The Sun.
London, England, 1855-10-09 00:00:00

ROYAL POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTION.

ADULTERATION OF FOOD AND DRUGS.

Mr. Jacob Bell gave a lecture to a crowded audience
at the Itcyal Polytechnic Institution, last evening, upon
the adulteration of food and drugs. He alluded Ito the
recent discussion on this matter, and expressed his
opinion that the public had been frightened more than
was necessary about the impurity of the different articles
which they consumed. He did not pretend to justify
the conduct of those dishonest persons who substituted
one article for another, by a fraudulent imitation or ad-
mixture ; but there w ere, in some instances, a demand
for the mixed article, which was preferred by the taste
of the public ; in othe r cases the impurity was acciden-
tal, and could not be will avoided in the course of manu-
facture, and same come modifies, in an absolutely pure
strite, would not be practically fit for use, and required
a certain admixture. Ins then went into particulars.
Taking bread first, he Bait I that it was most frequently
made unwholesome by t he use of bad flour, but be
thought the quantity of slum in it had been greatly
exaggerated ; the bread w as certainly less wholesome
with alum in it. Pea mea 1 was sometimes used'in the
bread to absorb more wat sr, and so to increase the
weight. He did not consit ter the German yeast un-
wholesome, as was alleged. In bread made with muria-
tic acid and carbonate of soc. la, instead of yeast, there
was some danger, as the muriatic acid of commerce con-
tained a portion of arsenic. The baking powders con-
sisted of carbonate of soda and tartaric acid. The
adulteration of arrowroot and other starches, by
mixing one kind with allot her, might be detected
by the microscope, feora the different shapes
and sizes of the grair is. He then referred to
the colouring of cheese w ith &ileac), and of butkreand
jellies with different mi tters. After describing `the
manner in which the Chinese disguise their tea with
Prussian blue and turmesric, Mr. Bell exposed the false-
hood of bright green pi c kles, several specimen bottles of
which he had upon 'Llai e table. These acquired their
colour by being boiled in copper pans, and were very
pernicious to health, Sugar plums and comfits which
were coloured gree.rt contained the dangerous poisons of
arsenic and copper. In regard to mustard, the most re-
spectable dealers made no secret of the fact that they did
not sell the pure black mustard, which would be too
bitter for any ore 's taste, but mixed it with another kind
and with some f lour, 133 as to. make it fit for the table
The lecturer alb ided to the controversy which was raised
some time ago a bout bitter beer, and the celebrated puffs
which were got up in favour of a particular firm. The
assertion that strychnia was put in bitter beer was
never believed, he said, by persons acquainted with the
subject, and t'a .e public were now convinced that it might
be drunk with perfect safety. He made some remarks
upon the ab user of chemical certificates by tradesmen,
who would f yard a sample of a pure article to some
scientific pe rso n for his opinion, and would afterwards
apply that written approval to the spurious article, in
which they usually dealt. With regard to the mixture of
coffee with chicory, he observed that it had been sup-
pc,sed tlyet purchasing the coffee in the berry would be a
safeguard against it, but that was not absolutely the effect,
for a machine had been invented to make up chicory
and other ingredients in the shape of coffee berries,
so that, with a little glazing on their outside, they might
be taken fcr coffee. Of the adulteration of medical drugs
the lecturer did not say very much. He spoke of opium
and scatninony, and mentioned the adulteration)of Henna
which was complained of some years ago, but which had
been quite discontinued, he believed, in consequence of
the publicity which was given to the matter. He thought
the best means of preventing such practices would be
found in the exposure of those tradesmen who were
guilty of them, and in the exercise of a proper degree of
caution and discrimination on the part of their customers.
After the lecture a few words were said by Dr. Nor-
mandi, one of the witnesses before the parliamentary
committee, who did not admit that Mr. Bell was cor-
rect in hie opinion about the quantity of alum which was
sometimes mixed in bread. Dr. Normandi said he bad
himself found as much as .500 grains of alum in a 41b
loaf, and some of the alum -was in the form of pieces of
crystal. He had also seen the tea-chests in the ware-
houses emptied out through the small hole in She leaden
top which was made for the sample, and their contents
heaped on the floor, to be mixed with various other mat-
ters, and to be afterwards crammed into the chests
again ; and he knew that whitesmiths were employed to
solder up the chests, as if they had not been opened.
After some observations from Mr. Pepper, and from
Mr. Bell in reply, the audience were left to the othEr)
entertainments of the institiatian.