Los Angeles herald., 1906-08-27
NEWFooDADULTERATIoN LAW
Expert tsngdon Writes The Herald
an Interesting
Letter


NEW YORK, Aus. O,--CEditor
Herald): note I'm your esteemed issue
Of August s an article on the adultera-
tion of food.
II is certainly gratifying to know that
we have at last n national pure FOOD
law. The adulteration OF food Is prac-
ticed to such a large extent that 1t is
absolutely necessary to place some curb
on manufacturers who are flooding the
market with cheap, adulterated foods.
The new law will compel true labels
on all articles of preserved food. IL the
public, however, do not pay heed to the
labels, of what vlaue will they be? The
public must be taught that there Is no
economy In cheap foods which have
been adulterated with some inferior
substance that would lessen the food
value.
The preservation of food, however,
should not be considered adulteration,
as the preserVative is used to prevent
the article from deteriorating. 1t Is not
the ordinarily preserved food that In
lures the consumer, 1t is food that has
not been preserved that Is in condition
for the propa cation of toxic germs
which are a great menace to life. Those
who advocate dispensing with mild pre-
servatives do not realize the danger
which l1rks in food that Is not pre-
served
Many varieties of micro-organ isms
produce poisonous ptomaines After
they are once produced they are not
easily destroyed. The putrefactive or
gansms which produce ptomaine poison
I'm such articles as canned meats, fish,
fresh pork, headcheese and other animal
matter, both raw and cooked are very
dangerous to human life. A peculiar fea-
ture OF ptomaine poison is that 1t can
not be detected by sight taste or SMELL
The cause of ptomaine poison can be
traced to the lack of facilities for pre-
venting the development of toxic germs.
Meats fish or fowl that are sprinkled
with boraX or boric acid are kept in d
clean, healthful condition which pre-
vents the formation and propagation of
toxic germs.
The senate, recognizing the value of
mild preservatives accepted an amend
ment which will allow borax or boric
acid on any article of food from which
it can be removed " maceration in
water prior to consumption. PreSerVa-
tiVes of a penetrating nature, however,
could not be removed in this manner.
1t is an erroneous supposition to
think that preservatives could be used
to convert tainted piece Of meat into
a sweet edible condition.
Laws should be enacted and enforced
so as to protect the unwary consumer
Our new pure food law will not be of
much value to the masses until the
various state laws are amended so as
to conform with the national law.
Now that the pure food law has been
enacted it certainly will be wise to have
all places where food Is prepared in
vestigated, as the condition of food and
the health of the nation depend to a
certain extent on hygienic surround
ings.
The spices and condiments that are
used have comparatively no food value,
and they are partaken of to momen-
tarily satisfy the palate (Which has
been educated to crave such articles), to
the detriment of the digestive organs.
The question of eating is a very seri-
Gus one. 1t is not so much, however,
what we eat as it is how we eat. Food
must be asSimilated to be beneficial;
our rations should be balanced; our
diet should be varied. Thorough mas
tlcation is absolutely necessary to pre-
pare food for the stomach When per-
sons bolt their food and wash it down
with liquids they are candidates for
the dyspeptic brigade.
We can live without food for thirty
days or more; we can live without
water for about seven days; we cannot
live without air, however, for five
minutes. Consequently as much or
more attention should be paid to our
water and air supplies as there is to
our food. There should be vigilant in
spections of school rooms, factories,
theaters. public buildings, ETC., to in
sure perfect ventilation.
We spend about one-third of our
lives in bed. We must breathe regu-
10 in
sunderland, and if we breathe pure air
all night we will certainly arise in the
morning greatly refreshed.
We have power within ourselves to
be moderate in all things, and if we
exercise this power we will enjoy life
as the Creator intended we should.
H. H. LANGDON.
Lucky the Pump Isn't Broken