Researches on Food

Abstract

THE Report of the Food Investigation Board for 19201 records a considerable amount of research work of scientific interest and immediate practical value. The Engineering Committee of the Board has shown that of the two channels of heat loss through an insulator, the solid itself and the air enclosed in the spaces of the solid, the latter is far the more important. The specific conductivity of any particular substance, e.g. cork, depends much more upon the form and size of its air spaces than upon the specific conductivity of the material considered as a continuous solid. It has also been demonstrated that the chief source of escape of heat from the surface of a wall is by convection currents. The Meat Committee has devoted particular attention to the conditions under which “black spot,” caused by the fungus Clado-sporiutn herbarum, develops in cold stores. Its prevalence on meat coming from the southern hemisphere during 1918–19 was correlated with the unusually prolonged period of cold storage due to war conditions. Apart from its unsightly appearance, no harmful effect could be traced to the growth. The Fruit and Vegetables Committee has carried out a great deal of research. Amongst other results we may mention the observation that only those fruits which lack the complete systems of ferments causing post-mortem changes in flavour and colour (strawberries, raspberries, black currants, red currants, and gooseberries) can be kept in a satisfactory condition for jam-making when frozen in contact with air.