injurious substance added to a food product must of necessity be injurious, provided it is in the nature of a drug and the body is in a perfectly healthy, normal condition.
Hence the argument which has been so persistently urged in favor of a chemical preservative, that if in small quantities it is harmless, is shown to be wholly untenable. While there is no necessity for the addition of a harmful substance, where no particular benefit is secured thereby, and where there is no disturbance of the normal state of health, there can be no possible excuse of a valid nature to offer for the exhibition of even minute quantities. That these minute quantities would not be dangerous in so far as producing any fatal effect is concerned is conceded, but that in the end they do not produce an injury even in these small quantities is certainly to be denied. The course of safety, therefore, in all these cases is to guard the opening of the door. If the admission of small quantities is permitted, then there can never be any agreement among experts or others respecting the magnitude of the small quantity, and continued litigation and disagreement must follow. On the other hand, when the harmfulness of any substance which it is proposed to add to food is established and no reason for its use can be given other than the convenience, carelessness, or indifference of the manufacturer, the exclusion of such bodies entirely from food products follows as a logical sequence and a hygienic necessity.
The third method of preparing or preserving meat is by sterilization. Of all the various methods which have been proposed there is probably none which is, theoretically, so free of objections as the preservation of meat by sterilization, in other words, as canned meats. The only important thing is that the raw material used in canning must itself be meat free of disease, obtained under sanitary conditions, and subjected to sterilization before any fermentation or decay takes place. Pure, wholesome meat thus prepared and thoroughly sterilized will remain in an edible condition for a reasonable length of time. Unfortunately, as has has been shown in the testimony respecting the packing industry of the country, canned meats have not always been selected solely for freedom from disease and for palatability. The question of diseased meat is discussed in another part of this book and, therefore, may not be taken up here. There have been used for canning purposes the fragments and, perhaps, inedible portions of carcasses, and this practice cannot be too severely condemned. This does not mean that these fragments and portions of carcasses are not fit for food, but they should be collected, prepared, and sold as such with plain notices to the consumers of their origin. A cheaper supply of beef would thus be furnished for those in humbler circumstances, and no imposition of any kind would be practiced because the nature of the meat would be fully understood.
Preparation of Meat for Canning.—In the following description it is understood that the ordinary processes of canning sound, properly prepared
