370 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



338. Cheese poisoning 1 cases occasionally occur. These 

 take two main forms : (1) an enteritis (caused by Bacillus 

 enteritidis) or some other member of that series which 

 while painful and accompanied by purging is rarely 

 fatal ; (2) acute toxaemias which, although rare, usually 

 result in death. From the latter type a variety of Bacillus 

 botulinus, an organism usually associated with meat 

 poisoning, was isolated by the New York State Depart- 

 ment of Health. The occurrence of such cases is frequent 

 enough to emphasize the desirability of using every pre- 

 caution to reduce the number of bacteria that are allowed 

 to enter milk when drawn and to prevent the development 

 of those which actually gain access to it. When possible, 

 pasteurization should be introduced. 



339. Proper place in the diet. It has already been 

 noted that cheese is used " in general in two ways in 

 small quantities chiefly for its flavor and in large quan- 

 tities for its nutritive value as well as for its flavor. Some 

 -varieties of cheese are used chiefly for the first purpose, 

 others chiefly for the second. Those which are used 

 chiefly for their flavor, many of which are high priced, 

 contribute little to the food value of the diet, because 

 of the small quantity used at a time. They have an 

 important part to play, however, in making the diet 

 attractive and palatable. The intelligent housekeeper 

 thinks of them not as necessities, but as lying within 

 what has been called ' the region of choice.' Having 

 first satisfied herself that her family is receiving sufficient 

 nourishment, she then, according to her means and ideas 

 of an attractive diet, chooses among these foods and 

 others which are to be considered luxuries. 



1 Levin, W., Cheese poisoning a toxicogenic bacillus iso- 

 lated from cheese, Jour. Lab. Clin. Med. 2 (1917), page 761. 



