264 The Bacteriology of Foods 



spoiled by carelessness, and the consumer, who may be in- 

 jured by the food. 



Any food may carry infectious organisms upon its surface, 

 such organisms being derived from the hands of the dealer, 

 from dust, from water, as when green vegetables are sprinkled 

 with impure water to keep them fresh, or from other sources. 

 The cleanliness of the merchant and the protection from 

 contamination that he bestows upon his goods should be 

 taken into consideration by his customers. 



Shell-fish, especially oysters, seem to be common carriers 

 of infection, especially of typhoid fever. The oysters seem 

 to be contaminated with infected sewage carried to their 

 beds. It is not yet satisfactorily determined whether 

 typhoid bacilli multiply in the juices in the shells of the 

 oysters or not, but a number of epidemics of typhoid fever 

 have been very conclusively traced to the consumption of 

 certain oysters at a definite time and place. As cooking the 

 oysters will kill the contained bacilli, the prophylaxis of 

 disease in this case is very simple. 



II. Food Poisons. A new and useful nomenclature, 

 suggested by Vaughan and Novy,* contains the following 

 terms : 



Bromatotoxismus food-poisoning; 



Galactotoxismus milk-poisoning; 



Tyrotoxismus cheese-poisoning ; 



Kreotoxismus meat-poisoning ; 



Ichthyotoxismus fish -poisoning ; 



Mytilotoxismus mussel-poisoning; 



Sitotoxismus cereal-poisoning. 



The most important chemic alterations effected by bac- 

 teria occur in milk and meat. 



i. Milk-poisoning (Galactotoxismus). Milk, even when 

 freshly drawn from the cow, always contains some bacteria, 

 whose numbers gradually diminish for a few hours, then rap- 

 idly increase until almost beyond belief. These organisms 

 are for the most part harmless to the consumer, but ulti- 

 mately ruin the milk. Although much attention has been 

 paid to the subject, bacteriologists are not agreed whether 

 the number of bacteria contained in milk is a satisfactory 

 guide as to its harmfulness. 



The poisonous change in milk, cream, ice-cream, etc., 

 has- been shown by Vaughan to depend in part upon the 

 *" Cellular Toxins," Phila., 1902. 



