BUREAU OF CHEMISTRY. 229 



FOOD FLORA, SPOILAGE, AND FERMENTATION. 



Eeferences to the year's work upon the spoilage and the flora of 

 specific articles of food are made elsewhere in this repoi't, where such 

 foodstuffs are specifically considered. The general investigations 

 upon poisoning by spoiled food have been continued, and some of 

 tlie results embodied in two papers entitled, respectively, " Toxin 

 Formation by a Variety of B. ootuUnus when Cultivated Aerobically 

 under Various Conditions: Its Possible Production in the Animal 

 Bodyj" and " Botulism from Canned Asparagus." In general, the re- 

 sults indicate that the strain of Bacillus hotulinus isolated from the 

 spoiled asparagus which produced fatal poisoning is capable of with- 

 standing the temperature used in the processing of canned goods by 

 methods in vogue for home canning or for commercial canning, that 

 the organism produces putrefactive decomposition, and tliat the prin- 

 cipal safeguard against poisoning from such types of organisms as 

 this lies in the scrupulous examination of every can of material to 

 make sure that no spoiled food is included in the portions eaten. 



The study of the molds used in the oriental fermentation industries 

 has included several lines of exj^erimentation. Soy sauce has been 

 made according to the methods emploj^ed in Japan. Enzymic studies 

 have been periormed with a bran koji made with Aspergillus Wentii 

 and various strains of Aspergillus fl<ivus. The metabolism of this 

 group of organisms has been studied, especially the chemical changes 

 they produce in soy fermentation, and the formation of phenolic 

 substances. A study of Chinese red rice as produced by the growth 

 of Monasciis purpureus has been prepared for publication under the 

 title of " Laboratory Experiments on the Manufacture of Chinese 

 Ang-khak in the United States." 



In connection with the studies to improve the manufacture of 

 pickles and prevent the losses that occur at present because of the 

 softening of the pickles during storage, arrangements have been 

 made with the Bureau of Plant Industry and w^ith the Mississippi 

 Agricultural College to study the fermentable sugar content of dif- 

 ferent varieties of cucumbers. Cooperation has also been maintained 

 with manufacturers of sauerkraut, with a view to controlling the 

 temperature of the kraut as it goes into the fermenting vat, in order 

 to obtain more nearly the optimum conditions of fermentation than 

 has hitherto been the case. A report on the use of pure culture 

 starters in the preparation of sauerkraut has been issued. The work 

 on the preservation of foods by fermentation and brining has been 

 continued, and the information of value thus obtained has been trans- 

 mitted to the States Kelations Service for demonstration in the field. 

 A report of the work is in manuscript form. A paper entitled "A 

 Preliminary Report upon Some Halophilic Bacteria " has been 

 printed. 



The requests for cultures from the bureau's extensive and grow- 

 ing collection have been numerous, centering, in recent years, upon 

 the citric-acid-forming gi'oup of molds, the cheese-ripening fungi, 

 and those connected with the oriental fermentation industries. Many 

 routine identifications of cultures w^ere made for various investi- 

 gators. 



A communication was made upon the chemical analyses of bac- 

 teriological bouillons. 



