The Washington critic., 1889-01-23
ADULTERATED FOOD.

A Matter OF Importance TO Residents of
the District.
EDITOR CRITIC: Inclosed herewith please
find ten sets blank forms to be used by any
one who purchases any article of food or
drugs in the District OF Columbia who thinks
the article has been sold TO him contrary TO
any provision of the recent act of Congress to
prevent the manufacture or sale of adulterated
food or drugs in the District; that is to say, II
he suspects the article either to be mixed,
colored, stained or powdered with any ingre-
dent or material so as to render 1t Injurious
to health, or to be manufactured article
composed In whole or in part Of diseased,
decomposed, offensive or unclean animal or
vegetable substance, or to be not of the nature,
substance and quality of the article demanded
by the purchaser, or to be an adulterated
article, I. c., from which part has been sub
tracted 80 as to affect injuriously its quality,
substance or nature, the person selling the
altered article not making disclosure OF the
alteration.
For instance, a parent may have bought for
his children quart OF an article called milk.
He may suspect that the milk has been stained
or colored with poisonous mineral substance
used to adulterate the annottO with which the
milk is colored, or derived from the copper or
other vessels In which the milk has been
stored, or mixed with some antiseptc such as
salicyic acid SO as to render the article inju-
rous to health.
He may also suspect that the milk is dis
eased, having been obtained from COWS suffer
ing with tuberculosis or fever, or that the an-
imal or vegetable oil with which the cream
has been supplanted Is offensive or uncleap.
He may also suspect that the article pur-
chased contains cotton seed oil, a vegetable
oil not cream, an animal oil or that the sugar
and water contained therein are directly de-
rived from added cane sugar or glycerine and
the Potomac River respectively, that is to say,
not of the nature, substance and quality Of
that demanded
Or, finally, the purchaser may suspect that
the cream was subtracted from the milk be.
fore he purchased it, thus seriously affecting
Its quality, substance or nature, although the
person who sold him the article did not make
disclosure to him of the abstraction.
The case OF milk has been cited to illustrate
the various provisions of the law. AS a mat
ter OF fact, however, milk is seldom poisoned
the adulteratiOns consisting mainly in the re-
moval OF the cream and in the addition oi
water.
Judging from the experience in England
under the "Salc Of Food and Drugs Act,n on
which the act under consideration Is based
the great majority of adulterations will bt
! found to arise under section 4, which provides
that no person shall sell any article of food oi
| drug which is not OF the nature, substance anC
| quality Of the article demanded by the pur.
| chaser.
| 1t is expected, as matter of course, that
| the Health officer of this District and tn,
other officers named in the act will do all IL
their power to carry out its provisions. 1t Il
evident, however, that Congress In giving
every wronged citizen an opportunity to SO
cure the analysis OF every article suspected to
have been sold TO him contrary to the pro
| visions OF the net, realized that the evils O.
adultcrations were too great and widespread tC
be suppressed through the eXertions Of thest
| officers
But the public at large eau only be ef
| feCtually reached In these days through th,
| public press. | have therefore taken the lib
erty to send the inclosed blanks and Few
copies Of the regulations and the laws, aud tC
express the hope that you will take notice o
this matter to the extent even Of acting as
distributor of these applications TO such o
your subscribers as may ask for them.
would add that II you will consent to 6,
act you will be supplied by this office wifi
such additional blanks as you may need TO
the purpose.
This Office realizes the magnitude OF tn,
| evil which tho law Is designed to remedy anC
will act with corresponding zeal In the matter
hoping that the appropriation Of tl0,00
needed To procure necessary chemicals aud ap
pnratus other than that used for uleomargarn
! will be made during the present session o
/ Congress Respectfully yours,
+. HENDERSON,
Jan. -, 1889, Acting Commissioner.