South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-05-06
HEALTH OFFICER BOSENBIRY's
PASTEURIZATION BUGABOO.


Highland cemetery, to the north
west Of the city, VIII be filled TO over
flowing within a fortnight after its
opening. if we are TO take City Health
officer Charles S. BOseabury seriously;
that is. unless the council passes the
milk pasteurization ordinance and the
populace forthwith proceeds to obey.
The trouble is that the people are be-
coming 50 acclimated TO the cry OF
wolf. wolf" when there is no wolf.
that some day. like as not, the wolf
may come, and declining TO be fright
ened again. their troubles may be end
ed.
Candidly. our opinion of the pas
teurization ordinance is that unless il
is seriously amended so that the city
takes charge OF the pasteurization Of
all milk 20 be sold to its people, il will
be just that much more lumber on the
law books. and more Of detriment
than benefit. assuming that pasteur-
ization can be Of any benefit at all
We realize that il is Quite important
now and then. for public officials, even
OF the health board school, TO usher
forth with some needed reform If for
no other reason than 10 show up that
they are busy and have the public well
fare dearly at heart. but experience
has shown the average pasteurization
plant to be more of an incubator of
disease germs. than an exterminator
of them, and such reforms are always
of more or less questionable value.
For certified milk-milk guaranteed
clean and pure,-there is some ex-
cuse: indeed. considerable Of it. Pas
teurizatiOn, however, is a cheap alter
native. and. too often so lacking in ef-
fciency that il is no alternative at all.
Certified milk at least presumes a
clean. wholesome, raw article; natures
own food Pasteurizauon has less re-
gard for raw cleanliness. but dumps
the whole thing into pan and pre-
sumes to purify it by fire. When milk
is heated TO the boiling-point all active
bacteria are killed-but remember we
said, active bacteria" The milk.
however, still has it's spores which sub
toward which development, one heat
ing merely effects a good start. In or
der TO render milk absolutely sterile
and sterilization and pasteurization
are synonymous terms it must Je
heated several times, at intervals un-
Gil the spores have been fully devel-
oDed into bacteria and suffered death
also. They tell YOU il viii never sour,
and with the sterilization carried to
this extreme. it won't. there being no
life left. and nothing 10 sour. You get
in exchange for your trouble a con
siderable change of color, and a
cooked" taste. more sickly than de-
licious.
SO when you get right down to it,
pasteurization is merely a little more
mystifying term discovered by the
doctors OF materia medica with which
10 captivate the uninitated who have
become acclimated to tie bugaboo of
sterilization: same as sterilization sue
ceeded plain boiling. such as mothers
sometimes when your digestive appara-
tus needed certain regulations. There
AZ nothing mysterious about it, and
nothing wonderful. II is boiled milk
and that is all there is TO it, What is
needed for a proper milk supply is
ice. not fire, and we suggest that our
health officer turn his attention 10
Perfecting a milk system fit for rec
ognition. rather than this thundera-
ton OF boiled" noise.
PasteuIized milk. unless kept cold.
will develop bacteria quite as danger
Gus as any that the pasteurization
kills; bacteria that attacks the pro-
teids. forming products more or less
poisonous. and which are believed 20
be the cause of many of the digestive
disorders. especially OF infants and
children. In natural milk such pro-
ducts are rarely formed in any appre-
ciable quantity. Let US have the nat
ural milk. clean and pure as we can
set livery seldom that anything is
very materially improved by being
doctored; that is, If so as to change
its nature.
'