Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1886-03-19
FOOD FRAUDS,
The shameful use of Lime and Alum in
Cheap Baking Powder.

Many food frauds, such rs chicory cof-
dee or watered milk, although they are
swindle in "A commercial sense are often
tolerated because they do not particularly
affect the health of the consumer: but
when an article like baking powder, that
enters largely into the food of every fam
lily, and is relied upon for the healthful
preparation of almost every meal, is so
made as to carry highly injurious if not
rankly poisonous elements into the bread
to the eminent danger of the entire com
munty 1t is the duty of the press to EN-
phatically denUunce the manufacturers
whose avarice has prompted them to such
diabollcal operations.
Among recent important discoveries by
the food analysts is that by Prof Mott,
the [. :. Government Chemist, of large
amounts of lime in the cheap baking pow
ders. This is, If not the most dangerous
certainly the most useless, adulterant yet
found in the low grade, inferior baking
powders 1t l. a startling fact that of over
one hundred different brands of baking
powder 50 far analyZed, comprising all
those sold i'm this vicinity not one of them
with the single exception of the ROYAL
Baking Powder, was found free from both
lime and alum. The chief service of lime
is to add weight 1t is true that lime
when subjected to heat gives off a certain
amount OF carbOnic acid gas, but Il quick
lime is left, a caustic 50 powerful that it
is used by tanners to eat the hair from
hides of animals, and in dissecting rooms
tomore quickly rot the flesh from the
bones of dead subjects. A small quantity
OF dry lime upon the tongue, or in the eye,
produces painful effects how much more
serious must these effects be upon the del
icate membranes of the stomach, intes-
tines, and kidneys, more particularly of
infants pSnppinllV
the lime is taken into the system day af-
ter day and with almost every meal. This
is said by physicians to he 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 organs from drink
ing lime waters found in some sections of
the west are noted in every medical journ-
al
Adulteration with lime is even more ia
be dreaded than with alum, which has
heretofore received the most emphatic
condemnation from every food analyst,
| physicians and chemist, for the reason that
while alum is probably partially dissolved
and passed OIL in gas by the heat Of baking
| it is impossible to destroy or change the
/ nature of the lime IN any degree, 50 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 analysed to be
/ lime, the wickedness of the aduteration
will be fully apparent
| Pure baking powders are one of the
chief aids to the cook in preparing perfect
be obtained of well established reputation
like the Royal of whose purity there has
never been and cannot be question, it is
proper to avoid all others.