The Portland daily press., 1899-12-15
FOOD POISONING IN ENGLAND.
IN. Y. Tribune.)

Tbs charge Of unwho, esomeness 10 too
often made In foreign oIuutries against
American food products. We may say 1t
Is too oftsn. for three reasons In the
first place one single suoh charge, II well
founded and proved correct, Is just cue
too many for the credit Of this country
and for the prosperity OF Its trade. In
the second place, a lar5e numbsr OF such
charges thus made are not we'll founded
aud cannot be proved, but ON the con-
trary, are susceptible OF disproof. And
In the third place and this Is the point
under present consideration, the coun-
tries In wbi,h such ehNg 90 are made are
themselves ny no mfans void OF offence
In this same matter, and should thus be
debarred. on the well-approved rules Of
glass housss, and Of pots and kettles,
from over-censorlousness In their criti-
oisms of US.
This point 10 suggested by the revsla-
tions made bsfore a departm entail COM
mit:ee of inquiry at WestiDinster not
long ago The medical officer OF health,
who Is also II unioipal analyst OF the city
Of Blrming AN, was among the wi tness-
es. He testified that he had examined
/ 537 samples of milk. and had found In
l35 Of them either borio acid or formal.
dehyde. In 81 samples Of butter. 243
contained borio acid. In 10 samples OF
oleomargarine. 10i contained boric acid.
In II samples OF meal food. such as
bacon, ham. sausage, ETC., IL contained
the same trug, at tie rats OF from ten 70
grains In the pound. In 60 samples OF
ort am, jam, vinegar, etc., ~ contained
either por.o or sali,yiic acid. 1hs pro-
portions OF food thus poisoned were:
MIX, 0 per cent; butter, ~ per cent;
g.. - mar
cent, and oleomarearine, "a per cent.
(The one thing made a. an imitation and
used as fraud WAS thus the worst OF
all: q suggestive fact.) The gener al
proportion Of poisoned food Ia all classes
was 90 per cent. Ifat, IL muss be said,
was rot q c.editable showing. Is does
not well eutitis the producers and trades
men OF the Birmir guam dis riot 10 pro
tsst against tho nwholesofneness OF
Amer ln food products.
We have used the word 'poisoned" ed-
vlsedly. or course, the men who put
tfese drugs int1 food DO SO for the pur-
pose OF pTeser wing the food. and they In
sist that the drugs are harmless. Ibe
Birmin ham health officer had strong
convictions on ttat subject. de tried
some of the druggsd milk. not upon him
self, but upon kittens. And the kittens
wasted away, and In q few weeks died
Perhaps human babies will thrive on
Wnhb Will Kill kfttsHfs Dut NO oio NV
think 81. On ihs contrary, he gave IL as
his expert pinion tn at boric ac.d, taken
into the human stonsch In the quanti-
ties found in the foods examined, would
prodrc, marked constitutional onects,
sometimes OF u very severe character, aud
some tunes actually IA al; and he attribute
ed the prevalence of various grave enseric
disorders largely to this poisoning OF
food. In that opinion there Ia every
reason to believe he wss right. The man
who puts boric or sslicyiio acid or any
suoh siuff INTO food for tbs sake Of pre-
serving" it does not merely preserve It,
he poisons It, and roisons those who eat
10.
The authority quoted found In all his
researctes SO san Piles Of poisoned food
In consequence only twelve men were
prosecuted. That sesms a small Der.
unless each of them was responsible for
many of the samples. However, IL ts
encouraging to note that Of the twelve
who were prosecuted ten were convic ca
1t IL commendable, too, that the opinion
was expressed that the use OF any ste /
'preservatives'' should be prohi bitef by
law. That is the only safe policy. fer
New York. Ms well rs for Birmingham.