Omaha daily bee., 1906-06-13
PLANTS CLEAN AND SWEET
Packing Houses Of South Omaha Inspected
BY Commercial Club Committee.
CONDITIONS PLACED ABOVE CRITICISM
Anin,aI and Meat Inspection Pro-
nounced ThOrouEh and SO Rigid
as to Prevent Utilizing
Diseased Product.

South Omaha packing houses are sweet
and clean. and the sensational newspaper
reports Of conditions existing in packing
plants in general are not true as far as
the Magic city are concerned. In addition,
government inspection is so rigid that the
packers could not utilize diseased meat as
a food product II they wished.
Such is the gist of a report made to the
Omaha Commercial club at its meeting
Tuesday by a committee appointed last
week to investigate the packing houses.
The report was accepted by the club and
placed on file. 1t reads thus;
Your committee spent all day FRIDAY.
June s, and a considerable portion Of the
day of Monday. June u. visiting the plants
of the different packing houses in South
inspection pursued by the Bureau of AMI
mai Industry. DR.. Don c. Aver acted as
our guide through the different packing
houses and explained in detail to us all OF
the methods of the slaughterinE and the
different modes Of handling and manufac-
turing the different products. Your COM
mittee found in all of these plants pre-
vailing condition of neatness, sweetness and
cleanliness, and in our judgment II would
be diff1cut to criticise or to suggest wherein
improvements in method of inspection could
be made. Your committee visited the diff
ferent plants at different hours, so that
the Wsr SerSp 20 SEE the plants IN
plant we visited on Monday morning before
actual operations of slaughter had started
for the day and, although the plant had
not been cleaned up since closing down on
saturday, we found everything fresh and
sweet While we were viewing the slaugh-
ter1ng department In this particular pack
ing house. force OF men was set to work
washing uD before the actual operations
OF killing were begun. In another packing
plant we went back TO the slaughter rooms
Just as the butchers were finishing their
work for the day and found a large crew
Of men at work with the hose and brushes,
Inc q, ~
FORM
Great Care and Pains.
Your committee was also impressed with
the great care and pains taken to keep all
OF the utensils in clean, sanitary con-
dition. Many of the trucks used for con-
veying meats were metal-lined and before
and after using each day these trucks are
placed in metal steam chests, where they
are thoroughly sterilized and disinfected.
The manufacturing departments, particu-
larly the rooms where the sausaRes are
made, were clean and wholesome and free
from disagreeable odors and even the far
famed tank rooms were neat and practi-
cally free from odor.
The particular thing which interested
ana impressed your committee the most
was the very careful inspection of all ami
mails both before and after slaughter by
the Bureau OF Animal Industry under the
supervision OF the Department of Agri-
culture. There seems TO be a lack of know
ledge on the part Of the public and the
which are carried on by the government
onicials In all Of the large packing houses
In South Omaha. One might think from
newspaper reports that only animals for
| export trade were subject to Inspection.
but we found, on the contrary, that ali
animals that arrive in South Omaha are
inspected by the government officials. who
are trained veterinarians as the stock Is
| unloaded from the cars All diseased ami
mails are promptly rejected.
Each Animal Inspected.
| During the process OF slaughtering trained
| government veterinarians inspect carefully
each animal. The moment the slightest
| appearance of disease appears the con.
6emnned n snimals are tagged with a special
Sse rsUSaS tS the
and more thorough inspection. AS the gov
ernment inspectors have a careful record
mails u Is absolutely impossible for the
packers to remove any Of this diseased, meat
or use the same without the knowledge and
| collusion of the government officials. After
! the days active work is over in the
slaughtering department the government
| offioials then make minute investigation
| OF the rejected animals, and II found dis.
eased they are finally rejected. These re
teoted animals are either taken to the con.
to make tank. are put in a special cold
! storage room reserved for this purpose
| and are there placed under lock and key
and no one except the government oficial,
have access TO the same. AS soon as Z
sufficient quantity of this rejected meat
has been accumulated, the same is loaded
tank. The outlet of this tank has pre-
viously been sealed with a numbered sea
by the government inspector. and after al
Of the rejected meat has been loaded into
the tank, together with other refuse, IN,
inlet to the tank is also sealed in the sam,
manner by the government inspector. Aftei
this tank has cooked for many hours tn,
tank is unsealed by the same government
ofhcial who sealed II and the contents ex
4 amined. II found satisfactory the con
tents are drawn OF and made into fer
tilizer
DR.. Aver, chief government inspector
stated that the department under his su
pervision continually makes suggestion
for the sanitary betterment of the differen
packing plants under its supervision ant
that the the managers Of these packinI
plants were always willing and prompt Il
making all improvements suggested or re
uuired by his department DR.. Aver ais,
stated that the conditions which we foun,
existing were exactly the same as thos
whSch had prevailed for wears and that n,
special efforts were being made 10 clean ul
on account OF the recent sensational news