Rack Protects Food From Poison Gas, 1940

Supplies of food and drink can be protected from contamination by poison gas in case of wartime air raids by a novel and inexpensive device developed by M. Jaffe, a British inventor living in Liverpool, in 1940.

Food on the rack is set over water and then covered.

Food is placed on a raised wire platform and covered by an inverted mixing bowl, bread box, roasting pan, or other nonporous kitchen utensil. By means of two long wire handles, the covered food is then lowered into four or five inches of water standing in a basin or in the kitchen sink. The water forms a perfect air lock inside of the improvised food protector, making it impossible for gas fumes to seep in.

With the device, it is said, one minute is sufficient time to protect a supply of food which could be consumed without fear of contamination or pollution after the danger of the gas raid had passed. Larger units could be used for protecting food in hospitals and other institutions.