Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1908-11-27
HOW FOOD IS
AOU[TERATED
State Chemist Fulmer De-
scribes Forms of Food
Adulteration.

niazance of the different forms of de-
ception practiced and hence all food
products not in accord with the pro-
visions of the law were regarded as
"adulterated. - Our state law. in
common with all modern food law,
recognizes both adulterated" and
misbranded' foods, deals with them
in separate sections and regards both
classes as "i!legal." We will consid-
er in this article some of the different
forms of adulteration that are specif-
cally mentioned in our state law.
First--The mixing or packing of
any substance with food so as to re
duce or lower or injuriously affect its
quality or strength.
In this form of adulteration the
chief purpose is to lower the cost of
manufacture of a food product by the
addition of some cheaper substance
which is nearly always non-injurious
to health. In many cases the debas-
ing product is sold for a price as high
as that commanded by the pure arti-
Gle, but in many cases also it is sold
at lower price as second class goods.
Milk and vinegar are particularly sus-
ceptible to this type of sophistcation,
the added cheaper substance being
water. A few days ago, white pepper
was frequently mixed with flour and
its strength and value thus lessened !;
vanilal extract was formery often
mixed with an extract of the cheap
tonka bean; and the use of an excess
of starch in baking powder is an IL
Iustration of this form of adulteration
which is still practiced.
Second-The substitution in whole
or in part of any substance for an ar
ticle of food. This has been very
commonly practiced in the past, and
is by no means obsolete now. A few
illustrations will make the point
clearer. Eight or ten years ago it
was a different matter to obtain a
sample of genuine olive oil. Although
it's old under the name of olive oil,
it was often mixed with cotton seed
oil, and still oftner the cotton seed oil
had been entirely substituted for it.
No question could be raised as to the
Wholesomeness of the cotton seed oil,
and hence simply fraud and deception
were charged against the practice.
The good name of honey suffered
greatly from this form of deception.
We have frequently analyzed CONNER
cial samples of so called honey con-
tanned in attractive packages, beauti-
fully labelled and masquerading as
the genuine product of the bee, which
consisted only of glucose in which
foated small piece of honey comb
and a few dead bees added for their
suggestive effect. No one would claim
that the glucose was unwnolesome,
but consumers naturally objected to
paying honey prices for commercial
glucose, and resented the fraud thus
imposed upon them. Starch paste,
articfially faovred, sweetened with
glucose and preserted with salicylic
acid, has often been sold as a genuine
fruit jelly, and the official food chem
ist in one of our states grew some
excellent samples of millet from the
seeds found in a sample Of "genuine
raspberry jam. "
Third. The abstraction of all or
part of any valuable constituent of
an article of food.
Perhaps the most common illustra-
tion of this form of adulteration is the
practice of removing some of the
cream from milk before distributing
it to the consumer, and selling it as
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