Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1906-07-14
In Small Towns Are in Bad Shape

In Small Towns Are in Bad Shape.
Boston.-Canned meats sold in Mas
sachusetts are to some extent fraudu'
lently prepared. according to the re-
port of chemists employed by the state
board of health.
Debris Of the slaughter houses, skin,
sarOp and corn meal are generally
used as a substitute for the meat
which the cans purport to contain.
Boric acid and boraX are employed as
preservatives.
In a report, made upon a careful
analysis of the leading brands of
canned meats, the state board of
health adds to the indictment of the
Chicago packing houses, and shows
the superiority of the product of To-
cal industries.
Its inspection of the slaughter hous-
es Of the state condemns many of the
smaller ones, which are conducted
with no consideration of sanitary pre-
cautions. The larger plants it COM
mends, but the examination has dis
closed instances of bad state of af-
fairs in the plants in some smaller
towns.
The killing of calves that are much
too young is general in the small
slaughter houses of the state, the
board of health reports, and conse-
Quently a great amount of bob veal"
is being sold.
The inspectors report favorably Of
the sausage factories Of the state, stat
ing that most of them have modern
sanitary arrangements, and the food
is prepared with commendable care.
But the feature of the report is the
result of the examination of the canned
products. DR.. Harrington, secretary
of the board, purchased in retail es-
adjustments $50 cans, including prac-
tically every brand for which there is
any demand. The contents were test
ed for all foreign substances, and
some interesting disclosures resulted.
For instance, cans labeled "Potted
tongue" were found to contain epithe-
lium, which is the layer of cells lining
the alimentary canal, and all its ap-
pendages, canals, ducts, etc.
Boric acid and other preservatives
are found in canned deviled nam,
and instead of muscular fiber pieces
of scrap and debris are the CHfUf
elements.
An examination of the contents of
two snecimen oaur OF poned chlcKen
put up by a Chicago house revealed
skin and pin feathers, and the meat
was bad in color and appearance.
In nearly every case the canned
corned beef was found to have been
saturated with boric acid.
The chief substance of a can of
pOtted OK tongue was not tongue at
all, but epidermis, which is the fine
outer skin and corn meal.
All the cans of chicken loaf which
the chemist of the board of health
purchased contained a product which
was not prepared according to any Of
the standard recipes. In every case
coTnmeal was used literally, and boric
acid was also detected in one instance.
Cornmeal is used abundantly in
nearly all of the potted meat products,
according to the health experts. The
chemists point out that cornmeal adds
nothing to the favor, but is used be.
cause it Is cheap and because it ad-
mts of the use of additional water to
swell the product to fill the cans.
In many of the cans of ham and
tongue there were disclosed instead
of muscular fibre, fat, pieces of kid
ney and debris of many varieties.
The investigation has shown that
the product Of the Chicago packing
houses Is greatly inferior to that of
the local plants. In nearly every in
stance where the chemist character
lied the contents of a can as excel
lent in quality the product is that of
a Massachusetts concern. BY com.
parison, all of the examples which the
department has to criticise are in the
output of western houses.