Evening star., 1923-04-27
BACTERIA AND BREAD
The Argument for Wrapping the
staff of Life" to Prevent
Disease.
To the Dditor of The Star:

To the Editor of The Star:
May l intrude TO congratulate
you on your editorial Wrapped
Bread" which appeared on Sunday,
April s.
/ You call attention to the newer
knowledge OF bacteria (which has
proved many things" and to the effect
| that drivers hands are not clean enough
to handle bread meant for human
consumption. In both these points
you are exactly right, and the baking
industry is right with you in your
contention.
You may be interested to learn that
this newer knowledge of bacteria
Twas born In a bakery in the first
place and that therefore 1t is q very
poetic justice which brings the
knowledge back from the people in
the form of a demand for wrapping or
| bread.
From Adams time down until about
1866 dough riZ," as the houseWlf e
said, and nobody even guessed at the
reason. Scientists and philosophers
! wrote of spontaneous generation
and believed that some quality OF
the -four itself caused the fermenta-
tion of the dough.
Pasteur's Discovery of Yeast.
Then came the discovery Of the
nature of yeast by Louis Pasteur.
1t isn't too much to say IL was the
most important discovery or the
modern world. for it gave. US the
''open sesame" to the whole world
| of mscropic molds, bacteria and
yeasts. which are now brought SO
splendidly under the control OF man.
Bakers for years have had to fight
a tiny bacterial organism known as
B. Mesentericus. They have stopped
Its growth in -four by adding vinegar.
That has changed the hydrogen ION
| concentration Of the -four. as the
could not get its necessary food.
Louis Pasteur cried out against
gangrene during the siege or Parls.
hut il was not until the middle of the
world war that the doctors caught
up with his meaning. Then they cured
gangrene with a simple chlorInate "a
wash-the Dakin solution-just a
| bakers had long cured a four troupe.
II is strange how intimately an moo
Tern science and industry are interre-
lated Louis Pasteur alone we now
recoe nize and honor as the father or
modern medicine. hailed as such ny
! the greatest medical associations In
our American Institute Of Baking We
are Just rearing a statue to him as
/ j"the father of modern baking. SIX
| culturists honor him as the father OF
| the modern silk industry with It's
guarantee of freedom from worm =
Killing diseases The science Of bac-
iteriology certainly takes us rise
from his work and his ardent defense
Of his findings under heavy assault.
| Dust and Germs.
| And that work has only just begun:
! II causes you to resent bare-hahd d
work on bread. But vastly more I'M
portant than keeping hands from
/ bread is TO keep dust from bread.
! Dust is the one big germ carrier:
/ Germs. srored UP. are harmless until
| they find nutriment. and our 1000 Is
a good nutrient for them. just as II Is
! for us They dotc on sugar ana can
! make il out OF starch. Then, most
| important of all. is to keep stale bread Il
| crumbs away from fresh bread me
( woman In her home can take les
son in hacteriology here. Let her .ook
! into her bread box and see how thick
{: is the accumulation Of old crumbs on
/ the bottom Her bread box should be
! stcrilizcd in boiling water very often.
! Dishes washed in tepid water,
| especially after they have stood Tor
| GONE hours with food remnants upon
| them. viii one day be looked upon as
a great disease Carrier-as great as
AN omen ditch in which drinking
water passes typh"id-infected house
| drains.
Here again the housewife car, ad-
1 vancc step by turning h"ii1ng Water
{ in or upon her dishes before co"l'hS
: j. down to Il temperature ncr hands
can work in. You see YOU nave
| opened up an endless field for ad-
| vance.
| th, great sr'ccessful bakers # to
/ day have practically all been bugs
on sanitation" We preach it to our
/ industry constantly and tell them
| every way we can discover for ad-
Editor. Baking Technology.
J f,I,icapo Anril 10 1928