Only a preliminary examination has been made for lead and tin in 

 the contents of the cans. The method employed was not sufficiently 

 delicate to reveal mere traces, but if these metals were present in a 

 sufficient quantity for their exact estimation it would indicate that 

 fact. So far as can be determined by chemical analysis, the samples 

 of meat examined were entirely appropriate for use as food. 



A statement in German, of which the following is a translation, 

 occurs on the label of the packages of the Armour Canning Com- 

 pany, of Chicago, 111. : "These cans comply with every requirement 

 of the laws of the German Empire in respect to the presence of lead 

 and zinc." 



Although this claim is only made by one company it was equally 

 true of the receptacles of all the packages examined. It would 

 appear from this that the companies are canning their goods largely 

 to supply the foreign market, but at the same time make no distinc- 

 tion between the goods exported and those sold in this country. 



APPEARANCE OF THE MEATS WHEN THE CANS WERE OPENED. 



It is highly important from a dietetic point of view to make a care- 

 ful examination of the appearance of the meats when the cans are 

 opened. Any imperfect sterilization or imperfect closing of the aper- 

 tures of the cans will usually reveal its effects first upon the sur- 

 face of the meat. A critical examination of the surface will in 

 these cases lead the cook to reject the sample as unfit for use. 



The appearance of one of the packages of meat after it had been 

 removed from the can is described here, and is fairly applicable to all 

 the specimens examined. There were three distinct colors presented, 

 namely : First, the red color, due to the flesh itself ; second, the white 

 color, due to the layers of fat upon the surface ; and, third, the yellow 

 tints, which arise from the gelatin which has been used in packing 

 the can. It also appeared that some melted fat, as well as gelatin, 

 had been put into the package, or that in the process of sterilization the 

 fat present in the meat had been melted and had come to the sur- 

 face. Very little fat was found in the interior. In the samples 

 examined the whole external surface of the contents of the package 

 presented a perfectly normal appearance ; there was no indication of 

 the action of any ferments of any kind nor any discolorations not due 

 to natural causes. 



The packages of meat having been broken in two, not cut, the 

 fractured surface showed no gelatin and only a few patches of fat, 

 the great mass of material consisting of the red flesh of the meat. 



On opening the cans it was found in many instances that the tins 

 on the inside were discolored, and it was first considered that actual 

 erosion had taken place. A careful microscopic examination of the 

 surface, however, showed that this assumption was an error. In no 



