Allegheny County has some of the toughest rules when it comes to Food Safety in restaurants in Pennsylvania . But this was not always the case as an incident in 1940 reveals.
In today's modern food safety world all cleaning and other non cooking related products are to be kept in a separate storage area away from food products, and where restaurants once did there own pest control they must now hire and use a company to come in and eradicate pests and not keep pest control products on the premises.
These rules where brought about do to several incidents across the country where pest control products where either accidentally or deliberately put into pancake and egg or other batter poisoning and killing hundreds.
One such case took place at the Salvation Army shelter in Pittsburgh's Lawrenceville section on November 12,1940 where a breakfast of pancakes and bacon resulted in 12 men dead and 48 severely sickened when some how Roach Powder made of Sodium Fluoride a white powder got into the pancake batter.
Doctors and chemists at the now long closed St Francis Hospital tried to save all the men but where unsuccessful.
Strangely this is one of 2 institutions which where once located in lawrenceville/Garfield area which after tragedy's occurred moved to the North Side of Pittsburgh which includes the Little Sisters of the Poor who had a tragic fire which killed 47 both cases unsolved in both caases no charges brought .
Almost makes you wonder if some one had it in for these groups who help the poor and this is why they moved.
