Canned goods of various sorts have likewise been repeatedly accused of causing injurious effects, but the evidence adduced is not always convincing. The actual degree of danger from this source is far from being determined. The National Canners Association publishes in the annual report of the secretary a brief list of "libels on the industry" or instances in which canned foods of various sorts were regarded as the cause of illness. The 1916 report contains fifty-one cases of this character, none of which was considered by the investigator of the Association to be based on sound evidence. A still more searching investigation of all such cases would seem to be desirable, not with a view to incriminating or exculpating any particular product, but simply for the purpose of ascertaining and placing on record all the facts. FOOTNOTES: [1] Tables A and B show that the "expectation of life" for adults of forty years and over is shorter in New York City now than it was thirty years ago (Table A), and that this increase in the death-rate in the higher-age groups is manifested in recent years in a wide area in this country (Table B). This increased mortality is due chiefly to diseases of the heart, arteries, and kidneys, and to cancer. TABLE A[1a] APPROXIMATE LIFE TABLE, TRIENNA 1879-81 AND 1909-11, BASED ON NEW YORK CITY STATISTICS ================================================== |Expectation|Expectation| Gain (+) or | of Life, | of Life, |Loss (-) in Years Ages | 1879-81 | 1909-11 | of Expectancy --------+-----------+-----------+----------------- Under 5 | 41.3 | 51.9 | +10.6 5 | 46.3 | 51.1 | + 4.8 10 | 43.8 | 46.9 | + 3.1 15 | 39.7 | 42.5 | + 2.8 20 | 35.8 | 38.3 | + 2.5 25 | 32.6 | 34.3 | + 1.7 30 | 29.6 | 30.5 | + 0.9 35 | 26.7 | 26.9 | + 0.2 40 | 23.0 | 23.4 | - 0.5 45 | 21.1 | 20.0 | - 1.1 50 | 18.3 | 16.8 | - 1.5 55 | 15.4 | 13.9 | - 1.5 60 | 13.0 | 11.3 | - 1.7 65 | 10.5 | 9.1 | - 1.4 70 | 8.9 | 7.2 | - 1.7 75 | 7.3 | 5.5 | - 1.8 80 | 6.4 | 4.3 | - 2.1 85 | 5.5 | 2.2 | - 3.3 Balance | | | +26.6 | | | -16.6 | | |----------------- | | | +10.0 -------------------------------------------------- TABLE B[1b] COMPARISON OF MORTALITY OF MALES AND FEMALES, BY AGE GROUPS. DEATH-RATES PER 1,000 POPULATION (REGISTRATION STATES AS CONSTITUTED IN 1900)