SF 255 ' .B7 Copy 1 GRADING AND LABELING OF MILK AND CREAM ISSUED BY THE BOSTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AUGUST, 1916 D. of D. JCT 6 1916 SFzss 37 . PREPARED BY THE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE OF THE Boston Chamber of Commerce THEODORE N. VAIL, Chairman 125 Milk St. American Tel. & Tel. Co. GEORGE H. ELLIS, Vice-Chairman 272 Congress St. George H. Ellis Co., Printers. (Owner of Wauwinet Farm, which has the largest herd of cattle in New England) JOHN P. BOWDITCH Millwood Farm Farmer (Proprietor of Millwood Farm) Framingham, Mass. EDGAR W. J. HEARTY 40 Central St. Maynard & Child, Com. Merchants RICHARD HITTINGER 45 Elm St., Belmont The Hittinger Fruit Co., Growers JESSE B. HUBBARD 95 Milk St. Fitzgerald, Hubbard & Co., Stockbrokers JOHN C. RUNKLE 35 Wendell St. The Barrett Co., Roofing & Paving Materials (Owner of Cedarcrest Farm) JOHN C. ORCUTT, Secretary 177 Milk St. INTRODUCTION A report entitled "Investigation and Analysis of the Production, Transportation, Inspection and Distribution of Milk and Cream in New England," was issued by the Committee on Agriculture in July, 1915, as a result of its two years' inquiry into the situation. Three editions, totaling 50,000 copies, have already been dis- tributed and a fourth edition is in preparation. This ''Milk Report" as it is commonly referred to, outlined the facts and difficulties of each phase of the industry. Six specific recommendations were made to overcome the difficulties: 1. Grading and labeling of milk and cream. 2. Establishment by producers of country receiving stations wherever practicable. 3. Improvements and rearrangement in the present types of farming operations. 4. Substitution of the open-car system of transportation for the leased car system. 5. Several improvements for increasing the efficiency and reducing the cost of city distribution. 6. Advertising the food value of milk and its derivatives. The Interstate Commerce Commission, after many hearings on the New England milk transportation methods early in 1916, has ordered the leased car system abolished and the per-can open-car system installed on October 1, 1916. The National Dairy Council has collected a fund and is beginning to advertise the food value of milk and its derivatives in many papers and magazines. The Massachusetts State Dairy Bureau, firms and individuals, are beginning to advertise in a similar way. Thus, two of the six recommendations are already being put into effect. 2 In this pamphlet, the first of a series, based upon the four remaining recommendations of the Milk Report, the committee will confine itself to describing in detail the system of grading and labeling of milk and cream actually in use in some of the cities in the United States, and making suggestions showing how all sizes and types of communities could adopt grading and labeling if they desire to do so. Comment will also be made on standardization and systems of buying in so far as they relate to the problem of grading and labeling. It hardly need be said that the grading and labeling of food pro- ducts is not a new idea. For many years the law has required that all feeds and fertilizer should be labeled to show their chemical analysis and that the containers should show their contents. Many states under their pure food laws require that certain packages shall be labeled to show the net weight and kind of contents. A short time ago several New England states passed uniform laws providing for compulsory grading of apples. The recommendation that milk and cream be graded and labeled is simply in keeping with the general trend toward better food and greater safeguards for the public health, combined with greater efficiency for producer, distributor and consumer. Nor will they be difficult of adoption by locality, firm or individual be they large or small. It is earnestly hoped that this pamphlet will be read with a view of seeing how one of the difficulties in the milk situation can be remedied without hardship to any and to the benefit of all concerned. The committee has drawn from many sources for the information contained in this pamphlet, and wishes to express its thanks to all those who have so courteously given their assistance. As in the Milk Report, the index in this pamphlet has inten- tionally been omitted, as the discussion must be treated as a whole and the various parts considered in their relation to the other parts if a clear understanding of the entire subject is to be ob- tained. For this reason, the reader is cautioned against reading one part and considering it to the neglect of the other related parts. 