The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1886-05-22
HoOD YBAUDs.
TEE SHAMEFUL USE OF LIME AND AL
UM IN CHEAP BAKING POWDERS.

Many,food frauds, such as chicoiy, cot
fee or watered milk, although they are
a swindle In a commercial sense, are of
ten tolerated because they do not par
ticularly affect the health of the con-
sumer; but when an article like baking
powder, that enters largely into the food
of every one, and Is relied upon for the
healthful preparation of almost every
meal, Is 50 made as to carry highly lin
furious, II not rankly poisonous, ele-
ments into the bread to2the eminent
danger Of the entire community, Il is
the duty of the press ito denounce the
practice in the most emphatic terms.
Among recent important discoveries
BY the food Analysts is that BY Prof.
Mott, the y. s. Government Chemist,
of large amounts of lime and alum In
the cheap baking powders. these are
one Of the most dangerous, and the
other the most useless, adulterants vet
found in the lower grade, inferior bak-
ing powders. 1t Is a startling fact that
of over one hundred different brands of
baking powder so far analyEed, COM
prising all those sold In this vicinity,
not one Of them, with the single excep-
tion of the Royal Baking Powder, was
found FREQ from both lime and alum.
The chief service Of lime 10 to add
weight. IL is truethat lime, when sub
jected TO heat, gives off certain amount
Of carbonic acid gas, bnt a quick-lime is
left--a caustic so powerful that 1t is
used by tanners to eat the hair from
hides Of animals, and in dissecting
roomsto more quickly rot the flesh from
the bones OF dead subjects. A snail
quantity Of dry lime upon the tongue,
or inthe eve, produces painful effects !;
how much more serious must these eff
fects be upon the delicate membranes
Of the stomach, intestines and kidneys,
moro particularly Of infants and child
rem, and especially when the lime is
taken into the system day after day, and
with almost every meal. This Is said
By physicians to be one of the chief
causes Of indigestion, dyspepsia, and
those painful diseases of the kidneys
now SO prevalent. Instances of the
most serious affections Of the latter or
gahs from drinking lime waters found
in some sections Of the West are noted
In every medical Journal.
Adulteratiou with lime Is quite as
much to be dreaded as with alum, which
has heretofore received the most EN-
phatic condemnation from every food
analyst, physician and chemist, for the
reason: that, while alum is probably
partially dissolved and passed off In gas
by the heat Of baking, 1t Is impossible
to destroy or change the nature of the
lime in any degree. so that ,the entire
amount IN the baking powder passes,
with all its injurious properties, into
the stomach. When we state that the
chemists have found twelve per cent,
or one-eighth. of the entire weight OF
some samples of baking powder ana
lyzed, to be lime, the wickedness of the
adnlteration will be fully apparent.
Pure baking powders are one of the
chief aids to the cook in preparing
perfect and whole' ONE food. Which
those are to te obtained of well estat-
lished reputation, like the Royal, OF
whose purity there has never been
and cannot bel question, it is proper to
avoid all others.