Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-09-16
Laboratory Specialists, Aft
= er Exhaustive Tests, Show
Food Is as Wholesome and
Pure as Fresh Goods

WASHINGTON, Sept. .14.-Here is
type Of newspaper headline long
familiar to the American public
Seven of Family Ill After Eating
Canned Soup" The average reader
shakes his head over the item and
wonders if the restaurant where he
ate his lunch served him canned or
fresh vegetables in that salad. He
eating canned stuff at home.
For the average person that Is the
end of the affair. He forgets about
the sick family, but the news item
has deposited in his mind a little
more Of the sediment that makes up
for him the deepseated conviction
that canned foods, though cheap, are
hazardous and are to be partaken Of
only at ones peril.
The publication of such an item,
however-and dozens Of such items
are published every year in the
American newspapers-is only the
beginning of an episode for an or
ganization maintained in Washing
ton by the packers Of commercially
canned foods. This organization,
the National Gamers association,
occupied for the most part with prob
lens in science, now constitutes an
investigation bureau. It's agents get
quickly on the job-within twenty
four hours, If possible. If the case
is a serious one, difficult Of solution,
it will call in the services of some
specialist from one Of the great uni
yersities. The investigation will
probably end in a laboratory some
where.
But by whatever means the inves-
tigation is conducted, the chances are
that the canned foods blamed Will pc
shown to be innocent and the illness
laid to some other cause. AS to the
sick family cited above, the chemist s
test tube demonstrated that the Ill
ness was due to some unwholesome
meat served at the meal. The cameo
soup was perfectly wholesome.
The fact is that commercially
canned food today is the victim OF
legend. Whether there was ever any
basis in fact for the belief that such
food is dangerous, there certainly is
little basis for it now. The unmer-
tied reputation Of timed food Is kept
alive todap principally by DOCTORS
either through ignorance or careless
ness. A family suddenly becomes Ill,
obviously the victims of poison. The
family doctor inquiries Immediately
what the members have eaten. Ii by
any chance canned food Of any sort
has been on the menu, it is enough.
The doctor promptly names the cul-
prit, and the newspapers have an
other sensational item. The doctor
may not know that science has now
shown that the presumption Of gull
lies Just as heavily, if not more heav-
lily, upon the fresh food eaten by his
patients. Indeed, it is probably
safe statement that fresh foods today
are more likely to be unwholesome
than canned foods. The laboratory
of the Harvard Medical school has al
ready demonstrated this fact.
Gamers Sought Truth
A few years ago the leading food
Gamers Of the country, believing in
the purity Of their product and sus-
pecting that many of the published
instances of canned food poisoning
were unfounded, determined to make
independent investigation Of all casef
reported in the newspapers. They
had organized the National Gamers
association, and they charged this
body with the responsibility of get
ting at the truth. The subsequent
Investigations have shown that there
is a surprisingly small number OF
bona fide poisonings, particularly
when it is considered that the Amer,
lean public consumes hundreds OF
millions of tins Of food every year.
Every canned food poisoning case
reported in the newspapers for the
last dozen years has been carefully
investigated by this association, and
practically all have been found to be
spurious. The things that get into
the newspapers as cases of poisoning
by canned food nearly always prove
to be cases of acute indigestion, OF
excessive eating, Of foreign sub
stances getting into food while being
prepared for the table, of dirty cook
ing utensils, Of deliberate fraud, or
as it happened once, even leaky gas
pipe in dining room.
AS a grim by-product Of these in.
Vestigations, four murders have been
uncovered by the agents of the asso.
citation and one case Of suicide re-
vealed. One woman poisoned her
husband by putting Paris green into
canned sardines. The sardines them.
selves were blamed for the death un.
til the canning expects found the adj
ministered poison. A woman commit
ted suicide, and the physician to save
her family from disgrace, declared
that she died after eating canned to-
matoes.
A more sensational episode &C.
Cured in the south. Here q small
child died supposedly Of food poison
ing from canned food. The account
Of the death was published and &C.
cepted as the truth, and the case
was apparently closed. The scientists
of the Gamers association kept on,
however, and found evidences that u
dose of strychnine had been admin
istered to the child. The mother
was finally confronted with the evil
dence. She admitted the truth and
then before anybody could stop her.
she leaped from the window and
was killed.
No PtomaineS in Canned Foods
Another false idea that has gained
wide credence is that ptomaine poi
son is likely to occur in canned foods.
Five years ago, research into food
poisons began at four great Ameri-
can versities-Harvard, Stanford
University Of California and Uni
versity of Chicago. After Ave years
Of research they have yet TO find d
can Of food containing ptomaines.
The reason is that no such thing as
ptomaines exist. That theory has
been thoroughly exploded by investi-
cations. There are other food poi
sons, but they are not ptomaines.
The detection of false poisoning
reports, however, is but small part
of the work of the men in the can
ners' laboratory in Washington.
Their. chief duties consist of inMesti.