3 How Milk is Produced The Dairy Cow is a machine which manufactures or converts feed and labor into milk, calf and manure. The cow's heart pumps blood to all parts of the body, supplying large amounts to the udder. The blood is con- tinually replenished from the feed the cow eats. The light lines are arteries and the dark colored ones are veins. The cow's udder while similar to a large sponge in makeup, may be likened to an inverted bunch of grapes. The individual grape is similar to the hun- dreds of little cells in the cow's udder, around which are blood veins containing the blood pumped from the heart. These little cells transform the blood into milk. The little stem w'li.h holds the grape to the main stem is like the duct which carries the milk from the cells to the larger gland which is similar to the main stem of the bunch of grapes. This large gland leads into the milk cistern or reservoir. By means of hand pressure or mechanical suc- tion, the milk is drawn through the teat from the milk reservoir. It is thought that part of the milk is manufactured at the time of milk- ing and a part during the intermediary period. Individual cows vary to a great extent, not only in the quantity of milk they produce but in the quality, that is, the amount of butter fat (cream) and solids not fat (skim milk.) See page 5 diagram of the variation of these constituents in a quart of milk, also page 15 for description as to its meaning and effect.* *(For further .study see description of milk making in the the first few pages of Decker's book on "Cheese Making;" McKay & Larsen's boo'c on "Principles and Practice of Butter Making;" Rose- nau'sbook on "The Milk Question; ' also the full discussion by Dr. Wm. Ernst of Munich in his book on "Milk Hygiene," published by Alexander Eger of Chicago. All students and those particularly interested should have these books.) Gland-Lobule — Small mass of tissue Alveoli — A small cavity-cell An enlarged quarter section of the udder VARIATIONS IN THE CONTENTS OF MILK DRAWN FROM THE COW Compiled from data on several hundred tests made by Hermann C. Lythgoe, Analyst of the Massachusetts State Department of Health. See page 15 SCIENTIFICALLY CALLED fvXT. Total \ Solids Solids NOT FAT Water- ORDINARILY CALLED Skim Milk KNOW WHAT IS IN YOUR MILK AND CREAM Grading and Labeling tells the story — Demand it 5 THE SITUATION IN GENERAL The grading and laljeling of milk is not a theory. In many places it is in practical use. It has proven to be a success in New York, the largest city in the United States. In 1913, New York City passed an ordinance requiring that all milk and cream should be graded by the City Board of Health and bear a label stating the grade.* The grades are A, B and C, and the label must state whether the milk or cream is raw or pas- teurized. Now, in doing this, New York had a big and difficult problem with which to contend at the outset. Its milk and cream supply comes from a wide area and a very large number of farms, over sixty thousand in number, a large percent of the milk and cream from these being collected at twelve hundred country receiv- ing plants. Four hundred and fifty of this number pasteurize the milk or cream when received from the farmers at the plant in the country. Shortly after New York adopted the system, the New York State Department of Health issued an order that all milk and cream sold in any municipality in the state must be graded and labeled. New York City is not the only municipality having official grad- ing and labeling. Other cities outside of those in New York State that have come to the notice of the committee as having such official systems are Newark and Jersey City, New Jersey; Rich- mond, Virginia, and Kansas City, Missouri. Other cities where milk is being graded, not because of any official regulation, but rather because of the dem.and for it, are Hartford, Stamford, Nor- walk and Bridgeport in Connecticut; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and a number of other places. *Present Standards for Grading in Neiv York City Bacteria Count Before After Barn Pasteurization Pasteurization Score Grade A, raw Milk, 60,000 75 Cream, 300,000 Grade A, pasteurized Milk, 200,000 Milk, 30,000 68 Cream, 1 50,0 00 Grade B, pasteurized, out- Milk, 300,000 Milk, 100^005 55 side of city 1,500,000 in city Cream, 500.000 Grade C, pasteurized, to be sold for manufacturing purpo.ses only. No limit Milk, 300.000 40 Cream, 1,, 500,000 (All milk and cream except grade "A" raw have to be pasteurized.) Present Condition in New England In New England grading and labeling of milk and cream, out- side of the Connecticut cities mentioned, are practically unknown and, in those few places where they are practiced, there are no laws specifying standards for the grades under which the milk and cream are sold. Under such a condition the sale of milk and cream by grades is simply catering to the demands of customers and does not give them the protection they would receive were the standards established by law. On the other hand^ inspection has, in many places in New Eng- land, been carried to extreme with httle good results. Undue emphasis has been laid upon the inspection of equipment and methods emploj^ed in the production of milk while inspection of the product has been more or less neglected. Unnecessary require- ments to be observed in the methods of production have been enforced and in many localities there has been some duplication of inspection, while in other places there has been no inspection what- ever. Nevertheless, the milk produced in the latter places comes into direct competition with that produced in the sections where the inspection is rigid.