The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1918-11-29
PREVENT WASTE
BY CLEANLINESS
Necessity of Maintaining Pre-
War Standards of Sanitation
Are Pointed Out.
SCARCITY OF HELP BLAMED
Most Essential Factor in Health Of
Nation Need Not Be Neglected Un-
der War Conditions-Country
Store Bothersome.

Many grocery stores have fallen
away from pre-war standards OF clean
Illness, say officials Of the bureau of
chemistry, United States department
Of agriculture, in charge Of the en-
forcement Of the Federal Food and
Drugs Act. State and city inspectors
attribute this partly to scarcity of help
and to less efficient help.
Cleanliness in handling food is ever
more important in times of war than
in times Of peace, say the specialists,
in order that the maximum efficiency
of our army of fighters abroad and u
army Of workers at home may be main
tanned. Clean stores not only promote
health, but prevent waste Of food.
That they a be kept clean under pre-
vailing conditions is shown by the fact
that some Of the best stores are main
tanned in standards of cleanliness
which insure that the food they handle
will not be contaminated. This Is evil
dence that this most essential factor
in the health of the nation need not be
neglected under war conditions.
The small country grocery is one of
the most difficult problems OF the food
Inspector. The country store is both
q collecting and distributing agency of
foods. 1t buys from the farmer such
products as eggs, poultry, nuts, fruits,
grains and vegetables and sells to him
everything in the food line not pro-
duced in the community. 1t handles
food both coming and going. If the
store is dirty, with dust on the shelves
and cobwebs in the corners, with in
sects and vermin under the counters
and in the bins, and with flies every
where, the food both for the country
and for the city is sure to become con-
taminated. When the country as a
whole is considered, the loss Of food
through spoilage from contamination
In unclean stores is enormous. The
most important consideration, how
ever, in the opinion Of federal, state
and city food officials, Is the danger to
the health of the people who consume
the food. A dirty, insanitary store or
food shop is a most potent factor in
the spread of disease.
Competition in Cleanliness.
Where there is keen competition,
cleanliness is more likely to prevail.
A clean, well-lighted store attracts Gus
toners. The cost Of scrupulous clean
Illness Is more than overbalanced by
the gain in the prevention Of spoilage,
and by its custom-drawing value.
Novel methods have been adopted by
state and city officials to bring about
competition in cleanliness. One state
has reported excellent results from au-
thorizing the food inspectors to issue
colored placards to the stores at the
time Of inspection indicating the de-
gree of cleanliness found. A store
which is found to be in excellent con
dition in cleanliness and sanitation is
given a white card; one in good condi-
tiOn Is given a blue card, and n that
is satisfactory is given a red card. A
store that falls below q satisfactory
Eating is not given a card. This sys-
tenn resulted in much competition
; among the merchants to get the high
! est possible rating in sanitation. The
housewives soon learned what the pla-
cards signiled and did their buying
according'y.