Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-01-31
POISON IN OYSTERS
Cold Storage Evils and Danger
in Gelatine Exposed By
DR.. Wiley
GELATIN MADE FROM HIDES
Governments Pure Food Expert Gives
Some thoughtful Testimony on the
Things We Eat-Lockjaw in Gelatin
Pills-canned Oysters the Best
Dangerous Preservatives Used.

| WASHINGTON, Jan. 31.-Dr. Harvey w.
Wiley, chief of the chemistry bureau of
the department of agriculture and the
governments pure food expert, gave
much interesting testimony concerning
| the deterioration of foodstuffs in cold
storage before the house committee nn
agriculture, whose hearings on the az
ricultural appropriation bills have just
been made public.
| Two cold storage warehouses are at
DR.. Wiley's disposal in Washington,
and he gave the results he had attained
by experiments with all sorts of food
stuffs.
away and SO does cream" said MIR.
Wiley. Eggs also begin to deteriorate
| Immediately. Fruit Is improved and
sometimes continues to improve tor
three months. Meat improves up to
about six or eight weeks. But after
three months for meat you can see that
it has reached the maximum and then
| it begins to go down. l do not care
how hard it is frozen
DR.. Wiley stated that he is thor
ough believer in cold storage, and be-
] lieves that most foods improve when
! properly kept for a short time, but he
said that the object of his experiments
| is to tell the public and particularly
the cold storage people, how long they
may safely keep articles of food in
storage He said that as yet he has
been unable to determine whether
drawn or undrawn poultry keeps bet
4 ter.
| DIR. Wiley was asked many questions
about oysters and said that the oysters
opened and shipped in buckets should
be prevented from entering interstate
commerce, as they are dead.
IAN oyster Is dead an hour after 1t
| is opened" said Dr. Wiley. and Is
not good. 1t loses its flavor
In response to inquiries from Repre-
sentative Hashns as to the advisable
ity of freezing oysters to preserve them
for shipment, DR.. Wiley said:
"Oh, they ought not to be frozen.
That ruins them, and as soon as they
thaw they are dangerous.
He then urged that oysters should
be shipped alive and in the shell, and
said that the greatest outrage Of the
oyster trade is to soak oysters with
fresh water and swell them up, making
them look fat.
DR.. Wiley said the oysters sent out in
tin cans are all right, but in further
pronunciation of bulk oysters shipped
in tubs and buckets he said:
They are either preserved with some
preservative or are dangerously near
the ptomaine line, one Of the two"
Gelatin was denounced by DR.. Wiley,
! who said of it:
ut is made out of hides, of the scrap
pings from hides. These hides go into
the tanners. watts and these hides that
smell to heaven are treated and trim
med, and these trimmings are used to
make gelatin. The marine hospital
service found tetanus germs in gela-
tin"
DIR. Wiley said the gelatin factories
are the dirtiest in the world; that the
hides used are treated with alkali,
which is rubbed into them before ship
ment. The hides are scraped and trim
med and are then put into the tanners
watts and the residue used for gelatin.
He said that this gelatin IS some times
made in glue factories, and that what
is not fit for glue is made into gelatin.
In reply to question from Represen-
tative Haugen as to the uses Of this
gelatin, DR.. Wiley said:
ut is used for putting into ice cream
and putting into candies, and for MAX
ing capsules that you take your lnedi-
cine in
He added that there is no objection
to gelatin If properly made, and that
there is plenty of wholesome raw ma
terial to make it Of AS to the proper
ton of gelatin made from material
containing live germs, DR.. Wiley said:
"No one wants to run the risk of
getting lockjaw by taking powder or
a pill or eating ice cream"