* Such a condition is intolerable. The uninspected milk may or may not be fit for use. So may the milk coming from places where the inspection has laid emphasis entirely on the equipment and methods and not on the product. Under a grading system where there is proper inspection of the product, a purchaser of Grade A milk would be certain of getting that quality of milk. The milk under existing conditions may have a range of hun- dreds of thousands in its bacteria count, regardless of the enticing labels, "Selected Milk," "Inspected" and the like. Some Advantages of Grading and Labeling By having the container labeled to show the grade of milk or cream and whether it is raw or pasteurized, everyone is enabled to trade in the particular product which he desires to buy or sell , the producer or dealer can sell exactly the kind of milk his customer desires, and the consumer gets what he pays for. *The Report of the Special Milk Board of the Massachusetts State Department of Health contains an extensive summary of the character and extent of the local milk inspection in Massa- chusetts. The Massachusetts Legislature has ordered 4,000 copies printed, to be ready for dis- tribution late in 1916. Application for extra copies should be made to the Massachusetts State Department of Health, Boston, Mass. Also .see article on "Bacterial Testing Versus Dairy Inspec- tion" by Dr. Charles E. North, in the American Journal of Public Health, 755 Boylston Street, Boston, Mass. Vol. 6, No. 6. 7 Food Value and Health Phase Milk and cream are one of our most economical and valuable foods. Good, clean milk and cream are, therefore, essential to the public health, and it is the duty of every community, large and small, to have its milk supply properly safeguarded. The health phase is not the only one to be considered. Greater cleanliness of the product is a real asset to the producer and dis- tributor. Greater cleanliness means a better product, and a better product commands a higher price.* The Milk Report on Grading and Labeling There are three facts the consumer should know about the milk he is buying. First, he should know what its sanitary character is, that is, whether it is loaded with bacteria or whether it is practically free from them. Second, he should know what its chemical composition is, that is, whether it contains very little cream or butter fat, or whether it is called rich milk. Third, he should know its age. Consumers should not buy milk a week old in the belief that it was produced only the day before purchase. The Milk Report pointed out how these facts can be determined. It suggested that every container of milk and cream should be labeled to show** 1. Sanitary character, i.e., bacteria count. 2. Butter fat content, i.e., amount of cream. 3. Date of production. 4. Date of pasteurization, if pasteurized. Already in the places where the law requires grading and labeling, all these facts are shown with the exception of the butter fat content. In some instances this is shown, but the law does not require it. Points the Law Should Cover Labeling milk and cream for its sanitary character, that is, show- ing Grades A, B or any other that may be established, thus showing the maximum number of bacteria permitted in the product, should be done under a licensing system, in the control of the local and state boards of health. A law should l)e enacted giving them power to make such rules and regulations for grading and labeling as they might consider advisable, after hearings and conferences with the parties affected or interested . ♦Page 45 of the Milk Report gives tlie essentials for making clean milk and cream. **Skim Milk, Homogenized cream, milk and cream powder, should be so labeled and their sanitary character indicated. In Homogenized cream, milk and cream powder, the butter fat should also be indicated. Labeling to show the butter fat content is not a subject of official health regulation. This is purely a commercial matter and com- petition will probably force all distributors to take it up, for it is not likely that consumers would buy an imo-n^ranteed product if a product that was guaranteed could be ol^tained.