Remember. 1. Milk is a very important article of food; it is both a building and a heat-producing material. 2. When milk is not properly handled, it contains many disease germs. 3. Disease germs often get into milk from unwashed bottles and cans; from dirty barns; from dirty milkmen; from dirty water used to wash the cans and bottles; from flies falling into the milk; from diseased cows.
[CHAPTER VII]
DECOMPOSITION OF FOOD
Fig. 18. Partially decayed fruit is not fit for food.
Why partially decomposed foods should not be eaten
Vegetables and fruits that are partially decayed should not be eaten. Even if an orange is decayed only on one side, the products of decomposition—that is, the poisons produced by decay—have extended all through the orange. You cannot see them, but they are there. It is the same with a decaying apple, potato, or melon. It never pays to buy partially decayed or stale fruits or vegetables, for not only are they dangerous to health, but they are so reduced in nourishing qualities by decomposition that you get little value for the money you spend. It is always better economy to buy fresh fruits and vegetables, or even canned vegetables, when the latter are properly put up.
What causes decomposition
All decomposition (rotting) in fruits and vegetables is due to the action of germs. If you will look at a bunch of old grapes, you will notice that some of the grapes are rotten, while others have dried up. Now, if you examine them very carefully, you will find that all the decomposed grapes have breaks in the skin. The break may be very small, but it is there, and through this break the germs that cause decomposition have entered. You will find also that there is not the slightest break in the skin of any grape that has dried up. The germs could not enter, hence there has been no decomposition. It is the same with other fruits and vegetables: if the germs that cause decomposition cannot get inside, the fruit or vegetable will dry up, but will not rot.