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T H E . IUPORTANCE. OF HEA.1 I N S P E C T I O N AND H Y G I E N E . I N THE 0 P E R I . T i O N UF A . NEA.1 L A B O R A J O R Y

P R O F . W I L L I A M J . L O E F F L L UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA

The high esteem i n which meat i s held i n the American dietary i s due i n no small pa r t t o the American standards of meat inspection which a re admittedly the most exacting i n the world today.

Meat inspection i s not new. The Egyptians designated the hog as unclean and prohibited i t s uee f o r human food. Kosher regulations as set up i n the Old Testament were an attempt t o safe- guard the food supply of the people by the rabbis, the learned men of the t r ibes . Mohemnedan food regulations, t o a large degree, follow the pa t te rn of the Jewish and the Egyptian regulation8 i n considering the hog and the dog a8 unf i t fo r food. On the other hand, pork was re l ished by the Romans, and the Greeks showed a preference f o r the flesh of young castrated dogs. Athenian meat market was policed since e a r l i e s t times, and i n Rome, meat was inszected o f f i c i a l l y since the year 388. With the f a l l of the Roman Empire, inspection ceased.

Some believe that the Jewish

The

It w a s not unt i l the spread of Chr is t ian i ty i n Northern Europe that we f ind any attempt t o regulate food habi ts there , e ighth century, Apostle Bonafacius, at the direct ion of Pope Gregory 111, pro- hibited the consumption of horse meat, could be eaten only after thorough cooking, diseased, dead, or to rn animals wae prohibited.

Regulations governing meat were found as ea r ly as 1120 i n Freiburg, and merchantable and unmerchmtable meats were d i f fe ren t ia ted by a law passed

A t the beginning of the

Later he directed that pork products The consumption of the f lesh of

a t Basel i n 1248.

In the United States, meat inspection began as a municipal enter- prine i n sca t te red c i t i e s . t o considerable proportions. alarmed a t the presence of Trichinel la i n these items, the importation of American bacon, m ac t ion promptly followed by Austria, Germany, and France. I n 1882, Great Br i ta in prohibited the importation of American c a t t l e because of contagious pleuropneumonia.

By 1879, the export of Americm products had grown

I ta ly , i n 1891, barred Inporters of American pork products became

Theee two th rea t s against the in fan t meat industry caused the Americasl Congress t o pass the first meat inspection a c t , t h a t of A u g u s t 30, 1890, which provided f o r the inspection of salted pork and bacon, This a c t did not prove acceptable t o the foreign governments and a new l a w m e passed on W c h 3, 1891. growing Americm industry, but also t o safeguard the food supply of t h i s country, The administration of meat inspection wae placed under the juris- d ic t ion of the U. S. Bureau of Animal Industry which had been establ ished i n 1884. The f irst inspection under the new law was made on May 12, 1891, m d within a short t i m e thereaf te r the prohibit ions against the importation of American meats were withdrawn by the European nations. The new a c t provided f o r both ante-mortem and post-mortem e m i n a t i o n e of a l l animals slaughtered f o r i n t e r s t a t e and export trade, and the miscroacopic examination f o r Trichinel le of all pork intended f o r export.

This latter l e g i s l a t i o n was designed not o n l y t o protect a

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About 1903, Uston Sinc la i r wrote a book cal led "The Jungle" which ca l led a t t en t ion t o alleged unsanitary conditions i n packing plants parti- cu lar ly i n the canning departments. cerned i t s e l f primarily with the heal th of the animals slaughtered and had given l i t t l e a t t en t ion t o sani ta t ion. t i v e l eg i s l a t ion grew the meat inspection a c t of June 30, 1906, the most s t r ingent body of lews and regulations of i t s kind i n the world,

Up t o this time, meat inspection had con-

Out of the popular clamor f o r correc-

Meat inspection, according t o American standards, concerns i tself wi th three things, the hea l th of the animal, the san i ta t ion of the plant , and l a s t l y , the correct and proper label ing of the product.

