Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1880-05-26
FRAUDS IN FOOD.
SOME OF THE COMPOUNDS WHICH PEOPLE
FEED ON.

Toiling up two flights of stairs and
suddenly invading large apartment
where, in confounded confusion, were
scattered abnormal glass bulbs, amaz-
ing jars and complex contrivances, such
as scientific wizards use in probing the
mysteries of nature and exposing the
wickedness and cunning of men, a
knight of the pencil yesterday found
Professor Henry Lehman profoundly
engaged in scientific research. The
laboratory of this scientist is at 920
Walnut street, and though the copious
rains had cleaned the streets of that
highly respectable neighborhood, yet
over all there hung an odor that SEEM
ed from its multiform variations to
have been compounded by Beelzebub's
first apothecary The Professor OBJ
served that something was wrong and,
elevating his shoulders and eyebrows
by a sympathetic and scientific move
ment, said it was strange, very strange,
he was not aware of any peculiar odor,
and then smilingly remarked: "Just
take a seat and you will get used to
Professor was experimenting upon the
stomach of one "whose soul is march
ing on" to discover whether poison
had been employed in hurrying the
body that once it fed into the grave.
For reasons the interviewer appreci-
ated, the man of science ceased his in
vestigations on the stomach, and en-
tered into an interesting talk upon food
and food adulterations. "Well," he
said, after turning the subject over in
his mind, "from my observations the
damage done by food adulteration is
not so much to the peoples stomachs
as to their pocket-books There is not
much really serious tampering done.
The progress of chemical analysis rem
ders certain methods unavailing but
just as the chemists discover some
frauds other swindles are devised.
know of some large establishments that
employ scientific men simply for the
purpose of doing the adulterating and
inventing new processes. The object
of adulterating may be to enhance the
value of an inferior article, as where
yellow sugars are mixed with some
tint to whiten them, or it may be to
increase the bulk or weight, as the
common addition of water to milk.
Frauds are often consummated by the
complete substitution of cheap article
for one more costly, as the selling of
oleomargarine for butter. Many of the
old methods Of adulteration are now
almost obsolete. For instance, the
adulteration of sugar with sand seldom
occurs any more, and the introduction
of calves and cows brains to milk to
thicken it again after the cream bad
been skinned from it is now scarcely
ever practiced In detecting such prac-
tices as these tie microscope comes in
very handy.
"In my opinion, the expensive arti-
cles of food, and all that are in mixed
or powdered state, are particularly liza
BILE to adulteration. Mustard is often
compounded with cracker dust and col
ored with various drugs, and there are
scarcely any spices that are not mixed
in some manner with some foreign pro-
duct before they reach the consumer.
A very common method, and one ex-
tremely difficult to detect, is mixing in
ferior grades with the finer ones. All
green teas which reach this country
have been colored artifically by the
Chinese with Prussian blue. This is
not very injurious substance, but /
have always refrained from using green
tea on that account Black teas are
not so often artifcially colored, but
they are sometimes faced with plumba-
20. Some of the larger restaurants sell
their tea grounds to dealers, who dry
and re-color them, mix them with good
tea and sell them over again. So it is
possible for single leaf Of tea to see a
good many tca-pots before il finally
finds the slop pail have examined a
great number Of samples Of tea micro
scopically," the investigator went on,
"but have been unable to find much Of
the leaves Of other plants in them"
"Flour is liable, Of course, to acci-
dental impurities from being made from
an unhealthy grain, and there are few
cases on record where lead used about
the machinery employed in the manu-
facture Of the article has given rise to
lead poisoning 1t is subject TO being
mixed with inferior grades, and is
sometimes whitencd by the addition Of
alum or blue vitrol. Persons convict
ed of the latter adulteration are severe
ly punished in England. The detec-
ton of alum, however. is extremely
difficult and IL is believed by a number
of English chemists that persons have
been convicted Of using it without hav-
ing really been guilty of the offence.
In fact, none Of the authorizations in
-four are easy TO detect. Articles OF
the kind are more likely TO be adulter-
ated when put up in small packages for
special sales"
Concerning sugar, within the past
few years mn imitation known as glu-
cose has been made from starch and
other material-eveD saw-dust, IT IL
stated. IL has been used to great ex-
tent in syrups, candies and fruit buffers.
The great drawback with j has been
the difficulty Of granulating it, prevent
ing its insertion in fine sugars. Late
ly, however, a means Of partially crys-
tallizing this substance has been at
tained, and il now being used as mix
ture with the lower grades Of granula-
ted or ordinary table sugars 1t Is
much cheaper than ordinary sugar, be-
ing furnished at about oDc-half the
price of the good article. Brewers are
getting TO usc IL quite extensively as
substitute for malt think" contin-
ued the Professor, "it very probable
that chemists will soon discover a way
Of completely crystalizing glucose,
thus making cheap and perfect sub
stitute for sugar"
"There Is in the market number OF
] orticlca xycl1 known ma 'coifeg eaacuccH