The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1884-01-05
NUMBER as.
Tin Can Poisoning.

The roll of more or less serious
casualties resulting from the use of
canned-food products is added to week
Dy week; and unmistakable symp.
toms OF metallic poisoning in many
cases Indicate a radical evil in this
method cfpreserying goods. Careful
analyses recently made in England
revealed the presence of tin in soIu.
ton in canned pineappIes to the
amount ofOne and three-tenths grains
per pound. and the metal was also
found in apples, asparagus, pears.
tomatoes, peaches, cherries, marina.
lade, corned beef five brands). OK
tongue three brandsl. tripe, oysters,
lobster, salmon, shrimps. sardines lin
OH, rabbit, mutton, chicken. tur.
Key, soup and condensed milk three
trands.) The amount of tin in the
Inllk was about one grain per pound.
Later official investigation mas de-
'ected the presence of tin in solution
III aprlcotS' tomatoes, pineapples and
cranoerrleS, to the extent of from one
ana nlne-tenths to fourteen and three
teAths grains per pound. Probably
uose or two hundred grains of this
TIN solution would be required to
cause the immediate death of an aver
age adult, and to swallow this quan.
'ity one would have to eat at meal
ABOUT fourteen pounds of the most con-
taInlnated goods mentioned above.
But the impossibility of such a per-
lormance makes the danger none less
actual. Smaller doses frequently re-
peated may gradually undermine the
constitution; or they may remain ap :.
parently innocuous in the system un-
I'll able to act with cumulative and
deadly force.
Inc amount of metallic poison talk
en- into solution depends upon the
nature of the goods, the length of
tlme they have been in the can, and =.
above all, the quality of the tin. The
iast condition is the one in which an
evil can most effectually be suppress
seq by law. Ifall the tin plate used
In can factories were submitted to
careful official inspection, the cans
might cost trifle more than they do
now, but housekeepers would not so
often find the inner surface of the tin
corroded when the goods were re-
moved. And what corrosion means
may be estimated from the fact that
even in the worst samples examined
by tine English inspectors its presence
was scarcely perceived. IF an un-
corroded can taints its contents with
five to ten grains of tin per pound,
what must be the condition of goods
In can entirely lined with corrosion?
1t would be we'll could glass or
earthenware jars be substituted for
tin cans as receptacles for preserved
articles of food. The next best thing
would be to make sure that only the
best quality of tin is used. But until
one or the other of these ends is at
tanned. housekeepers may materially
lessen the risks to life and health inc
Cured in the use of canned goods by
observing two simple rules. The first
IS to discard as dangerous the con-
tents of any can if, on opening, the
inner surface of the tin be found in
any measure corroded and the Sec
ond, to remove all the contents of the
can Immediately upon opening. plac-
ing them in a glass or china dish if
not needed at once for consumption.
This is of great Importance, since cor
rosion of the Iuetal and consequent
contamination of the food quickly fols
low their exposure to the air, and at
the inquest of one of the latest vistims
to tin poisoning the fact was brought
out that she had eaten the salmon
after it had been standing in the open
tin day or two, while others, who
had partaken of it Immediately after
opening, had experienced no un-
pleasant consequences. --New York
Tribune.
A Golden OpiniOn.