Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  ) 
January,  1920.  ) 
Botulism:  I. 
29 
erable  period.  The  history  of  the  canned  foods  impHcated  in  botu- 
Hsm  poisoning  shows  that  the  spores  of  B.  hotulinus  pass  through  the 
ordinary  processes  of  household  canning  without  destruction.  It 
seems  to  be  a  fact  that,  as  far  as  recorded  cases  go,  only  two  or  three 
instances  of  botulism  have  been  traced  to  factory  canned  goods, 
as  against  a  much  larger  number  attributed  to  foods  prepared  in 
the  household.  Whether  this  difference  is  due  to  the  superior 
germicidal  efficiency* of  factory  methods  of  heating  or  to  the  circum- 
stance that  spoiled  or  swelled  canned  goods  are  more  likely  to  be 
eliminated  in  the  course  of  ordinary  trade  procedures  or  to  a  com- 
bination of  these  factors  cannot  be  definitely  established  at  this 
time.  It  does  not  seem,  however,  that  we  are  justified  in  asserting 
that  a  danger  is  entirely  absent  because  it  is  exceedingly  slight. 
The  main  point  of  difference  between  the  correspondents  men- 
tioned seems  to  hinge  on  the  interpretation  given  by  Weinzirl  to 
the  results  of  an  extended  bacterial  examination  of  canned  foods 
undertaken  in  the  Department  of  Preventive  Medicine  at  Harvard 
University.^  The  investigation  forms  part  of  a  comprehensive 
study  of  canned  foods,  which  is  being  carried  out  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Dr.  M.  J.  Rosenau  with  the  aid  of  a  grant  supplied  by  the 
National  Canners  Association.  The  conclusion  drawn  by  Wein- 
zirl to  which  particular  exception  has  been  taken  is  that  "food 
poisoning  organisms,  such  as  B.  hotulinus,  B.  'enteriditis,  etc.,  are 
not  found  in  commercial  canned  foods."  It  is  unfortunate  that 
this  matter  was  not  allowed  to  rest  in  the  form  in  which  it  appears 
in  the  summary  of  results.  "Members  of  the  paratyphoid-enteri- 
ditis  group  were  not  found,  nor  was  B.  hottilinus  ever  isolated." 
This  plain  description  of  findings  becomes  transmogrified  by  Wein- 
zirl in  his  "conclusions"  into  a  general  statement  which  would  hardly 
be  justified  even  by  a  more  extensive  investigation  than  that  here 
under  discussion,  and  which  in  its  present  form  might  lead  to  serious 
misinterpretation . 
On  the  other  hand,  it  must  be  admitted  that  a  rather  too  posi- 
tive tone  pervades  portions  of  Mrs.  Burke's  letter.  It  is  hardly 
justifiable  to  insinuate,  however  vaguely,  that  a  group  of  workers 
is  influenced  by  any  consideration  other  than  the  desire  to  seek  the 
truth  and  find  it. 
It  seems  hardly  fair  or  wise  to  cast  discredit  on  the  work  of  a 
"  John  Weinzirl:  "The  Bacteriology  of  Canned  Goods,"  /.  M.  Research,  39: 
349  (Jan.),  1919. 
