Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1890-01-07

gesta that Is The Nemesis Of baby's second
summer.
In order to ascertain the purity Of the
candy now manufactured, the whter ex'
smined 81 samples Of the product. taken
may be stated that those examinations
showed as clearly a. anything could that u
is folly to expect 10 got something for
nothing. When the price of the candy was
90 low as 10 preclude the possibility OF pay
profit beside, there was added some cheap
foreign substance, usually pipe clay, to
bring the thing up TO paying basis Es-
pecially was this the case with the very
cheap limitations Of fine goods. Il was In
furious coloring matters were detected.
ADULTERATToNs IN CANDY.
Here IL q list Of the impurities and adul-
terations found In 10 Of the 81 samples Of
candy examined
Chalk in five samples.
pipe clay terra alba In ten samples.
Bronze copper and zinc alloy In one sample.
Prussian blue In one sample.
Fuchsin laniiine redj IN three samples.
Chrome yellow (chromate Of lead) In one
sample.
It is proper TO- state here that these 81
specimens OF candy were not fair average
samples, but were such M seemed by their
appearance and price to merit suspicion.
Some kinds Ofconfectionery are wrapped
in brilliantly colorcd papers. Al children
frequently put these In their mouths and
even chew them, the writer analysed Is Of
such wrappers for poisonous colorlng mat
ters, with tho result Of finding arsenic In
four. and chromate Of lead In two.
With regard to the probable effects of the
impurities found, 1t may be stated that
chalk, when pure land II usually does not
contain harmful i,npurities), is not especi-
ally injurious, though possibly II might
form concretions In the intostines II large
quantities were taken. Pipe clay is analo-
gous 10 plaster of paris, but does not harden
or set like the Iatter when mixed with
water. Like chalk, 1t also may form con.
not be called poisonous. Nevertheless 1t Is
an adulteration and fraud; II is not an
essential ingredient of good candy, but Is
added for the sole purpose of gain.
Bronze coloring matter, an alloy Of zinc
and copper, 1t Is needless to say, Is dan
gerous compound to swallow repeatedly,
be the amount ever 80 small, for like other
metals, these tend to accumulate In the
system, 80 that small doses repeated may
soon exert combined influence. Prussian
blue Is ferro cyanide of iron, a salt not
poisonous, but certainly Questionable.
Vermillion found in one sample, 10 bi-
sulphuret Of mercury--a salt of metal
that ought never to go into the human
stomach. II, too, Is cumulative Ia its ac-
ton. Aniline red Is not poisonous III pure,
yet, like other aniline colors, Il Is objection.
able on account of Its liability to contain
arsenic at times. 1t does not seen, feasible
for confectioners to have each package an
alyzed for the mineral, but manufacturers
ofthese dyes might easily put them up free
from II for such purposes as confectionery.
No arsenic was found, however, In the
samples containing tho aniline red.
Chrome yellow, or canary yellow chro-
mate of lead, found in one sample OF candy
and in two of the wrappers, is OF course a
cumulative poison, though the quantity
present, is the candy at least, was small
That In the candy was mixed with Prus-
sian blue to make a green.
Most of the foregoing poisonous coloring
mattors were painted on the surface Of the
candies, though in some instances they were
intimately mixed with the entire mass.
Now the remedy for this state of things
Is not In letting candy alone. The writer
has received many letters stating In effect
that: "ifthe advice given in the adultera-
tion articles recently published In the
Dispatch were followed, ones daily die
tary would be narrowed down to air, and
1t is questionable If even that Is pure" No
such advice has, however, been given In
these columns; what has been urged Is to
pay. reasonable prices for things, or do
without them. This Is doubly true of
candy. Ifyon want to get pure goods of
this kind don't expect to get them for loss
| than glucose Is worth Ii You do you will
got pipe clay and worse. fyour money
Is limited buy clear, uncolored goods
such as rock candy. TIE good old
fashioned taffy Is as wholesome as
anything in the candy line; though COM
| monty considered very prone to ferment
| In the stomach, 1t Is not SO. Never buy
| cheap limitations of fine grades of coufec-
tionery, such as the so-calledFrench can
dies; for they are pretty certain to contain
| pipe clay or similar substance. Highly
| Favored preparations should be avoided for
the reason that they contain large quanti-
| ties of essential oils or artificial essences
both of which are Objectionable. The oils
are irritating to the stomach, and the arti-
fetal essences ee, CO; are made In most instances
from fusel oil, an acid and oil of vitriol.
Few IL any of the "pure fruit essences
used for favoring confectionery and vari-
Gus other things contain any fruit juice
whatever they are products Of the chem
ical laboratory. For instance the acid oi
methyl, alcohol and oil of vitriol, yields on
distillation fragrant essence of pineapple.
So 1t Is with the rest of tho commercial
"pnre fruit juices"
| Five samples of "cough drops" were ana
| lyzed for opium and its alkaloid, morphine.
| The latter was found in two OF the I've sam
! pies; and In one other specimen there was
good ground for suspecting the presence OF
! ipecacuanha. These are powerful drugs 10
| be sold for indiscriminate use under the
| impression they are candy.
On reading the foregoing list of impuri-
ties and adulterations found, the skeptical
will ask: " If these things be, why do We
not hear Of some one being poisoned every
day." In the first place the quantity OF
poison is usually small, so that Immediate
effects are not produced, and ultimate
effects are overlooked or attributed to
something else. A short time ago Phila-
| delpha baker was convicted of poisoning
number of people by chromate Of lead,
which he had put into rolls to give them
semblance of eggs, which were absent.
| The same poison had been used
| before, but 1t was only when used
| in comparatively larger quantity than
usual that immediate toxic effects were
| produced. Again, many cases of sickness
| In children suppo sed to be due to overeat-
| Ing OF candy are doubtless due to impuri-
ties in the confection; and there are numer-
GUS authentic cases of poisoning by confec.
| tionery colored with posons. OF course
| there are many colors which are quite un-
Objectionable, and from these confectionery
OF all tints may be produced SO that 1t
may not be inferred from the foregoing
that all colored candies are poisonous. II
is only the very lowest priced that justify
suspicion. And here it should be stated
that confectioners who use poisonous colors
do so in most cases ignorantly for they
are not aware of the true nature of the
preparation, knowing it only by its COM
mon name. The same cannot however be
said OF the man who puts pipe clay in his
chocolate creams.
A prominent confectloner told the writer
recently that If a good adulteration law
were passed in this state and enforced,
quite number of confectionery concerns
would have to g3 out of business, "a their
only trade was in goods which, by reason
OF adulteration, were placed on the market
al lower price than genuine goods could be