The Washington critic., 1886-08-09
SANITARY MEASURES.
what the Food Inspectors are Doing Il
Prevent Dfspnsc.

what the Food Inspectors are Doing to
Prevent Disease.
The visitor at the various markets
may see every day a gentleman in blue
uniform going the rounds Of the meat
and vegetable stalls, closely examining
the quarters of beef and mutton and
the rows of tcmpting.lookiug steaks
displayed on the counters, occ lsionally
questioning the white aproned butcher
as TO when such aud such a piece Of
meat was killed, and turning over with
his cane the strings of fish or poking
around in piles of wriggling crabs.
This gentlemen is one of the several
food inspectors employed by the Health
Department to see that no meat, vege.
tables or other food that is unfit for
use is palmcd off on the public.
Every day II thorough inspection Is
made of all the markets, and three or
four times week the meat shops and
green groCors' stands throughout the
city are visited. If he finds any art.
Gle of food that In his estimation Is un.
fit for use, he condemns IL and 1t is
made away with Through this care.
full surveillance by the guardians of
the city's health great deal of spoiled
and stale meats, vegetables and fish Is
taken charge of which would otherwise
he sold, and no doubt much of IL would
be consumed by the people. Thus, 1t
not only prevents people from being
swindlcd in produce which they would
throw away when the taint was discov.
cred, but shields the transient public
from people who might not be so par.
tcular in serving up such food.
In a great city like Washington where
produce comes to market by boat loads
and car loads, large amount of II Is
watChfulness and Carufulncss Is ncces.
sary TO prevent this spoiled produce
from coming into the market. The
records of the Food Inspectors Division
of the Health Department show that
during the month of July, i,l2O pounds
of meat were condemned us unfit for
use. Likewise | ,250 lunches of fish,
Al, ,24O crabs, and 1850 clans. In
fruits and vegetables there was large
amount unfit for use; lOj bushels of
fruit of various kinds, 1,GlG quarts of
berries, ., 1870 watermelons, 2,O0B heads
of cabbage, EN- cucumbers, $40
bushels of potatoes and 1873 bushels of
tomatoes.
But for the care of the inspectors
this immense amount of spoiled food
would have found its way into the
kitchens of the people, spreading the
germs of disease In all shapes, from
cholera morbus to typhoid fever.
Washington has Health Department
that in efficiency is not surpassed by
that of any city in tho country in com.
parison to its size Besides inspecting
food, the department is busily engaged
in looking after the health of the peo-
pie by insisting upon citizens keeping
their alleys and drains clean, inspect
ing the sewerage and drainage of every
house in the city and removing all Of
fensive matter that might tend to ger
inmate disease. The inspection of
house sewerage and water. closets is in
in itself a large feature of the depart.
ment's s business.
No citizen Is allowed to have imper-
feet sewerage in his house that may
disseminate sewer gas and malaria in
all its deadly penetrativeness among
the tenants and neighborhood.
With the cleanest streets in the
world, with safeguard of hygienic
forest surrounding us, with an eXten-
sive and almost perfect sewerage sys.
TEN, and with the Health Department
which we possess, it will be a cold day
for cholera, smallpox or yellow fever
when 1t strikes this city.
a. tbe oIs nf min bu