To the Editor:
—In the Journal of Medical Research for January, 1919, there appeared an article, "The Bacteriology of Canned Foods," by Dr. John Weinzirl; and an abstract was printed in The Journal, April 5. This paper is a report on the bacteriologic findings in 1,018 samples of factory canned foods. The salient features in the summary to the paper are as follows:About 17 per cent. of the cans examined were spoiled and 6 per cent. underprocessed, the balance being normal edible cans of food.
Viable bacteria, bacterial spores, yeasts and molds, representing thirty-eight species, were found in the spoiled and underprocessed cans and in 23 per cent, of the normal cans.
The organisms recovered from the cans were obligate anaerobes, obligate aerobes and facultative anaerobes.
The organisms found in the unspoiled cans were practically all spore-bearing obligate aerobes.
The organisms found in the spoiled and underprocessed cans included