382 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



when ])lacecl in storap;e. lie also notes that when turkeys are stored 

 iin(hawn there is a tendency for the odor, and undoubtedly the taste, 

 of the material contained in the intestines to permeate the adjacent 

 tissues at the time of the thawin<j;-out process. There is also the 

 possibility of the bacteria contained in the intestinal contents migrat- 

 ing through the abdominal tissues at the same time. He believes, 

 therefore, that the poultry should be properly drawn before storage. 



The extended investigations on cold storage of ])oultry and other 

 foods carried on by the Bureau of Chemistry of the Department of 

 Agriculture have contributed much of the value to the subject of the 

 quality and nutritive value of such goods.. 



In a report on the effects of cold storage on eggs, quail, and chick- 

 ens, which was made by "Wiley and his associates,*' losses in weight 

 during storage, changes in chemical character, and related topics 

 were considered. The general conclusion reached is that in the case 

 of frozen birds — 



there is no indication of any improvement in quality — that is, in taste, odor, or flavor, 

 during cold storage. There is a deterioration, which is noticeable, even at the end of 

 three months, and becomes more marked as the time of storage grows longer. Hence, 

 without any reference whatever to the question of wholesomeness, cold storage pro- 

 longed for six months or more appears to be distinctly detrimental as far as taste, 

 flavor, and palatability are concerned. 



The intestines which are left in situ in storage birds show a very marked degenera- 

 tion. Their muscular walls grow thinner in cold storage until they are the merest 

 remnants, which threaten to disappear altogether and which even very careful han- 

 dling may easily rupture. This degeneration is noticeably active in the muscular 

 rather than in the cellular tissues of the intestines. This is important when it is con- 

 sidered that the bacterial flora of the intestinal contents will, of course, contain any 

 pathogenic germs which u.sually accompany the colon bacillus. Hence the perforation 

 of the walls of the intestines, which apparently takes place by continued digestive 

 processes even in cold storage, would open the way for a rapid migration of such bac- 

 teria on thawing and previous to cooking. Thus it is quite possible that dangerous 

 bacterial organisms might be translated to the edible portions of the fowl through the 

 perforations of the intestines in the period between thawing and cooking. This 

 degeneration of the walls of the intestines must therefore be regarded as highly 

 significant. 



Of studies of the changes which take place during cold storage, 



mention should be made of the work of Miss Pennington^ of the 



Bureau of Chemistry, of which a portion has been summarized in an 



article on the changes taking place in chickens in cold storage in the 



Yearbook noted above. In the light of her investigations she writes: 



The dictum of the warehouseman that there is no change in cold-storage poultry, 

 and that it may be kept for an indefinite period, can not be accepted in its entirety. \ 



a U. S. Dept. Agr., Bur. Chem. Bui. 115. 

 b U. S. Dept. Agr., Yearbook 1907, p. 197. 



