Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1888-05-26
POISON FOUND IN CANDY.
Simple Tests That Can BE Applied by
Any One Who Suspects His healer.

Simple Tests That Can He Applied by
Any One Who Suspects His DeaIer.
The board Of health has not interfered
| often with the manufacture of candy in New
York city, though the fact that candy is very
frequently adulterated is well known anG
there can be no doubt that occasional inter
ference would be wholesome. 1t would be
doing injustice TO many confectioners to say
that the practice is almost universal, and yet
one Is tempted to say it, for the proportion
OF adulterated confectionery that il sold il
very large compared with the pure. The
SUBJECT has not escaped notice, and Dr. Ed
son has recently given some points of inter
eat to every candy eater, and has described
some simple tests that may be easily and ad-
vantageously applied before eating any sus-
oected candy. lie describes the adultera-
ions as being OF three kinds; those for bulk,
those for color and those for flavor
For bulk, IN order to increase the profits,
the confectioner will use terra alba, kaolin,
ground quartz, whiting and starch These
DR. Edison declares injurious, though not
poisonous. He advises that a little Of the
suspected candy be dissolved in cold water
Ii kaoin or quartz has been used it will
settle to tbs bottom Of the glass If whiting
ground chalk Is present, i little acid will
make the solution effervesca II there ia
starch, a drop or two of tincture of iodine
will turn the solution to blush color.
BY burning little of the candy and mix
ing the ashes in water and little chloride of
barium white cloudiness may be produced.
II 1t is, there is probably terra alba in the
candy. Authorizations for color, he saws, ara
some OF them harmless, and some highly in
furious He recommends that little of the
candy be dipped in alcohol IL the color il
dissolved out, dip white wooden yarn in the
solution. Ii the yarn is colored, the adul-
teration is probably a coal tar color; if this
Is red it may contain arsenic Ii the alcohol
does not remove the color. put drop Of
hypochlorite Of calcium in solution on the
candy. IL the color fades out it is probably
harmless The commonest poison used for
eoler Is chrome yellow, which is a very dam
serous poison Pour ammonia on the CANDY.
II 1t turns red it contains turmeric, which is
harmless
Dissolve some of the candy in clear tum-
bier of water. Hold this in the sunlight and
look ut the water against black background.
II it looks yellow green as seen against the
black, and yellow when held to the light, it
Is harmless IL contains huorescein. II
these results are not obtained, don't eat the
candy. 1t probably contains Shrome vel
low. Again. dissolve bit of any suspected
chocolate or brown colored candy in glass
of hot water and see if any burnt umber is
left in the bottom undissolved in the form of
brown, gritty residue. II SO don't eat the
candy. No simple test is known by which to
detect the presence of prussic acid, fusel oil,
oil of vitriol, wood alcohol and rancid but
ter, of which, with some other ingredj-
ents, are sometimes used to give pleasant
favor to the candy. But if the candy was
bought from reputable first class dealer
and any of it is left after all these tests are
applied, you may eat it without serious ap-
prehensions.-New York Mail and Express.