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MARKETS Food Antibiotics: Market Meteor Preservation idea set in motion last January and has already been adopted by half of the big chains USE O F ANTIBIOTICS i n is more "revolutionary/* and it became food preservation was a market re necessary to set u p new promotion and searcher's dream a few years ago. To sales machinery to handle that end. day that idea is an exciting reality for Clow's fine chemicals unit embraces t h e chemical companies, and t h e vol four departments, a n d one of these, for the food industry, is handling the sale ume is expanding rapidly. The big outlet at the moment is of the antibiotic to food processors and poultry, a preservative use for anti dealers. Canada has adopted antibiotics in the biotics which has been approved by t h e Food a n d D r u g Administration (C&EN, preservation of fish (C&EN, Nov. 5, Dec. 12, 1955, page 5368; Nov. 5, page 5 3 9 2 ) , and even wider applica 1956, p a g e 5392). While endless ex tion has been given the idea south of Last week Brazil perimentation is under way with many the Rio Grande. antibiotics, it has been found so far adopted antibiotic treatment of fish, that those which are most satisfactory poultry, and red beef. a r e the tetracyclines. This is a picture • Volume of Market. T h e poten that may change. tial use of antibiotics in food processing Hence the activity in this field by is very great, assuming that they find Poultry con American Cyanamid with its Acronize universal application. chlorotetracycline, and by Chas. Pfizer sumption alone is currently estimated with Biostat oxytetracycline. Commer at 2.8 billion pounds. Pfizer sells t h e cial Solvents and others are conducting antibiotic in cans containing two kilo experimental work, The field for this grams, 4.4 pounds each. The activity new idea in food preservation, of of the oxytetracycline is 2 0 % , remain course, goes much beyond poultry, and der of the bulk being citric acid. The there is a considerable amount of re price works out at about 38 cents per gram, and the cost of the treatment to search in progress on meats and fish. • Fast Development. An idea of the processor is $0.0042 p e r pound how fast this brand new chemical mar of food treated. While this cost is ket is coining up is seen in the experi slightly under a half-cent, it still must ence of both Cyanamid and Pfizer. Cy be seriously considered in food process anamid got started in January in pro ing and distribution where profit mar moting the preservation idea, today is gins are very narrow. selling its chlorotetracycline to about T h e gains must also be weighed. one half of the 50 leading chain store T h e first is a marked reduction in losses organizations. One, G r a n d Union, has through spoilage. This means that adopted the preservation plan 1 0 0 % . larger stocks of meat, fish, or poultry Allan B. Clow, head of Cyanamid's can be kept on hand, especially University fine chemicals department, says that as through holiday periods. Aureomycin, chloro tetracycline previ of Illinois researchers found that hams ously found important new uses in ani cured in a 4% brine solution a t 85° F . mal feeds and veterinary medicine. Its spoiled in three days. W h e n 15 parts application in food processing, however, of oxytetracycline were a d d e d to the
LARGE-SCALE
Table L Antibiotics for Anima! Feed Supplements 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955
'roduction, Lb. 236,000 258,000 434,000 479,000 520,000
Sales, Lb. 196,000 172,000 391,000 562,000 553,000
Value $17,532,000 16,962,000 19,423,000 25,871,000 26,105,000
Average Unit Value $89.31 98.50 49.68 46.03 47.21
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10,
1956
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• Losses Run Heavy. A Pfizer tech nical service representative, C. L». Wrenshail, says that o n e pound of food, in every four is destined for t h e gar b a g e d u m p , a n d that losses in fruits a n d vegetables alone amount to more t h a n $1 billion a year. I n general, says Wrenshali, food can spoil through three agents: enzymes, fungi (yeasts a n d molds), and bacteria. Suppressing bacteria is especially important. Over 100,000 carloads of vegetables were shipped from Florida t o N e w York in 1952-53, and of this the equivalent to 4000 carloads was discarded upon arrival as spoiled, a loss of some $5 mil lion. T h e Agriculture Department re ports that all marketing losses in poul try, including spoilage, run to 9.7% of the total loss of poultry products, or $268 million a year. Clow tells of CyanamicTs experience in Colombia, w h e r e 4 0 % of the beef is wasted through shipment delays and spoilage. The carcasses of slaughtered beef were infused with Acronize solu tion, and with no refrigeration whatever in a hot climate t h e beef stayed fresh for three days. I n San Juan, Puerto Rico, one side of experimental slaughtered animals was treated and the beef remained fresh. The control sides spoiled after 72 hours. • Feed M a r k e t . Some of those ac tive in developing the antibiotic market against food spoilage believe that it will build a more important outlet than t h e one offered by animal feeds. But the feed market is growing too, and last year rose to a new high of $26,105,000. T h e amount of antibiotics sold as feed supplements in 1951, the first year for which these data were made available, w a s $17,532,000. Sales of the anti biotic supplements have exceeded their production for the past two years (Table I ) .
Dyes Advanced Advances in raw materials and labor, as well as the mounting cost of tech nical service, have resulted in price in creases of 1 8 % for synthetic dyes. American Cyanamid, in announcing the higher schedule, said it would b e come effective Jan. 1. Other leading dye manufacturers will follow Cy anamid's action, it is learned. V. E . Atkins, head of Cyanamid's organic chemicals division, said they were aware the advances were being made at a time when dye competition is very keen. "They are, however," h e said, "an economic necessity if Ameri can Cyanamid as a major supplier is t o continue to provide its customers with the quality products and diverse servi r * / a c t-Tn*>\r n o o n
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