The morning call., 1894-01-17
LEADING MEDICAL EXPERTS.
Pronounce Against the Abattoir Sys-
tenn of Slaughter and Freezing.

ISn OF StduQHlCE anu fTGGZlDgs
The introduction of refrigerated meat in
this city has provoked a great deal of dis
cussion pro and con. A number of ply
sicians have come out fatty in opposition
to its uss, as will be seen by the following
statements:
DR.. j. NJ. Keeney-Meat should hang in
the open air until all the animal heat has
passed off, and not be run into the cooler
prematurely and surface chilled. 1t would
not. in my opinion. be VIII olesome as food
but should be allowed to cool off naturally
In the eQuable climate OF San Francisco
we have very little trouble with spoiled
meat as general thing, as it can be hung
up in the open air and kept perfectly
sweet, maturing and becoming tender and
juicy until used. The eatiDg of meat that
Is "thawed out" and has become putrid on
exposure, no matter how carefully it is
cooked and seasoned, or how its taste may
be disguised. will produce intestinal dis
turbances, resulting In cholera m0rbus if
taken IN sufficient quantities.
DT. LIE TOurneuX-This abbatoir is new
business with US, and as far as can see
no Improvement on the established
slaughterlng process l am entirely in
favor of the ButchertOwn meats. Some
years ago, when member of the Board of
Health, L placed myself on record on this
subject, and have so far seen no reason to
change my views. Beef will keep in this
climate as long as there is any necessity
for keeping without any artificial means
OF preservation, and no artiticially pre-
served meats are equal to meats in their
natural STATE. Therefore, for domestic use,
| favor our own butchers meats; for points
remote from the market meats preserved
in some way are necessary, but they are
not in thls city.
DR.. q. j. Bucknall-I am heartily in
sympathy with our own butchers. Their
meat is incOmpaTably superior as an
article of diet TO the meat from Baden.
There is no need for any such practice in
this latitude and longitude as the placing
of meat in cold storage as soon as It is
dressed, for the simple reason that in this
climate meat will be kept as long as it
ought to be kept in the open air. Whether
1t Is placed in cold storage at once or after
it has cooled naturally it is not improved.
II is better II kept away from cold storage.
But meat pat at once into cold storage,
with the animal heat in it-alive, l might
SAYS likely to go to pieces when ex-
posed TO the air: in plain English. to rot.
Such meat Is, of course, utterly unfit to
eat, and the person who does eat it is bid
ding for an at ack of cholera morbus. That
is my opinion Of Baden meat in nutshell,
and l want the public to be taken into
nv confidence.
DR.. ". W. Kerr-The tissue does not die
as soon as the animal expires. but con-
occurs and the tissue hardens. This is
termed rigOr mortis. After this has
passed off the tissue is found to have
undergone a change and becomes tender.
The meat of no animal should be eaten
until this change has occurred, as prior
thereto it is tough and indigestibe To
place blood-warm beef in cold storage
would prevent this chemical action from
taking place, and / am of the opinion
that almost any physician in the city who
has paid any attention to the subject will
tell you beef treated in that manner is not
as nutritious nor digestible as beef treated
by the natural process. 1t is always best
TO interfere as little as possible with the
laws Of nature. Nature has provided US
with an exceptional climate, and here we
are not forced to eat beef cut from a
freshly killed bullock, nor to put 1t on ice,
nor into pickle in order to keep it until to-
morrow. Therefore, fail TO see any need
for cold storage.
DR.. Joseph Pescia-It is a well-known
fact that no CRITICALLY preserved beef can
be as wholesome and nutritious as fresh
beef in It's natural state, let the preserva-
tive agent be what il may.
DR.. Winslow Anderson has said-When
In India some years ago l had an expert
ence with beef recently killed which shall
not forget There we had to cook our
meat almost as quickly as it could be
gotten ready for the pan or gridiron, as it
was I'm Dossl0le tn keep 1t any length of
time. Beef and all other flesh is unfit
for human diet until it has passed through
the process known as rigOr mortis.
Shorty after the death of an animal, the
time varying according to circumstances
from a few minutes to one or two
hours, q chemical change takes place
In the sarcolactic elements. This is
termed rigOr mortis. The tissues.
a first flaccid, become hard and stiff, and
this condition lasts approximately for
twenty-four hours. when they again be-
come soft and pliable. The chemical
change in The muscular tissues is then
complete and the meat has become tender
and dgestible. This is the physiological
explanation of what butchers term letting
meat hang until it becomes tender or ma
ture. Now, placing meat n cold storage
before rlgor mOrtis sets in checks this pro-
cess and the meat comes out as tough and
lndlgestlole as 1t went in, and with ten
dency when exposed to the air 10 rapidly
putrefy. | am, therefore, Of the opinion
that in this climate beef treated in the
old-fashioned way is the best for hum an
consumption. on.-Examiner, Jan. To-