Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-11-04
ROTAR|ANS HEAR OF
MEAT INSPECTION
Practical Demonstrations at BreIs-
ford House of Slaughtering
and Packing


before the members of the Harrisburg !
Rotary Club at a meeting in the |
Brelsford packing house, Seventh and |
North streets.
The necessity for careful inspection
| of all live and butchered cattle be- |
cause of diseases lurking within them
was emphasized by the speaker of the |
evening, DR.. W. r. Sigmund, United |
States inspector of meats. DR.. Sig |
mund said that municipal and State |
inspection is not as thorough as the
federal because the salaries paid in ,,
| the first Instances do not warrant the
employ of really expert inspectors.
A buffet luncheon was served. Dur
ing the evening Chris Hibler, manager
of the Brelsford house, entertained the
| Rotarians with tour of the packing
house and demonstrated modern pack |
ing methods and sanitary killing.
Four new men were elected meme
bers of the Rotary Club: e. l.. Me-
| Colgin. A. l.. Hall, r. H. Gramm and
T. p. Carey.
The chief purpose of meat inspec-
tion is to protect man against the dan
gers that threaten him from eating
lmeat and meat products. These foods
may become dangerous to him in
three ways.
"G) Animals may be effected with
a disease, communicable to man or
their musculature and organs so
changed as the result of a noncom-
municable disease as to become objec-
tionable
"(2) 1t may contain noxious sub
stances as the result of putrifactive
changes.
"(3) 1t may become medium of
carrying bacteria, without becoming
changed itselfN
"As meat is and has been one of
the foods of the greater portion of
human beings, traditions of the oldest
civilized nations of the world indicate
that certain restrictions and regula-
tions were necessary in the selection
of meats as we know that the Egyp-
tions were forbidden to eat pork, since
their wise men looked upon the hog
as the most unclean of all animals,
and that such diets may be followed
by excessive huInors and eruptions
THE meat of cows was considered too
sacred to be used as food Only the
meat of clean animals could be used
for food and religious offering.
Moses borrowed the Egyptian food
laws and the Thalmudists engrossed
upon them, by prescribing methods of
slaughter.
"As time went on edicts were issued
by the religious and civil authorities,
which referred mainly to Trichinous
: pork. measly pork and beef, pearl dis
i CdSC' SCdDpyg anu
that died.
ION June 80, 1906, March, 1918, and
October, 1918. Congress passed the
acts providing for the regulations un-
der which we are now conducting
meat inspection at this establishment
, in Harrisburg. The laws and regula-
tions are perhaps the most rigid and
comprehensive of all existing on the
subject. The acts give the Secretary
; of Agriculture full power to make
regulations covering the anti ortem
and the post-mortem inspection of cat
| tie, calves, sheep and hogs that enter
Into interstate and foreign commerce,
giving him supervision over the cur
ing, smoking, cooking, canning and
, manufacturing of foods and finally the
true and honest labelling of the meats
/ and meat products. In addition the
law provides for the destruction of all
carcasses, of all parts of carcasses
and all finished products found to be
unfit for food" He then told of the
rules applying to the shipping of
: meats.
| He went on to say that on granting
inspection of an establishment the
establishment is given an official num-
ber and If slaughtering is conducted
! the inspection is placed in charge of a
veterinary inspector, to whom is as
} signed other veterinary inspectors to
l make the final post-mortem inspec-
tions and lay inspectors (nonprofes-
sional mem who supervise the manu-
featuring and conduct the meat in
spection. The sanitary conditions of
the slaughter rooms must approach
hospital conditions and the storage
and manufacturing rooms kitchen
cleanliness. To attain this end the
buildings and equipment must be prac-
tically impervious easily cleaned and
disinfected. The employees must be
free from contagious diseases and
clean at all times and follow all pre-
cautions to prevent the contamination
, and soiling of foods.
THE ideally healthy animal" he
said, "is about as rare as the ideally
r healthy and perfect human being.
t You will understand that we do not
pass any diseased meat for food, but
I do pass the sound and wholesome
: meat of the animal after condemning
( the diseased parts.
; you will no doubt realize that the
population of the United States has
; increased nearly seven millions in the
: past four years and with the growing
: scarcity of meat and the high price of
: other foods II is important that the
meat supply be conserved and that we
should not waste any food, that we
: know scientifically to be perfectly
} wholesome.
After the dressed carcasses have
been stored in the refrigerating rooms
fortyeight to seventy-two hours and
all animal heat removed. they are of
. fered for sale in the entire carcass, or
taken to the cutting room and cut up
into the small primal parts, hams
shoulders, loins, bellies, backs. ETC.
The larger pieces are placed in the
curing mediums in the curing rooms
and the trimmings manufactured into
! sausage and manned meats. The fats
are rendered into lards and oleo oils
These operations in the establish
ment are carried on in the presence of
the meat inspectors
Our inspection is carried on in over
900 establishments in the United States
and in the past seven years there has
been inspected over 37S million ami
mails. OF these over one million car
casses and nearly five million parts of
carcasses have been condemned as
unfit for food. There has been nearly
forty billion pounds of meat product
prepared and processed under inspec-
tion of which 160 million pounds were
condemned on reinspection.
"Our inspection covers about go
per cent. of all animals slaughtered in
the United States. The remaining 40
per cent. are slaughtered either under
State, municipal or Jewish inspection
or none at all.
'The Jewish inspection by the rab-