* At present there are varying state requirements in New England as to the legal minimum chemical standard for milk. This mini- mum standard exists to protect the consumer against adulter- ation. * * Labeling to show the date of production and the date of pas- teurization is probably another matter which would be taken care of by competition, and therefore |^vould require no legislation. It must be remembered, however, that the age of milk or cream does not necessarily indicate the quality, i.e., a milk or cream several days old which was clean to begin with and had been kept under proper refrigeration would generally be of a much better quality than a product a few hoiu's old which had been kept at a high temperature. More emphasis should be laid on the final bac- teria count than on the age. The Change Must]^Be Gradual It is not expected that the suggested changes could be made in a moment, nor is it desirable. They must be brought about step by step in order that they may be worked out to suit the conditions of the locality and that people may have plenty of time to understand them. Determining the Sanitary Character or Bacteria Count BACTERIA are minute organisms of vegetable origin which multiply rapidly in milk and cream because it is an excellent food for them. When the temperature of milk or cream is 60° or more, moisture and heat conditions are created which are extremely favor- able to the growth of bacteria. Bacteria are, practically speaking, *Legislation would have to be passed providing for the punishment of anyone guilty of selling milk or cream below the standard stated on the label, being understood that in some states the pure food laws do not include milk. It should also provide that where milk and cream were labeled the minimum chemical legal standard need not apply. ♦♦Standards all over the country vary to a ridiculous extent. Report of Commttee "Official Dairy Instructors' Association" on variations governing sale of milk in 511 cities in the United States of 5,000 to 25,000 population shows: Solids not fat S.5 to 9.5; Total solids 10.5 to 13; Fat 3 to 3.7; Fat in cream 10 per cent to 25 per cent; Total Bacteria permitted 50,000 to 1,000,000; Temperature 45 degrees to 77 degrees F. Not salable 8 to 60 days previous to calving. Not salable 3 to 21 days after calving. See page 5. Those interested should .secure the leaflet of the Bureau of Animal Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, i.ssued on May 1, 191G, on "Legal Standards for Dairy Products." Also see "Milk Report" page 41. 9 Type of milk and cream station receiving both A and B milk ^^1^ ^ v-» EXTERIOR INTERIOR 1. Two compartment receiving tank on scales for Grades A and B 2. Two compartment dump tank with separate pumps (3) 4. Grade A tank 5. Grade B tank (Nos. 4 and 5 cool the product and can pasteurize if necessary) 10 2 O o o H o Pi w O N o <; o m 11 found everywhere. They may come from ordinary dirt or dust, or from diseases such as typhoid, tuberculosis, diphtheria, scarlet fever and septic sore throat. The making of a bacteria count is not difficult when a person has been properly trained in a commercial bacteriological lab- oratory.* Making the Count Samples of milk or cream are diluted with sterile water, ninety- nine parts of water to one part of milk.** A small measured amount of the solution is placed on a glass plate four inches in diameter. Agar, a transparent gelatinous substance containing beef tea and other food to make the bacteria grow, is added. This fastens the bacteria in place. The plate is then placed in the incu- bator for 48 hours, at about the temperature of the human body. At the end of this time the individual bacteria have multiplied into colonies and it is a comparatively simple matter to count the num- ber of colonies present so as to ascertain into which grade the milk or cream will fall.*** It must be understood that the exact number of bacteria cannot be counted, but they can count them within ten to fifteen per cent, or close enough so that it can be easily ascertained if milk classificL^ under 10,000, under 50,000 under 100,000 or under 1,000,000.**** Laboratory Equipment and Cost Laboratories can be installed for $250 for a small munici- pality and up to $5,000 for a very large city, including the cost of equipment, consisting of the necessary glassware, sterilizers, incu- bators, etc. It has been suggested that municipalities with populations of less than 20,000 could not afford to grade milk. This is not true. Any city or town with a population of 5,000 or more can afford to have its own grading station, and there are instances of cooperative *There are many places where young men and women can be trained to make bacteria counts in two or three months' time. **This is one of a number of ratios that can be used. ***In examining raw (unpasteurized) millc, microscopic methods are sometimes used. Write Neiv York State Experiment Station, Geneva, N. Y., for their technical bulletin No. 49 on "Count- ing Bacteria By Means of a Microscope," sometimes termed the Breed Method. Another is the Slack Method, which is described on pages 327-33 in the "American Journal of Public Health for 1910." ****See Reprint No. 295 from the Public Health Reports, U. S. Public Health Service, issued August, 1915, for Prof. H. W. Conn — treati.se on "Standards for Determining the Purity of Milk." 12" CQZ !