On this date in 1859, Massachusetts established the first state milk inspection program. An inspector of milk was appointed in August that year, operating from Boston, and whose primary efforts were to suppress so-called “swill milk,” the poor, thin output of cows kept in unsanitary conditions and fed on distillery refuse. Currently, the Food and Drug Administration assists state and local dairy inspections. Every year, Americans consume an average of over 600 pounds of all manner of dairy products, including frozen treats. When “per capita” takes in upwards of 318 million consumers, it means the output of the nation’s nearly 130,000 dairy workers ship nearly $112 billion worth of products annually. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.