Charlevoix county herald., 1906-05-26

enacted in Massachusetts. Since that
time other States have enacted and
enforced food laws, until at the pres
ent time twenty-five States are seri-
ously attempting to regulate the char
acter and quality Of the foods sold in
their markets. In three additional
States laws relating to the purity of
dairy products are enforced, and in
several others beginning has been
made.
Food Regulation Abroad.
Food legislation has received much
attention abroad and the more ad-
vanced foreign countries have effective
food laws and enforce them rigidly.
The subject of the purity of foods is
more widely studied in the United
States now than at any previous time.
The people as a whole are better in
formed on the subject than ever before,
and there is a constantly increasing
demand for definite information. In
response to q very large number Of
inquiries regarding the matter the bull
letin of the Bureau of Chemistry has
been prepared as popular statement
regarding the nature and extent of
food adulteration, and includes simple
tests by which the housekeeper or re-
tail dealer may determine some of
the more prevalent forms of adultera-
ton practiced.
The demand for information on this
subject is now very general, and, as
is often the case when public interest
is deeply aroused, there is an unfor-
tunate tendency toward eXaggeration
which frequently amounts to sensa-
tionalism. Such an attitude is of
course to be deplored, and unless 1t is
checked must sooner or later react
unfavorably. 1t is not unusual to
speak of some of our typical foods as
poisoned, and of the manufacturers as
prisoners. Such characteriZations are
frequently eXaggerations to the point
Of untruth. Deleterious substances
are in many cases added to foods. AT
the same time the word poison" has a
very strong and distinct significance
and should not be applied to any one
of the substances ordinarily added to
foods, except in the sense that they are
harmful. The word "poisoner" signi-
fies a person who Intentionally and de-
lfberately administers an article in
tended to result fatally, or at least
very disastrously to health.
The Juggling of Words.
During recent years there has beer
tendency to confuse the minds Of
many by an incorrect use of certain
words frequently used in the discussion
of foods. 1t is the policy of some man
ufacturers to limit the word "adulter
ated" to foods to which have beer
added substances of lower value thar
the foods themselves with the inten
ton Of increasing the weight or vol
ume. This limitation is certainly no
justified by the English language no
by the facts, and such a restriction o
the term is entirely unwarranted. TIL,
word "adulterated" properly describe
food to which any noncondimenta
foreign substance, not properly con
stituting a portion of the food, ha
been added. The fact that the addet
substance may be at times of a create
commercial value than the food itsel
has no bearing on the question. Con
versely, the word pure" Is properl.
applicable to foods that are unmixeu
with any foreign substance. 1t ma.
be wholesome or unwholesome, bu
this property is not indicated by tn
word "pure" or "adulterated." Thi
definition Is not, of course, complete
The claim is Inade by some manu-