The heal th of the animal i s of importance fo r there a re many animal diseases which may be transmitted t o man by contact with the animals or with the mat o r other products. foot4nd-mouth disease, swine erysipelas, Brucellosis, tularemia, and tuber- culosis. Certain pa ras i t i c diseases, such as t r ich inos is , may a l s o be trans- mitted through the consumption of raw o r insuf f ic ien t ly cooked meat.

Among these may be mentioned anthrax,

It is generally recognized tha t where meat i s properly cooked, the in t e rna l temperature i s ra i sed above the pasteurizat ion point, so tha t there is l i t t l e l ikelihood of t ransmit t ing disease through the cooked product. There is always the p o s s i b i l i t y that meat may not be thoroughly cooked. Another source of danger i s the handling of meat from infected animals. is a danger from the en t ry of pathogenic material through abrasions of the skin. from an infected animal, thus carrying the infect ion t o the person. dise&ses, such a8 swine erysipelas and undulant fever, m e de f in i t e ly r e - cognized today as occupational hazards, point out t o our c lasses the need of good personal hygiene, such a3 washing the hands thoroughly after handling meat. slaughter or cut up m y be posi t ive t o a Bang's t e s t or when the pig may be infected w i t h erysipelas .

There

Sometimes the hands m y touch t h e mouth a f t e r handling a piece of meat Certain

We should recognize t h i s f ac t and

We never know when the beef we

People must recognize tha t the mere Pact that a carcass hae been

The posi t ive react ing animal t o a. Bang's t e s t i s passed f o r food i f passed by a meat inspector does not guarantee it t o be f r ee from all infec- t ion . no complicating disease i s found. A person might contract undulant fever from handling a cut of meat f'rorn such a carcass. Further, the "inspected and passed stamp" does not guarantee the meat t o be f r ee from Trichinel la . O f course, such meat items made from o r containing pork as are normally eaten without cooking, such aa summer sausage, must be processed i n such a way as t o remove a l l hazard. This i s nccomplished by freezing a t very low temperatures f o r s t a t ed periods of time.

Under federal inspection, the hea l th of the animal i s checked on the l i v ing animal (ante-mortem inspection) and, also, on the carcass and viscera. during and after the slaughtering process (post-mortem inspect ion) . Even after the product has been paosed for food, the inspection legend may be removed and the product condemned i f i t becomes contaminated or otherwise unsuitable f o r human consumption.

Under federal meat inspection, every slaughtering or processing establishment has an establishment number. This makes it possible t o t race beck any piece of defective meat, mean8 of maintaining inspection on a Ugh plane,

No doubt t h i s has been a very effect ive

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In other countries where food is more ~ c a r c e , l i t t l e meat i t 3 con- demned. from disease; second, meat from mildly diseased animals which is sold with express instruct ions tha t it be thoroughly cooked; and l a s t l y , meat from ser iously diseased animals which is cooked i n the packing p lan ts t o be sure t h a t the cooking is properly done.

Meat is divided in to three categories: that which is passed 8 s f r ee

In meat hygiene, we a re in te res ted i n the san i ta t ion of the meat plant, not only from the aes the t ic standpoint, but a l so from the point of view t h a t even good meat m y be contaminated by careleso handling a f t e r dressing. Meat is ru1 excellent food not only f o r mankind, but a l s o f o r a host of bacteria, many of which for tunately a re harmless, but occasionally a pathogen gets i n which may cause a. good case of food poisoning.

So far as possible, the meat laboratory should embody a l l of the pr inciples of good sani ta ry pclckfnghouse construction. a model of cleanliness and san i ta t ion t h a t it may impress upon students, patrons, and v i s i t o r s the need of handling meat in the bes t possible manner. especial ly should be clean and sweet.

