market milk Of South Bend merits
serious consideration. The editorial
entitled. Health officer Bosenbury's
Pasteurization Bugaboo," which ap-
peared in the morning edition of May
is a conglomeration Of exaggeration
and mistatements. In the first place,
the general milk supply of South Bend
is not what it should be. A criticism
of the milk supply without some sug-
gestion as to how 1t may be improved
would be absolutely worthless. The
suggested improvements are included
in the proposed ordinance.
We have not gone before the coun-
ell with any statements that cannot be
proven. We have not exaggerated the
danger from milk born epidemics of
disease. We have tried TO be fair to
the milk dealers, having in mind how
ever the best interests of the citizens
of South Bend.
You make the statement that the
average pasteurization plant is more
of an incubator of disease germs than
an exterminatOr of them. You can
not prove the correctness of this state
ment. You state that there is some
excuse for certified milk. There is no
certified milk produced in st. Joseph
county and none is sold in South Bend.
There are several producers Of milk
whose product is of such high grade
| that it approaches the standard set for
certified milk. Milk of this character,
however, is not produced in sufficient
quantity and the price is too high for
/ people generally to use it. You state
that "pasteurization has less regard
fer raw cleanliness but dumps the
whole thing in a pan and presumes to
purify IL by fire" [ do not know
whether you mean to purify the raw
/ cleanliness or the raw milk. Whoever
| informed you that sterilization and
1 paSteurizatiOn are synonymous terms
misled you. There is a very distinct
difference between pasteuriZatiOn and
sterilization and fractional steriliZa-
/ ton which you have muddled and con-
fused as one and the same process
/ Pasteurization is, as you suggest
nothing mysterious" BY the term
is meant the heating Of milk to 145
! degrees Fahrenheit and keeping it al
that temperature for 80 minutes and
| then rapidly cooling it and keeping II
cooled. Your very wise suggestion
| that pasteurized milk should be kept
cool. was anticipated in the ordinance
an examination of which will show, in
/ section %. After pasteurization al
milk and cream shall Immediately be
cooled to so degrees Fahrenheit OF
lower and shall be kept below 60 de-
grees Fahrenheit until delivered Il
/ consumer"
Finally you say that it is only iT
pasteurized milk and not in raw milk
that bacteria attack the proteids
forming products more or less pois-
onous and which are the cause OF
more or less disorders especially OF
infants and children. Such a mistate
ment of facts must be called to youl
attention because It is damaging evi
dence that you do not fully appreciate
what you are talking about.
1t is true, that it is very seldom tha
anything IS materially improved b!
being dOctored. but inasmuch as The
milk that reaches South Bend comes
from various sources over variOu!
/ roads, by various means and is han
died by various people, il can be read
lily understood that various grades o
milk as TO purity and cleanliness reacf
the city Taking into consideration
the general milk supply which is rec
ogniZed as below standard the prob
lem is first TO seek to improve th'
production OF milk and secondly, t.
improve the milk after it reaches thu
city both of which measures are con