The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1907-10-04
FOR HEA[TA'S SAKE
GEE THAT YOUR FooDsTUFFs
ARE PURE,
ADULTERATIONS ARE COMMON
interruptions Dealers in Large Cities
the Medium for Disposing Of
Such Goods-Purchase
at Home.

For years one of the matters which
has received the careful attention of
the department of agriculture is food
adulteration. Who has not heard of
the old libel on the state of Connect
cut-the wooden nutmeg, but there
are worse things than wooden nut
megs. Unprincipled manufacturers
and dealers for many years have re-
sorted TO adulteration of foodstuffs to
increase profits. In the matter Of
spices, only short time since the
food commission of one of the states
discovered among SO. samples analysed
more than 80 that were adulterated.
In pepper. stems and barks were
ground, in every class of ground
spice foreign substances were added
to give weight, and in numerous cases,
particularly aavoring extracts, the ar
ticles supposed to be made from pure
fruits, were found to be synthetical,
or entirely artificial, preparations
from coal tar.
These goods were prepared by con-
Germs that have no regular trade, but
depend upon agents to sell goods for
them to whoever they can. 1t is rare
ly that reliable wholesale grocery
house sells such goods, as retailers
will not knowingly keep them in
stock, as they cannot be legally sold,
and some officer of the food depart
ment of the state is likely to drop into
the store at any time, confiscate the
goods, and impose a heavy fine on the
dealer.
A short time ago health officers in
Philadelphia found a number of Ital.
ians in cellar putting oil in bottles,
and labelling the same with a foreign.
looking label. An analysis of the oil
proved it to be mainly poor quality
Of cotton-seed oil, and the lowest
grade Of olive. Hundreds of cases
of the stuff were traced to a city in
the middle west, where it was dis
posed Of under contract to houses who
sell direct to consumers through
agents and by mail. Not alone are
spices, extracts, olive oil and sim.
liar foodstuffs adulterated this way,
but the fraud extends still further
Cheap kinds of fish, such as hake, cat.
fish, etc., are prepared and placed on
the market as genuine Goldfish. Toma-
to catsups are made of a good quality
OF pumpkin and given the right color
by dye stufs, and favored by the
use of coal tar extracts. Hundreds OF
other articles are "doctored" the same
way. 1t is rarely that such artificial
goods find their way into the hands
of regular grocers throughout the
country, but are disposed of by con
Germs who depend upon doing bust
ness at points distant from their loca
ton, and who seek protection in the
interstate commerce law, and who
seek to dispose of their goods directly
to the consumers, as no federal or
state officer is likely to call at a pri
vate house and make an analysis of
foods used
It seems that neither the national
or state laws can be so closely ap
piled as to prevent this evil. If the
masses of people would study into this
question the buying of foods from
others than local dealers, who are
known to be honest, would be the re.
suit, and the daily reports of people
being mysteriously poisoned by eating
some article of food would not be Sc
numerous.