It should always be

Coolers

Thoseofus who are ge t t ing along, with old buildings sometimes f ind Pests such a8 flies, roaches, mice, it d i f f i c u l t t o keep thingB ship-shape.

and rats sometimes get in . New control methods o f f e r de f in i t e promise. Of f i z l , refuse, and manure must not be allowed t o accumulate about the meat laboratory.

Perhaps as good a guide as t o the kind of housekeeping is the con- d i t ion of the storerooms, These are a necessary e v i l and should be kept i n a8 good shape a s possible.

It i s important t o create i n the meat laboratory an atmosphere of cleanliness tha t will create in the students a wholesome appreciation of the need f o r it. An indus t r ia l plant found t h e i r employees s p i t t i n g on the s t a i r - ways. Painting the stairs white stopped t h i s pract ice effect ively. So a new paint job may be i n order. a big help. Lsvrztories and s t e r i l i z e r s with ample supplies of liquid soap and paper towels are a necessity on the k i l l i n g and cut t ing floor. a r e not on ly wsani ta ry , but a r e an invi ta t ion t o hccidents.

Ample and convenient; t o i l e t cmd locker rooms a re

Greasy f loo r s

I usually spend the f irst period w i t h a new meat c lass s t ress ing two points -- safety, and cleanliness. The a t t i t u d e of some of o w students on the l a t t e r reminds me of a favor i te story of a packing house superintendent f r i end of mine. s t a t ing "Wash your hand8 before returning t o your work." This superintendent waa in a lavatory one day t o f ind an employee make a break f o r the door with- out the ablution.

In a l l the lavator ies they posted a sign very prominently,

"Here, here," he called, "do you see that sign?"

"Yes," rep l ied the man, "but I ' m not going back t o my work, I ' m going t o e a t my lunch."

Clean clothing is a problem i n a meat laboratory. The idea l setup would provide laundry service, although we have not been able t o do tha t . use yellow o i l sk in waterproof aprong. t o wear paper cape, which cost $ cents each.

We This year, we are requiring our students

We l i k e tnem very much.

The need of scrubbing hands and keeping f ingerna i l s short and clean One of the cap i t a l s in s i n our laboratory i s f o r are pointed out repeatedly.

a student t o s i t on a meat block,

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The need f o r proper and correct Labeling of meats and meat food pro- ducts i s so self-evident, but tha t i s not a problem which i s of much importcvlce i n operating a college meat laboratory.

About two- th i rds of the mat produced i n t h i s country i s produced

Much o f the remainder i s inspected by Local and a t a t e under federa l inspection. federa l ly inspected. heal th au thor i t ies .

All meats which move i n i n t e r s t a t e t r a f f i c must be

If meat inspection i s good from a public heal th standpoint, we i n our teaching and research work should recognize it. Federal inspection i s out of the question f o r most of us. spection, most of UB can make arrangements with our college veter inary depcrt- ments. located. t ion, and the meat laboratory may w e l l provide laboratory t r a in ing i n this f ield. commercial plant. inspector must w a i t on you. an arrangement taking in to account the problems of both par t ies .

Where there i s no provision for l o c ~ l in-

Some of us a r e located i n in s t i t u t ions where veterinary colleges are All veterinary colleges of fe r courses i n meat hygiene and inspec-

Meat inspection i n a teaching laboratory is d i f fe ren t from t ha t i n a

It i s a matter of give and take and working out, Sometimes you must w a i t f o r the inspector and sometimes the

My great concern with meat work i s t o keep it on a co l leg ia te level. If a l l we teach i s slaughtering and the cu t t ing of meats, 1 fear that our work i s on a t rade Echool basis, We can remedy t h i s by mking the meat laboratory an ef fec t ive adjunct t o good animal husbandry teaching.

No animal should be elaughtered without a careful appraisal on foot and an estimation of i t s carcass po ten t i a l i t i e s . y ie ld should be estimated and these estimates should be checked a f t e r slaughter. Attention should he ca l led t o desirable and undesirable qua l i t i e s .

