View report page

53
Food that has been in tins for three years, and more, should be looked at
with suspicion, and a few samples should be analysed. They should not be
allowed to be placed on the market until the absence of tin and lead has been
amply proved.
On one occasion I examined a large consignment of raspberries imported
from New Zealand. They had been treated with Sulphur in order to preserve
them. The Sulphur fumes had discoloured them. The colour was restored by
soaking the raspberries in an aniline dye.
Diseased meat may have been used in the first instance. If fresh and
tinned properly, it will not decompose and cause the tins to bulge. It will not
be detected in the usual way and will thus pass the strictest examination.
Bacteriological examination even, would be valueless as a practical test.
It would be quite possible for the whole of the obviously diseased part of the
carcase to be put in one tin, though the whole carcase may have been infected.
The contents of one or two tins would be no indication of the contents of the
others. That is, one tin may possibly contain the only part of the diseased
carcase that would give a positive bacteriological result. If this particular tin
was not thus examined, the whole consignment would be passed as wholesome,
whereas it would be dangerous to the health of persons consuming any portion
of it.
Therein, the result of the examination would differ from that of the
chemical analysis. In the latter the tinned food would be practically of the
same age, and if tin or lead had been dissolved in one, the chances are greatly
in favour of their having been dissolved in the others.
Furthermore, the bacteria or bacilli may have been destroyed when the
meat was boiled previous to its being canned, but the ptomaines which result
from their growth would not be destroyed. The presence of ptomaines can
only be discovered by a physiological test, that is by the effect they produce
when administered to mice or guinea pigs, etc.
The same remark applies to the presence of dirt in the factories. Examination
of canned goods will seldom give an indication of the sanitary condition
and cleanliness of the factories.
It will therefore be seen that no examination is possible in this country to
detect disease in the meat imported in tins. Strict examination of the carcases
immediately the animals are killed, and their rejection with subsequent destruction,
if found to be diseased, are the only means of protection from this danger.