15. Poisoning milk was recommended by culinary authorities
Before the process of pasteurization was applied to milk it spoiled quickly, even if kept cold in an icebox or springhouse. Milk soured and often even if not spoiled had an off taste, since it was delivered to the consumer in a raw state. In the 1860s a British culinary authority emerged when she produced the first truly modern cookbook, with tightly structured recipes, descriptions of techniques, and supported by illustrations. Subsequent editions appeared for many years, entitled Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management, Mrs. Beeton being Isabella Beeton, whose husband published the book. The book has remained in continuous print since the first edition appeared in 1861, though Mrs. Beeton died in 1865.
Mrs. Beeton supported the practice of treating milk which had started to go bad by dissolving boracic acid in it, which purified the milk in her belief, as well as many others. The practice being endorsed by the leading domestic text of its day expanded its use. Boracic acid however did not purify the milk, it instead made it dangerous. Consumption of small amounts of boracic acid induces, among other symptoms such as nausea, severe diarrhea which in children of the time was often fatal. It did mask the smell, which was often a sign of the milk being contaminated with bovine tuberculosis. In humans, bovine tuberculosis can cause spinal defects and even paralysis. Pasteurization eventually removed that risk, though it remains present in raw milk, which became fashionable for those espousing whole natural foods in the late twentieth century.