484 MEAT AND MEAT PRODUCTS 
upon examination of Puget Sound oysters found a great variation in 
the bacterial content. They state that oysters intended for human 
consumption should be grown in water free from pollution and that 
after collection they should be handled with great care. 
The relation between polluted shellfish and disease is so close that 
the American Public Health Association appointed a committee to pre- 
pare a code of standard methods of shellfish examination. The report 
of this committee was published in 1912 and included the following rec- 
ommendations for the bacteriological examination of shellfish. 
Many laymen assume and argue that because oysters and other 
foods are cooked, they are safe for human consumption. In many cases 
cooking may render a food product sterile. So many experiments have 
been performed, however, along this line that a student of the subject 
does not accept such a sweeping statement. Stiles (1911) reported data 
which were secured in five different experiments to demonstrate the 
effect of heat for the destruction of bacteria in oysters. The shell- 
fish were exposed to live steam (98° and 99° C.) in a steam sterilizer for 
periods varying from two to thirty minutes. He found that by steaming 
contaminated oysters and clams in the shell, or cooking them after 
shucking for fifteen minutes at boiling temperature destroyed prac- 
tically all organisms of a questionable character, but since in practice 
shellfish are rarely cooked for this length of time, cooking cannot be 
depended upon to remove the danger. In this connection it is well to 
remember the work of Howell (1912), Roussel (1907), and Marchland 
(1909) on bread and of Sawyer (1914) on cooked spaghetti. 
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR STANDARD METHODS FOR THE BACTERIOLOGICAL 
EXAMINATION OF SHELLFISH 
Oysters in the Shell. Selection of Sample. 
Twelve (12) oysters of the average size of the lot under examination, 
with deep bowls, short lips, and shells tightly closed, shall be picked out 
by hand and prepared for transportation to the laboratory. 
As complete a record of such data as is possible to obtain shall be 
made covering the following points: 
The exact location of the bed from which the sample has been 
selected. 
The depth of the water over the bed at time of collection. 
The state of the tide. 
The direction and velocity of the wind. 
