New-York tribune., 1900-12-30
ARSENIC IN CHEAP BEER.
THE POISON MAY BE INTRODUCED
THROUGH THE USE OF IN
FERIOR GLUCOSE.
FERIOR GLUCOSE.

a.
been created by the discovery that many cases
of sickness have resulted from drinking adulter-
ated beer The symptoms of those who were af-
fected unfayorably resembled those of slow
arsenic poisoning, and chemical analysis is said
20 have detected the presence of minute quanti-
ties of that substance in some of the beer which
people were drinking. The question naturally
arose, then. How came il there?
In the old days brewers used nothing but
barley and hops in making beer. To-day some
of them still adhere to that practice. But in this
industry. as in a of others, competition has
led to the substitution of inferior ingredients for
the best. One of the most common of these sub
stitutes is glucose, which is made to take the
place Of malt
Glucose if properly made, is harmless. 1t is
nothing but starch converted into a form of
sugar. Being cheaper than cane sugar, it is
often employed in place of ii, especially by con-
fectioners. 1t literally dilutes a great deal of
the moasses which is marketed in this country.
In these instances the fraud lies in the reduced
sweetening power of the product. 1t is the same
kind of adulterant that cOrnmeal is in flour
mustard. 1t has never been credited with pos
sessing deleterious properties The chemists
give it certificates of character which justify
confidence in its innOcuousness.
The operation of converting the starch of
cereals into glucose is conducted with the aid of
a strong acid. Nitric acid will do the work. but
sulphuric acid is usually employed. There is
nothing new about this. Sulphuric acid has been
used for this purpose for many years. without
the discovery of any objection thereto This is
probably due to the fact that hitherto the best
quality of vitriol has been employed in the
manufacture of glucose.
Sulphuric acid. however, has many degrees of
purity as is attested by the differences in the
prices of the various grades. and the excellence
of the article depends largely upon the materials
used in lis production If the acid is made from
birthstone. ii should be fairly pure But in Eng
land it is common practice to make it from a
mineral known pyrites This is compound
of iron and sulphur. usually accompanied by one
or two other elements. The pyrites best known
in England contains about equal parts of
sulphur. iron and copper. and comes from Spain
All three utilized, of course, after the sepa-
ration is effected.
But il is no secret that Spanish pyrites also
contains arsenic. The copper refners have been
much disgusted by this discovery, and the max
ers of sulphuric acid only too we'll aware
of the fact, too. That is one reason why the
ordinary commercial grade of vitrio i'm England
brings only SO ton, while article which
is absolutely free from arsenic costs about $40
There are many Industrial operations in which
such impurity is not Objectionable, and the
cheaper vitriol has a big sale. But when il comes
to making glucose il is evident that there is
some risk. There is big business done in the
north of England in making birthstone acid"
expressly for the manufacturers of artificial
mineral waters. The latter realize only too well
the Importance of having the stuff absolutely
free from arsenic and the strictest tests are
made to avert mistakes But ii would appear
that some of the glucose manufacturers who
supply the brewers with material have been a
httle less guarded. In their eagerness to Screw
The maker of chemicals down to the lowest pos
sible figure they may have overlooked the possi-
biity that he would deliver a dangerously in
feriOr article, they may have bought cheap
vitrol without fully realizing the danger. At
any rate the matter is being thoroughly
ventilated by the technical press. and a Parlia-
mentary investigation is rot at all unlikely
The brewers and the public both certain to
learn a good deal in consequence.
1t has been suggested that possibly the Span
ish miners have recently struck vein of ore
containing more than the usual amount of
arsenic and that the latter has found its way
into the vitTiol of commerce without being per-
ceived. a few years ago German authority
put the percentage of arsenic in English sui
phuric acid at o.. But recent tests at Owens
College Manchester, put it at Ii.
Vitriol is used in preparing Of the other
ingredients of beer, but is employed in such a
way that the impurity does not remain in the
product This is not the with glucose
Hence the necessity for special care pertains