The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-11-03
LOCAL CAPITAL INVOLVED.
MAKERS OF ALUM BAKING POWDER
OPPOSE sTEED BILL.

or Sale Within the State of Any
Food Product Containing Alum.
The Manufacturers of Alum Ba<-
ing Powder Contend That Their
Powder Is as HeaIthfuI as Any
other and That the Prejudice
Against 1t Is Not Founded in
Scientific Fact-Mr. j. J. Higgins
States the Position of Those who
Oppose the Alum Clause of the Bill.
The Steed Pure Food Bill, that has been
introduced into the State Senate by Sem
ator Steed, has been the subject of much
comment, commendatory ard adverse,
from the manufacturers of various food
products throughout the state. 1t is said
to tie a reproduction of a similar bill pass
ed by the Legislature of the State OF Mis-
souri,.
There can be no doubt that the move
ment is. favored everywhere and that it's
general purpose and intent is receiving
hearty approval and support Every man
is interested in the question of pure food
and no one of the species would be willing
to tolerate the sale in the state of articles
intended for consumption, that contained
in them The possibility of resulting harm.
Everybody wants to see the sale of food
products guarded with every wise precau-
ton, nor would any man in reasonable
possession of his senses consent to the
premeditated or care. ess destruction of the
health and the lives Of the people. There
is danger, though, according to the bak-
ing powder people, that the author of the
l. So
tain food products that are in themselves
| harmless, the sale of which is
Likely to do harm only TO those manufac-
turers of similar articles, who wish TO d $
pose of them at higher price.
Among the articles that have incurred
the anathema maranatha of the author of
| the Steed bill is alum baking powder
| Through the certificates of chemists
of high reputation, the public has
been led to believe that there
is something wrong and harmful
! in these alum compositions and
their leavening abilities are obtained at
| the expense of the health of those who
consume the bread prepared with them.
Most of the baking powder manufactur-
| ed in this state is said to be based upon
| alum, as one of the principal ingredients.
| One OF the larger of these concerns Is
| of Savannah. MIR. ]. j. Higgins, treas
| urer of the company, gave to repre>
sentative of the Morning News yesterday
| statement of the contentious of the
manufacturers of alum baking powder in
| the pending controversy.
'"The bill known as the Steed pure food
! BILL" MIR. Higgins said prohibits the use
| of alum in food products, and if passed
would make unlawful the sale Of any bak-
| ing powder containing alum. II is Of prime
| Importance for the people of this state to
| know that the commercial proddct known
! as alum baking powder is healthful eff
| cient and economical. The most thorough
| and authoritative investigation of the bak-
| ing powder question, made by any state
| in recent years, is that of the stale of
| Pennsylvania published in the report of
| the Pennsylvania Department of Agrcul-
ture for 1896.
at says This is an article that is in
| almost daily use In every household of the
| state, and is also an article in the sale of
which very much deception has been prac-
| ticed, by skilful advertising, claiming for
| certain kinds absolute purity, 80 per cent.
| pure, etc, and in various ways prejudicing
| the people and leading them to believe ii
was dangerous to use other brands that
| were upon the market for less money. Mil
lions of dollars have been spent in adver-
Using these high priced powders. The
| people have bought them. supposing II was
| unsafe to use low-priced powders
"All baking powders consist of an acid
and alkali in the form of soda, and corn
starch. the starch being added for the
purpose of holding the acid and alkali in
| tact, preventing chemical action taking
place and the formation of carbonic acid
gas until it is needed TO perform this func-
ton, and produces mechanical effect in
| leavening the food material in which it is
used. Three kinds of acids only are used
I.o1rF
viz. cream of tartar. phosphate acid and
a prepared alum.
"A perfect baking powder would be one
| that when chemical action takes place
! would all be converted into carbonic acid
gas and pass off in this form,l thereby per-
forming the mechanical action desired and
| making the baking light with no residue
left. None of the powders, however, on
| the market are capable of fully and per-
| fectly performing this work without a res
| idue being left in the food product into
| which it enters. Hence, calling any bak-
| ing powder absolutely pure" is mislead-
| ing The nature of this residue which
really is the only Objectionable featrr.
about any brand of baking powder dift
| fers according to the acid used in the va
rious preparations.
"a careful study of the question leads
to the conclusion that a properly com
| pounded alum powder will perform all the
/
| harmful than the powders costing four or
| five times as much. The leavening rower
of any powder and its real value to the
| consumer consists in the percentage of
/ available carbon dioxide it possesses. From
| forty different samples analysed BY the
| chemists of this department we submit
the following results: OF cream of tarter
powders we find the extremes of availa-
| BILE carbon dioxide to be for the highest
| 1862 per cent, and for the lowest 100 PER
| cent, with an average Of all samples in
| spected of Hop per cent.
| 1T is presumed that many Of the sam
pies running very low in leavening POWER
| had deterioated much in value from hav-
/ ing been long prepared. OF the alum pow
ders sampled, 11.H per cest, was the
highest and 9.12 per cent. the lowest, with
an average of 10.41 per cent. Nearly al of
the cream Of tarter powders were found
| to contain ammonia and the phosphate
powders contain alum. None of the alum
| powders contain any other acid
the most recent investigation is that of
| the state of Virginia, published in an Off