The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1888-06-07
NO PHYSIC WITH OUR FOOD.
A Phosphate Baking Powder Theory that
Dangerous If not Ridiculous.

A Phosphate Baking Powder Theory that is
| Dangerous if not Ridiculous.
That is a rather dangerous proposition,
put forth by the manufacturers of some
Of the patented or proprietary articles of
food, that their products possess supe-
rior wholesomeness because they contain
| a drug of some particular medicinal prop
erty. Phosphates, alum, lime, arsenic,
calomel, etc., have their places as specifics
for different diseases, and are invaluable
medical remedies, each in its place. But
they are not cure-alls. The physician
who should prescribe calomel, or strych-
nine, or rhubarb three times day to
man, woman and child, sick or well, be-
cause either of such drugs is a well known
remedy for some certain disease, would
receive but little honor from the fratern-
ity and less practice from the commun-
ity.
No one will controvert this statement;
yet we find manufactures of baking pow
ders claiming superior hygienic virtue
for their productions and urging their
continuous use because they are alleged
to carry the phosphate used in making
them, "a cheap substitute for cream of
tarter, procured from the bones of dead
animals) into the food, although well
aware, as they must be, of the fact that
with the constant use of such article this
drug must pass into our systems daily, no
matter what may be our physical condi-
tions or requirements, or whether or not
we may be suffering from some ailment
wherein the use of such drug would be
positively detrimental, Both alum and
phosphates are useful medicaments in
certain diseases; but they should no more
be taken indiscriminately day after day,
and without the prescription of physi-
clan, than arsenic aconite or calomel; in
deed there are conditions of the system,
particularly with women, .when the pru-
dent physician would be loath to permit
the use of lime, ,phosphates even as med
icine.
The fallacy of, this claim of the manu-
facturers of phosphate baking powders
will be apparent to all when the fact,
well known to physicians, is stated, that
in average health and with ordinary food
the body gets more phosphates than are
required or can be assimilated, as is evil
denced by the fact that they are constant
ly being expelled in the excretions, both
solid and liquid; likewise the statement
that it is necessary to add phosphates to
the baking powder to restore to the flour
those which have been lost in the milling
for it is true that fine flour as at present
made actually contains a larger percen-
tage of phosphates than the grain of
wheat itself.
The object of baking powders is not to
provide the body with medicine, but
simply to vesiculate or make light the
mixture of -four, so as to reuder it when
baked easy of mastication and perfectly
digestible. The most celebrated experts
in the business have worked for the per-
fection Of an article that should do this
mechanically, adding to or taking from
the flour nothing, nor in any way effect
ing change in it's properties or consti-
tuents. When this has been done the
perfect leavening agent has been discov-
cred. The manufacturers of the Royal
Baking Powder have succeeded in this
so far as to make leavening agent that
vesiculates and raises the loaf most per-
fectly and without changing the proper
ties of the flour, while the residuum from
it has been reduced to minimum. The
acid employed, however, to produce this
result is not phosphetic, but the acid of
highly refined cream of tarter, which, the
health authorities agree renders thatpow-
der perfectly pure and more reliable and
healthful than any other. The recent
official tests show, on the other hand, that
the best the phosphate baking powder
makers can do is to produce an article
that is one-third or more residuum or i'm
purity.
We want our food pure; especially do
we not wish to take alum, lime and phos-
pilates with it at the dictum of manufac-
turers who may find it cheaper to claim
a virtue for the impurities than to re-
move them.