6 BULLETIN 569, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
men the high count was immediately lowered and remained low dur- 
ing the rest of the visit. 
Tests of the ketchup manufactured by this factory were made 
periodically during the stay and were distributed over 8 days. 
The first four tests were made prior to the general cleanup. The 
sample used in the fifth test was taken from the first batch of ketchup 
made after the cleaning was completed. About one-third of the 
molds in this sample were distinctly of the form which indicates 
dirty apparatus. They were the filaments dislodged during the 
cleaning process which had not been fully rinsed out during the wash- 
ing and hence were carried over in the first kettleful of the product. - 
The last four tests were made during the next three days. 
TABLE 1.—WMicroscopical examination of tomato ketchup before and after the 
installation of adequate cleaning equipment and methods. 
Bacteria; Yeasts and 
Per pent of pon per | spores per 
F cubic centi-| 1/60 cubic 
with molds. meter. millimeter. 
Test No. 
Average after cleaning, excluding No. 5.-.....- SER Rae te Ae 
A study of Table 1 emphasizes the change in the counts between 
those made before and those made after cleaning, in that the counts 
have been reduced in the case of mold to about one-third and of 
bacteria and of yeasts and spores to about one-fifth. 
The question may arise in the minds of some readers as to whether 
the marked change shown in the counts might not have been the 
result of other influences than the cleaning. The only other change 
made was a minor one in the system of sorting. Im Table 2 are 
given the results of efficiency-of-sorting tests. The method of making 
these tests is described in detail on page 18. The tests were made 
on the sorted and washed stock ready for the crusher and represent 
the approximate percentage of decay that was going into the finished 
product. The data in Table 2 show that the average percentage of 
decay during the first 5 days was 1 per cent, while during the last 
3 days (the after-cleaning period) it was 0.94 per cent. Obviously 
these figures are negligible in accounting for the marked changes 
observed in the counts, 
