Connecticut western news., 1898-01-27
AdulteratiOn of Articles of Food.

There is an old saying. "You can't make whistle out of 8 pigs tail Neither can the most competent of cooks give proper season to your food with bark, scorched wheat. gypsum or sawdust. Have you been finding fault with the above named domestic? That possibly she has not been altogether to blame the Second Report on Food products by the Conn, Agricultural Experiment Station, inst issued. will show. During the past year l,0l7 sam- ples of food products were analysed.
 Twenty.six samples of unground and 45 of ground coffee were examined. Of the unground cnffee two were found to be adulterated; one with chickory, the other with peas in imitation of the coffee bean. Of the 45 samples of ground coffee. S9 were found sdulters- ted. The adnlterants were peas. chick ory. wheat, rye. wheat middlings and pellets of pea hulls and middliugs.
 Twenty seven out of 45 samples of black pepper sold in bulk were pure. Of pepper in sealed packages five sam ples were examined and all found pure. Twelve out of 30 samples of cayenne pepper were adulterated. or ground cloves, seventeen out of 84 were pure. In F of the 2S samples of allspice ex- amined no adulterant was found, In cinnamon the sdulterants were grain, various kinds of bark, nut shells, ex- hausted bark of the cassia and sawdust. Twenty eight out of 34 samples sold in bnlk were found to consist of cassia bark Whether or not exhausted was not determined) Eight samples were yarionsly adulterated with buckwhest middlings. wheats, bran, red sandal wood and sand. One sample consisted entirely of red sandal W pod, wheat bran and little cassia.
 If you are rheumatic, why not use tomato cstsup as seasoning to your food. Out of fl brands of this sauce only six were free from salicylic or benzoic acid.
 Twenty-seven of 42 samples of saul sage contained borax. ss high as 50 grains to the pound being found in some brands.
 Thirteen of the 75 samples of oysters examined contained borax in quantities varying from 5 to as grains to the pint.
 Sixty-three out of 192 samples of molasses were adulterated with glucose.
 Perhaps you have been ill and won- dsred why that mustard plaster did n ,t draw" Here is possibly an expla- ,tion. The report for 1896 shows that out of 69 samples of mustard examined l5 were free from stsrchy and mineral sdulterants and foreign coloring matter. Tne remaining 54 contained varying quantities of four. plaster. and terra g ba and were colored, some with tur- m ,ric, others with poisonous sub stance, martius' yellow.
 During the past 20 years the station has annually made aud published analyses of every brand of fertilizer made, sold or off.red for sale in this state that could be collected by its special agents. The sdulterated and fraudulent fertilizers, which for 25 years previously were common in oar markets have practically disappeared. May we not hope that the work of the station nnder the provisions of the Pure Food Law" will have the same effect as regards sdultersted fool pro- ducts This certainly will speedily happen if consumers will consult the station reports, and refuse to purchase those brands of foods in which adulter- ko