The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-06-13 00:00:00

THE ADULTERATION OF FOOD.

The following letter has been opportunely sent to
The Tonee for publication
Sir.—Now that evidence Is being taken, by a Committee Of
the House of COMEIOII9, of the working of the AdulterattOn
Acts, and that your own attention in particular is directed
to the subject, it is highly desirable Oct the whole questfbn
Of the adulteration of food should be freely and openly con-
sidered and discussed. . .

lu the first place, it seems to me exceedingly important
thst the principle laid down bt some of our Judges should be
inobtained—that the person selling an article should be
held to have the knowledge whether it ic genuine or not. if
Inc has no such knowledge, he can hardly be held to be com-
petent in the business whereby he lives.
Ass matter of fact he very generally possesses hat know-
ledge ; thus no dealer, unless lie be, I would say, almost
%%Hinny ignorant, but mmt know whether the COCOR be sells
is o genuine or a mixed article, containing sugar Or starch,
or both, and the same in regard to mustard and some other
articles.
- • - • -

If he lame not this simple and elementary knowledge, he
may very readily acquire it, as some of the most frequent,
and, as reaped' the public, most important adulterations
are very *may detected.
•• • •

,
Even bathe case of tea the principal adulterations may be
easily discovered. The eye alone as nearly all instances,
and in all in which • prosecution would be undertaken, is
sufficient to tell whether a tea is artificially coloured or
not. Crunching a little of the tea between the teeth will
determine the preemies ot sand and other earthy matter;
a sixpenny magnet will reveal any admixture with magnetic
iron ; while hot water will show the presence of lie tea.

, .
Besides, it must be remembered that adulterated goods
are not sold by merchants and manufacturers to the retail
dealers at the price of genuine goods ; so that the cost of an
article to the retailer is often sufficient to show him that
what he has purchased is not, and cannot be, genuine.
Lastly, it should not be forgotten that the retailer can
always protect himself by requiring of the manufacturer or
merchant a warranty of genuineness.
to the sceond place, Rooth, principlefor which I earnestly
contend is that articles should strictly correspond with the
names under which they are sold. Thus, that cocoa should
consist wholly of cocoa, and not be a mixture of cocoa,
sugar, and stanch; and that mustard should consist of mus-
tard only, and not he a mixture of mustard, wheat dour.
turmeric, and sometimes cayenne
- • •
- -

By all means, it there he any demand for such mixtures,
let them he sold not as cocoa and mustard, out under names
which clearly show that they are mixtures.
-• • • • •

Strict justice demands very much more than this, and
that the names of the component parts of such mixtures
should be stated, and some will consider even that the pro-
portion. of the several constituents sho.uid he made
•

Not long shit* mixed articles were sold without any labels
stating that they were mistures. Now the law requires that
they should be so labelled, but these labels are often very
indifferently and erroneously worded; they are printed in
small type, and are placed on some inconspicuous part of the
package, which is still labelled in large characters as Cu..,
mustard, &c., as the ease may be.

Thirdly, with respect io the analysts, I am of opinion that
the areas for which they are appointed should not be too
small, but should be of such a size as would insure such a
remuneration as would make the appointment worth a
man's holding, even although he was a chemist of consider-
able repute.
It is also certainly very desirable that the analyst's cer-
tificate should he received as sufficient evidence in a court
of law, and that his personal attendance should not be re-
garded as necessary If this be insisted upon, the expenses
attending the working of the Adulteration Acts will be
much increased, and many of our best analysts will decline
to hold the appointments of analysts, as the remuneration
hitherto offered for attendance in court is very inadequate,
and since many analysts would be unwilling to incur all
the loss of time and personal annoyance of attendance in
court.

Under the prevent Acts the inspectors must witness the
signature of the analyst to each of his report& In the case
In which the analyst is appointed for a considerable district,
as a county or part of one, this entails great expense, as of
course the inspector's travelling expenses have to be paid.
Now, what I suggest in lien of this is, either that the
analysts signature be attested by two witnesses, or his certi-
ficate be in the form of an affidavit, in which form It would
be deemed sufficient evidence for the Court of Chancery.
If this were allowed, much time, trouble, and expense would
be saved, as the attendance of the analyst in court would be
rendered unnecessary, and the cost of witnessing his signa-
ture by the inspector saved..--I remain, your obedient servant
ARTHLR HILL HAssALL, M.D.
14, John-street, Adelphl, June 6.

SINGULAR v. PLURAL.
(See Times Leader of Saturday June 6.)
THE Time, of blackguards and black-legs
Owning the turf the trade is,
To counteract their poison begs
The presence of the Ladies

But Punch can't think the Downs a place
For pure and pretty faces
Woman's work is to raise the race.
Not to improve the meas.—M( 14i.