Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1885-10-22
ADULTERATED SPICES.
Pepper. Gloves. and Mustard all Doc
tOred for Gain.
II. Y. Journal.


ton has become an art in which the
knowledge of science and the ingeDu>
jty of the trade are freely exercised.
Pure spices are debased for pecuniary
profit by adding to them inferior or
spurious articles, or by taking from
them one or more Of their constitu-
ents. The objects OF adulterati@n are
to increase the bulk or weight of the
article, to improve its appearance, to
give it q false strength, and TO rob it
of its most valuable constituents. The
practice has grown with the COMPETE
ton of trade, and IN spite of laws pro-
hibitiDg it.
People know so little about spice
that it can be adulterated with very
slight chance of discovery. An expert
can tell it at once. The head Of the
spice department of a grocery firm in
this city said:
''To be sure of adulteration, one
needs only to look at the price-lists
issued by firms which sell spices. The
price of ground spec is often less
than that of the unground article,
which is absurd on it's face. Unground
pepper can not be sold for less than Il
cents a pound, and yet we find ground
pepper offered for 5 and cents per
pound Ground ginger is offered at 5
cents pound, while the unground is
s cents. This means that the ground
spice has been heavily adulterated
with some cheap material. Some firms
90 so far as to advertise adulterated
goods, and evade the law by calling
them compounds.
"Black pepper is adulterated with
a substance called pepper dust, made
from cocoanut shells. and also with
meal, and mustard bran. Cocoanut
shells when ground up very fine, are
used very generally as an adulterant
of spices, as there is no taste to in~
terfere with the flavor of the spice
Buckwheat bulls, otherwise worthless
are a source of profit to the millers, as
they are worth d cents pound for
aduIterating purposes. The charcoal
gives black appearance to the pep~
per.
The informant put sample of the
best MALAGA pepper beside poor
quality of black pepper. The Malaga
pepper could readily be distinguished
because of its lighter color. Mr.. Mil
Ter mixed some white meal with the
common pepper aad it became so like
best pepper that it could hardly be
told apart"
"You see," he said, "5hat I have
not only adulterated the pepper, but I
have, to all appearances, improved its
quality"
"White pepper is adulterated with
white meal, terra alba, and rice flour
Terra alba is fine marble dust, and
enormous quantities are exported
from Italy for purposes of adultera-
ton. Gypsum, sand, starch, mustard,
nusks, and various kinds of meal are
also used for adulterating pepper, but
not to so great an extent as the things
I have mentioned. Cayenne pepper
is adulterated with white meal, Vene-
tian red, and salt, the three being
ground together The salt giver a
brighter color to the red, which is
itself a poisonous article. This docs
tor1ng is practiced on African pepper,
a dull red pepper, worth only eight
cents a pound, ia order to bring it up
so the brilliant color Of Nathal pepper,
worth 80 cents pound The fraEdu-
lent article can be detected by placing
q small quantity on a sheet of white
paper and rubbing it with the finger.
The Venetian red will make red marks
on the paper.
Ginger is adulterated with meal,
rice flour, starch, cayenne pepper,
and manila rope Ginger root has a
very fine, halr>like fiber running
through it, and this is found in the
ground article. Country people will
not buy it unless they see the fbers,
and bits OF 5Daulla rope are used to
take their place in the false article
The cayenne pepper makes the taste
sharper. 4 drop of ammonia will ex>
pose this compound by turning it red.
Chrome yellow, a poisonous substance
is sometimes used for coloring.
Gloves, worth &c cents a pound,
are adulterated with Glove stems
worth 3 cents pound. These Glove
stems are the little green twigs from
which the cloves are plucked. Cloves
are also adulterated with pepper dust,
and allspice is also treated in the
same manner.
Considerable ingenuity is shown
IN adulteratlng cinnamon ana NUT
aneg. Old crackers or flour are baked
brown Ia an oven and ground up fine,
and this is mixed with the ground
cinnamon and nutmeg. In adulterat.
ing mace Venetian red is mixed With
the cracker dust.
Mustard is adulterated with sage
-four, starch, rice -four, and wheat
flour, and cOlOred with anlline color
ings. The fraud can readily be de,
tected, as the compound becomes blue
when treated with solution Of iodine.
The common German and French
mustard is made up of compound of
mustard, cracker dust, and cayenne
pepper, and is favored with sugar,
oil, and vinegar to suit the taste.
Another method Of abusing cloves
is by extracting their essential oils.
This is done in Europe by boiling
them, and ia this country by pressing
out the oil"