Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1907-11-23

that furnish 1t with food. They are
dealing in the kind of ''public utili.
ties' that mean life or death. In oh.
tanning this knowledge. the public ex-
poets to be enlightened from the re-
ports of state Pure Food Commission.
ers and the columns of the press.
Next year Is the presidential year.
and on every stump the packers and
their records will be held up to the
public eye and given to the public ear.
The failure Of the government In Its
attack on the Beef Trust because the
packers turned states evidence on
themselves and were granted an i'm
munlty bath In consequence, has not
been forgotten by the people. and the
great rise in the price Of meat has
tested the patience Of the voters to the
limit.
The withdrawal of the City Of Chi.
cago inspectors from the big packing
houses, presumably to oblige the pack.
ers. has added fuel to the fire. and
next year will see the country ablaze
upon the subject.
The pure food department Of Illinois.
like the health department Of Chicago.
has rested suplnc. while other states.
like Michigan. North Dakota. Pennsyl.
vanla and Kentucky have taken great
pains to protect their citizens.
And the packers appreciate the ef-
forts Of these states to protect the
health of the men, women and children
residing In them by promising not to
send adulterated food Into these CON-
monwealths.
| We have not heard Of their saying
anything about sending unfit food into
the states where the authorities are
not so honest.
According to all accounts, much bo-
raclc acid and sulphltcs, as well as
many dyes, are used by packers. and 1t
Is against these prescrvatlves that
many states having honest officials
have taken action.
The records Of the North Dakota
and Kentucky Pure Food departments
show what has been done In this dlrec.
tion In past years.
We do not know whether bOrlc acid
and sulphites are used by the big Chi.
cagO packers now or not. as city In.
spectOrs have been withdrawn from
the large houses.
Showing the effect of borlc acid and
Of the borates, the following is repro
duced from pages II and ~, Of Part
2. of the Fifteenth Annual Report Of
Il. +. Ladd, food commissioner Of North
Dakota:
-" the use Of boraX and
borlc acid intcrferes with the ab-
sOrptiOn OF food and causes the cXcre-
tIon Of an abnormally large amount Of
nitrogen. lie believes 1t II demon.
stratcd that large doses of borlc acid
reduces the body weight and that the
eXcrctlon Of these substances from the
body Is 10 slow that their accumulation
In the body Is probable. Borax and
bOric acid cause dluresls, which may
produce damage Of the kidneys; they
may cause skin disturbances; they
may produce diarrhna; they interfere
with the abnormal absorption Of food /;
and they may produce vomiting. The
conclusion IL that the use OF bOrlc
compounds In food should be forbid.
den"
On page IL of the same part Of the
same report. the North Dakota food
commissioner has this to say about the
use Of sodium sulphites In meats:
"Our own studies with sausages and
hamburger steak indicate that from
O.oO to O.3O per cent of sulphltes are
employed In these meats. As to the
larmfulness Of these products recent
article by DIR. Harrington, of Harry.
ard Medical College. entitled .SOdlNm
Sulphlte; a Dangerous Food Prescrva'
tive gives the results of his investi-
cations and from this we quote the
following:
"It Is classed as food preserva.
| tive but its antiseptic properties are
| comparatively feeble. 1t Is used more
especially on account of its effect on
the appearance of the food to which Ii
is added. its prescrvatlve influence be-
| ing decidedly minor consideration. 1t
confers upon minced meat Chopped
| meat) an abnormally brilliant red col
or, which conveys to the purchaser the
| idea of freshness. Persstlng ms 1t
| does, meat which Is In reality well nd-
vanced In decomposition Is readily dis
posed of us perfectly fresh, for although
| the number of bactera per grain may
run as high as 800 millions, 1t may
give Off no marked OdOr 1t may fairly
| be said that on account of Its masking
decomposition, 1t Is an undesirable
| admiXture.'"
Certainly, then, with these facts be-
| fore us, we do not believe that the peO-
| pie OF North Dakota wish to allow the
indlscrlminate use of these drugs and
chemicals In their food products"
The following standards are laid
down for food control work, in the
same report, page 10:
Preserved meats: Ham, bacon,
dried beef and cured meats should
be preserved b.. smoke, deslccation,
salt and sterilization only.
Sausages: Sausages are finely dlvld-
cd or hashed meats mixed with spices
aud aaun,ipo rI,ha,, p,av ha cnnlyal IN.