The l i v e weight, dressing

The lcboratory should be used as a mems of studying anatomy, physiology, pathology, parasitology, and applying the f a c t s learned i n a nu t r i t i on o r physiology of reproduction course, the help of a good veterinary inspector i s most useful. time t o explain w h a t he i s t rying t o do, he can be very helpful. explain the appearance of the various organs i n heal th and i n disease.

It is i n t h i s connection that If he w i l l take the

He should

Charts and sketches of the Pour-compartment stomach of the ruminant may not mean too much t o the student i n a feeding course. However, when he sees them separated out on the k i l l i n g floor, he i s l i k e l y t o remember them fo r years t o come. The boy who has t o run a s e t o f casings, l a y them out and measure t h e i r length w i l l not forget these f ac t s very soon. The l i f e h is tory of the round worm and i t s control may have held l i t t l e of i n t e r e s t t o the student i n e pork production class. and he i s i n an extremely receptive mood t o learn a l l he can about these s m e fac ts .

However, let him dress out a wormy p ig

It i s impossible t o cut neat i n t e l l i g e n t l y without a thorough know- ledge of the bones. the student who can see the usefulness of t h i s knowledge f o r t h o proper ident i - f ica t ion of meat cuts usually appl ies himself d i l igent ly .

This study Is usually dry and uninteresting. However,

CHAIRMAN TOMHAVE: Professor McClurg, w i l l you lead the dlscussion on t h i s subject?

, 108.

PROFESSOR HcCLURG; Profeusor Loeffel has given us a good h is tory on the meat inspection and hygiene, and he has def in i t e ly given us some good suggestions t o follow i n our laboratory work a8 far as sani tc t ion and how it may be applied t o cLaee work.

PROFESSOR ZIEGLER: What's the psychology behind your wearing those paper caps? They don't do much good.

PROFESSOR LOEFFEL: I think they do a l o t of good. In our i n s t i t u t i o n a l management, g i r l s , f o r instance, who work behind the counter i n a cafe te r ia are required t o wear a heir net o r something of that s o r t .

PROFESSOR ZTEGLER: You said slaughtering.

PROFESSOR LOE3?FEL: Well, i n slaughtering. We have them put on the i r f reeh caps i n the cut t ing class , and when they get a l i t t l e dog-eared, they wear them in the k i l l i n g clasees, and then they go i n the waste basket.

PROFESSOR Z I E G m : You t e l l m e how t o get the g i r l s t o t r i m t h e i r ta lons and take the paint of f .

PROFESSOR LOEFFEL: You a re asking too much now.

PROFESSOR SNYDER: Do you require your boys t o wear standard uniform a l l the way through?

PROFESSOR LOEFFEL: We don't. We aok them t c wear clean clothing. One thing I w i l l not l e t a boy do -- it i s qui te a temptation -- coming t o the meat lab. with a p a i r of overal ls o r a work sNrt, or whatever he chooses t o wear -- white clothing - a few days l a t e r he comes busting in to the locker t o get that s tu f f and want t o wear it i n a t r a c t o r laboratory or blackslnith shop, or sometMng of that so r t . I turn thumbs down on that.

These killing clothes have t o be used ju s t for tha t , and I t e l l them t o take them home and give them a surpr ise every so often, don't wear them until they stand up by themselves.

PROFESSOR COLE: I wonder if you think it i s neceesary for students t o have a blood t e s t when your mat i s being sold through r e t a i l counters.

FBOFESSOR LoEFFEX: I have ofter, wondered about t L a t , In our city now, everybody who works i n a restaurant o r hanues food in any way has t o have a blood t e s t ,

PROFESSOR SNYDER: Doesn't your school require a health examination.

PROFESSOR LOEF'FEL: Yes, we have a hea l th exadnat ion a t the begin- ning of the semester, during the school year.

O f couree, there is always a chance f o r contamination I do think that'a a good program.

