Evening star., 1933-03-19
Industry Plans Recovery

10 gamer crop OF asparagus and freeze
It within half an hour of harvesting.
From there it will move into other
States, taking the crops as they come,
and travelling North with the season.
sudden freezing at many degrees be-
low zero seems to have the magic prop
erty OF arresting the flight of time. Ice
crystals formed at these quick low tenn
peratures are microscopic, and the cell
walls OF the fruits, vegetables. meats
and other products subjected to this
sudden shift into the Arctic are not
ruptured as Is the case in ordinary
freezing. The whole process of aging
seems to be halted.
Dinner From Refrigerator.
In January a gentleman in White
PlalnS gave an elaborate dinner party
every course came from the REFRIGERATOR
ol frosted 1oods-mcluding fresh fish
from gloucester, a porterhouse steak
from Montana, green peas and spinacb
from oregon, lima beans from South
Carolina and raspberries from Maine
LOOKING forward, one may wonder if
quick freezing will not eventually he
tne usual way Of packaging and dis
tributing the perishables.
Anotner innovation which has had its
greatest development during the depres.
sion years is the packing of volatile
looos IN vacuum. Mr.. Bartlett Arkell,
president OF the Beechnut Packing Co
teIs me that he used vacuum process
~. -. pacAng bacon and other meats in
glass Jars as early as 1898.
Pack1ng in vacuum has had wide on
pncation recently in the packaeinp of
coHee, food which is particularly sub
Ject to oxidation.
Inert gases are used to pack cocoa
nut and other tropical productsN
cashew nuts, for example. Years apo
enorts were made to import cashews
from INDIA. but usually they arrived
Stale. prlttle and dry, and the trade
mace slight headway. Then it occurred
20 a young American food chemist that
n tne nuts were picked ripe, immadi-
atey sea!ed IN alright canisters of
caroon dioxide, this inert gas would
freshness. The plan was tried If
worked; and last year more than 10
Uoo,Oo0 pounds Of the nuts were i'm
ported into the United States.
recent experiments with milk indi-
cate that revolutionary developments
may be expected, both in safeguard
ing 1t against spoilage and in insur
ing It's content. Milk Is one of the ris-
ing items on our national food list.
from o,000, 100000 quarts In 1920. con-
sumption increased to 10000, ,0O0, 900
quarts in 1881.
Research in Vitamins.
Fifteen hundred rats and several
oczen chickens in food laboratory in
battle Greek, Mich, are the subjects of
an intensive research into the operation
OF vltaminS-those minute mysterious
a!th-glvlng substances of which milk,
fresh fruits and fresh vegetables are
such prolific carriers. At other centers,
TOO, these microscopic catalysts of life
are being explored Several years ago
1t was discovered that exposure to ultra
violet light will develop vitamin D in
certain foods Recently two methods of
incorporating additional vitamin D into
milk have been perfected and are in
process OF adoption by dairy companies.
In January news was received from Cal
cutta of the successful synthesis there
of the anti-neuritic vitamin B. This
leaves vitaminS A and G yet to be at
tanned by the synthetic chemists.
Perhaps no industrial laboratories in
the land are operating on a basis SO
nearly normal as are those of the food
companies. There are more than 200
OF them. Some have recently enlarged
their programs. Many studies in uni
versttieS and technical schools are being
supported by the food industries and
they are also alert to developments in
other laboratories.
One of the most sensational of these
came out of the We singhouse re-
search laboratory in East Pittsburgh q
few weeks ago-an electrical device
which measures acidity. 1t is really an
electrical faster" which can tell you
whether or not an uncut melon is ripe
and rate the difference in acidity be-
tween an orange and grapefruit or
between two oranges. BY means OF the
new infallible faster Gamers should be
able to select fruits and vegetables OF
specified taste, and to keep the favors
of their products at a given standard,
Food research has given us bal
anced diet. And that balanced diet IN
evitably has had its effect on the health
and perhaps on the longevity of recent
generations. Sixty years ago only one.
fourteenth of the people of the United
States were over SIS years old, while TO-
day one-eighth are that old-a 70 per
cent gain. Perhaps some Of these added
ercise, fresh air, better knowledge OF
how to fight contagious diseases, but
surely good proportion OF the gain we
OWc W OuI ulC4CdoCu ooC Va @ASSAA 'SS~
tables, fresh fruits and milk.
Transportation . Factor.
An ever-vital factor in the changing
trends of food distribution Is conven-
lent transportation. Many a house,
holder in the suburbs has been whisk-
ing his car out to some farm, buying
vegetables and fruits direct, and carry
ing them home for eating and Tor
canning. The neighborhood stores have
felt this.
Similarly, many food producer or
food merchant is using the concrete
highways for his transport, bringing
produce into New York from upstate
and from the South by motor truck.
And the railroads have felt that. In q
day load of watermelons will ride from
Atlanta to Baltimore, perhaps to Pnil.
adelphia. Refrigerator cars mounted
ON motor cfaSseS nre- now travelling the