St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-09-04
YET We EAT ALL THIS,
Adulteration Seems to Run
Riot in Baking Pow
derS.
Chemist Drew's Report Con-
tains Some Startling
Truths. .
OF Twenty-Thpee Samples
But Two Are Really
Pure.
In Dairy Products, Over Fifty
Per Cent Was Adulter-
ated.

DIR. G. W. Drew. of Minneapolis. de-
partment chemist of the state dairy and
food commission, sent in his report on
food authorizations to State Dairy Com
missioner Ives yesterday. The report
is very elaborate one and full of in
teresting details to the public at large.
DR.. Drew's investigations of various
articles of food and food constituents
show a deplorable state of affairs in the
Flour City grocery trade. The analysis
of twenty-three samples of cream of
tartar purchased in that city show that
twenty-one of them contained stuff abb
solutely detrimental to the public health,
while only two were i'll a measure
free from authorizations. DR.. Drew
urges the commission to take some inn
mediate action in the matter, and it is
very probable that the new law regard
ing food adulteration will be tried in a
very short time. Accompanying DR..
Drew's reports was letter which will
be of interest. as it contains the expla-
nations of his technical report. 1t is
given below. and is addressed to Com
missioner Ives.
DIR. DREw's DISCOVERIES.
Enclosed you will find report en-
bodying the results of analysis recently
made by myself of twenty-three sam
pies of cream of tartar and ten of olive
oil. These analysis have been made for
the purpose of aSeertaining whether
these substances as found in the Min
neSOta market are of such character
as to permit their sale or whether they
are included among the articles which
are declared adulterated and the sale
of which under the food adulteratiOn
law of the state (citeS section Is OF the
law. Under this section the presence
of cotton seed Oil or terra alba in artl-
cles of food would seem to me to render
such articles adulterated, and to con-
Stitute legal prohibition of their sale.
Ten samples of olive oil were pur-
chased of retail grocerS and submitted
to analysis. The results showed that
six samples were largely or entirely
made up of cotton seed oil, and that
four were free from this adulterant.
Twenty three samples of so-called
cream of tartar were obtained from re-
tail grOcers The results of the exam
ination disclose peculiar state of af
fairs relative TO this article as found in
the grocery trade. OF the twenty three
samples, two were nearly pure and of
excellent quality. The remaining
twenty-One were the veriest frauds, lit
that none of them contained cream of
tartar at all. Their acidity, upon which
their leayening power depends, When
compared with that of cream of tartar,
in four cases, was less than 10 per cent,
in eleven cases less than 20 per cent,
and in seventeen less than 80 per cent.
All contained tartaric acid. Twenty
contained starch or flour, ten contained
acid calcium phosphate, four contained
alum-and all contain terra alba or sui
phate of lime. IN four samples the
amount is from to per cent, and may
be reasonably supposed to gain en-
trance to the mixture as an impurity in
the impure calcium phosphate which
is employed. In the remain
ing seventeen, however, the pro-
portion varies from 81 to 65
per cent, being above 80 per cent in six
teen, and above so per cent i'll nine
samples. In these the substance must
he added as an adulterant to increase
the weight. Such mixtures should
never be used as constituents of foods.
and in case my Interpretation of the
scope of the law is sustained, L would
suggest that immediate effort be made
by the commissioner to put a stop to
their sale as quickly and completely as
possible.
THE SHOWING AND DETAIL.
Following is the table showing what
the cream of tarter purchased i'll Min
neapolis contains, sixteen samples being
given.