PROFESSOR COMFORT: I ' d l i k e t o ask Dave Mackintosh how t o keep them dressed white, What system do you use, Drtvey? Every time I have been out there, you seem t o have them dressed fo r parade, o r are they that way all the time?

PROFESSOR MACKINTOSH: That's a cos t ly undertaking. Our laundry b i l l t h i s year was about $400.00

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PROFESSOR COMFORT: Do you supply them? I

PROFESSOR MACKINTOSH: We used t o supply coats and aprons. O u r coats have become sadly dilapidated, and the purchase of new coats i s prohibit ive so far as we are concerned, so we have ra ther modernized coats with f r i l l s that some of them do use, but we have an auple supply of aprons, and they are not supposed t o come- on the f loor without a clean apron.

PROFESSOR COMFCIRT: Do you supply the aprons o r the uniforms?

PROFESSOR MACKINTOSH: We supply the aprons.

PROFESSOR LOEFFEL: Do you have a lab. fee?

PROFESSOR MACKINTOSH: We have a lab. fee. I think it i s $3.00, which doesn't begin t o cover the laundry cost i n i tself .

PROFESSOR H I U I E R : Do they do the inspection, or do you have t o c a l l i n the loca l veterinarian?

PROFESSOR LOEFTEL: We have i n Lincoln a City Health Department, and according t o l a w , we a r e required t o c a l l the veterinarian every time we contemplate slaughtering. a r e going t o k i l l Tuesday, we c a l l the veter inar ian 's o f f ice Tuesday morning, t e l l them we a re going t o have so much stuff fo r him t o inspect a t 4:OO o 'clock.

In other words, we have an arrangement. I f we

PROFESSOR COLE: Would he have a writ ten form then t o sign, Oi" do you keep a record of i t ?

PROFESSOR LOEFFEL: He keeps a record and we keep a record, too. There i s no signature, but we have t o pay a fee, t h i r t y cents for c a t t l e , and twenty cents f o r small stock; that ie, a pig or a lamb or a calf -- anything 425 pounds. A c a l f we have t o pay 20 cents a head f o r inspection.

PROFESSOR SNYDER: One other question, B i l l . Are you running any t e s t s f o r t r i ch inos i s a t a l l ?

PROFESSOR LOEJTFEL: We haven't been.

PROFESSOR SNYDER: It might be interent ing here t o say that every hog that has been k i l l e d i n our laboratory since the beginning o f time - - it is a few over 19,000 -- we have never found a case yet that has been laboratory tes ted, and the veter inar ian divis ion of our i n s t i t u t i o n gives us t h a t service.

PROFESSOR LOEFFEL: Where do they ge t t h a t sample, out of the s k i r t ?

PROFESSOR SNYDER: That's r igh t , diaphragm, j u s t a small sect ion of the d iaphrap , and t h a t report is given us back before we cut that pig the next d ay.

PROFESSOR LQEFFEL: I have always had a fee l ing that our Middle Western hogs that a re grown on a l f a l f a and grain have r e l a t ive ly l i t t l e t r i ch ina infestat ion, but I think where you do get it i s with garbage-fed pigs.

PROFESSOR SNYDER: I was par t icu lar ly in te rs ted . We have a high percentage of garbage-fed pig6 ki l led , and you have always seen reports of it

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coming from there, but we haven't had it, so that was a l i t t l e side report there on that inspection.

PROFESSOR LOEFFEL: Ju ly 1

PROFESSOR McCLW: If there are no more questione, I'll turn t h i s back t o M r . Tomhave.

cH4- TOMHAVE: Thank you.

3 think every Instructor i n the meat laboratory a t one time or another has been confronted with minor or serious accidents among students, and we w i l l now hear from Professor B. R. McClurg of the Iowa Sta te College, who is going t o q s c u s s : Professor McClurg,

Safety Rule8 and Precautions i n the Meat Laboratory.