As foodstuffs, particularly milk, irradiated with ultraviolet light come into more general use, the question of the possible deleterious effects on other nutritive constitutents of the products so treated naturally arises. Since light is known to have the property of accelerating oxidative changes, the effect of irradiation on the sensitive vitamins "A" and "C" has been the object of critical study. There appears to be a destructive effect on the vitamin "A" content of milk after relatively long periods of exposure,1 but if the method of irradiation is conducted under suitable conditions and the period of exposure to the rays is limited to a few seconds, no destruction of this vitamin can be detected.2
The evidence pertaining to the effect of the ultraviolet rays on the vitamin "C" content of milk is also at variance, presumably due to differences in the method of treatment. Reyher and Miller3