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96
TINNED FOODS.
The alarm created in the public mind, owing to statements made in the
Press and elsewhere as to the insanitary conditions prevailing in the canning
factories in Chicago, and the seizure and condemnation of quantities of unsound
tinned foods returned from South Africa after the war, has largely subsided,
but the results of an investigation, conducted in the City on behalf of the
Corporation, and of a further enquiry subsequently carried out in co-operation
with the London Chamber of Commerce, showed there was great room for
improvement in the methods of preparing tinned foods in other places than
the United States of America.
The circumstances were as follows: In June, 1906, I reported to the
Sanitary Committee that, owing to the enormous quantities of tinned meat
imported from abroad for consumption in this country, and the importance
of the question both to the public health and to traders in the City, it was
advisable to make a special investigation into the character of the tinned foods
offered for sale to the public.
The method of preserving food products in tins renders it difficult to
rightly judge the nature and quality of the enclosed article, and no amount
of inspection by external appearances can be sufficient to guarantee safety to
the public health.
"Blown" or damaged tins are readily detected, but the real danger lies in
the difficulty of discovery of diseased or unsound meat after preservation.
The only way in which the public can be adequately protected is to insist
upon a strict inspection of the animals used, both before and after slaughter
at the factory, coupled with the best sanitary surroundings through the whole
process of manufacture.
Thirteen samples of tinned meats from America were accordingly sent to
Dr. Klein for bacteriological analysis, and 13 other samples of the same
brands submitted to the Public Analyst, Dr. Teed, for chemical examination.
The latter reported that all these samples were free from ptomaines, and that
all except two (of which there was insufficient for examination) were free
from boric acid and salicylic acid, and that no change had taken place in the
constitution of the articles that would interfere with the analysis.
The bacteriological examination showed that of these 13 samples, two were
non-sterile—of which one was harmful to animals fed thereon. Five were
sterile and proved themselves harmless to animals. Six were sterile, but
injurious when eaten, as all the animals eating it, on being killed, showed signs
of fatty degeneration of the liver, and the sample, although sterile and noninjurious.
contained five human hairs (two of negro).