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Show HOW PTOMAINES ARE FORMED. Danger in Meats in Decomposition Sets in. Ptomaines are poisonous bodies due to the action of micro-organisms. They are chemical compounds of definite composition and are -elaborated by micro-organisms breaking down the complex com-plex ingredients of animal tissues, jusn. as alcohol is due to the action of yeasts breaking down sugar. The formation of Ptomaines quite generally accom panies decomposition (often in Its early stages), and therefore food should be eaten only when it is in perfectly good condition Fish which has been frozen fro-zen and. after thawing, kept for a time b;fore it is cooked, is especially likely to contain injurious ptomaines. Canned fish should never be allowed to remain in the can after opening, tout should be used at once. There is possibility of danger from th? combined action of the can content and oxygen of the air upon the lead of the solder or the can itself. Furthermore, canned fish seems peculiarly suited to the growth of micro-organisms when exposed ex-posed to the air. The dangers from parasites and ptomaines pto-maines are not limited to fish. Under conditions which favor the growth of the micro-organisms, meat and oth?r highly nitrogenous animal food? undergo under-go decomposition resulting in the formation for-mation of ptomaines. Animal parasites mtv be acquired from flesh of various kinds if not thoroughly cooked. Vegetable Vege-table foods also may become contaminated contam-inated in various ways. In dressing fish the following percen-taires percen-taires are lost: Large-mouthed black bafs sea bass, eisoo kindfish. mullet, white perch, pickerel, pik? tomcod. weakfish and whitefi5h. 17 1-2 per cent; small-mouthed black bas-s, eel Spanish nwckerel. porgy.and turbot, 13 1-2 per cent- butt frfish. 12 1-2 per cent: shad. 11 tVer cent: brook trout. 16,1-2 per cent: bu head, 50 per cent: buffalo-fish and lake sturgeon. 40 per cent: carp and sucker. S3 per cent: grass pik?. black bass, white bass, yellow-perch and salmon, sal-mon, 15 per cent: eels, 10 per cent. j The drying, salting and smoking: of j fish, while insuring preservation, modify the flavor. Caviare is usually prepared from sturgeon roe by salting. The methods meth-ods of salting and packing vary somewhat some-what and give rise to a number of varieties. va-rieties. Although formerly prepared almost al-most exclusively in Russia, caviare is now made to a large extent in this country'. When fish are salted and cured there is a considerable loss in weight. Codfish Cod-fish lose 60 per cent in preparation for market. If the market-dried fish is boned, there is a further loss of 20 per cent. The loss in weight of pollock from the round to the market-dried fish is fiO per cent: haddock. 62 per cent; hake, 56 per cent and cusk, 51 per cent. |