Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-08-08
FOOD ADULTERATIoN IN EUROPE.
The DishOnOrfnE of Honey and Add
ing Weight to Bread.
From the New York Evening Post


ST. GALL, Switzerland.
The following are few of the articles Of
food that are adulterated in the old world.
to an extent that is attracting the serious
attention of the authorities in the different
countries, and especially in Switzerland
where the laws against the debasement of
aEy kind of human food are very strictly
enforced:
Chocolate and cacao are coming more AMI
more into general use articles Of food.
Many people who are unable to drink coffee
or tea use chocolate and cacao as a bev-
erage. The slot machines have extended
the consumption Of chocolate. and alto
gether its use has greatly increased during
the past ten years. This advance In de-
maD forced an increased supply: the adul-
terator saw his opportunity and commenced
operations. and at once there was notice
able an increase in the trade in mutton
tallow. lowest grade sugar, shells of the
Cacao bean. sawdust. potato meal and the
ochres containing the proper colors.
Honey is coming into general use on the
continent OF Europe, and the bees, be they
never so busy. cannot supply one-third OF
the honey that is consumed. so some one
must naturally make enough to supply the
deficit. Through a series of manipuiationS
of almost everything containing saccharine.
this is now being successfully and very
profitably accomplished, and. of course, this
industry fiourishes best in those years when
the bees have but little success in manufac
turing the real article. which very often &C.
ours. The 'dtshonoring of honey. as 1t is
called, is growing art. and several sue
cessful establishments are now I'm opera
ton. producing large quantities of that arti-
ficiai honey for the market, and the produc,
is in popular demand. All sorts of ingre-
dents enter into its manufacture, among
which may be mentioned syrups. malt ex
tracts of the lowest grades meal of differ
ent kinds and cornstarch. From a pound OF
hnnav IN on Of lie
honey Is made SO successfully that II
sometimes requires an expert to discover
the deception.
In Switzerland bread seems to play a
more prominent part as food than In any
other country, except France. 1t furnishes
10 per cent of the nourishment of the
3O0,NO inhabitants in the Swiss republic.
But rigorous enforcement of laws and
prompt resentment of the bread-eaters have
not. thus far. prevented aduiteration taking
place. Being the chief article of food, II
has the widest market, and consequently
offers the best opportunity for debasement-
To increase the weight of bread is becoming
quite an art on the continent of Europe
Some bakers soak the dough heavily with
water and yquickly baking succeed In hold
Ing much of Its weight. Others mix potato
meal with the flour. This system does
not necessarily make unwholesome bread,
although 1t lessons its nourtshing power.
The most unwholesome bread is made out
of low-grade -four. in which alum or blue
vitriol is used to improve its appearance.
Sometimes the admixture of these ingre-
dents is too generous, and these poisons
become so pronounced as to severely af-
feet the health Of the consumers
II all of the substances that pass through
a continental conee-grinding machine during
the year should be written in alphabetical
order. would begin the list with acorns
and w would end 1t with NORWOOD,
sprouts Of which are sometimes used to
give the debased coffee a slight aromatic
bitter taste Adulteration occurs largely
In the coffee that is sold In the ground
form. Several coffee-berry factories have
been discovered in Europe which were do
ing a large and profitable business by
molding an admixture OF tan bark, stove
rust, clay, sawdust, chicory. coffee sedi-
ment and coffee meal into a neat berry by
the aid Of some agglutinant. and these
berries were SO well made that the decep-
ton was not discovered for a long time
This production had a large sale among the
lower classes of Russia and Poland, and
mixed with the genuine coffee berry its
gale was quite lively in other parts of Eu-
rope. Unroasted coffee berries are often
made from oat and rye flour and corn
meal The natural aroma OF these grains
Is destroyed by some process and, after
the proper amount of coffee aroma is add
ed the berries are formed and caused to
maintain their shape by some adhesive
substance.
The dehasement of tea is a growing in
dustry. Twenty-Five years ago the tea
drinking habit was confined largely to Hol-
land, Russia and England, but the beyer-