Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1920-02-10

culture. Nearly all Of these IL
directors are trained chemists and
tacteriologists. or have had long
experience in the canned food
trade. All have previously been
engaged in food inspection work.
The Gamers self imposed inspec-
ton service was first planned on a
small scale In 1916, but it was not
extended to its present size until
1919. Now the Gamers association
reports that it is steadily growing.
and doubtless in time will include
nearly all of the big canning
plants of the country.
Results of the inspection project
will soon be brought to the atten-
! ton Of buyers of canned goods by
use of. special certificates to be
| pasted ON the tins put out by plants
inspected and found to be up to
standard. These labels will bear a
picture of a can and fruits and
vegetables, and the words "Pre-
pared under the sanitary inspection
service of the National Gamers as
! ISOLATION"
This is the first year that mark
Of inspection will be placed on
cans. The National Gamers asso-
citation says that cans lacking the
label should not be regarded as
necessarily inferior, as they may
have been packed before the use of
the certificates began, or they may
be put out by a company that does
not make use OF the inspection
service.
| All this effort on the part of the
Gamers to make canned goods alb
solutely safe for the public is very
,reassuring. The recent attacks OF
!botulinus poisoning traced to the
eating of ripe olives. has caused
the public to entertain a cautious
attitude toward canned foods in
general. Most of us consume some
canned food every day, and it is
comforting to be told that the can
ming industry is being put on a
safer basis than ever before.
In fairness to the Gamers il
should be remembered that the re-
cent cases of botulism were due
not to canned food, but to a bot
tied product. A canned product
as distinguished from one that is
preserved or bottled-is hermeti.
'cally sealed and sterilized. The
heating kills germs of decomposi.
ton, and sealing excludes the all
which is always full of-these germs
The heat to which canned foods
are subjected in factories runs as
high as 245 to $50 degrees for some
foods such as corn, and in every
case made sufficient to destroy bac.
terra.
Olives have not. as rule, beer
put through an intense heating pro.
cess. but it is understood that the
bottlers contemplate much higher
heat sterilization as a precautioI
against further attacks of poison
ring through them.
4 Aside from advances in stand
iards it is interesting to note tina
industrial canning is now put al
most entirely on mechanical
basis. Corn is husked and silket
by machine, and even the thin skin
ned tomato can be eXpertly peeled
| by machinery. Such uses of ma
chimes have in the past few years
lrevolutionized the trade, lifting i
tout OF the class of the housewife.
canning, with slow hand labor, int
the place of giant motor-run in
dustry.
The canning trade dates back Il
an incident in the career OF Napo
leon Bonaparte. Napoleon wa.
about to start on a foreign cam
lpaign, and he felt that his creates
weakness lay in providing proper
food for his men. He put this prob
lem to the country, and offered
through the French government. /;
prize for the best invention to pre-
serve rations for long journey
iOf the many suggestions proposed
that of Nicholas Appert was judged
| IuC pCSts anu IhC pllLC, dillOuhtiuS
to $4,000, was awarded to him. Ap
pert's invention was the process o
Theoretically sealing food. His frs
crude handmade container of /;
century ago, was the grandfather
of the machine-made and filed
product of today.
Some idea of the size of the pack
ing industry in this country ma,
!. be had from the fact that one plan
in California packs the product o
10000 acres of fruit, including cher
ries. Strawberries, apricots, pears
; peaches and other fruits of the reg
} ion. The payroll Of this organiza
ton resembles the roster of al
army. Its output would apparent
ly satisfy whole nations yearn
ing for canned fruit, yet this il
only one Of many large cannerie,
! that fill the ever-increasing de
mand for food put up in this way