The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1885-03-26
Decnyed Food.

There can be no greater difference
than that between lie and death. 10
life millions Of vital processes contribute
tn making g"td the in,es-ant waste that
IL going on in the human body, and its
elimination from the system. They
contribute to The performance nf The
body's many functions to the rerair Of
possible wounds to the expulsion of
morbid agents. aud to the pcrpetuation
Of its kind IN new individuals. All
chemical and molecular changes mean
just this.
These processes are arrested at the
moment Of death. Then all chemical
aud molecular changes mean the decom.
position Of the entire substance into q
few gases, with small earthly residuum,
none of which could in any way par,icu
larly endanger the health Of the living.
But "a sugar iermenis into vinegar,
vet before il reaches the last stage it is o
viOlen. poison (alrohnl)-this pnisOn is
secured only by arrcs,lug The change
50 in he process Of animal decay. new
chemical combinations are produced, aud
exist for time. which are exceedingly
delrteri"u-, whether received into the
stomach or the lungs.
just here is the danger from dccaying
food II has long been known that tIi,.
grave-t symptoms have often f,llDwed
the eating of cus,ard that ha, been kept
too long, because the egg in it is liable
to speedy decay. Equally familiar is
the fact that whole family has often
exhibited every symptom Of violent
pnisonng soon after rising from dinner
"f meat soup.
Chemistry has of lato explained these
and kindred facts II ha. found tbat
during the early stages Of dccOmpo-itinn,
- mot virulent poison is developed.
This poison has been isolated from tie
riass, reduced To its purest fnrn, its
nn'ure studied and II name given to il.
For this reason our laws cannot be too
stringent nor our inspectors too vigilant
IN protecting the people against the sale
Of bad meat. The taste OF tainted meat
may be hidden in savory soup, but the
DOsnn ID not changed.
The eating Of decayed fish often gives
rise TO severe attacks Of cholera morbu..
A young man Of our acquaintance lately
died Of this disease lew days after
returning from Nantucket Beach, where
ne had rnrtaken of q dinner of fish
Ills aymptnns were as violent and hi.
death III speedy rs il common to Asia,ic
chnicra. An actual poison, as real and
M p"wcrfn' IN arsenic. explains such an
attack = Yomths Companion.
Msj'r General j. +. Hawkins, G. S. u.
). a., in u recent article on Food in
Cnns-Fre-h Foods in City Markets."
said:
The fact il that all articles Of food,
whether in IL can or out OF it. are subject
To injury through some accidental or
natural canse that'iI ordinarily beyond
The power of man to guard against.
The vegetable gathered fresh from the
garden the previous day mny bave M
changed iu quality as to be unit for the
table, and if eaten might produce scri
nuS- trouble, nrHi auch cases nre, no dnuht
more frequent than we have record "f;
indeed, our ideas ci freshness aud stale
ness IN what we eat, are very imperfect,
aud many have MT tie accurate knnwl
"lgc ur Judgment u decide where fresh.
u.s, ends and S,u!enesS hrgins, aud il
must often happen that an apparently
fresh fruit "r vegetable produces unplea-.
nnt or dangerous Consequences, without
the can-o being traced 10 it, because ot
NO initial suspicion to point that way,
and because mnst people lack the cupaci
~ of honestly judging between caure and
eutCt. ou tue otueI nauu, IL person
eats Of canned article and afterwards
experiences any unpleasant symptoms,
suspicion il at once aroused, the can il
blamed as the cause Of trouble, and
there nre plenty Of sympu,hizing friends,
who, with show Of learning. are ready
to explain just how the can did it. When
W" consider the great care taken in can
ming fruits and vegetables, the purify
and ircslnc~s they are required tn possess
tn be suitable fur canning purpnsts, the
clne inspec.i"n'lhey nrn subjected TO in
order Ia insure their being as perfect ~
l.ssible, it is evident, admitting that the
cunning process preserves au article, that
"a fruit or vegetable in a canned cpndi
tinn il about IN nearly perfect, ~ regard.
whnlesomeness, as the original article
could possibly bc in i,s natural and un-
pr"cessed condition, Of course modified
and changed somewhat in taste ar flavor
hy the methods necessarily used for itn
preservation, and thiA stnlo Of goodness
may be expected to continue for long
period. provided the can retains ita
s"undnrss and IN not subjected TO como
destructive accident.