-0 UDuJ — UJ cOl- . Steam tester for large plants. How to Test for Butter Fat Twenty-five years ago, a machine known as the Babcock Tester was invented to determine the butter fat content of milk or cream. A composite sample of the milk or cream is thoroughly mixed and a certain amount of this is then mixed with an equal amount of sulphuric acid. The acid dissolves the casein and sets the butter fat free. This mixture is placed in the machine and is whirled for five minutes. Water is added and a consequent whirhng in the machine forces the butter fat into the graduated neck of the testing bottle and the percentage of fat can readily be measured.* Butter Fat Determines the Commercial Value Because of the great variation now found in the composition of milk and cream,** many dealers are buying on the butter fat basis, that is, in purchasing one hundred pounds they pay for the value of the butter fat content plus the value of the skim milk. The solids not fat — milk sugar, casein, allbumen and ash — plus the water which we ordinarily call skim milk do not vary as much as the butter fat content, and the commercial value of skim milk which comes from a 3 per cent milk is practically the same as that from a 4 per cent or 5 per cent milk, although the milk sugar, casein, albumen and ash content may vary to some extent. Commercially cream' is the most valuable part of the milk, and it is therefore essential that the percentage of cream in milk should be known. This is particularly true when you stop to consider two facts. First, the greater part of all milk produced is used for man- ufacturing purposes, only a small part being sold as whole milk, or for home consumption. Second, the milk that is not sold as whole milk, but rather for manufacturing purposes, is converted into cream and its derivatives. It should also be noted that milk carried by distributors as a surplus is converted into cream, butter, cheese, condensed milk, etc. State Standards for Butter Fat, Solids not Fat and Total Solids Many states long ago established legal standards for milk and cream, requiring that the product should contain not less than cer- *The cost of the machine is low and within the reach of almost everyone, the expense of 3both machine and equipment ranging from $5 to $35, according to the size. In order to officially be regarded as a milk tester, one has to receive a certificate from a state college of agriculture, which is obtained after an examination. Make application to your State agricultural college for further detailed information. **It is practically impossible to obtain pure butter fat (cream) from milk — always some skim milk (solids not fat) is in combination with the cream (butter fat). The grades usually run from 10 per cent to 44 per cent pure butter fat. 17 tain stated amounts of the various constituents. This was all right for the old fashioned cow, but now some of the breeds will not produce milk containing the requisite amount of butter fat.* As we have already said, the amount of butter fat in any cow's milk is determined by nature. Change or increase in feed may increase the amount of milk, but it will not materially affect its butter fat content. The milk may be perfectly good, but man arbitrarily rules that l)ecause nature and breeding have put less butter fat into a certain cow's milk the product of that cow shall not be sold. Why should a man be deemed a criminal for selling milk of a low butter fat content, when it is the pure product of a healthy cow? The object of the law, of course, is to prevent in general the undue lowering of the standard of the butter fat content of milk. But is it not evident, that this end can be much better accomplished by grading, and after all is not the consumer the one to decide what grade of milk he wants? That is if a purchaser wants to buy 1 per cent milk, he should be able to, as long as he knows that he is getting only 1 per cent milk. Standardization Mixing milk antl cream to obtain a butter fat or cream content of a certain definite known per cent is what is known as ^^ standard- izing." At the present time many states have laws which seem to prohibit such a process, as they say that nothing shall be taken from, or added to, the natural cow's milk. These laws were passed to prevent watering of milk, but now they obviously work an unnecessary hardship.