The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-01
NEW FOOD LAW

People now demand the right to know
exactly what they eat.
To be told by maker or retailer that
the food is pure" is not satisfactory.
Candy may contain pure" white clay
or pure" dyes and yet be very harmful;
Syrups may contain pure glucose and
yet be quite digestible and even bene-
fetal. Tomato catsup may contain q
small amount of salicylic or boracic acid
as a necessary preservative, which may
agree with one and be harmful to an
other.
Wheat -four may contain a portion of
corr flour and really be improved. Olive
oil may be made of cotton seed oil.
Butter may contain beef suet and yet be
nutritious.
The person who buys and.eets must
protect himself and family. n ne mas a
right to, AMI now demands. a law under
which he csn make intelligent selection
Of food.
Many pure food bills have been int
duced and some passed by State legislat-
ures; many have been offered to Con-
gress but all thus far seem Objectionable.
1t has seemed difficult for politicians to
formulate a satisfactory bill that would
protect the common people and yet avoid
harm to honest makers and prevent end
less trouble to retailers. No govt COM
mission or officer has the right to fix
food standards" to define what the peo-
pie shall and shall not eat, for what agrees
with one may not agree with another and
such act would deprive the common
citizen Of his personal liberty. The
Postum Cereal Co., Ltd, perhaps the
largest makers of prepared foods in the
world, have naturally a close knowledge
of the needs of the people and the details
of the business of the purveyors, (the
retail grocer and, guided by this expert
ence have prepared a bill for submission
to Congress which is intended to ccom-
plish the desired ends, and inasmuch as a
citizen of the T.. S. has a right to food
protection ever when he enters another
State it is deemed proper that the govt
take control of this matter and provide a
national law to govern all the states. A
copy of the bill is herewith reproduced.
Sec. 1 governs the maker whether the
food is put up in small packages sealed,
or in barrels, boxes or otherwise.
Sec. 2 governs the retailer who may
open a barrel and sell the food in small
quantities. When he puts the goods
into a paper bag he must also enclose
a printed copy of the statement of the
maker which was affixed to the original
pkg. and inasmuch as the retailer can
not undertake to guarantee the state
ment of ingredients he must publish
the statement of the makers and add
of his selling the food as it is represented
to him which relieves the retailer of
responsibility of the truth of the state
ment and throws it upon the maker,
where it properly belongs.
The remaining sections explain them
selves.
The Postum Cereal Co, Ltd, for ex-
ample, have from the beginning of its
existence printed on the outside of each
and every pkg. OF Postum and Grape
Nuts food a truthful and exact statement
of what the contents were made of in
order that the might know pre-
cisely what he or she was eating. A
person desiring to buy, for instance,
strictly pure fruit jelly and willing TO paw
the price has a right to expect not only
an equivalent for the cost but = further
right TO a certainty as to what he eats,
Or he may be willing to buy at less cost a
jelly made part Of fruit juices, sugar and
n portion of glocuse. But he must be
supplied with truthful Information OF the
ingredients aud be normitted u use his
personal liberty To select his own food
accurately.
The people have allowed the slow
murder of infants and adults, by tricky
makers OF food, drink and drugs TO go on
about long enough, Duty 10 oneself,
family and nation demands that every
man and woman join in an organized
movement to clear our people from this
blight. You may not be able TO go per-
sonally 10 Washington 10 impress your
Congressman, but you can, in Q most
effective way tell him by letter how you
desire him to represent you.