Quote Originally Posted by McClef View Post
There were aficionados who claimed to be able to tell from the taste and aroma which newspaper they were wrapped in!
Could tell without even tasting.

As to toxicity I expect that there were no medical surveys made about exposure to the long term effects
Actually there are studies.

and whether or not there was an immunity build up.
With toxins there is no "immunity"--- on the contrary triggers that create more problems over time (hypersensitivity and allergy).

Some hygiene regulations have tended to over sanitise and decrease the natural immunity that people used to have.
However filthy some of those newspapers were they were often cleaner than many of the food shops I've seen. Did people get sick? You bet! Do people today get sick from lapses in fast food hygiene? All the time. Salmonella and other bacterial poisioning via food are on the rise. Filth may be fine for the cockroaches but they are more adaptable than humans and can survive for a few weeks after having their heads chopped off.

Lard fried fish and chips wrapped in old newspapers was from a time when people simply did not know better.

(the decline, however, of fish and chips has to do with the economy of fast food branding, advertising and the strong increase in the price of fish)