** This is a condition which should not be allowed to continue. The law should be changed to permit the standardization of milk and cream . A provision stating that standardization could be performed only by the addition of cream, milk or skim milk ♦Some have suggested that farmers having herds testing below State standards should buy cows testing high in butter fat to bring their milk up to standard. It is not sound judgment to advise farmers to mix their herds. They should specialize on some one breed and let the milk produced be sold for what it is worth. It is also true that there is a legitimate demand for milk testing under 3 per cent fat as there is over 3 per cent fat. **In making its investigations preparatory to issuing the Milk Report, the committee found that one of the main ilitficuities in the way of solving the problem of the milk situation was the lack of a standardizcil product. The committee, in its report, said: "The value of a particular (luurt of milk or cream depend.s on its cleanliness and the percentage of butter fat and solids not fat which it contains (see diagram on page 5). These percentages vary greatly with different quarts. Butter fat can be readily measured when the farmers offer their product to the dealer, and the farmers or dealers can, by proper mixing or standardizing con- trol it in the product which they offer to the public. These percentages, together with the clean- liness of the product, should govern both the price paid by the consumer and that received by the producer." 18 would still safeguard the public against the watering of milk, for by means of the refractometer any appreciable amount of water added can be readily detected.* There have been some objections to standardization, particularly among small distributors and producers, who claim that they can not afford to standardize their milk, and that their business there- fore would be thrown into the hands of the big dealers. Within the past few years machinery for both standardizing and pasteurizing milk has been put on the market at a cost so low that the small dealer can now pasteurize and standard- ize his milk practically as efficiently as the large dealer. Methods of Standardization Milk may be standardized in three ways. First — by mixing milk of high butter fat with that of low butter fat, thus obtaining a more uniform butter fat content. Example: Forty farmers send in 100 quarts of milk each. The milk from twenty farmers contains only three per cent butter fat. The milk from the other twenty contains four jjer cent butter fat. The dealer desires to sell three and one-half per cent milk. By mix- ing the milk from all forty farmers, he obtains a product containing three and one-half per cent butter fat. Second — by adding cream to raise the standard of the milk or by adding skim milk to lower the standard. Example. If milk is received testing only three i^er cent butter fat, and the dealer desires to sell three and one-half per cent milk, he adds enough cream to bring the milk to that standard. If the butter fat content of milk is too high, he simply adds skim milk in sufficient quantitj' to reduce it to the desired standard. Third — by separating all milk as soon as received into cream and skim milk. The cream and skim milk are then mixed to give the milk or cream the standard desired. Any of these methods may be used, but the latter two seem to be most favored. Some large distributors claim that the last method is best, on the grounds that it is more efficient and econom- ical than the other two.** You will probal)ly recall that earlier in this pamphlet it was stated that standardization of milk and cream is illegal. It is, but regardless of this fact, most of the cream and a considerable portion of the milk supply of the country is standardized. There is no good reason why it should not be, for, as has been pointed out, the old objection of health officials that permission to standardize would allow watering does not hold good, for the refractometer will *Write the Dairy Division of the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture at Washington, D. C, for addition- al information as to the use of the refractometer and other methods of determining added water. ♦♦Tables and formulas are issued by which one can readily figure how much skim mi Ik or cream needs to be added to milk or cream of a known butter fat content to make milk or cream of a certain desired butter fat content. Apply to your State Agricultural College for information as to methods of standardizing. 