Newport weekly independent., 1901-08-09
BACTERIA IN COFFEE.
Ohio Grocer Convicted of Violating the Pure Food Laws of
 the State


 The prosecution was based on package of ArbucllIes' Ariosa coffee.
 The State of Ohio, through the Pure Food Commission, prosecuted White. The case was on trial for nearly a month and attracted nation al attention.
 The manufacturers of Ariosa coffee conducted the defense for Grocer White. The best attorneys in the country were retained to defend him but, after a short consultation, a yer dict of guilty was returned by the jury. The State of Ohio considers this big victory Pure Food Com missioner Blackburn has been wag- ing warfare on spurious food arti- cles and the department has been very successful.
 The complaint of the State of Ohio was that Ariosa coffee was coated with substance which concealed de- fleets in the coffee and made it ap- pear better than it is. The State charged that this coating or glazing was a favorable medium for the propagation of bacteria.
 Prof. G. A. Kirchmaier, of this city, well-known chemist, was the prin- cipal witness for the State. He had made scientific examinations of sam ples of Ariosa purchased in the open market from Grocer White. He found that each Ariosa berry con- tained an average of 300 bacteria. MT. Kirchmaier further testified that other coffees he examined contained few bacteria or none at all. He de- clared that the glazed coffee was not a wholesome food product. Chemist Schmidt, of Cincinnati, zorro borated the testimony of Prof Kirchmaier. The State did not pre- sent further testimony.
 The defense, through the Ar- buckles, who prepare this glazed cof- fee, secured some of the most emi- nent chemists and scientists in the United States to give testimony in their behalf. Prof. H. w. Wiley, of the United States Agricultural De- partment; Prof. Vaughn, of Ann Ar Dor University; Profs. Bleile and Webber, of the Ohio State University, were called to defend Ariosa. Dr. Wiley had made a careful examina- tion of the method of manufacturing Ariosa. He told of the 100000 eggs used by the Arbuckles yearly in the preparation of this glazing. On this point in cross examinati ton, the States attorneys deftly drew from him the information that these | eggs might be kept in cold stora ge by the Arbuckles for year or two at time.
 The experts who heard Dr. Wiley's testimony were pleased to be able to catch" so famous a chemist. The doctor at one point in his testimony explained very clearly how it is that the egg put into the coffee pot by the housewife settles the coffee. He said that the heat coagulates the egg, and as it sinks to the bottom of of the coffee with it, and thus clari- fies the drink. It is the act of | coagulation in the coffee pot that does the work. Later on in his cross examination, he had to admit that when the egg was put on Ariosa cof- | fee at the factory, it became coagu- lated, and as egg cannot be coagu- lated but once, that the coating on ] coffee was of practically no value as "settler" when it reached the cof- fee pot.
 Prof. Wiley acknowledged that the glazing might be favorable medium | for the propagation of bacteria, al- though he would not testify positive | ly either way because he was not a bacteriologist.
 Prof. Vaughn, of Ann Arbor Uni versity, also witness for the Ar buckles, said he found bacteria on Ariosa coffee.
 Prof. Bleile, another witness for the defense, found any number of lively bacteria on the Ariosa coffee he examined, and he agreed that glazed coffee surely was a more | favorable medium for the propaga- tion of bacteria than unglazed cof- | fee.
 The verdict of the jury fn this case is of national importance because a great many other states have Pure Food Laws like that of Ohio, and it is natural to suppose that similar ac- tion will be taken by other Pure Food Commissioners to prevent the sale of glazed coffees.
 Pure Food Commissioner Black burn says: 'The State is very much elated over its victory against this big corporation. We are now con- sidering the advisability of inform ing every grocer in the State of Ohio that it is an infraction of the laws to sell Ariosa, and at the same time