The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-09-19
PUBLIC WANTS CATSOP RED
1ND BUTTER YELLOW, so THEY
Must BE COLORED.

no,rosentatives ~ the food and drug
..nTactrrers and jobbers who attended
1Hs,o,dav's session Of the Government
-. FOOD Law Commission in the rooms
,be Board Of Trade ioreshadowed by the
,.ong attitude Of protest they assumed
s.a,nst some ~ the provisions what their
a.noipals NAV do when the measure IL put
force under the regulations to be drafted
- tho commission. Lines Of cleavage be-
yosr the Government and the producers
&c sbapiv marked by the speeches Of
srsnv Of those in attendance.
The entire davis deliberations were given
~ Bo the discussion OF the restrictions
KIT nv the new law upon the use Of colofs,
ssvors and personalities in the manufac-
S,re ~ food products and drugs. Special
ir,srests were pleaded by some. General
a,o,ss, against regulation Of methods OF
norufacture heretofore used was voiced
- others. Such corporations as the H. j.
Gsnz Company and the Armour company
- associations such as the Louisiana
SEA Planters Association and the Cali
sorria Growers and Packers Association
rore represented by counsel to protest
ssanst the inhibitions put upon certain
,ses Of colorings and p~reservatives.
Dr. Lisb,r opened the morning session
~,,h n rlaa for the use Of colorings in
M foods whose appearance il enhanced
tbarehv. Asserting that the public has
noue ~ lie accust Dmed to seeing certain
Sreparpi foods in characteristic colors and
that the prohibition against the use OF these
rolors would mean the practical wrecking
nj many manufacturing interests, the
snesker continued TO express his belief hat
tbe Department Of Agriculture through its
cbemists should decide upon the qualities
NJ certain coloring agents, condemning
fhe harmful and allowing the harmless to
eontinue in use.
Anilina DIVES, which come under the teuta-
hive condemnation announced by the COM
mission on Monday, DR.. Lieber commended,
krere not all harmful. Their use, he said, has
nome 10 he so general that to drop them
Would be 10 alter materially the product OF
many prepared food manufactures DR..
dieher was seconded by H. Sweitzer, repre-
henting the Verona Chemical Company and
Nther concerns. He said that no intent to
t~ieceive could be charged against manu-
Yacturprs who used dyes in the preparation
of their products. 1t was simply that the
nublic had grown accustomed to eating
catsup that was tomato red and butter that
was butter yellow and that nothing else
Butter. he said, was allowed TO be colored
nv law. II butter could he oolored, why
not other substances? The maraschino
cherry that nestles beneath the wing Of the
cocktail is oolored red, said one speaker,
not because that makes il taste any better
but because it improves the looks Of the
cocktail and enhances the drinkers enjoy
ment,
mission, opened the afternoon session by
announcing that his statement Of yester-
dav that the representatives OF the meat
packers had necessarily no direct interest
in the proceedings Of the commission should
not be construed as a prohibition against
the packers attendance upon the CON-
ference. Although the laws regulating
the packing of meats do not come in the
province Of his commission any representa-
tive Of the packers who could add any
Instructive word to the deliberations Of
the Pure Food Law Commission would
be welcomed.
William A. Breed, counsel representing the
National Wholesale Grocers' Association,
was first Of the afternoon speakers to take
up the protest Of the manufacturers against
any sweeping prohibitions Of the Use of
colors and p~reservatives in food produc-
tion Mr Breed occupied fully fifteen
minutes in the presentation OF his brief
and vas roundly cheered.
II was Mr.. Breeds belief that the section
IN the new food law condemning the use of
coloring matter because II was taken to be
amethOd Of concealing inferiority or delud-
ing the purchaser was entirely too sweep
ing. He said the final test should be whether
the color.ng matter destroyed the whole
someness or nutritious value Of a food
preparation. No manufacturer should be
prohibited from adding harmless c~oloring
matter 70 his product, provided he stated
the fact Of such addition on his label.
Il believe" he said, that your COM
mission is empowered by the act Of Congress
10 take a finished product hat has been
treated with a SPECIALIZED poisonous pre-
~servatiye and test il to determine whether
or not the amount of preventative used is
deleteriOus 10 the health Of the consumer.
You should not consider the man who would
eat a bOttleful of catsup at a sitting but
take the ordinary consumer and use the
food he eats in one day as a standard.
this commission should take into ac-
count the fact that a certain amount of
presoTvative ia necessary to keep some
PREPARED foods in good condition after they
come into tine hands Of the consumer. There
are certain forms Of sweet pickles, for in
stance. that would spoil il packed without
any preservative as soon as they were sent
South"
Thomas F.. Lannen, representing manu-
t~actlrers Of pickles n the Manufacturers
OF Bottlers' Extracts Association, submit
ted to the commission that at the present
time there was no known method OF pro-
ducinR their products without the use
Of preservatives. The manufacturers had
hOutSlly attempted 10 put up Jnelr pTOuuCL
by sterilization and other methods cal
cu!ated TO prevent fermentation and had
talet. To prohibit the use Of these pre-
servatiyes would be to drive these pickle
manufacturers out OF business entirely.
The scientists themselves are divided
upon the pathological effects Of preserva-
tives in food for human consumption
continued Mr.. Lamen IL was therefore
Incumbent upon the commission to on
stne The rev food law literally and await
the final word Of the scientists before con-
demulng as harmful those substances
which manufacturers find absolutely nec-
eSSarv.
Guido Rossati, representing the Italian
1hamher Of Commerce, presented a brief.
The Chamber recommended that in the
manufacturing Of certain liquors in which
lthe addition Of a coloring substance has
been part Of the accepted recipe the manu-
i%a"turer might continue his production
without the declaration OF the presence OF
the color on the label.
IN macaroni manufacture saffron and
yellow napthol are used without hurt to the
consumer, and in the canning Of certain
Vegetables copper. ~sulphate is utilized TO
, ne extent ~ one part in II, 900; these things
the liallH Chamber Of Commerce would
have cofntenaced by the commission az
being within the law. Like wise attention