Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1883-08-29
ADULTERATED TEAS.
The Amount OF Poison that is
Used to Give Polish and Color.

"If people had any idea of the extent
to which articles of food and drink are
adulterated they would be seriously
alarmed" said one of the oldest anC
best known members of the wholesale
tea trade recently. "And this is
especially the case as regards tea," he
added. 1.-The amount of spurious tea
that is sold is known only to those il
the business, and it is time public at
tention was called to this evil, for two
reasons.
"In the first place, the sale of the
fraudulent article is injuring the market
of the Legitimate trader, by lessening
the demand for pure and honest teas
In the next place-and this fact raises
the question far beyond mere dollars
and cents level-the consumption o.
the adulterated herb is not only vitiat
ing the taste of the consumer, but
causing disease and death. 1t is not
saying too much to assert that the use
of spurious teas-which has been sc
common for years past-has tended tC
aggravate diseases of the nerves and oi
the digestive organs, has even caused
disorders that were almost unknown to
medical science before the days of drug
ged teas, and has helped to swell the
mortality lists. Poor tea degrades the
taste, if it does nothing worse, and in
this way depreciates the market value
of goud tea. But it is startling fact
that almost without exception the adul-
terated teas are dangerous to health
Some of them are actually poisonous,
especially the impure green teas, which
contain copperas and Prussian blue"
WHAT THE LAW SAYS
as there not law forbidding the
sale of adulterated food for drink ?"
eyes, there is State law, passed in
June of last year, but it is virtually a
dead letter. 1t is violated every day.
l see only one remedy, and that is to
arouse public sentiment on the subject
by acquainting the people with the
risks they run in using spurious teas,
and thus force the dishonest dealers
who sell the stuff to give up the
practice. The men who sell it know
that the general dulness of the tea
trade is caused in part by the extent to
which their unwholesome mixtures
have taken the place of honest tea.
But they don't care as long as they can
make a profit. | know from my own
experience that there are few persons
who know anything about the law to
prevent the adulteration of food and
drugs which exists in the States OF
New York, New Jersey, Illinois and
Massachusetts.
"The act as passed by our Legisla-
ture declares that mo person shall with
in this State manufacture, have, offer
for sale or sell any article of food or
drugs which is adulterated within the
meaning of this act and any person
violating this provision shall be deemed
guilty of misdemeanor, and upon
conviction thereof shall be punished by
a fine not exceeding one hundred dol
lars Section defines food as includ-
ing every article used for food or
drink by man. Section 3 says that
food or drink shall be deemed to be
adulterated within the meaning Of the
act.
"But there is another law" continu-
ed the tea dealer, (Which / am glad to
say is being enforced. | refer to the
act of Congress passed at the last ses-
sion, entitled AN act to prevent the
importation of adulterated and spurious
teas The law was drawn up, | be-
lieve, by Mr.. Jacob Anderson, a tea
broker of this city, who has shown
much zeal in endeavoring to crush out
the sale of drugged teas The Custom
House examiner OF teas, Mr.. Davies,
appointed under this law, now examin-
es all teas that arrive, and does not
hesitate to condemn all that are found
to BIZ impure. The law has been in
force only since last March, but already
several entire cargoes have been refused
admission"
THE STOCK ON HAND.
"Will not this national law answer
the purpose and prevent the sale Of
adulterated teas 2"
at will prevent the importation in
future of the poisonous trash which has
been landed here in the past. But the
trouble is, there are vast quantities Of
this stuff now in this country 1t has
been accumulating for years. England
long ago passed laws similar to that
which our Congress has just adopted,
and all the refuse called tea which
British ports refused to admit was
shipped to this country. The con-
of tea in the United States is
about sixty-Gve million pounds a year
and the importation has averaged
about eighty million pounds, of which
about twelve millions is of the spurious
stuff. The stock has been accumulat-
ing for over ten years, and there arc
of pounds of bogus tea now in
stock in this country awaiting an OPP
portunity to be disposed Of by dealers
in it. The profits of this business are
enormous. No reputable dealer would
engage in it, and honest grocers and
other storekeepers do not sell the adul-
tcratcd stuff. There is no excuse for
doing So Good tea is always to be
had, costs little more at wholesale than
the doctored stuff, and any expert can
tell the good from the bad"
EXAMINER DAVIES VIEWS.
Mr. James Il. Davies, of the New
York Appraisers Office, the official
chief examiner Of all teas brought to
this port, is recognized authority on
the subject. He explained to the re-
porter yesterday that by far the great
est amount Of adulteration is in green
teas. and that the sorts known as
pingsuey-although there are some
very fine teas Of this brand-are more
frequently found to be impure than any
other "The most prevalent mode of
sophistcation in teas" he said, "is in