The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-07-20
INSPECTOR SAYS
BUTTER NOT GOOD.
Duncan Says Fraud is Practic-
ed in This Commodity
AFTER BREAD DEALERS
Says the Wholesale Dealers Should Be
Says the Wholesale Dealers Should Be
Forced to Handle Their Bread In
More Sanitary Manner.
Water Is Good.

Milk and Meat Inspector Duncan, in his
weekly report, says that the butter sold
by some dealers in Birmingham is very
bad, and he also recommends that some
steps be taken to make the wholesale
bread dealers handle his output in a more
sanitary manner. =
Following is the report in full:
Birmingham, July II, 1906.
To the Honorable Mayor and Board of
Aldermen of Birmingham, Ala:
conference.-the following is report for
the week ending July IA, 1906:
Meat condemned as unfit for food:
Neck bones, 30 pounds spoiled by keep
ing, Armour Packing company.
One liver, is pounds. abeesses, Birming-
ham Packing company.
Fish, 1000 pounds, spoiled by keeping,
G. M. Hudson.
1t is very gratifying to be able to an
nounce that we have moved into our new
quarters. rooms 20 and 30. on the third
floor of the city hall building. Complete
gas and water connections have been put
in with two nice sinks With the compile
tion of little more carpenter work the
rooms will be thoroughly arranged for in
stallation of our new laboratory supplies.
When we get the supplies our laboratory
will then be as we'll equipped, II not the
Ncly DSSt, municipal laDOTdlOIy III lne ell
tire south. The department has always
been greatly in need of proper equip
ment, owing to this fact its usefulness
has been greatly hampered.
When we get the new equipment we
Will then be enabled to make very COM
plete inspection and analysis of milk.
In my opinion one OF the greatest I'm
positions and fraudulent practices on the
public in the way of food articles is
in butter. There is a tendency among
INSCRIPTIONS dealers to combine for
eign fats, animal fats. and so on, with n
little real dairy butter, add a large per-
centage of salt, some coloring matter.
knead the alleged mixture and then sell
the whole of the product under the label
pure dairy butter From chemical
standpoint it is a very difficult propo-
sition to detect such fraudulent practice
as this from the fact that the compost
ton Of butter and the various animal fats
are very nearly the same chemically
speaking. However, we have a new and
up to date method along this line We
propose to put into use by which, | am
sure will produce some very beneficial
results
From all appearances fine quality of
water is furnished by the Birmingham
Water Works company to the citizens of
this city, but now the city will be en-
abled to know this to be fact. Thorough
meteorological analysis of water from DIFF
ferent taps in the water system of the
city will be made from time to time.
The service the sanitary officers per-
form is dsnfecting all rooms In which
persons have been suffering with any of
the infectious or contagious diseases, or
In which persons have died with any of
such diseases, tuberculosis, diphtheria. ty-
phoid fever, and SO on, is of very great
importance. The sanitary officers will be
aided in knowing that they have done
this work thoroughly, by proper bacte-
biological test as soon as we get the new
laboratory supplies.
Another function of the new labora-
tory, as | understand 1t, is to work In
conjunction with the health department,
to aid physicians In making correct dag
nosis Of typhoid fever, dphtheria, tuber-
culosis. malaria and on.
1t is understood that a set of rules and
regulations are being formulated under
which the archaeological work is to be
done 1t is very necessary to have the
specimens for analysis sent in in a sys-
tematic manner In order that the work
may be done properly
Proceeding a little further along the
line of regulating the quality of food
products sold in the city, in my judgment
something should be done to cause some
OF the WnOleSdle Dftdu dcdlciS " lSiuic
their product In more sanitary man.
ner. I have noticed on various sundry oc-
casions drivers OF bread wagons deliver
ing bread by the armful to cafes and
lunch rooms, the bread not having any
wrapper of any kind and being exposed
many times to the soiled clothing and
hands of such persons. It would look
reasonable to require all dealers to pro-
vide at least a thin clean paper wrap
per. free from cooring matter, for each
loaf of bread Bread being a good Gull
ture media for bacterial growth, II the
bread is exposed to all of the dust of
the streets and other unsanitary con-
ditions. the results thus produced on the
quality of the goods can be highly APP
preciated This important food article
should certainly be handled with greater
care and in more sanitary manner than
so many blocks of wood are generally
handled. Respectfully submitted.
F. NJ. DUNCAN.
Chief Inspector.