St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-08-12
An IMPORTANT FooD REFORM.

AN IMPORTANT FOOD REFORM.
production OF Chemically Pure
cream OF Tsartar--TOtaI EIImina-
ton of All Lime Empurities--Neyy
Discoveries in Refinimg--A Long
Stride Toward Pure Food.
From the New York Tribune.
Discoveries of much Importance. on ac-
count of the relation they bear toward
more wholesome food supply and conse-
quently upon the public health, have been
rec emily made in the process of refining
cream of tartar. Cream of tartar, as is well
known, is bitartrate of potassa purified
from the crude tartar, or argol which coli
lects in crystalline deposit on the bottom
and sides of wine casks during the fermen-
tation OF the wine. This tartar, in its crude
state, contains lime and other impurities,
which no process of refining known prior
to that here described was able to en-
tirely remove. 1t has been possible, it is
true, to neutraliZe the lime to some extent
/ by the aid of chemicals, and this method
was reSOrted to in order to procure cream
| OF tartar in small quantities for pharmaceu-
! teal purposes; but it was open to serious
objection in view of the fact that the chem
/ icals employed for this purpose were not
always washed out but remained in quanti-
! ties that were uncertain and prejudicial to
its quality. The supposed impossibility of
removing the lime has accordingly, caused
cream of tartar to be claSSed and sold as
pure when it did not contain more than 5
per cent of this impurity. The major part,
however, of that used in commerce. or for
culinary purposes, contains the tartrate of
lime to an extent much greater than per
cent, not infrequently being found, upon
analysis, debaSed to a degree equaling one
fourth or more of its entire weight.
In report upon the subject of food adul-
teTatiOn made to the New Ork state board
of health by Professors Chandler and Love,
it is stated that of twenty-seven samples Of
cream of tartar bought from dealers as pure,
sixteen were adulterated with various sub
stances from to SO per cent, while of the
remainder all contained tartrate of lime,
some as high as 1859 per cent
The serious character of this adulteration
is more readily appreciated when it is recol-
lected how largely cream of tartar enters
into the preparation of the food of every
family. In connection with soda in baking
powder it is the chief agent now employed
for raising and making light and digestible
all our biscuit, cake, and other pastry, and
is besides, in many communities, suppressed
ing the Old-fashioned yeast for all leavening
purposes, so that it is employed to some ex-
The amount of cream of tartar used in this
country in a year in baking powder and
otherwise in the preparation of food is eSti-
mated at 10. 600, 900 pounds If this were
80 per cent pure-a high estimate-we would
consume 1000, 600 pounds or more of lime
annually as q substitute for bread. So large
deterioration becomes appreciate in the
deprivation of our food of portion of its
nutTitive elements not only, but if, as is
Of 4oI-
into the system has relation to the pain
full affections of the kidneys so prevalent in
this country, its bearing upon the health of
the entire community is too important to
be overlooked.
The new process by which cream of tar
tar is produced 100 per cent. pure-that is,
with the lime totally eliminated-by treat
ing the crude material under pressure in
stead of using any chemical whatever for
the purpose, was the discovery originally Of
German chemist, but has been developed
and perfected by the Royal Baking Powder
company of this city, through whose efforts
few years since in behalf of high stand
ard of purity in food, the public was rid of
the poisonous alum baking powders at that
TIME so prevalent.
The determination of this company to
place upon the market only absolutely pure
goods, and the impossibility of doing this
from the cream of tartar of commerce. made
it apparent that some new method must be
sought by which cream of tartar could be
procured in large quantities, free from lime
and chemically pure. The cream of tartar
reiners of this country and Europe, when
approached upon the subject, declared such
result impossible, and declined to incur
the expenditure necessary to make the trial.
The Royal Baking Powder company, ac-
corGingly resolved to solve the problem for
itself and having secured the aid OF the
best chemists of Europe and America, pro-
ceeded with its Investigations and discover
les until the result, after several years OF
labor and the expenditure of over half
million dollars in the pur-
chase of patents, perfecting of
processes. and the erection of buildings and
machinery, was reached in the complete at
tainment of the end sought. The works
(now owned by the New York Tartar COM
pany) are located i'll Brooklyn, and exceed
i'm size and capacity any other similar REIN
cry in the world. They produce a chemi-
cally pure cream Of tartar, which is now
exclusively used for pharmaceutical prepar-
ations, and in the manufacture of the cele-
brated Royal Baking Powder
The energy and outlay that have effected
this will undoubtedly be fully rewarded bv
the public, which will chiefly benefit by the
successful issue OF the investigations. Peo-
pie are coming daily to more fully appreci-
ate the value of pure and wholesome food.
By the exclusive use of this chemically pure
cream OF tartar the Royal Baking Powder is
produced entirely free from lime and abso-
lutely pure, qualities possessed by no other
baking powder yet made. A baking pow
der entirely free from lime or other impu-
rlty must not only contain more strength or
leayening power and produce better food,
and therefore be more economical for use,
out, what is more important, possess quail
ties OF superior wholesomeness.
Chemists and physicians have looked upon
the experiments with much interest, and
regard their success as matter of much
importance.