The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1899-07-13
WHAT ChCAGOA
Cnappetfzing Revelation.
Pure Food Inquiry Con

Pure Food Inquiry Con ,tsz..
Chicagoans find the revelations made
by Senator Mason's pure food investi-
eating committee very unappetizing.
Startling proof Of the extent to which
food adulteration is carried on is given
by wholesale. One days investigation
brought out the following facts:
"That commodity for sale through
out the United States and in popular
use among dairymen and milkmen for
the preservation of milk and cream, and
by bakers for the preservation of cream
puffs, chocolate eclaires and similar
pastry, is a product of wood alcohol,
which is absolutely poisonous; that this
preparation is used by undertakers for
the preservation of dead bodies and by
health authorities for the disinfection
of buildings where virulent diseases
have been treated.
"That ground tarred rope has been
used to adulterate ginger
"That absolutel = pure flour is a rare
commodity; that it is adulterated with
ground stone and clay from Tennessee
and Georgia.
THAT pure buckwheat -four is rarely
to be purchased after it passes through
the hands of a jobber or a wholesaler;
that one barrel of pure buckwheat -four
is generally mixed with two barrels Of
inferior spring wheat -four that can be
purchased for less than one-third the
price of the buckwheat.
"That nearly all powdered sugar is
composed in great part of cornstarch
THAT nearly all black pepper is
adulterated with what is known as
'buckwheat shorts (hulls)
"That retail butter dealers in the city
daily violate the oleomargarine law.
"That flavors sold at soda water
fountains as the juice of strawberries,
bananas and pineapples are chemical
compositions.
"That pure vanilla extract for flavor
ing purposes is almost unknown. and
that the favorings for such extracts as
are sold in the market are in the main
derived from cumin; that lemon and
other Havoring extracts are also adul-
terated to very great extent.
A. s. Mitchell. chemist of the Wis,
consin dairy food commission, testified
that the cream CT tartar ordinarily sold
by grccers consisted mainly of phos-
phate Of lime and alum mixed with
starch. He went extensively into the
question of the adulteration of wheat
-four and buckwheat -four. the use Of
cocoanut shells and peanut shells in
food products, and confirmed the testi-
mony with reference to the adultera-
tion of coffee with "black jack the
inferior bean shipped here from Ger
many and Brazil. And at this point in
the testimony Senator Mason remarked,
"We'll introduce a bill that will stop
the Germans from sending any more Of
that stuff here. " II
C. Y. Knight. secretary of the NJ
tional and Illinois Dairy associations,
produced four packages purchased by
himself and said to contain creamery
butter. As a matter of fact he had been
supplied with oleomargariue, for which
he had paid from 10 to 90 cents pound.
The first package had nowhere about 1t
any mark indicating tie nature OF tine
contents. Another package had the
word "oleomargarine" family stamped
on brown paper on the inside. Each OF
the other packages was stamped in
corner of the brown paper wrapper, SO
turned down that no purchaser would
notice the stamp until after careful
search for it.
J. ]. Berry. of the West Chicago
sirup Refining company, testified that
most of the jellies scld on the market
were fraudulent, being made OF the
cores and parings Of apples, mixed with
glucose and sugar and colored and fiav'
ored to suit. Glucose. SO per cent; sug-
ar, 10 per cent, and apple juice, 40 per
cent, is the trade recipe for iN''r
o,oo 7 ofSor