19 readily detect any such adulteration. It is to be noted that in some European countries the standardizing of milk is legal, and in such places milk from 1 per cent butter fat up can be purchased. Adopting the Grading and Labeling System The average consumer, and he constitutes a very large per cent of the country's population, does not take very kindly to a sudden change from any system to which he has been accustomed to another which is new to him. This is not at all strange. Usually he opposes the change because he knows little or nothing about the new system and is, therefore, naturally cautious in adopting it. The process of educating the public to a full understanding and appreciation of the value of grading and labeling could prob- ably be best conducted through those agencies which represent the consumers, distributors, health officials and producers.* Illustrated Lectures Mere talk on a subject like this does not usually go very far. People like to see with their own eyes what is being done in other places. Seeing is frequently believing, and if you can visualize your argument, you have gone a long way toward convincing the average man. Following out this thought, illustrated lectures have been pre- pared showing in an exhaustive way the details that can only be touched upon in this report. They point out graphically the pres- ent problems of the community's milk supply and how the introduc- tion of an official system of grading and labeling will help to solve them; what the effect will be on the consumer who buys at whole- sale or at retail, and what the effect will be on large dealers, small dealers, large producers and small producers.** Changes Have Taken Place Improvements in refrigeration, rendering possible long hauls of milk and cream, and the developments in the use of milk and cream for manufacturing purposes, have brought about many changes in the industry in the last few years. Changes and developments in any industry bring up new problems which must be met and solved and although they have arisen in the milk and cream industry, they have neither been met nor solved. *They are the commercial associations, the consumers' associations, women's clubs, loca boards of health, milk dealers' associations, milk package exchanges and producers' associations. **The committee has prepared slides and a lecture on the grading of milk and cream. Many state and local departments of health, as well as agricultural agencies and private individual.s.have similar data and are able and glad to assist in disseminating this information. 20 Appoint a Committee A committee should be appointed to secure information con- cerning the details of operating a laboratory, and to decide after suitable investigation, what the limits of bacteria count for the local grades should be. This committee should preferably be composed of representatives of the local board of health and con- sumers', distributors' and producers' associations. The final step, of course, is the passage of an ordinance establishing official grading and labeling. Buying Milk from the Farmer Methods of buying milk from the producer are mentioned here, as they have real bearing on the grading and labeling of milk and the way in which it is sold to the consumer. In studying the milk situation, the committee found that milk was bought from the farmer in twenty-five to thirty different ways, and that this varia- tion caused a great deal of dissatisfaction. * Unless there is a uniform method of purchasing milk and cream, some farmer who is produc- ing a better grade is certain to be the loser, while if there is uni- formity, those farmers now doing business in a more or less slack way and, therefore, producing only a medium product, will be stimulated to do better and turn out an improved product. Principles to be Followed The committee beheves that the following principles should be laid down and followed: 1. The farmers should own their own cans.** 2. Milk and cream should be bought from the farmer by weight. 3. Prices paid should be so much for the butter fat or cream, and so much for the solids not fat called skim milk. Prices should also vary according to the bacteria count.*** *See " Milk Report" pages 20 and 21. **This would generally only apply to places where the farmers send their product to a milk or cream station in their immediate vicinity. Owning the cans, the farmers are more careful of them and in not having to bear the expense of supplying cans, the dealers should be able to pay the producers a little more for their milk. ***Several methods are used — see any edition of "The Milk Reporter," published at Sussex , N. J., for Borden system of buying. Address Turner Centre Dairying Association, Auburn, Maine, for tiieir annual report showing their system. Brief Summary of System Quoted: Turner Centre Dairying Association, Auburn, Maine. Prices based on buttsr fat and skim milk content. Average prices paid 1914 Butter Fat .35 a lb., skim milk 47-1/ 12c per hundred lbs. 1915 Butter Fat 35-l-6c lb., skim milk 421/23 par hundred lbs. A Spokane, Washington Dealer, 1916, Prices based on butter fat content and bacteria count. -Number of Bacteria- 50,000 35,000 25,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 Butter-fat to to to to to to Below per cent 75,000 50,000 35,000 25,000 15,000 10,000 5.000 3 6 151/2 15 »4 16 16 1/2 171/4 18 1/2 20cts.pergal. 