By the late nineteenth century high infant mortality rates were linked to diseases spread by drinking contaminated milk, especially in urban areas. Dr. Henry L. Coit, a physician in Newark, New Jersey, developed a plan to provide a safe and nutritious supply of milk for children. This plan, which became known as the "certified milk movement", proposed that committees of physicians would set standards for milk production and oversee its production and handling.
The first Medical Milk Commission was established in Essex County, New Jersey, in 1893. Cities throughout the country then began to form their own milk commissions. In 1906 these were federated into the American Association of Medical Milk Commissions (AAMMC). The commissions inspected dairies to make certain that conditions were sanitary and that the animals and employees of the dairy were healthy. The label “certified milk” was at first applied only to raw milk. As pasteurization became more common it was applied to pasteurized milk as well.
The Providence Milk Commission was created in 1926 as a committee of the Providence Medical Association. The testing of milk samples collected from Rhode Island dairies was performed in the laboratories of Dr. Charles A. Stuart, a professor of microbiology at Brown University, from at least 1945 until 1957. Beginning in 1958 testing was done by the Rhode Island Quality Milk Association and the Milk Department of Providence at laboratories in the Charles V. Chapin Hospital. In 1967 the analysis of milk samples moved to the Rhode Island Department of Health laboratories.
The last dairy in Rhode Island to participate in the certified milk program was Hillside Farms, which withdrew from the program in 1968. It is not known when the Commission ceased to exist, but its savings account at the Rhode Island Hospital Trust bank was closed in 1985.
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Providence Medical Association Milk Commission records, Ms. 2008.018, Brown University Library.
The records of the Providence Milk Commission consist of business and financial records related to the Commission’s activities from 1931 to 1985. The business records contain a variety of material and include circular letters regarding the advantages of certified milk, correspondence, and reprints of annual reports. The financial records include a savings account passbook, the Commission's annual financial statements, and receipts for expenses such as travel and advertising.
The series concerning Hillside Farms contains reports on the health of its employees and the results of tests to determine the quality of the milk produced there.
The records of the Providence Medical Association Milk Commission are arranged into the following series:
The Providence Medical Association Milk Commission records were acquired by the Brown University Library on April 17, 1996. Their provenance is not known.
No further materials are anticipated for this collection.
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The following related materials may be found at the Brown University Library:
This series contains circular letters, annual reports regarding the quality of milk sold in Rhode Island, and correspondence.
These are form letters regarding the health benefits of certified milk.
These are annual reports of the Commission. Most are reprinted from the Rhode Island Medical Journal. Reports for 1945-1947, 1950, 1952, and 1953-1964 are included.
This folder contains a variety of material supplied to the Commission by the Certified Milk Producers of America and the AAMMC. It includes correspondence, regulations, mailing lists and the minutes of the AAMMC annual meeting in 1968.
Most of this correspondence concerns the withdrawal of Hillside Farms from the certified milk program.
This series contains financial statements, bank records, tax statements and receipts for expenses such as advertising, travel and meals.
Statements for the years 1943 to 1965 are missing.
This folder includes the passbook for the Commission's saving account as well as money order receipts and bank statements.
This folder contains copies of the IRS forms for 1967, 1970-1974 and 1985 regarding interest on the Commission's savings account.
This series contains reports on the health of Hillside Farms employees and reports on the quality of milk produced there.