Now what this packer should do is to put a small open steam jet in the bottom of his cypress tank, with four pipes running horizontally, as in a “breaking tank,” and turn on the steam as soon as the peelings cover these pipes, which lie right on the bottom of the tank. The peelings are thus kept at a boil until the steam can be turned on the coil, and then the steam from the open jet can be shut off. This is a very simple arrangement to make and will save no end of trouble. It must not be thought that because micro-organisms multiply most rapidly in a warm medium they will not multiply in a cold medium, or one which is considerably warmer than blood heat—the degree of temperature most favored. The only safe extremes are 33 degrees F. for the lower extreme, and 150 degrees F. or above for the higher extreme. Anywhere between these two extremes of temperature there is danger of germ activity, and the nearer the medium is to 98 degrees F., the more rapid is the multiplication of the germs. As tomato juice contains all the nutritive requirements for the growth of micro-organisms, and is not strongly acid, it is an ideal medium for them to grow in. There doesn’t seem to be any medium whatever that molds, yeasts, and bacteria prefer to tomatoes and tomato juice. The Government Attitude on Micro-Organisms What are the objections of the pure food authorities to the presence of large numbers of micro-organisms in tomato products, and how do they substantiate their objections? We know that all of these germs that grow in tomato products are harmless. Even if an occasional harmful germ should enter it would not be discovered by the method of analysis employed, and unless it was in the spore form and of extremely high resistance it would be killed by the boiling. We know that buttermilk and sauerkraut are full of bacteria, and that the latter is also full of yeasts, and that these two foods are recommended by physicians as being particularly healthful because of the lactic acid they contain, which is produced by the lactic acid bacteria—the same kind that are condemned in tomato products. In sauerkraut we know that these lactic acid bacteria and yeasts are killed by the cooking, just as they are in tomato products, which seems to make the two cases analogous. In buttermilk and cottage cheese, however, they are alive and growing, and these products are considered healthful. Roquefort cheese is full of a green mold which gives it its characteristic flavor and color, and it is considered healthful. Then why object to molds in tomato products?