36 maink agricultural experiment station. i913. 



Important Suggestions. 



The sanitation paragraph of the Food Law states that foods 

 are adulterated if they are not at all times securely protected 

 from unsanitary conditions. The law does not state how this 

 protection shall be brought about. Neither has it been thought 

 best to make any rulings as to the exact methods for the pro- 

 tection of the various kinds of foods. The following sugges- 

 tions, however, are given for those who care to be advised and 

 are important both for the dealer and the consumer. 



All foods of whatever class or kind should if displayed out- 

 side the store be raised a suffiicient distance from the sidewalk 

 so that there will be no possibility of contamination from dogs. 



Foods of various kinds which 'have a natural protection or 

 which from their nature must be washed, pared, and thor- 

 oughly cooked before being eaten are thereby already protected 

 from unsanitary conditions, and need not be further protected 

 by any artificial means. Examples of this class are bananas, 

 oranges, lemons, potatoes, beets, turnips, nuts in the shell, 

 cucumbers, etc. 



A class of foods the direct opposite of the above should at 

 all times be thorough^ protected by artificial means. This 

 class includes, as examples, confectionery, sticky fruits like 

 figs and dates, bakery products such as bread, cakes, pies, 

 doughnuts, cookies, etc., shelled nuts, popcorn, corncakes, corn 

 balls, all dairy products such as cheese, butter, milk and cream ; 

 and the most adequate protection of this class of food that 

 occurs to the executive is by the use of glass cases. Such 

 cases may be properly ventilated, or if necessary they may be 

 refrigerated, but the protection should be absolute against the 

 entrance of flies, dust, and any other possible contamination 

 by dangerous disease germs. 



Another class of foods already discussed, which lies midway 

 between the last two, consists in the main of such materials 

 as apples, pears, plums, peaches, grapes, etc., which have a 

 natural skin or covering which is easily removed and which 

 should be either removed or thoroughly washed before the 

 food is eaten. Such foods may until further notice be exposed 

 for sale without covering other than a good quality mosquito 

 bar or netting which should be raised sufftciently above the 

 food so that flies can have no access through the meshes. 



