The Influence of Storage, Pasteurization, and Contamination with Metals on the Stability of Vitamin C in Milk

In 1921 Hess (1) stated that " . . . it requires a minimum of about 16 ounces of cow's milk to protect an infant from scurvy or to cure it. '~ Today, however, milk is almost entirely ignored as a source of vitamin C. This is probably due to the fact that a majority of the early studies indicated that milk was an uncertain source of the ant;scorbutic factor. On the other hand, the fact should not be overlooked that before the discovery of vitamin C, milk was the only important source of this vitamin for infants. More recently Schwartze, Murphy and Hahn (2) state " . . . we would estimate that 200 cc. daily of our raw railk less than 12 hours old would probably suffice to protect an infant from scurvy."