The Wilmington morning star., 1941-01-04
HAAS ADDRESSES
EXCHANGE CLUB
Dangers Of Bootleg Oysters
Are Cited Before Civic
Luncheon

w e Haas. of the health de-
partment's food handling DIVISION
urged the cooperation OF the cltl-
Gems of Wilmington with the health
department to bring certified deal
ers out of the u%nsanitary bootleg
seafood dealers that peddle their
wares from house to house, as ne
addressed the luncheon session OF
the Exchange club yesterday.
Bootleg seafood often C o m e S
from highly polluted waters and
is gathered by people who have
had no physical examination Tor
contagious or infectious diseases,
he said. T h e oysters gathered
this way are opened behind any
convenient bush in true bootleg
fashion, he said, and the finished
product is sold at the same price
of certified sea food.
A typical bootleg procedure, SAID
Haas, ccurs practically any place.
in the county. The oysters a r e
gathered and stored along t h e
edge of the sounds polluted with
drainage. In any pot which citi-
zens wouldn't wash their feet
ILL.," the oysters are steamed.
This water is used ove and over
again. No facilities exist for the
people to wash their hands, he
said.
Into enamel pans, that otter
have not been cleaned, the oy-
sters go, said Haas. With a clean
cloth carefully spread over the
containers, the housewives a. r e
often fooled into thinking the boot
leg peddler is exceptionally clean
with the handling of seafood.
The certified process takes place
in a three-room building. The seafood
comes from waters that have been
analysed and meet the United States
biological standards. The concrete
floor is clean, and the picking of the
oysters takes place in a deep sink.
Near the main door is a handWash-
ing basin with hot and cold running
water.
These dealers must have a health
certificate from the health depart
ment, renewed once a year. The
workers must wear short sleeves, no
jewelry, and short fingernails. Their
hands are rinsed in a solution of 100
parts chlorine per million gallons.
In a vat with 200 parts chlorine per
million all utensils are sterilized for
at least five minutes.
In the packing room the certified
oysters are placed On a skinner and
cleaned with a fine spray of water
for about 10 seconds to eliminate any
sand in the gills of the oyster. Local
housewives, said Haas, often object
to buying certified oysters because
of the washing destroys the taste
although the fine spray is much
shorter than the washing of the
oysters before they are cooked in
the home.
The retail markets for seafood
have been curtailed somewhat recent
ly, due to the bootleg dealers, said
Haas. To remedy this the citizens
of Wilmington must demand certi-
fled food.
The health department is not try
ing to put the people engaged in sea-
food bootleging out of business, Haas
pointed out, but bring them into a
more profitable work, because with
the assurance of clean, fresh sea-
food, the citizens will buy more. Ped
ding from house to house will be
possible with certified food, he said,
with the containers packed in ice,
and each stamped with the health
departments approval.
EXchangite Warren Sanders an
nounced that Ladies night will be
held Friday night, January "a. Presi-
dent Ed T. Jones made a short talk
describing plans for the coming
year, and announced that Exchang-
lite Dr.. Paul Black has been ordered
to Camp Be%auregarde, La.