Doctor Blames Sunday Sickness on An 'Organism-Coated Meat Grinder'

An "organism-coated meat-grinder" probably caused the mass mild food poisoning attack which involved students at five Houses Sunday night, Dr. S. L. Chang, University sanitary inspector, said yesterday. Chang blamed the grinder after investigating the central kitchen, which serves Winthrop, Kirkland, Lowell, and Leverett.

Although no definite proof is yet available, Chang felt there was strong reason to suspect the meat grinder, used in the preparation of stuffed cabbages, which were served Sunday.

Blame for the outbreak fell on the central kitchen with the announcement that students from Dunster, which has its own kitchen, who were guests at Winthrop, suffered the gastric discomfort during the night.

"There is no satisfactory method of sterilizing such apparatus," Chang explained. "Organisms from one piece of meat may be transmitted later," he added. A live steam gun is now being experimented with as a sterilize for grinders and slices.

Chang asked that all students who suffered such effects contact him at Pierce Hall, in order to help him determine the extent, and better analyze the cause of the poisoning.

"These are things we must learn from experience," Chang said. "But it is a sad experience--the kind we don't like to happen."