37 16 I6V4 161/2 163/4 17^4 19 201/2 3 8 leVz 1634 17 171/4 I8I/4 19 21 39 17 171/1 171/2 173/4 183/4 20 211/2 t.l 171/2 17 3/1 18 18 1/4 191/4 201/2 22 Borden Pkices. Summer Contract Prices, 1916. Short Haul-Eastern Route Butterfat '7r.3 3 13 4 3.5 13.6 3.7 3.8 |3.9 14.0 |4.1 14.2 14.3 4.4 4.5 14.6 j4.7 14.8 i4.9 |5.0 April $i:4o|l 43. i:46|l. 4911.52,1.55! 1.581 1.61 I 1.6411. 6711. 70, 1.73,1. 76ll.79il.82|l. 8511. 88ll. 91 21 HOW THE BOTTLE CAPS LOOK NOW Present Methods of Labeling Milk and Cream in New England MILK SPECIAL SELECTED .o MILK <^ CREAM LIGHT CREAM No statement or guarantee as to cleanliness or quality Just take what you get 22 HOW THE BOTTLE CAPS OUGHT TO LOOK Statements that should appear on the caps and should be demanded by you MILK CREAM GRADE-A EO^o FAT STANDARDIZED PASTEURIZED 1* The label of each milk and cream container should specify the grade — A and B or C^— and the per cent of fat, if the product is standardized. This could easily be done on the cap inside of the centre circle, leaving the outside space for such matter as date or place of production, pasteuri- zation, average number of bacteria count, from what breed of cows, medical certification, etc. But every label should show the sanitary character and the per cent of butter fat where the product is standardized, and if it is not standardized, the statement that the product is above the legal standard. This can be readily done by any producer or distributor. 23 Complete Knowledge Necessary Complete knowledge of some of the more essential principles and facts is necessary if order is to be brought about. The points of which there should be greater knowledge are: 1. Composition of milk and cream and their products. 2. Various demands for the butter fat content in the dif- ferent lines of trade. 3. Variance of the butter fat content in the milk of cows according to the breed and individuality of cow. 4. Standardization; what it is and why it is necessary. 5. Process of making bacteria count and the Babcock test of milk. 6. Need of uniform legal standards for milk and cream, and labeling to show the sanitary character and butter fat content.* Instruction Essential It should be the duty of agricultural and other agencies interested to inform the public on these points, both by the distribution of literature and by instruction in schools. Certainly, very little progress can be made in putting the industry on a sound basis until the farmer and the general pubhc have a thorough understanding of the product, the demand for it and the ways in which it is consumed. The Public Should Demand Grading and Labeling It has been previously stated that under an official system of grading and labeling, producer, distributor and consumer alike know exactly what they are dealing in. Milk and cream should be labeled to show the sanitary character or grade and the butter fat content or cream value. The various trade names such as light, medium, heavy, breakfast or coffee cream mean little. With the different dealers they describe varying percentages of butter fat and the consumers frequently receive a product from ten to twenty-five per cent less in butter fat than they believe they are getting. There is practically no other commodity bought and sold in the slipshod way that milk and cream are bought and sold. Producer, distributor , and consumer alike should demand and work for a grading and labeling system. ♦Resolutions were passed at the 1916 Annual Meeting of the Vermont Dairymen's Associa- tion requesting their President to appoint a committee to cooperate with similar committees to be appointed by the other State dairymen's associations to draft uniform laws in regard to dairy matters. Resolutions were passed in Washington, D. C, May 6, 1916, by a meeting called by the Nat onal Dairy Union and National Dairy Council that "a committee should be appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture to frame a set of uniform rules and regulations for handling milk and cream," and that "it is the sense of this conference that all products so made should be so marked as to disclose the materials used in their manufacture." 24 COST OF EXTRA COPIES OF THIS PAMPHLET Special prices are made for supplying extra copies of this pamphlet in quantities, with name of distributor, imprinted on the cover, as suggested below, as follows : On a basis of printing 5,000 at one time On a basis of printing 10,000 at one time On a basis of printing 20,000 at one time LotB of 100 $4.80 $4.70 $4.65 it