132 



THE STORY OF GERM LIFE. 



The poisons will be produced in decaying mate- 

 rial but will seldom be taken into the human 

 body. These poisons, produced in the first 

 stages of putrefaction, are oxidized by further 

 stages of decomposition into harmless products. 

 But should it happen that some of these bacteria 

 obtained a chance to grow vigorously for a while 

 in organic products that are subsequently swal- 

 lowed as man's food, it is plain that evil results 

 might follow. If such food is swallowed by man 

 after the bacteria have produced their poisonous 

 bodies, it will tend to produce an immediate poi- 

 soning of his system. The effect may be sudden 

 and severe if considerable quantity of the poison- 

 .ous material is swallowed, or slight but protracted 

 if small quantities are repeatedly consumed in 

 food. Such instances are not uncommon. Well- 

 known examples are cases of ice-cream poison- 

 ing, poisoning from eating cheese or from drink- 

 ing milk, or in not a few instances from eating 

 fish or meats w r ithin which bacteria have had 

 opportunity for growth. In all these cases the 

 poison is swallowed in quantity sufficient to give 

 rise quickly to severe symptoms, sometimes re- 

 sulting fatally, and at other times passing off as 

 soon as the body succeeds in throwing off the 

 poisons. In other cases still, however, the 

 amount of poison swallowed may be very slight, 

 too slight to produce much effect unless the same 

 be consumed repeatedly. All such trouble may 

 be attributed to fermented or partly decayed 

 food. It is difficult to distinguish such instances 

 from others produced in a slightly different way, 

 as follows: 



It may happen that the bacteria which grow 

 in food products continue to grow in the food 



