The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-01-30
SOME FOODSTUFFS
ARE DANGEROUS
Government Pure Food Expert
Gives Interesting Testimony
DENOUNCES BULK OYSTERS
Those Shipped In Buckets Are Dead
and Close to the Ptomaine Line.
Gelatine scraped From Hides
That Smell to Heaven.

Washington January 29.-Dr. Harvey
w. Wiley, chief of the chemistry bureau
of the department of agriculture and
government pure food expert. gave much
interesting testimony concerning the de-
terioration of foodstuffs In cold storage
before the House committee ON agricul-
ture, whose hearing on the agricultural
appropriation bill have just been made
public Two cold storage warehouses are
at DR.. Wileys disposal in Washington,
and he gave the results he has attained
by experiments with all sorts of food
stuffs.
Milk begins to deteriorate right away
and so does cream" said DIR. Wiley.
Eggs also begin to deteriorate imme-
diately. Fruit Is improved and some
times continues to improve for three
months. Meat improves up to about six
or eight weeks. But after three months
for meat you can see that ii has reached
the maximum and then It begins to go
down, 1 do not care how hard 10 is
frozen"
Meat Deterioration.
When asked for a further explanation
of the deterioration of meat frozen in
cold storage Dr. Wiley said:
I'VE find that meats do not taste as
well and do not smell as WE'LL and every
time the jury can pick that which has
been kept over three months. Take our
quail We have quite an old one and
we have o fresh quail cooked at the
same time. We cook them just alike
and you can distinguish them first by
their looks and then by smell and taste.
Every time the jury can pick them out
blindfolded"
Dr. Wiley stated that he is a thorough
believer in cold storage and believes 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 storage peo-
pie how long they may safely keep ar
ticles of food In storage. He said that
as yet he has been unable to determine
whether drawn or undrawn poultry kept
the better.
Dr. Wiley was asked many questions
about oysters. and said that the oysters
opened and shipped in buckets should be
prevented from entering interstate COM
merce, as they are dead.
IAN oyster is dead an hour after 1t is
opened" said DIR. Wiley, land is not
good. 1t Losses its flavor"
In response to inquiries from Repre-
sentative Hasl<ins as to the advisability
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"
Preserved oysters.
He then urged that oysters should be,
shipped alive and In the shell. and said
that the greatest object 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 de-
nunciation of bulk oysters shipped in tubs
and buckets said:
"They are either preserved with some
preservative. or are dangerously near the
ptomaine line, one of the two
Gelatine was denounced by DIR. Wiley,
who said of It:
at Is made out of hides or the scrap
ings from hides. These hides go into the
tanners watts and these hides that smell
to heaven are treated and trimmed, and
these trimmings are used to make gela-
tine. The Marine hospital service found
tetanus germs in gelatine."
DR.. Wiley said that the gelatine fac
tories are the dirtiest in the world.
In reply to a question from Represen-
tative Haughen as to the uses of gela-
tine, DR.. Wiley said:
at is used for putting into ice cream
and candies, and for making capsules
that you take your medicine IN"