The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1898-08-27
FEW FOOD TESTS
How Home Work May Assist the
New Inspector.
NEW YORK HEALTH BOARD
Tests Suggested BY an Eminent Expert.
Simple and Certain-Is Much
AdulteratiOn.
NEW YORK HEALTH BOARD

Gently that the heads of families, not
only in the great metropolis, but
throughout the country generally, have
within easy reach the means of self
protection against deleterious food pro-
ducts, which, if put in universal prac-
tice, would soon make food adultera-
ton non-paying business. THE
fact that during the past year more
than million pounds of food unfit for
use have been seized and destroyed,
and nearly 800 persons engaged in the
illegal traffic have been convicted and
punished" said DR.. Martin, Shows
that the health officials have not been
idle during that period of time. But
when the enormous quantity Of food
brought into the city each year,
amounting to billions of pounds in
weight, is considered, it can be seen
readily that, to make such supervision
faultless, the expense would be cor
respondingly enormous.
There are, however" continued Dr.
Martin, "a number of simple, ineXpen-
sive home tests, easily applied and
requiring only the expenditure of a
little time, which would make every
housewife her own food inspector, and
which would do more than any official
action could to lessen the evil effects
of this nefariOus traffic, which seeks
profit at the expense of the good health
Of the community, and often times at
the cost of life itself" Among the
home tests suggested by DIR. Martin
for the detection of food unfit for use
H111fp Of pr
causes, are the following:
PICKLES.
The bright green color of pickles
is often due to the presence of salts
of copper in solution. To detect this, |
crush a small piece of the pickle, place |
it in cup with a bright coarse needle, |
and, at the end of 20 minutes, if there |
is any copper in the pickle the needle |
will be coated with a red film. This |
test can be made more interesting by |
placing the needle, after it is taken |
from the pickle, in cup containing |
q teasoon of ammonia water. The lat |
ter will become a bright blue in color |
if copper has been precipitated on the |
needle. Such pickles are harmful and |
should be thrown away.
THE BUTTER TEST.
Rancid or poor butter is easily de-
tected by it's taste or SMELL but oleo-
margarine, which is a complete sub
stitution of another substance in place
of dairy butter, is difficult of detection,
even by experts. A simple test for sus-
pected butter is to place some of it in |
a tin cup and heat it on the stove, at
the same time stirring the substance |
with fork. If it is eleOmargarine, |
considerable spluttering and splitting |
will take place. On the other hand !
genuine butter melts quickly. with lit
tie or no noise.
CANNED FOODS.
In selecting canned food, always take
the cans that have dents. in them.
Cans that are smooth and we'll round
ed out are likely to be what are known
as ''sweIled cans" which is caused by |
<gas formed through fermentation.
Dents in the can are proof of the alb
sence of fermentation. When a can
is opened the inner sides should be
examined: if they are black and have
evidently been acted upon by acids, the |
contents of the can should not be used.
Canned corn, peas or beans should |
never be sour. To detect sOurness the |
litmus pencil, so called, is a useful |
household friend. One end of the pen
ell is blue and the other red. II too |
much acidity is suspected put little |
of the liquid on piece of stout white
paper, or if it is a solid mOisten some
what and make mark with the blue
end of the pencil. If the substance is
acid the blue mark will turn red at |
once In test for excessive alkaH use
the red end of the pencil, when the |
red mark will turn blue, if the sub
stance is alkaline.
COFFEE AND TEA.
If a few grains of coffee are dropped |
into a small quantity of cold water 1t
will be found that, if the coffee is aduI-
terated, more or less cOlOring matter
will show in the water. Genuine cot
fee imparts no color to cold water. An
other test is to take u needle and try |
TO pick up grains of ground coffee;
chickory and other adulterantS are so
soft that they are easily penetrated by
the needles point, while genuine cot
fee is hard and very difficult 10 be
picked up in that way.
What is known as lie tea is often
substituted in place of genuine tea.
This lie tea is prepared by rolling up |
grains of sand with tea leaves already
nsed. so as to initiate the weight and
n1umpness of genuine tea leaves. 1t
can be detected by moistening the sus-
nected tea and carefully opening the
leaves with a needle, thereby disclOs-
ine the hidden grains of sand. Leaves
IF the oak, plum, peach and sloe are
also used as adulterants, and can be
aa+ected by comparison with leaves of
genuine tea.
FRESH FISH.
u-.osb1v caught fish have bright gills
hon fich h