Sacramento daily record-union., 1883-09-08
FOOD kDULTERATIoN IN PARIS.

The municipal laboratory for the analysis
of the solid and liquid food sold in Paris is
issuing series of reports, which show
that nearly every article of consumption is
more or less adulterated We have already
referred to the extensive scale upon which
wine, spirits aud beer are adulterated, but
it is more surprising still TO find that coffee
and even chocolate are rarely sold pure.
Chocolate is, as rule, adultersted by the
substitution of bean meal, powdered date
stones for the rich matter which the natural
cocoa contains, and out of seventy. seven
specimens of chocolate brought to the
laboratory. nearly half were adulterated
in this fashion. 1t might be thought that
however much ground coffee might be
adulterated by the mixture of chicory and
other substances, one was safe in buying it
when in the berry but this is great mis-.
take, for there are several establishments in
Paris which manufacture compound of
ground acorns. burnt wheat and coffee
dregs into berries, which are then dipped
in an alcoholic solution of oolophone to give
them the appearance of "best Mocha"
Out of twenty.eight specimens OF whole
coffee, twelve were found to be adulterated,
so that it is not in the East only that one
drinks "bad coffee" Even the chicory
used to adulterate coffee is not, as a rule,
pure, the most common form of adultera-
tion being oxide OF iron and ocher There
Is still greater difficulty in procuring gem
uine pepper, for out of l25 specimens ex-
amined 81 were adulterated, potato starch,
pulverIzed olive and date stones, cayenne,
pimento, chalk, plaster, and dust from shop
floors being among the elements discov-
cred. Sugar and honey seem to have es-
capped so far the fraudulent devices of dis
honest traders, but syrups-which are SO
largely consumed in France-and Jam are
very generally adulterated. Out OF thirty
nine specimens of syrup twenty. four had
been artifcially eolored and were not,
therefore, made from the fruits which they
were named after, while nine were made
from substances deleterious TO health. It
is even worse with jam, for out of eighteen
specimens, fourteen were made principally
from glucose, while much of the red cur
rant jelly sold in Paris is made without
currants, the jelly being obtained by the
use of seaweed, the color with fuchsine,
and the flavor with an essence made of
acetic, tartaric and other acids. Even
DiOout udiy VI IL
France is estimated at 10000 tons day,
is very much adulterated in Paris by
dampening the flour SO as TO increase
its weight, mixing it with beam
meal, potato-s starch etc, or adding to it
deleterious compounds of lead, copper, zinc,
sulphate of lime and chalk. Out of thirty
one specimens of bread analyzed, only
thirteen were made of pure wheat -four,
and in examining the composition of flour
the spectrum analysis has been found of
great assistance, as the presence of chem
ical compounds can be detected at once.
Butter is even more generally adulterated
than bread, for out of sixty-two samples
only seven were pure. When one remem.
bers that the margarine manufactured in
New York is equivalent to the quantity of
butter which could be made from 300, 900
cows, and that whole ship loads of it are
exported from Holland to Normandy, and
sent thence to Paris as "best Normandy
butter, it will be easy to understand why
the report OF the analysis is so unfavorable.
London Daily News.