It must be remembered that these chickens were freshly killed, and that the anaerobes had no such opportunity to increase as in ordinary market beefs.
Specimens of several other kinds of meat were purchased in the market, and at once taken to the laboratory for study. Cultures were made immediately on reaching the laboratory, and again after the meat had been allowed to stand (covered) at room temperature for twenty hours. The following table shows the results of the bacterial counts:
Bacteria Per Gram (Moist)
Immediately after purchase
| Specimen | Aerobes | Anaerobes |
|---|---|---|
| No. 13 Large sausage | 560,000,000 | 420,000,000 |
| No. 14 Small sausage | 834,400,000 | 663,000,000 |
| No. 15 Round steak | 420,000,000 | 560,000,000 |
| No. 16 Roast beef | 252,000,000 | 560,000,000 |
| No. 17 Smoked ham | 47,320,000 | 43,120,000 |
| No. 18 Hamburger steak | 138,000,000 | 129,000,000 |
| No. 19 Pork | 635,600,000 | 126,040,000 |
| No. 20 Porterhouse steak | 31,920,000 | 30,800,000 |
After being kept at room temperature for twenty hours.
| Specimen | Aerobes | Anaerobes |
|---|---|---|
| No. 13 Large sausage | 770,000,000 | 490,000,000 |
| No. 14 Small sausage | 770,000,000 | 640,400,000 |
| No. 15 Round steak | 750,000,000 | 840,000,000 |
| No. 16 Roast beef | 728,000,000 | 750,000,000 |
| No. 17 Smoked ham | 616,000,000 | 750,000,000 |
| No. 18 Hamburger steak | 784,000,000 | 700,000,000 |
| No. 19 Pork | 952,000,000 | 1,036,000,000 |
| No. 20 Porterhouse steak | 336,000,000 | 700,000,000 |
These experiments were made in the winter time, when, because of the diminished amount of dust in the air, germs are less abundant. Even in the winter time, however, certain meat products simply swarm with germs. A specimen of raw liver examined in January was found to contain 269,800,000 bacteria per ounce or gram. Raw sausage contained 48,280,000 bacteria per ounce or gram.
“A food which introduces these deadly organisms, the anaerobes, at the rate of ten to twenty-five billions to the ounce, as do pork, beef and sausage, must certainly be classed as unclean,” said Dr. Kellogg, in summing up the report on his experiments. “When thousands are daily indulging themselves in this dietary, what wonder that Bright’s disease, enteritis, and other maladies due to germs and germ poisons are so rife and so rapidly increasing? It is quite as important to keep the inside of the body in a sweet, clean and wholesome condition as to maintain a wholesome state of the external portion of the body.”