52 BACTERIOLOGICAL METHODS 



into the tissues beneath the epidermis and into the parenchyma- 

 tous cells of whole fruits. It would be interesting to determine 

 the average number of bacteria on the exterior of such fruits as 

 the apple, the peach, the pear, the apricot, the tomato, the 

 cucumber, etc., and from these figures to estimate the number of 

 organisms per cc. of the fruit substance. The practical value of 

 such information would, however, not be great, as may be understood 

 from the statements already made. It must be admitted without 

 question or doubt that fruit products of any kind, which contain 

 only such organisms as normally occur on clean uncontaminated 

 ripe fruit, will never come under the ban of the pure food and 

 drugs act. This also applies to foods and drugs in general. The 

 organisms which concern the analyst are those which occur in and 

 upon contaminated and diseased fruits and those which are in- 

 troduced or added or allowed to develop and multiply during 

 the processing, and afterward. We may therefore make the 

 following postulate: All fruit products from clean uncontami- 

 nated fruit (ripe or green) , prepared under modern sanitary con- 

 ditions, contain micro-organisms in negligible quantities only. 

 It is true that the ideal conditions implied in this postulate may 

 not always be attained in practice, yet we are warranted in 

 making a second postulate, namely: that the number of organ- 

 isms present in fruit products, over and above the negligible 

 quantities mentioned, are in direct proportion to the careless- 

 ness in the various steps of the processing. Stating it conversely, 

 as the manufacturers of food products attain the practically ideal 

 conditions, the number of organisms in their products will become 

 gradually negligible. That such conditions are attainable is 

 clearly shown by the canned products of the careful housewife and 

 of the careful manufacturer. What may be done by the careful 

 housewife may be done even better by the careful manufacturer, 

 because the latter can employ the most approved modern methods, 

 aided by special machinery, which are not at the disposal of the 

 housewife or even of the small manufacturer. 



