458 TWENTY-SECOND ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART VI 



All danger does not lie in food that is knowingly adulter- 

 ated by the manufacturer. Outbreaks of food poisoning are 

 a serious menace to the public and require prompt action by 

 food authorities. 



In the last few years there have been several outbreaks, in 

 widely separated localities, of botulism due to the presence of 

 the bacillus botulinus in certain classes of foods. It has been 

 found by investigators that this bacillus is widely distributed in 

 nature and is a potential source of danger. 



This bacillus itself is not poisonous but is a spore former 

 and the poison is formed when it develops, thus the bacillus 

 may be present in foods but unless conditions have been favor- 

 able for its growth, there is no danger in consuming the food. 

 Boiling temperature will destroy the toxin produced by this 

 bacillus but it will not destroy the bacillus itself, so that if the 

 food after being heated to this temperature is kept under prop- 

 er conditions, the toxin will again be produced. It is important 

 that proper factory methods be used in preparing foods as a 

 safeguard against this danger. 



This bacillus is as liable to be found in home canned foods 

 as those canned in factories. During the outbreak of this 

 poisoning, in ripe olives, this department was furnished a list 

 of shipments which had been sent into Iowa, by the Federal 

 Authorities and we, at once, instructed the inspectors to order 

 from sale all these shipments, which still remained on the 

 grocers' shelves. By this quick action, possibly an outbreak of 

 this poisoning was prevented in Iowa. This demonstrates the 

 value of co-operation between state and Federal Food Author- 

 ities. 



At times there have been attempts, in Congress, to nullify 

 the powers of the states over its food supplies, which are ship- 

 ped from other states, thus having entered inter-state com- 

 merce. The Calder Bill, now in Congress, exempts foods which 

 have been shipped into a state, from the requirements of the 

 state laws. This would take from the states their constitution- 

 al right to protect the health of their citizens. While a law of 

 this kind is of doubtful constitutionality, it should not be per- 

 mitted to be placed upon the statutes and every eflort should 

 be made to prevent its passage. 



