The St. Louis Republic., 1904-06-26
WILEY TO TEST
PRESERVED FOODS
Will Feed Cold Storage and ster-
ilized Meet and Fruit TO
Impartial Jury.
oNE-YEAR LIMIT HIS THEORY.
Expects Government Investiga-
ton to Show Turning Point
Where Deterioration Begins
and Poisons Develop.
REPUBLIC SPECIAL.

REPUBLIC SPECIAL
Washington. June 25.-Having concluded
his investigation of the effects or chemica
preservatives in various food products
| Professor Wiley. chief of the Bureau OF
Chemistry OF the Department Of Agricul-
ture. will now investigate methods OF
preservation through the medium OF cold
I storage or sterilization.
| 1t IL Doctor Wiley's theory that certain
| classes Of food deterIorate after being pre-
! served for certain length OF time, no
matter what method is used. and he ex.
poets to prove by his experiments and to
recommend that under no circumstance
should food be preserved more than one
/ year.
AT present fruits. meats and vegetables
are preserved by sterilization or by cold
storage for periods of from one to five or
six years. or even longer. Consequent
iy. the coming experiments and the prob
able recommendations are of the utmost
Importance to the large manufacturers
and producers Of food products in this
country.
Doctor Wiley will conduct these experi-
ments in his own kitchen. at the Rureau
or Chemistry. He will obtain the assist
ance OF a competent and impartial jury OF
persons: comprising both men and women
taken from the various departments to
whom he will feed certain varieties Of
food. cooked In his own kitchen, after
having been preserved for various periods
from one month to year
Some people seem to have the idsa that
iOod was made TO be preserved instead of
70 be eaten" said Doctor Wiley to-day
MY opinion is that. under no circum-
year: II Is not fair to agriculture Nature
furnishes us with fresh supply OF every
thing once year.
PTOMAINES ARE DEVELOPED.
do not say that IN the majority of
cases there is ever any harmful effect
produced by preservation through ster
hlaation or cold storage for any length Of
time. Ihoush In some cases canned goods
mat have been preserved too long have
been known to develop ptomaines and
other dangerous qualities / am OF the
opinion. however. that meats or veeeta
rate IN quality I can tell a coid-storase
article the minute taste IT, If it has gone
tion. va
1T is true that beef. for instance "a
greatly improved by being kent in cold
storage for some weeks after ii Is killed.
Even this. however. reaches its maximum
IN time and then begins to decline II is
dinerent with fish and vegetables ESish
Is best just as fresh as II can he eaten
ana So l think, are vegetables and most
This investigation Is for the nurnoso
OF sscertalning in all kinds and QUALITIES
or food articles that are now being nrs-
served Just where the turning pOint is
Some can undoubtedly he safely and wise
y preserved for four six or eight months
Others not more than a few weeks and
sun others fully year. but l think
that our experiments will Droye thar a
year Is the maximum time for which any
proCuct should be preserved
.,.L.he me Jury will be assembled to a boun-
tiiul feast at intervals and will be fed
articles preserved for different periods
iheir Judgment as 10 their quality taste
ana condition will then be taken. The
Ph!sIcai enects produced will also be
In. speaking of his report advising
against use OF boraN as a preservatIye
Doctor Wiley said that II asked by Con-
gress TO form law. he would try to DO
so In collaboration with the manufactures
Of the foods to be affected
EXCLUDES FOREIGN PROTECTION
The immediate result Of our expert
ments will probably be noticeable only in
a more rigorous exclusion of foreign
products. which are treated with boric
acid as a preservative." said Doctor
Wiley. our pure-fOUd law provides that
we shall exclude from this country aII
products treated with breservatives that
are forbidden in their own country Ger
many now fOrbids the use OF borlC salt
cylic and sulphuric acids so does Austria
and France forbids the use OF the latter
two; but says nothing about borax. The
food product mostly treated with borax
are meats: oysters and butter
Doctor Wiley has been experimenting
Tor the past year with salicyIic and sui
phuric acids along the sanies lines that he
did in 1872 and 1903, with boracic acids
The results OF the experiments will prnb-
ably not be announced for six months.