FOOD POISONING.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 259, 1 November 1928, Page 24

FOOD POISONING.

SOME LONDON EXPERIENCES. VALUE OF BORIC ACID. ITS USE DEFENDED. A number of young women living at a residential club in Central London were recently afflicted by a "mysterious" illness. There was, however, no mystery about what had happened. The girls fell ill because of something they had eaten. It is at this point that the "Daily Mail" takes tho matter up, and the wisdom of the prohibition of boric acid is again challenged. Our London contemporary states the position as follows:— "It is suspected that the bacon served for breakfast at this club may have been the origin of the trouble. That may or may not turn out to be the correct explanation. We know that ham in hot weather, if ineffectively preserved, tends to become a breeding ground for bacilli. Obviously the precise condition of the bacon eaten by the sufferers should be ascertained.

"There is a great deal more to be known about these food-poisoning incidents, which have been much too frequent of late. Why do they occur, and why are they apparently increasing in numbers and severity?

"Occasionally an outbreak of disease can be clearly traced to its source, as in the very bad case at Loch Maree, when eight persona died of botulism after eating sandwiches containing a dangerous toxin. That was some years ago, but we have had plenty of quite recent examples to shovi how unsatisfactory the position is. Policemen Suffer. "In July scores of London policemen were attacked by an epidemic of foodpoisoning, attributed to the infected food supplied at one of their canteens. Since then there have been several deaths due to the consumption of such 1 things as pork pies, sausages, ham, Irish stew and other foodstuffs which ought to be wholesome and harmless if they are cooked in proper condition.

"How is it that these articles are allowed to undergo deterioration and contamination so as to become perilous to life and health? The Ministry of Health has suggested that the paratyphoid wave which has surged over London may have had its bacillus carried by cream or milk. If so, it would seem as if the Department's own policy is at fault, and it should be frankly admitted. Risk to Community. "Sir Wm. Pope, the great Cambridge chemist, not long ago assured the 'Daily Mail' that the prohibition of boric acid has brought a definite risk to the community because it limits the period during which cream, milk, meat and other foods can be kept free from taint. If this eminent authority is right, we may have been going on the wrong lines, or moving too quickly, in regard to preservatives. At any rate, we stand in need of a close analysis of the whole subject. We require to learn how it is that the toxic bacillus gets into the food. A careful investigation should be undertaken at once into our general methods of handlh-x. preserving and dealing with provisions." Some Local Views. As is generally known the use of boric acid in foods has been prohibited in the Dominion, and New Zealand is also affected by the existence of the embargo in Great Britain, because of the large quantities of dairy produce shipped there from this country. In regard to the export trade, New Zealand shippers of dairy produce do not claim that any appreciable hardship has been incurred by the imposition of the embargo. As a matter of fact the largest company doing business in the Dominion had refrained from the use of boric acid a considerable period before the embargo was imposed. Similarly, some factories selling butter on the local market voluntarily adopted a similar policy and need as an advertising slogan, "No preservatives used."

"But," said a local factory representative to a "Star" reporter, "it has added considerably to our distributing costs. When we used boric acid we could send a storekeeper a week's supply, knowing it would keep till he sold it. Now we have to make two or three deliveries a week." He added: "The new regulations make it more difficult to send foodstuffs, such as butter and bacon, into remote districts, where several days are occupied in transport. In such cases there is in the absence of a preservative, a great risk of the food deteriorating."

The Department of Health in New Zealand, after issuing an ultimatum to bacon curers some time back that boric acid must not be used, subsequently agreed to a temporary suspension of the embargo. On this question of bacon curing, one of the largest dealers in the province put his views on the matter thus:—"l am not prepared to say that a small quantity of boric acid cannot, with perfect safety, be used in bacon curing, but I feel that there is always the possibility of nn employee, in order to make doubly sure that a particular consignment shall not suffer deterioration, putting in a quantity in excess of instructions and possibly more than would be good for the health of the consumer."