ANNUAL REPORT, 1936 71 



Vitamin D Investigations. (Wm. B. Esselen, Jr. and C. R. Fellers.) The 

 survey of the various methods of incorporating vitamin D in market milk has 

 been continued. Numerous samples of irradiated, fortified (cod liver oil), and 

 metabolized (yeast) milks have been assayed for their content of vitamin D. In 

 general, the dealers' guarantees as to amounts of this vitamin present per quart 

 are in accordance with the facts. Consumers of vitamin D milk in Mass- 

 achusetts may be reasonably certain that the milk they purchase actually con- 

 tains vitamin D in therapeutic quantities. 



A number of cod liver oils, poultry feeds, and miscellaneous food and feed 

 products have been assayed for vitamins A, D, and G. There is an increasing 

 interest in the vitamin content of human foods and animal feeds. 



Bulletin 338 is in press dealing with the stability of the vitamins in fruits 

 and vegetables subjected to storage, freezing, drying, and canning. This 

 bulletin collates much scattered materal in the literature and brings the subject 

 up to date. 



Nutritive and Technological Studies on Fishery Products. (C. R 



Fellers, J. A. Clague, and D. A. Bean.) The Atlantic Whiting (Merluccius 

 bilinearis), a marine fish of great abundance in Massachusetts waters, was 

 examined chemically for food value and also with a view to better utiliza- 

 tion in new products. Various experimental packs of canned, salted, kippered 

 whiting as well as chowder and fish flakes were made. The kippered (smoked) 

 whiting is a delicious product worthy of commercial exploitation. Canned 

 chowder and flakes were also very good products. 



The whiting flesh possesses high nutritive value. The livers, which contain 

 30 to 42 percent oil, assayed 2700 units of vitamin A and 200 U.S. P. units of 

 vitamin D per gram. These values are here reported for the first time. 



A paper was published (Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 65: 342-349. 1935) on the 

 nutritive value of the blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) and of the sand crab 

 (Platyonichus ocellatus). A method for the successful preservation of the blue 

 crab by canning has been perfected. 



Fermentation Investigations. (C. R. Fellers, V. Jancik, and A. S. 

 Levine.) The citron fermentation studies have been completed and published 

 {Jour. Agr. Research 53 (11): 859-867. 1936). This paper also contains data 

 on the chemical composition and vitamin A and C content of the citron. 



Studies on the preservation of the red and green sweet peppers and melons 

 by means of salting and fermentation have been under way for one season. 

 The peppers are readily preserved by storing in a 15 percent salt brine. 

 Watermelons and citron melons can also be preserved satisfactorily for later 

 preserve and pickle manufacture, by either salting or brining. This study will 

 be continued. 



Another season's work shows that the addition of 1 percent dextrose to dill 

 pickles before fermentation accelerates the fermentation, insures a clean, lactic 

 bacterial flora, and increases the final acidity of the cucumber pickle over the 

 control lots. 



Dog Foods. (J. Bernotavicz, C. R. Fellers, and W. S. Ritchie.) The de- 

 velopment of a nutritionally complete canned dog food has been initiated. A 

 number of springer spaniel pups are being used in feeding experiments. The 

 possibility of using dried buttermilk as the principal source of protein in this 

 food is being studied. 



