580 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLVII. No. 1224 



smiier, if possible, in less time than is required 

 for the development of the insects beyond the 

 egg stage. 



The cereals which go out in sealed packages 

 are heated to about 85° C. at the time of pack- 

 ing. This temperature will kill all stages of 

 insects and if the packages are tightly sealed 

 such products are practically free from in- 

 sects' attack, unless they are stored in badly 

 infested places. When the insects have ac- 

 cess to packages, they will enter through any 

 cracks which they may find and in cases of 

 bad infestation they will make holes through 

 the wrappers and boxes. To protect them- 

 selves against losses while these cereals are in 

 the possession of retail dealers, many of the 

 large milling concerns are turning the cereals 

 over to the dealers with only a " sound on 

 delivery" agreement. 



It is with the retail dealers and the con- 

 sumers that this work is particularly con- 

 cerned. With the millers protecting them- 

 selves by rapid transit and the " sound on 

 delivery" agreement the liability of loss de- 

 volves upon the retail dealers and the consum- 

 ers. The retail dealers and consumers must 

 protect themselves against the introduction of 

 undeveloped insects in the cereals. In many 

 of the retail stores where proper precautions 

 are not taken the insects are present and 

 ready to infest the sacked cereal and even 

 that in sealed packages may be destroyed or 

 infested with eggs. Cereals not destroyed in 

 the store may contain eggs which either did 

 not hatch during the short period after leaving 

 the mill or were deposited while in the in- 

 fested store. The result is that the homes 

 are very apt to become infested. Dealers are 

 recommended to adopt the miller's policy of 

 rapid handling of cereals and to take proper 

 precautions in the sanitation of their stores. 

 Instructions are being sent out to the dealers 

 emphasizing the responsibility resting on 

 those who handle wheat-flour substitutes and 

 warning them of the serious losses which may 

 result if they permit the cereals to be ex- 

 posed to insect attack. 



Consumers are instructed to buy small 

 quantities of cereal, to avoid "sealed pack- 



age " cereals when the packages are broken or 

 contain holes, to heat " sacked cereals " just as 

 soon as they are taken home, and to use great 

 care in storing all wheat-flour substitutes. 

 If the millers and dealers are able to elimi- 

 nate their loss by the rapid handling of 

 cereals the loss which our country will ex- 

 perience will depend upon what the consumer 

 does to eliminate loss after the cereal reaches 

 him. 



The heating of the cereal to kill any stages 

 of insects which it may contain will protect 

 the consumer against the infestation of the 

 home and in addition it will reduce to the 

 minimum the loss caused by cereal insects. 

 A method of heating cereals in the oven has 

 been simplified and standardized as a result 

 of a series of experiments on heat conduction 

 in cereals and fatal temperatures of the in- 

 sects infesting them. 



The problem in heating is to obtain a con- 

 dition in which the minimum temperature in 

 any part of the cereal is well above the fatal 

 temperature of the insects, about 45° C. at 24 

 per cent, of relative humidity. At the same 

 time the temperature in the hottest part must 

 be kept well below the heat which will injure 

 the cereal, about 94° C. This can be done by 

 placing the cereal in pans about two inches 

 deep and heating it in the oven until the sur- 

 face of the cereal reaches 85° C. At this 

 point the fire should be turned out, in the case 

 of gas, gasolene, or kerosene ovens, and the 

 cereal should be left in the closed oven for 

 forty-five minutes. If a coal or wood stove is 

 used, the oven door should be opened when the 

 top of the cereal reaches 85° C. and the fire 

 should be kept low diu'ing the forty-five min- 

 utes. Temperature curves representing the 

 temperature of the top, center and bottom of 

 such a pan of cereal show that the center of 

 the cereal reaches a temperature between 55° 

 and 60° C. and that it remains above the fatal 

 temperature for insects for about half an hour. 



Since thermometers which indicate high 

 temperatures are not in reach of all house- 

 wives, a wax has been standardized to melt 

 between 82° and 85° C. and is to be manu- 

 factured under the direction of the Food Ad- 



