Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1906-06-07


Under existing conditions the burdon n
protecting tho cleanliness and wholesome
ness Of tho products and the health o
ditions under which the work is perform
ed. must fall upon the national govern
ment.
TREATMENT OF MEATS AND PRE-
PARED FOOD PRODUCTS
Cncleanliness N handling products.
An absence Of cleanliness was also folnr
everywhere in the handling Of meat beln,
prepared for the various meat-food prod
lucts. After killing, carcasses are wei
washed. and up to tho time they reach
the cooling room are handled in n fairI,
SANITARY and cle4nly manner The part.
that leave tho cooling room for treatmen,
in bulk are also handled with regard r.
cleanliness, but che parts that are sem
from tho coolnl room - those depart
monts Of the packing houses in which
various forms OF mcat products arc pre-.
pared are handed with no regard what.
ever for cleanliness. In some Of the
largest ostablshr ents sides that are sent
to what is know rs tho honng room arc
thrown In heap upon the floor The
workers climb over those heaps Of meat
select the pieces thoy wish. and frequently
throw them down upo~ -no dirty floor
beside their working bench. Even IN cut
| ting the meat unon tho bench, the work
| Is usually held pressed against their
aprons, and these aprons were aa rule
| indescribably filthy. They were made IN
| most cases of loa 'hor or Of rough sackinS
and bore long accumulated grease and dirt
| In oslly few places Wore suitable oil
cloth aprons worn. Moreover, men were
seen to climb from tho floor and stand.
with shoes dirty with the refuse Of the
floors. on the tables upon which the meat
was handled. They We're seen at the
lunch hour sitting ~ tho tables on tho spot
on which tho meat product was handled,
and all this under the very eye Of the
superintendent ~ the room. showing that
this was the common practice.
Meat scraps vore also found henE
shoveled into recoutaclos from dirty floors
where they were oft until again shovel
Cd into barrels or INTO machines for chop
ping These floors it must be noted were
IN most cases damp ard sogGy, In dark.
,lll-ventilated rooms and the employees
in utter ignorauco Of cleanliness or dan
ger to health eNprctoratod at will upon
them In a word. We saw meat shovel
Cd from nlthv wooden floors. piled on
tables rarely washed. pushed from room
TO room in rotten l.X carts Ia all Of
which processes 10 was in the way Of
gathering dirt. spIinto.-. floor filth, and
the expectoratiou az tr.orculous and other
dsea sed workers. w re comment was
made to floor superiutsgdcnts about these
matters It was always he reply that this
meat would Afterwards he cooked. and
that this sterilization would prevent any
danger from its use. wen this, It may
he pointed out IN pas NJ Is not wholly
true. A very considerable portion Of tho
meat so handled Is sent out Is smoked
products and in the form Of sausages
which are prepared 10 he eaten without
being cook Il.
A particularly rlarirg instance OF I'M
cleanliness was found in a room where
the best Prt OF sausage W. being pre-
pared for export. II was mad from care
fully selected meats. aud was being pro
pared 70 b. eaten unoooked In this case
the employee carted the choppad-up meat
across n room in = barrow, tho handles
nf which were fltNv with grease. The
meat was then thrown ont upon tables,
and tho emplnvee climbed upon the table,
handled the meat with his unwashed
knelt with his dirty apron and trousers
in contact with the meat he was spread
ing ont, and, after he had finished his
operation, again took hold of tho dirty
handles Of the wheelharroW. inquiry de-
velopcd the fact that there was no water
in this room az all ard the only method
the man adopted for cleaning his hands
was 10 rub them against his dirty apron
or on his still filth'er trousers.
As an extreme example OF the entire
disregard on the part Of employees OF
any notion OF cleanliness in handling
dressed meat. We saw hog that had Just
been killed cleaned washed, and started
on It's way to the cooling room fall from
the sliding rail 10 a dirty wooden floor
and slide part way into q filthy men
yrivy. u was picked mp by two employees,
placed upon a truck, carried into tho cool
ing room and hung up with other car
casses. no effort being made to clean It.
Treatment Of meat after inspection.
The radical defect IN the present system
of ,nspectiop is that il does not go far
enough II is confined at present BY law
to passing on tho healthfulness of amin
ais at the time of killing: but tho meat
that is used in sausage and in the various
forms of canned products and other pre-
pared meat food goes through many pro-
cesses. in all of which there is possibility
NJ contamination through insanitary
handling and further danger through the
use Of chemicals During all these pro-
cessos If preparation there Is no govern
ment inspection and no assurance what