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Show SCIENCE WINS FOOD VICTORY Heat Removes Danger of Poisoning From Botulism WASHINGTON. Oct. 13. An exhaustive ex-haustive investigation over a period of several year by the RlsdlesJ school" of Harvard, th. University of California Califor-nia ond Stanford university. In co-operation with the United States public health service, has determined that the food poisoning knovn as botulism may be avoided by th proper amount of heating. It was announced by the National Cannors" association. at whose request the investigation was undertaken THIRTY EXPERTS ENGAGED. A report made to the board of directors di-rectors of the association In Washington Washing-ton declared that the research has proved "that all canned foods, wheth-er wheth-er prepared at homo or In a factory, fac-tory, arc sufe If heated for the time that has been scientifically determined." deter-mined." "Thla research work." l was stated, "has occupied 30 scientific men with a corps of helpers since the sensational sensa-tional botulism outbreak. In 1910. hut as a result of the Investigation, botulism botul-ism la no loner a mystery for It QS4 finally been conquered by heat." "Tho only means of sterlllzlnft canned food Is by heat." It was added. After tho can Is sealed, the proper application, of heat destroys the bacteria bac-teria that grows on all fresh food. In order to make canned foods safe. It vaa nscSSSmry to learn the exact amount of heat necessary to kill botu-llino botu-llino In every kind of food. The Influence Influ-ence of heat was studied under all possible conditions. In securing data from which conclusions were drawn, isomethtng like iou.000 specimens were I heated m l -1 j 1 1 . J In detail. FOUND IN MANY SOIlS. "Sausages were formerly supposed to be tho chief source of botulism, but it is now known that botulinus exist (everywhere In nature and that tho natural home Is In the aoll. Over 2,000 samples of soil and other agricultural agri-cultural products such as hay. husks, leaves and discarded material from fruits and vegetables from different parts of the Cnlted States were examined. ex-amined. A large number of samples were also examined from Alaska, Ik-wall, Ik-wall, Canada, bclglum, Holland. Denmark, Den-mark, England. Switzerland and China. "It Is found In the greatest abundance abund-ance In soil thui ha never been cultivated, cul-tivated, especially at high altitudes. "The organism becomes less abundant abund-ant as soli Is cultivated and Is found to tho leaat extent In soils that havo been subject to Intensive cultivation. Even in "Ider cultivated regions, however, how-ever, botulinus has not disappeared from tho ground ASSKKTIO.N S HI I I TED. From time to time assertions haro been made as to the prevalence of botulism, but using figures suppllod by the California Investigating authorities, author-ities, tho report declares: "During tho year 19-0 there were more than 57.000 deaths from tuberculosis tuber-culosis In the United States, more than 3,000 from dysentery, over 1,700 caused by accidental poisoning by products pro-ducts other than foods, nearly 6.00'J from drowning, and ovor -400 person? killed by lightning When we com-paro com-paro theee with tho average annual death rate from botulism of less than 26, the position of botulism anions the causes of death becomes Insignificant. Insig-nificant. DANGER IS SL1GIT1 "If we accept, for the sake of argument argu-ment and without qualification the statement that a total of 29 outbreaks of botullem have been caused in tho United States by commercially canned foods (an average of less than three outbreaks per year, the number Is still relatively small In comparison with the total pack. We should bear In rolnd that during recent years the annual total pack of canned foods of the United Statea has been not far from 4,000.000,000 cans. There haa, therefore, been leas than one outbreak of botullam ascribed to commercially canned foods for every billion cans that have been packed since botulism has been recognised as a disease that might possibly be caused by canned fooda" |