Weekly Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1853-1861, 1855-06-21
Our Food and it's AdulteratiOns.

DIR. HAssALL Of London, has, by aid OF the
microscope, been exposing grocers and other
dealers in articles of consumption to the scul-
tiny of the public. Many interesting results
of the Dr.'s laborS are given in the last num-
Der of the London Quarterly. from which ne
condense a few points.
The manner in which food is adulterated
Is not only one of degree hut of kind. The
most simple Of all sophistications, and that
which Is most harmless, is the mixture Of in
ferior qualities of the same substance Ia
deed, il the price charged were according to
quality, it would be no fraud al all, but this
adjustment rarely takes place. Secondly, the
mixture of cheaper articles of another kind;
Thirdly, the suHeptitious introduction of ma
terials which, taken in large quantities, are
preiudicial to health; and Fourthly, the adj
mixture of the most deadly poisons in order
to improve the appearance Of the article
doctored.'
Mustard is adulterated by Aour for bulk.
and tumeric for color.
Vinegar suffers a double adulteration; il IS
iirsi watered, and then lungency is given to
it BY the addition of sulphuric acid.
Cayenne pepper IS misea 1ltA-ssd 'isssl
often N poisonous qadntifiss.
Meat, while it remains in the condition ci
Joints, is exempt from the spirit of fraud but
all the diseased meat brought i,so the city Of
London is purchased by The soup shops pie
shops, and sausage makers. One shop ave
ragged twenty-five hundred dollars per weel,
in the purchase Of diseased meats
Bread made Of damaged wheat is adulte-
rated by alum 10 destroy the sour taste The
alum also absorb5 quantity Of water, which
the baker sells for bread.
Green tea is mixed with Prussian blue and
symp5um. In hundred pounds Of tea, the
consumers drink more than half a pound of
poison The practice Of re-drying used up
leaves is also carried on extensively
Coffee is adul!erated with chioory.
Writingof milk, the re viewer observes. that
the London milking pail goes as often 70 the
pump as the cow
Poisons are extensively used in painting
confectionery, especially the arss,,its Of COP
per and clroaate Of lead.
Medicine is adulturated more than fool
On this subject the reviewer says
If we could possibly eliminate, from the
mass of human disease that occasioned by
~ +l,x 4 I
lind that 1t amounted to very considerable
per centage on the whole, and that one of the
best friends of the doctor would prove to be
the adulterator. But even our refuge fails us
in our hour of need; the tools of the medical
man, like those Of the sappers and miners be-
fore Sebastopol, often turn out to he worth
less. Drugs and medical comforts are per
haps adulterated as extensively as any other
article. To mention only few familiar and
household medicines for instance Epson
salts are adulterated with sulphate of soda
carbonate of soda with snlphate Of Soda
very injurious substitute Mercury is some
times falsified with lead, tin and bsnuth !;
gentian with the poisonous drugs aconite and
belladonna; rhubarb with tmmeric and gam
boge; cantharides with black pepper; and
cod-lver and castor oils with common and
inferior oils; whilst opium, one of the sheet
anchors of the physician, is adulterated to the
greatest extent in dozen different ways
Medical comforts are equally uncertain. Thus
potato flour foims full half of the so-called
arrow-nots of commerce; sago-meal is an
other very common ingredient in this nour-
ishing substance. Out of fifty samples Of so
styled arrow-root, DIR. HAssALI found twenty
two adulterated, many of them consisting en-
tirely of potato-hour aud sago-meal. One
half of the common oatmeals to be met with
are adulterated with barley-meal, a much less
nutritious substance; an important fact, which
boards Of guardians should be acquainted
with. Honey is sophisticated with -four
starch and sugar-starch.