HOG CHOLERA AND MEAT INSPECTION 199 



logical changes in the meat itself, and is not deter- 

 mined by the probable presence or absence of the 

 causative agents of hog cholera, swine plague or 

 swine erysipelas ; second, carcasses of hogs which 

 before slaughter were obviously suffering with 

 any one of the three diseases, may, in the absence 

 of extensive pathological changes in the meat it- 

 self be passed for human food, but for veterin- 

 ary sanitary reasons it should be boiled, rendered 

 or pickled in order to destroy causative agents of 

 either of the three animal diseases which it may 

 contain. 



A review of these facts leads logically to the 

 conclusion that as far as hog cholera is concerned 

 there is, and can be, no sharp line of demarcation 

 between carcasses that are fit for human food and 

 those which are unfit, because it has not been 

 shown that hog cholera virus is injurious to man. 

 The more important phase of meat inspection as 

 it applies to hog cholera centers around the de- 

 cision which determines whether a particular car- 

 cass requires special treatment (boiling, render- 

 ing or pickling), in order that parts of it may not 

 subsequently infect other swine. Edelmann states 

 clearly the need for a distinction between the fit 

 and the unfit based solely on veterinary sanitary 

 reasons, but he is silent as to how this distinc- 

 tion is to be made. 



The U. S. Bureau of Animal Industry meat in- 



