Evening star., 1901-10-02
FOOD ADULTERATIoNs
EXHIBIT AT BUFFALO EXPOSITION
BY BUREAU OF CHEMISTRY.
Samples of a Variety of Products and
Articles known rs For
ei9n Matter.

The exhibit Of the bureau of chemistry OF
the United States Department OF Agrieul-
ture at the Pan-Amferican exposition at
Buffalo, says a bulletin issued by the de-
partment, will be found in the central part
Of the north wing OF the government build
ing. 1t has been planned as to illustrate
three of the important features of the work
of the bureau. namely. the study OF pure
and aduIterated foods, the beet-sugar in
dustry and the testing of road-making ma
terials. 1t was impracticable to include In
the exhibit a number of lines Of investisa-
tion which are now In process or which
have been completed during recent years.
The results Of many of these have been
publications which forms prominent fea-
ture Of the exhibit
In this exhibit 1t is desired to illustrate
principles and not to call attention to tndi-=
vidual frauds. Interest would have been
added had 1t seemed best to display all'the
samples under their original labels. 1t Is
apparent, however, that such policy would
have been unjust to all manufacturers OF
pure foods whose goods were not exhibited.
and would have discriminated against adul-
terated foods exhibited in favor of those
omitted. 1t seemed essential, therefore, to
transfer all samples to uniform glass bot
ties, and thus avoid discrimination with its
consequent injustice. On approaching the
exhibit its most conspicuous feature Is the
series Of silk fabrics. dyed with the aniline
colOring matter contained In large as
sortment of foods and food adjuncts. The
method by which these fabrics were dyed
precludes the possibility Of the presence
of any vegetable coloring matter. The
color of the fabric is due in every case to
aniline color added to the food as an adul-
terant.
Subject Of Spices.
Spices probably afford more fruitful
field for adulteration than any other class
of foods or food adjuncts. Some of the
leading spice grinders make a practice Of
furnishing spices at almost any price that
Is desired, and the amount of foreign mat
ter. which ordinarily consists Of such ma
terials as ground cereals. cocoanut shells.
olive stones, sandal wood, mustard hulls.
Glove stems, lfnseed meal and similar sub
stances. is regulated according to the price
of the goods sold. At the same time there
are many grinders who practice no form Of
adulteration. and who do not handle any
substance whatever for the sophistication
of their wares 1t Is unfortunately true,
however. that a large percentage Of the
ground spices on the market is adulterated.
The adulteration of spices Is not confined
to the ground article. Unground pepper
often receives an addition OF stems. sticks
and pepper shells, which are removed in q
preparation OF white pepper. Gloves are
pimento. Several varieties Of spices are
sometimes distilled with steam for the
preparation of volatile oil. and the ex-
hausted residue sold as pure spices. Ex-
amples of these various forms Of adultera-
ton are shown on the first three shelves
of this case.
Even in pure unground spices there Is
great difference in grade and consequently
in price. 1t is manifestly impossible to
form a correct estimate of the wares of
two grocers by comparing the prices for
which they sell.
Food Preservatives.
Among the most Objectionable forms Of food
adulteration may be mentioned the use of
chemical food preservatives. The compounds
usually used for this purpose are salicyllc,
benzoic and boric acids, and their sodium
compounds, formaldehyde and sulphites.
Several others, such as ammonium luorid,
pyroligenous acid. beta naphol and abrastol,
are used to limited extent. These sub
stances may be divided into two classes,
those which are undoubtedly injurious.
such as formaldehyde, salicylic acid and
sulphites, and those whose toxic action Is
disputed. like borax and benzoic acid. The
addition to foods OF substances belonging
to the first class should be prohibited.
Olive, peanut, sunfiower and cotton seed
oils are all used extensively under their
own names as foods, and no less than If
teen oils are used as salad oil or to adul-
terate olive OIL The sale of a cheaper for
more expensive oil must be regarded as
fraudulent.
COlOring Matter Employed.
One Of the important questions in con-
nection with the preparation of foods Is the
extent to which foreign coloring matters
may be legitimately employed. In most
European countries 1t Is forbidden to color
arti1cially any substance which has dis
tinct color Of it's ownI for instance, wine
and fruit products must be sold without
the addition of any foreign coloring matter.
ha ffy,a aoI1 r&rta
addition Of some harmless colors, often
specified by name, to foods and especially
confections which are themselves colorIess
but are ordinarily artif1cially colored. In
some cases coiors whose use with foods is
permitted are not only specified by name.
but the method by which such colors may
be manufactured is given. This is done to
exclude the use of coloring matters In
whose preparation poisonous substances,
such as arsenic are employed.
The use Of tin cans as Theoretically seal
ed receptacles for food has been Of meal
culable benefit in cheapening almost every
article of food and proIonging the season
Of consumption for those which otherwise
could be had only a comparatively short
time. At the same time 1t must not be
forgotten that an appreciable amount OF
heavy metals is often dissolved by the
more acid varieties of food. The amount
that is so dissolved depends on the age Of
the sample. the grade Of tin plate employed
and the method by which the can was man.
ufactured. Tin plate containing q large
amount of lead is much more readily at
tackled than plate which Is nearly free from
lead The plate which is manufactured .y
the oil process is more resistant to acids
than that made by the acid process. Cans
in whose manufacture zinc chlorid Is used
often retain that salt between the seams
to be given up to the contents Of the can.
1t is fortunate that the method of solder
ing with oil and resin Is now usually en-
ployed.
Fruit Products.
There Is also an interesting collection Of
jelly and jam samples. The forms Of adul-
teration to which this class of foods Is SUBJ
1ect are well indicated on the labels This
exhibit includes pure fruit preparations and
products thickened with starch, sweetened
with glucose and saccharin. preserved with
salieylic acid. benzoic acid, etc, and arti-
f1cially colored. A favorite practice is the
preparation OF jam from the refuse pulp of
jelly manufacture. A sample Of raspberry
seeds found in 'currant JAM is shown
The prices paid for these samples are
worthy of note. In this class Of goods, as
in others, adulteration is caused largely by
the demand for cheap articles. A pur-
chaser who pays no more for jelly than
the glass which holds 1t and the sugar 1t
is supposed to contain are worth should
not expect q frst-class article.