The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1910-04-30
COLl STORAGE EVIL
chiCagOan Replies to Critics,
Saying Il Improves the Food.
Dealers IN Products IN Illinois CITY
Rally TO Auswer the Presentment
Made by New Jersey
Grand Jury.

Chicago Chicago poultry and egg
men. Joined by health officials, rallied
IN defense Of cold storage as com.
mercial. heslthful and economic
blessing to humanity and heaped ridi.
cule upon The rresentment recon-
nending changes III the management
Of plants whore the cold storage husi-
ness u conducted. drawn up by the
Hudson county IN. j. grand jury. ais
a deceiving document which tends to
charge vast industry, as whole,
with the individual abuses OF few
unscrupulous men
Led by W. r. s. White, president u
q local cold storage company and
poultry, butter ana egg company. they
agreed that these abuses might be
prevented by a law which would en-
force the inspection OF products be-
fore they were put 10 cold storage,
but insisted that cold storage itself
was boon to mankind and in no way
detrimental to public health.
Assistant Commissioner of Health
Gottfried Koehler. who has made a
special investigation OF preservation
of meats and poultry by cold, said:
If piece OF meat in good condi.
tion is frozen, it might remain frozen
for ten years and then be thawed out
and eaten with perfect safety. No
ptomaines will have formed during
that time, and the only change will be
in the amount OF moisture, the color
and minor changes in the tissue. The
latter win be broken by the expansion
of water in it when freezing, and for
that reason meat that has been frozen
will spoil quicker after it has been
thawed out"
The evil results pointed out by the
presentment to be directly due to cold
storage may be briefly summarized as
follows:
4. The "cornering' Of eggs, poultry
and other products,
2, The public. 10 purchasing poultry.
is forced to pay for water absorbed in
the process Of 'thawing out"
8. Grave danger to the public health.
4. Products are kept in storage too
long to remain wholesome,
In taking up the various indictments
one by one, Mr.. White voiced the gen
eral opinion Of Chicago men largely
interested in the cold storage, poultry,
egg, packing and creamery business.
so far as cold storage allows cor.
ners, !" said he, that is d Joke. You
can buy poultry eggs or anything else
Just the same as can and at the
same prices. You can put il in cold
storage just as ] CAT and hold it until
sou wish to sell it. The big cold stor-
age plants here are Of public nature,
just like any othat warehouses, and
any man may use them by paying the
carrying charges,
7 agree with the presentment that
the public should not be forced to pay
for water absorbed in thawing out
cold-storage poultry, They seldom 10
That method Of thawfng is an old and
crude one, not generally prachced. II
is an abuse which sometimes may oci
cur, just as in other lines of BUSINESS
Doctor Koehler remarked that there
was no danger in cold storage where
the products we've properly handled
and were not spoiled before they were
placed in freezing atmosphere.
Freezing poultry, eggs or meat will
not help them # they are already
spoiled" said he 1T might be good
thing If a law were passed which pro
vided for the inspection Of products
before they were placed IN cold Btor-
age"
This also was the opinion of Mr.
White, who classed as unscrupulous
those dealers who would place in cold
storage poultry which had spoiled
while waiting for market.
Cold storage has been given
black eye often BY stuff that never
was in cold storage-by eggs and
poultry collected and held by farmers
and dealers too lopg.v