The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1936-10-15
PRECAUTIONS TO PREVENT
FOOD POISONINGS LISTED
Food POisOnings And Infections
Explained By State Health Board

Asked what it meant by "food pois-
oning," DR.. R. H. Riley, Director of
the State Department of Health, said:
"There are certain diseases that are
contracted in eating or handling meat
from diseased animals, or in drinking
raw milk from diseased cattle. While
these are due to foods, they are more
accurately described as food infec-
tons rather than food poisonings'.
Such diseases include rabbit fever
(tularemia), contracted in handling
diseased rabbits or in eating incom-
pletely cooked rabbit meat; trichino-
sis and other diseases contracted thru
eating raw sausage or eating incom-
pletely cooked pork; undulant fever
caused by drinking raw milk from
cattle that have Bangs disease. We
usually hear of such diseases through
individual cases.
"The best safeguard against these
diseases is to be sure that all meat
used as food comes from healthy ami
mails and is thoroughly cooked; and, as
a preventive against undulant fever,
that all milk used comes from cattle
free from disease, is properly han
died, and, as a special precaution, is
pasteurized.
"But ordinarily, when we speak of
food poisoning we think of outbreaks
that affect number of people at one
time. Such an outbreak may be due to
the use of infected meat, meat pro-
ducts, sea foods, milk or to other foods
from infected sources. 1t may be
caused by food infected by human
Understandable hands-in prepa-
ration or in serving; or contaminated
by rats, mice or flies. 1t may also be
caused by toxins-the technical word
for poisons-which develop in certain
types of infected foods, including
milk and egg combinations, custard
filings and other foods of that sort,
if left standing in warm, moist at
mosphere. Individuals as we'll as large
groups of people are likely to be made
ill after eating foods contaminated in
any of these ways.
eve are all familiar with outbreaks
of food poisoning that have followed
some community gathering or some
other affair for which large quaint
ties of food had been prepared in ad-
vance. There are certain precautions
that should be observed by those re-
sponsible for handling, preparing or
serving food, for affairs of this kind.
Here are some of them:
"Wash your hands thoroughly be-
fore handling any of the food. Have
plenty of water, soap and clean tow
els conveniently at hand for your
own use and for your helpers.
"Be sure all food ingredients are
fresh. Cook thoroughly. Keep the food
covered and protected from contain
ination by flies, rats or mice. Avoid
rich foods and indigestible combina-
tons.
"Scald your utensile before you use
them; cool them off; pack the more
perishable foods lightly-not solidly
into the containers in which they are
to be kept until used. Use several
small containers instead of one or
more large-sized ones. Keep on ice or
I'm cool place. Serve from the smaller
containers as needed. Perishable food
taken off the ice and exposed to the
warmer air for some time before serv-
ing will spoil quickly.
'All of these precautions are equally
applicable to food handled, cooked
and served in individual homes"