The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1885-07-31
A DEFENSE OF CANNED
GOODS AS FOOD.

Editor Democrat-Star;
Your current issue contains a
paragraph, which has been some
time on its rounds, connecting the
prevalence of Bright's disease OF
the kinneys with the increased use
OF canned goods. This originated
some weeks ago In the imagination
! of a writer on the Brooklyn Daily
Eagle, whose knowledge OF chemis-
try-and of the important industry
he attempts to traduce-wonld APP
pear to be inversely propOrtiOnate
10 tile length of his ears. The truth
is that the neutral fluid tlux used in
soldering the cap on the Can con-
tains no free acid whatever, and if
it did, would defeat the very pur-
pose for which it is used, and repel
the solder from the copper and tin
instead of causing q mutual adhe-
sion. The small quantity of zinc
chloride contained in this solution,
if it was all mingled With the con-
tents of the can, instead Of being
placed on the outside after the cap is
pNt IN, would, in II careful analysis
OF a dozen cans, yield less trace of
mineral salts than a easily be
detected in a single goblet of the
purest well water that ever came
out of the ground, and infinitely
less than is contained in "a glass of
hydrant water after it has passed
through metallic pipes; aud, more
over, this "metallic chloride" which
ignorance has set up for such a bug
bear, is practically, IN this qnanti-
tn, as harmless as another "metal-
lie chloride" which is in daily use
OH every table in the land, namely
"Sodium chloride" or common salt.
1t is u burning shame that news
papers penny.a.lincrs, in their in
sane scramble tor material to minis
ter to the depraved American taste
have for sensatiOnalisnI, should
it in their power to prejudice whole
communities against an industry
that has done more in the last ten
years to cheaper food luxuries than
all other agencies combined. In
every case OF Canned goods poi
soningn that has been investigated,
the trouble has been found to origi-
nate, not in scanned goods" but
in putrid food.
A portion of the contents of an
opened can, too much Tor immediate
use, is set away IN the open a until
next day or Sc veral days afterward,
aud then eaten with sickness as the
result, and straigltway Scanned
goods" get all the blame. Now, no
one in his seuses would think OF
putting away Il remnant of fresh
meat until it brcOmo putrid aud
then eating it, nor would he leave
stewed fruit of any kind in II tia
pan open to the air tor several days
but somehow people imbibe the
idea that the process OF canning en-
tirely changes the nature of tho
food. This is all wrong. Tue can
ming process embraces but two oh
jpcts: First, TO kill-by the appli
cation of heat-all germs of putri
faction contained in the food aEt
then ID prevent any other germs
by Theoretically scaling, from get
ting IN; and, as long as the can re-
mains tight, it's c~Ontents will cOu'
tinue unchanged, il it is tor u cent.
| ury, but the moment il is opened.
chemical action becomes possible,
aud tho air begins 10 deposit the
| germs of decomposition with which
it is laden, and any schoOl.bOy
knows that chemical reaction is not
| only possible, but inevitable, be
tween an organic hnid, like meat
iuice and fruit acid for example,
aud u metal with which it may
come in contact at ordinary temper
atures in the open air.
Ii every one who Use Il can oil
food would take the simple precau.
tiou to empty it Immediately after
opening, into a porcelain or glass
reccptical, and then see that it Is
all used before putrifactiOn begins
even the sensatiOn-mOngers would
have to look elsewhere for theiI
paragraphs. Respectfully,
MAYBURY g. FOSTER.