INSPECTION OF PACKING HOUSES. 1377 



for painting and labeling. Throughout the process the cans are 

 handled automatically. 



INSPECTION OF PACKING HOUSES. 



In March, 1899, the writer accompanied the court of inquiry con- 

 vened to investigate the food furnished by the Subsistence Department 

 of the' United States Army to troops during the Spanish-American 

 War in its western trip of inspection of those Western packing houses 

 which furnished meat to the United States Army during the war with 

 Spain. In the course of this inspection a batch of fresh beef was 

 canned under the observation of the writer in each of six packing 

 houses. a At every stage of the operation weighings were made and 

 appropriate samples were taken for subsequent examination. In each 

 house it was requested that the method ordinarily employed for the 

 preparation of canned roast beef should be followed exactly, and the 

 foreman of each canning department gave every assurance, and in 

 the case of the Chicago houses testified under oath, that the method 

 employed was the regular method used by his firm for the prepara- 

 tion of canned roast beef. 



The details of the methods employed in each canning room follow. 



PACKING HOUSE No. 1. 



The weight of fresh meat emplo} r ed was 743 pounds. This meat 

 was taken entirely from the forequarter of the beef, and represented 

 all of the meat on the forequarters except the shank, which is sold for 

 soup bones, and the "third rib," which is placed on the market as 

 such. The rest of the quarter is carefulpy boned, as much of the fat 

 and gristle as practicable is trimmed away, and the meat is boiled for 

 a few minutes for the purpose of shrinking. The 743 pounds used in 

 this run were placed in a vat of water at a temperature of 96 

 (205 F.). The addition of the cold meat reduced the temperature only 

 about 5 or 6. The meat was cooked for thirty minutes, and heated 

 by injected steam, when it weighed 529 pounds, showing a shrinkage 

 of 214 pounds. It was then placed on tables and again trimmed, and 

 the trimmings, consisting of fat and gristle to the amount of 25 pounds, 

 were removed. The meat was then placed in 2-pound cans, 2 ounces 

 of "jelly" of the following composition being added to each can 

 (laboratory number, 18040): 



Per cent. 



Solids 21. 51 ' 



Proteids 19. 01 



Ash 2.34 



Sodium chlorid 1 . 29 



a Libby, McNeill & Libby, Armour & Co., Nelson Morris & Co., Cndahy Packing 

 Company, Armour Packing Company, The G. H. Hammond Company. 



