Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1880-01-09
FOOD AnULTERATIONS.
What the Staple Articles of Con-
sumption Contain

ences, Arts and Letters, at its recent
meeting, by Ira NJ. Buell., of Beloit;
The subject to which your attention
is now called has at least one salient lea.
ture-it is old, rs old as human greed
and deception, if not as ancient as the
human race itself. 1t is Older than
Jewish history, for Moses legislated
against it; older than the patriarchS,
for Jacob practiced it; and We have
more than q suspicion that Cain HIM
self was the originator OF the unwhole-
some art. Following downwards the
chain of history, we find the Roman
fathers cdntending with the evil, and
stlll later our own English ancestors,
bringing dishonest butchers, bakers and
winners to judgment ltmay be safely
affirmed that the subject has received
public attention, and legislative protec-
ton has been afforded, by every nation
which has ever arisen into the plane OF
civilization.
OF the importance OF the topic, it is
hardly necessary TO speak. Strength,
efficiency and happiness are dependent
upon the nature and condition Of our
daily food, and no person dares to be
indifferent as to what he eats. The
higher the development of the intellec-
tual and spiritual faculties, the more
exacting is the individual as to the
purity and wholesomeness of his food.
Although the same topic has occu-
pied mems thoughts for ages new pha-
SEES are always appearing, and the OBJ
server notes continual change. New
methods of deception and OF conceal
ment are arising every day TO take the
place of those whose real natdre has
become generally known. That which
no longer deceives, has ceased to be
profitable; and hence the most efficient
means for diminishing these frauds is
to expose their real nature faster than
they can lie devised by knavery and
greed. The term adulterants may be
applied to all intentional, unacknowl-
edged additions to any substance, for
the purpose Of gain, deception or con
cealment. The general term impuri-
ties is here used i'll connection with
authorizations to include those neces-
sary or unintentional additions or pro-
ducts which often seriously affect the
value of the articles containing them,
and which the conscientious analyst
cannot pass unnoticed. The results
which are here presented can only be
considered as preliminary survey Of
i portion Of the work which must be
vigorously and carefully prosecuted #
we are to obtain reasonable assur-
ance of safety from imposition or from
injury in the consumption OF the daily
necessities of life.
COFFEE.
The principal adulterants of this
commodity are to be found in the roast
ed and ground article, although the
berry itself is said to be counterfeited,
and d machine has been patented in
England for the moulding Of chicory
nibs into the form of coffee seeds. None
of these spurious products, however,
have come under our observation, and
it is hardly possible that a fraud so
glaring as this could long be practiced.
The list of substances which have
been detected in ground coffee is long
and nauseating, if not particularly dan
gerous to health. Roasted corn, rye,
beans, peas, chicory, carrots, parsnips,
beets, dandelions, acorns, horse chest.
nuts, mustard husks, coffee husks,
spent coffee, burnt biscuit, burnt sugar,
tan bark, sawdust and baked liver have
been found by English analysts, and in
some cases the quantity of genuine cot
fee contained in the examined samples
was very small, less than one-fouIth Of
the mixture.
Each Of the eleven samples examin-
ed by us were more or less adulterated,
although the list Of adulterants is much
more limited than that given above.
Chicory was present in each of them.
Ten of the eleven samples contained
an additional quantity of ground
peas. 4 few eranules of what appeared
to be bread crusls were found III one
sample These displayed an abund-
ance Of starch granules, when viewed
under the microscope. The oily nature
of genuine coffee causes its granules to
Hoat for some time when thrown upon
the surface of water, and TO discolor the
LIQUID very slowly, while the substances
with which it is mixed sink very quick
ly and begin to change the color of the
water at once. These characteristics
furnish very convenient melHou VI
obtaining an approximation Of the
quantity of genuine coffee in any given
mixture. The presence OF some ingredi-
ents, such as chicory, tends TO load
down and precipitate the genuine coliee
and thus renders the separation imper-
feet The quantitative results obtained
by this process gave 81, Al, 80, %, 60,
and - per cent. of genuine coffee, re-
spectively, IN SIX samples of Rio mix
ture examined, and 80, 80, IS, and So
per cent, respectively, in samples of
ground coffee sold as Java.
TEA.
The adulterants OF this article
present marked contrast 10 those
which are found in coffee While the
debasement of coffee is openly prac-
ticed by dealers, and is seemingly en-
couraged by consumers, the same class
OF persons view with alarm any SEM
blance of sophistication in this more
subtle stimulant. For this reason we
would expected 10 find greater purity
in the article az generally furnished 70
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