The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1895-05-08
FOOD ADuLTERATIONs.
Not Nearly So Prevalent Now as IL
Once Was.


tions. A grand effort has long been
made to get manufacturers 10 mark
packages with labels that tel no lies.
For instance If n man proposes to take
'molasses, water and any Odd tasting
herb" each separately, he should have
that privilege, and also the cne of TAX
ing sarsaparilla MS he plcases. He
should not be obliged to use his faith
In mans honesty when he drinks tho
first concoction under guisc of the sec
ond, for the iodldc of potash II Is likely
to contain may make his digestion more
cranky than before.
Nor should any of us he compelled to
swallow sawdust under M 'frepresentn-
ton. "a peck of sawdust." may now
well De said to he mans limit 1t Is
n greater favorlte with the mixer than
Sticks and stones" barks, husks, char
coal, exhausted tea leaves. flour, paste,
etc. However, thanks TO the energy of
the various health departments, there
Is much less pernicious adulteratlon
practiced than formerly. Laws and
regulations are enforced more careful.
now strike terror to the soul of the con-
coctor Of beverages and foods.
II Is hard to believe that the best tea
can be injurious. But 1t has been the
most abused of all such goods, for
which thanks are due the willy Chinese,
IL behooves MS TO make tests by exam
lining the leaves after soaking. a gen
| nj tna tyn l,a HYtfN 4,
when picked up with n pin. 1t is long
and pointed, and with delicate veins
looped along its edges. The latter Is
an important means of Identification.
AS many as thirty-two kinds of leaves
have been passed off as genuine. Ash,
plum, oleo, elder, hawthorn, willow,
alum, wisteria, camellia, and other
leaves, with graphite, Prussan blue,
indigo, turneric, gypsum, and iron FL
ings, to add flavor and weight, are
some Of the ingredients which unsus-
pecting purchasers buy, brew, and i'm
bibe. Add to these recolored and re-
| Favored exhausted leaves, aud one does
not wonder nerves and digestion be.
come cranky"
| Coffee follows In the wake of tea,
with the addition of various hard sub
stances, like sawdust and husks, rye
peas, beans, carrots, acorns roots, etc
| one ofthe most successful limitations IL
the making from flour paste the actual
counterfeit of the coffee bean. So per-
feet Is the little form turned out and
Favored that very bright inspector
was completely befogged until lie
brought his microscope to bear upon It.
A good test Is TO soak pinch of ground
coffee in cold water. Authorizations will
fall to the bottom. The pure article
noats. Great opportunity for deception
Is afforded in all ground materials, so
that to use coffee in the bean may save
some trouble. Because 1t Is used as an
antidote for certain poisons, adultera-
tions should be made penal offense.
Chocolate, being a manufactured ar
ticle, affords excellent means of fraud.
The best article is neither gravolly nor
pasty when mixed with water.
one danger in pure O. white -four is
the alum used to whiten. Undoctored
-four Is not perfectly white, and house
keepers would send n purer bread TO
the table If they were willing to forego
the whiteness and take -four of nat
ural color. Alum is likely to cause
dyspepsia and n general disorder of
the stomach. Carbonate of soda is
largely used to doctor Il low grade of
-four. obviously, the fewer chemical
elements administered to our stomachs
the better health we are likely to have,
and certainly the staff of life should
not be overdosed with acids for the
sake of little difference In color.
The microscopic examination of sam.
pies of spices shows as great per.
centage of sophistication as almost any
other product, unless 1t be certain
drugs. Every conceivable substitute
is used to make up a compound OF
spice, ostensibly pure, but alas! in real
ity scarce a third pure, the rest any
thing from ground sawdust TO pulver
lied brown bread. Here the only re
sort for outwitting such practices Is tt
supply the kitchen with n spice mill
purchase the whole berries or beans
and refuse to feed the family on indi
ReStlDle cnpS OF nusks. An uutnOrlIy
assures us that sugar is generally pure
Rigid inspection prevents frauds for
merly practiced.
The canning of goods has been vastly
improved Of late years through the en-
ergy of the chemists of the Department
of Agriculture, under DIR. Wiley. s,
much adulteration ana preserving wer,
used that every bulletin showed almos
universal sophistication. Poison from
lead tops Is now almost wholly avoided
J while purer tin is used for the cans
The sulphurous and salicylic acids TO
insuring preservation are more care
fully used, at least, on this side of tn
Atlantic, France being the creates
offender for many years.
The magnitude of the canning trad
makes 1t imperative that housekeeper
should examine all such foods befor
being consumed.
No can should hold its contents afte
: being opened. The air immediatel,
begins the chemical action upon the tin
and fermentation and putrefactioI