Meats and anti-biotics to animals

Meats may carry any of several diseases. Uncooked pork sometimes contains living parasites that produce trichinosis. For protection, pork should always be cooked thoroughly; any pinkness means inadequate cooking. For roast pork, an hour to the pound at 350 degrees is safe. Brucellosis (undulant fever) may be acquired from pork, beef, or un- pasteurized milk. 

Raw fish and raw beef may contain tapeworms. Al- though the U.S. Department of Agriculture inspects meats, you cannot always be certain they are still pure by the time they reach your table. Thorough cooking of all meats and fish is the best precaution. Diseased rabbits cause tularemia, a serious disease that may be contracted not only by eating but even in the course of skinning and pre- paring rabbits. Improperly canned food can be dangerous. Bacteria, growing in such food, can produce poisoning.

Botulism is a severe form of food poisoning which often leads to fatal paralysis. The food and canning industries are extremely careful to avoid food contamination; botulism is usually the result of improper home canning. If you like to can food, boil for at least three hours or steam-cook it under correct pressure. Boil again for 15 minutes before eating. It's important to buy pastries from a clean, reliable bakery and to refrigerate them promptly when you get them home. 

Bacteria thrive on custard fillings such as those in éclairs unless the pastry is properly handled and refrigerated. Frozen foods can be healthy and tasty. But the home freezer can be a source of danger if food is not frozen correctly. Most meats, poultry, and fish can be quick-frozen and kept safely for extended periods. Vegetables, bread, and cake are also popular freezer items.

But many foods, such as concentrated fruit juices, should be used as soon as thawed and should not be refrozen. Some down-to-earth pamphlets about frozen foods and freezing equipment have been produced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and are available from the Department in Washington, D.C., without charge; they are well worth having.

The pamphlets include the following titles: Freezing Combination Main Dishes Home Care of Purchased Frozen Foods Home Freezers-Their Selection and Use Home Freezing of Fruits and Vegetables Home Freezing of Poultry Venereal Diseases The two major ones are syphilis and gonorrhea, spread mainly by sexual contact, although syphilis has been known to be spread also by kissing. These diseases are discussed elsewhere in this book.