The weekly sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1886-1887, 1886-11-11
FOOD FRAUDS.
The shameful Use of Lime and Alum in
Cheap Baking Powders.

The shameful Use of Lime and Alum in
Cheap Baking Powders.
Many food frauds, such as chicory coffee or
watered milk, although they are a swindle in q
commercial sense, often tolerated because
they do not particularly affect the health of the
consumer; but when article like baking
powder, that enters largely into the food of ev-
erv family and is relied upon for the healthful
preparation of almost every meal, is 30 made as
to carry highly injurious, if not rankly poison
ous elements into the bread to the imminent
danger of the entire community, it is the duty
of the press to denounce the practice in the
most emphatic terms.
Among recent important discoveries by the
food ANALYSIS is that by Prof. Mott, the U. S.
Government Chemist, of large amounts of lime
and alum in the cheap baking powders. These
are, one of the most useless sdultsrants yet
found in the low grade, inferior baking pow
ders 1t is a startling fact that of over one hun
dred different brands of baking powders far
analy zed, comprising all these sold in this Vi
entity not one of them with the single except
ion of the Roval Baking Powder, found
free from both lime and slnu. The chief ser
vice OF lime is To- add weight. II true that
lime hen subjected TO heat, give- OH CERTAIN
amount carbonic acid gas. but quis'N lime ID
left, caustic SO powerful that 1t Ia u-s"! by
tanners to eat the hair from hides oil aniIunls,
and i'll aissecting rooms TO mere quickly ra the
flesh from. the bones of dead subjects -rriall
quantity OF dry lime upon .he tongue. ~ IN The
eve, produces painful effects; how much more
serious must these effect. he IN the delicate
membranes of the stomach, intestines srid kid
neys, more particularly o infants and children
anu especially when the lime is taken int" Tho
system day after day and with almost every
meal This is said by physicians to be one Of
the cl-i causes of indigestion, dyspepsia and
those t.ainful diseases of the kidneys so
prevalent Instances of the most se-ieus af-
fections of the latter organs from driAking lime
water found in some sections of the West are
noted il, every medical journal.
Authorizations with lime is quite much TO
be dreaded as with alum, which has heretofore
received the most emphatic condemnation from
every food analyst, physician and chemist. for
the reason that, while alum is probably parti-
ally dissolved and passed off il gas by the heat
of bakins it is impossible to change the nature
OF the lime in any degree, so that the entire
amount i'll 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 an
alyzed, to be lime, the wickednes. of the adul
iteration will be fully apparent
Pure taking powders are one of the chief aids
to the cook in preparing perfect and wholesome
food. While those are to be obtained of we'll
established reputation, like the Royal, of whose
purity there has meyer been and cannot be q
question, it is proper to avoid all others.