The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-01-23
Amaesapm Natelliseufsr.
WHAT WE EAT.
Some OF the Mothods or Adulterating
Bread.
Ne,u York Ereni,,9 Post.

Bread.
Neu York Erenins Post.
1t has long been believed. by the pub
lie that nearly every species Of food re-
quiring any process of manufacture or
refining in its preparation for use is
moro or less adulterated. Almost any
house wife will declare her belief
amounting in her own mind to positive
certainty-that -four, bread, sugar, tea,
coffee, vinegar, butter, canned goods and
many other articles, are adultcTatcd but,
IA she assumes that all brands and max es
are equally impure, she does not trouble
herself much about it until some snecal
investigation shows actual danger in the
use of certain adulterants. Among other
things, bakers bread il generally bur
dened with very bad name. 1t is well
known that both organic and inorganic
substances can be, and often have been,
used in making bread. The organic
adulterants are usually barley, rye. pota-
to and corn -four. Tl:ese can generally
be detected under microscope. While
they are undoubtedly alulterntions, they
are not Mt all hurtful % the stomach or
the blood, and their Ii, is only an act of
commercial dishonesty. The inorganic
adulterati0ns are aiuEI, suiphate of cop.
per, bone ashes, bone dust, white clay,
carbonate of magnesia, chalk. gypsum,
sulphate of zinc and an excessive amount
Of water. Some Of these ure used to give
whiteness and lightness to the bread,
while others simply tale the place OF
flour. Nearly all of the. have dele
terious effect upon the stomach when
taken internally, and some of them may
be regarded positive poisons.
PLEASE, SIR, ONLY A LITTLE ALUM.
In European and other countries where
-four is dear, all of these adultcrations
have been used. Copper sulphate is
available in the minutcst quantities only.
One part in eighteen hundred is the lar
gest quantity TINT can be used without
destroying the lightncss of the bread.
The object desired is to make the bread
white, using very poor flour. TO
thoroughly tx the flour and sulplatc in
proper proy ortion requires such great
care as to pInke the process too expensive
in this coEn!ry, where -four is cheap. II
is very dangerous method of whitening
bread, however, as the presence cf the
copper can be detected only with great
difficulty. There are frequent arrests
and convictions in Europe for using chalk,
white, clay, gypsum and alum in making
bread. In America the use of alum has
been regarded rs almost universal for the
purpose Of producing very white bread
from inferior flour It is we'll known
that alum is n constituent of several bak.
ing powders having large sale, and
people have come to regard alum rs not
only q necessary ingredient Of bakers
bread, but also us one not very objection
able. This view is wholly erroneous.
Alum, the oxide of alumna, is n power.
full astringent salt. AS found in the
bread after baking, its active principle
remains in such n condition rs to be en-
silly dissolvable in the gautric juice after
having entered the stomach. When
taken internally it produces dyspepsia,
constipation, gripping, and even, in suiR-
cicnt quantities, vomiting and inhamma-
tion of the CASTRO enteric musus. Du-
mas says: ut is to be feared that this
salt exerts o deadly action by its daily
introduction into the stomach, especially
IN persons of wenk constitution. Gt:;vr
high authorities, srch as Carpenter, Dun
das, Thompson, Gibbon and Normandy
agree that the continued use Of bread
will inevitably hring on dyspepsia, and
the late Baron Liebig was OF the same
opinion. It is, If course, impossible to
determine in what manner any alum that
may be found in bread gets there. 1t
may have been added Intentionally by
the baker. or it may have been one Of the
constituents of the baking powder used
to raise the bread. 1t is notorious that
many of these baking powders contain
alum to the extent, in some cases, of 20
per centum. 1t Ia impossible, therefore,
tn - ho ri noli II Al.
kers. 1t is possible that some of them
are ignorant of the adulterated condi.
tion of their baking powder. There is
no excuse for such ignorance. however.
and wherever alum ia found in bread
tho baker should be made TO suffer. To
show how deleterious may be this form
of adulteration it is easy to calculate it's
effect. A healthy growing boy or girl
eat en- average of n pound of bread day,
or one hundred pounds in about fourteen
weeks. Now, take the amount of alum
adulteration at the very low rate of two
per centnTi, and we find that ench moth
cr,s darling eating adulterated bread has
devoured'two pounds of alum in trifle
over three months. Is it any wonder that
indigest.oI and dyspepsia are in every
hoYsehold? Let any one who ia disposed
to doubt the evil effects Of an alum bread
diet consult good physician. The only
pTetetise that is innde by these public poi
soners, tho alum adulterators. to justify
their trade is that the alum when bakea,
becomes an insoluble earth which passes
through the stomach without any effec,
upon il whatever. This IL totally untrue
The active principle of the salt, before
mentioned, Is readily soluble in the gas.
trio juice, and it 10 unquestionably so dis.
solved rapidly and fully. Let any one
hold a piece of alum on the tongue for q
few minutes and see the astringent effects
on the ecoats ofthemoush aud then fancy
the effect of the same treatment fthe del.
icnte coats ofthestomach day after day, to
say nothing gofthe alum transmitted to the
blood. This simple experiment will show
clearly whether alum bread is safe In.
vestment or not
.ri
Uny- CholI C,ruITo,r Vro TY,o1a