Brookings County sentinel. (Brookings, Dakota [S.D.]) 1882-1890, 1882-04-06
CRIMINAL IMPOSITION.

The question of food adulteration sur
passes the liquor traffic in its importance
and is in much more need of vigorous
agitation. In the liquor warfare the
poison is unmasked and can be prudently
avoided and pointed out, but in the mat
ter of food no one can tell what it pass
ing into bis stomach without first going
10 the trouble of an analytical test. In
infant food alone the New York Times
Gays there are about twenty European
preparations and at least twice as many
American, all of which profess to furnish
complete nutrition for the infant dur
ing the first few months of its existence,
while yet the conversion of starch into
dextrine and sugar is beyond the ca
pacity of the unframed digestive func-
tion. The examination of these with the
microscope, assisted by such SIMPLE
tests as iodine which turns starch cells
blue, and gluten (or albuminous) gran
ules yellow, has engaged the careful at.
tention of DIR. Ephraim Cutter, of Cam
bridge, and his results will startle most
mothers who have relied upon the ex-
travagant pretenses set forth in the cir.
culars of manufacturers. Eliza McDon-
ough, who preceded DR.. Cutter in this
field, has been in measure discredited;
but it appears that her assertion-that
the starch, so far from being transformed
into dextrine, was not sufficiently altered
to render the recognit ion of its source
difficult, whether from wheat, rye, corn
or barlev-was strictly true and
that these preteDtious foods are, without
exception, nearly valueless for diet tic
purposes, All of them consist of baked
-four mainly, either alone or mixed with
sugar, milk or salts. Iu some cases, the
baking has been very inadequately per-
formed, and the doctor found one that
consisted merely of wheat and oats whose
: tarch cells were proximately in their
q atural condition. The general result
~ d.. Cutters examination may be stated
~ brief terms as follows: There was
'iiarcely siayle one Of the so-called in.
. lat foods that contained quantity of
II iten as large as that contaiued in or
+ nary wheat flour. That is to say, a
Is ll-compounded wheat cruel is superior
IL any of them, particularly when boiled
Oi a little milk; and mothers are in
III or who place the slightest dependence
t. IN them AS respects one veIy ex.
'e lsive article, processing to possess
le parts in every 1000 of phosphate
n Is in connection with gluten, DIR.
IN tter was unable to fiud any gluten at
g. The thing was nearly pure starch.
70 9 at au eXorbitaut price as a nerve
lie brain food and a great remedy for
20 nots. So all through the list. Some.
Is Us trace of gluten was present; more
70 hIently none at all. In one case
l. t. were 80 parts of starch to 10 of
III an; but this was exceptional, and the
urrity were less valuable, ounce for
d ou, than ordinary wheat -four. Con-
l. siding the semi-philanthropic preten.
: siothat have been put forth by the
l. mafacturers of these foods, some of
l. ths sustained by the certificates of
:, enpnt physicians, the report of DR..
d Cut' is one of the dreariest comments
J. upouuman nature that has recently
81 falkunder the notice of the journalist.