Evening star., 1934-11-25
F0WLERFATHER.
Of milk REFORMS
Health Officer Has Seen
City's Standards Reach
Unsurpassed Point.

6lOlllk ~ yCdlS Va dNlANC oS2 N4SS
in the District government, DR.. Will
liam c. Fowler, health ofiicer, retro
spectively turned back the pages of his
career yesterday, and marked as one
of his greatest contributions to the
health of the city. the determined and
successful efforts he made to improve
the quality and purity Of Its milk
supply.
AS father of the 1925 milk control
act, and later, as its guardian, DR..
Fowler has seen Washington's milk i'm
prove from only an average to a point
where it IS unsurpassed in quality
and purity.
mo city in the United States has
better milk than Washington" DR..
Fowler said. And few cities have
milk that can even compare
with it."
Back in 1920, before science gave
much thought to the disastrous effects
of unpasteurized, unclean milk-when
newborn babies were dying at an
alarming rate from pathogenic or
ganisms in their food-the raw milk
shipped into Washington from the
farm averaged about l.898,OO0 per
cubic centimeter. After the milk
control act became effective five years
later the count dropped to an average
of 100000 per cubic centimeter. In
other words, at that time, there were
100000 organisms in every IA drops
Of milk.
Considered Babies.
DR.. Fowler looked at milk in terms
of babies food. He calculated the
average infant consumed two quarts
of milk a day, or about 100000 bac-
terra. Then, with the aid of the milk
control act, he went to work to clean
up the dairy farms and the diaries,
and to replace filth with sanitation at
every point from the COW to the con-
sumner.
Now, the bacteria count has been
reduced to an average OF $4,000 per
cubic centimeter That Is the figure
for raw milk, but after pasteurization.
1t drops to 5000. But these 5000
organisms, according to Health De-
partment officials, are not Of the dan
eerous pathogenic or disease pro-
ducing type; they are the minute
variety that give life to both milk
and water.
And while the bacteria count was
being reduced, the butter fat con-
tent, or the richness, went UP. In
1928, the first year in which the
Health Department charted this
feature, the average butter fat con-
tent of milk shipped into Washing
ton was per cent This average has
slowly gone up and last year it
reached 4.3 per cent.
Above Standard.
Incidentally, the grade A milk re-
quirements for milk in most markets
in the United States call for a mini
mum count of 100000 to 00.000
bacteria per cubic centimeter. The
major portion of Washington's milk
as delivered to dealers is 10000 or
less, which equals the bacterial re-
quirements for certified milk.
Improvement in the milk supply,
however, has come only through the
cooperation of the dairy farmers.
These producers who furnish the
District with its milk supply live in
Maryland and Virginia. A few are
in West Virginia, and about 80 per
cent are members Of the Maryland
and Virginia Milk Producers As
sociation.
These farmers have diligently fol-
lowed the Health Departments re-
quirements, chiefly because it was
necessary to keep in business, but
partly because a premium is paid for
purest milk with high butter fat
content-nilk that gets high rating
from the Health Department in
spectors.
To these farmers the dairy busi-
ness has become a highly specialized
industry! They have invested nearly
s7,OOOOo0 in buildings and equip
ment alone for the production Of
Washington's milk This does not
include the value of the farms or
about s3,o0O.000 invested in cows.
Refrigerating and steam sterilizing
apparatus are part of the modern
equipment purchased and used by the
farmers because no milk leaves the
farm until it is cooled to the proper
temperature and the cans have been
sterilized under germ destroying
steam. Even the cows teats and I'D
ders are washed and wiped before
each milking. In fact, the dairy
farmers, to get the highest possible
rating from a Health Department in
spector, must use clean, individual
towels for washing and drying the
udders at each milking. In addition,
the dairy attendants must pass a
medical examination If the producer
is to receive a high rating on his
milk.
Ice Cream Milk.
No milk, except that used for ice
cream. comes into Washington with
out meeting these exacting require
ments. Milk used in ice cream, how
ever. must meet the approval Of in
spection authorities in the States In
which it is produced.
Strict control Is maintained over
the supply under the Health Depart
ment's rating and permit system. No
dairy farmer Is allowed to ship into
the District any milk or cream for
fluid consumption without permit
from the Health Department. The
milk that does come in must conform
to the standards outlined in the milk
control act. and the subsequent regu-
lations promulgated under that law.
To procure a permit, the producer
must keep all of his cattle free from
tuberculosis and meet the numerous
other health and sanitary standards
prescribed by the department. Other
wise the permit is revoked.