Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1908-01-25

The public has a right to know all
about the doings Of the corporations
that furnish 1t with food. They are
dealing In the kind Of public utili.
ties" that mean life or death. In OBJ
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 presA
This 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.
munity 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 tine
limit.
The withdrawal of the City Of Chi
cago inspectors from the big packing
houses. presumably to oblige the pack.
ere. 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 suplne. while other states.
like Michigan. North Dakota. Pennsyl.
vania 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 COM
monwealths.
We have not heard Of their saying
anything about sending unfit food into
the states where the authorities IRE
not so honest.
According to all accounts, much DO.
raclc acid and supplies. as well as
many dyes. are used by packers. and It
II against these personalities 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 direc'
tion In past years.
We do not know whether boric acid
and SUPPLIES are used by the big Chi
cago packers now or not, ns city In
spectors have been withdrawn from
the large houses.
Showing the effect Of boric acid and
Of the borates. the following Is repro
duced from pages II and II, Of Part
9, Of the Fifteenth Annual Report OF
u. +. Ladd, food commissioner Of North
Dakota:
{" the use OF borax and
boric acid interferes with the alb
sorption Of food and causes the excre.
ton Of an abnormally large amount Of
nitrogen. He believes It IL demon
strated that large doses Of bcric acid
reduces the body weight and that the
excretlon Of these substances from the
body Ia 20 slow that their accumulation
In the body IL probable. Borax and
boric acid cause diuresis, which may
produce damage Of the kidneys; they
may cause skin disturbances; they
may produce diarrhGa; they interfere
with the abnormal absorption Of food
and they may produce vomiting. The
conclusion Ia that the use Of borit
compounds In food should be forbid
dem"
On page ~ Of the same part OF the
same report, the North Dakota food
commissioner has this to say about tin
use Of sodium supplies In meats:
Our own studies with sausages and
hamburger steak indicate that from
O.2O to O.3O per cent OF supplies art
employed In these meats. As to the
harmfulness OF these products a recent
article by DR.. Harrington, Of Harv
ard Medical College, entitled Sodium
Sulphite; a Dangerous Food Preserva
tive gives the results Of his inyesti
cations and from this We quote the
following:
"'It Is classed as n food preserva
tive, but its ant!septic properties are
comparatively feeble. 1t Is used more
especially on account Of its effect OF
the appearance Of the food to which i
Is added. its preseryatiye influence be
Ing decidedly a minor consideration. j
confers upon minced meat Chopped
meat) an abnormally brilliant red col
or. which conveys to the purchaser thu
idea Of freshness. Persistng as i
does, meat which Is In reality we'll ad
vanced in decomposition IL readily dis
posed OF as perfectly fresh, for although
the number OF bacteria per grain ma,
run as high as 800 millions, 1t ma,
give OF no marked OdOr. 1t may fairl,
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 PEG
pie OF North Dakota wish to allow tn
indiscriminate use OF these drugs ant
chemicals in their food products"
The following standards are lait
down for food control work, In tn
same report, page 13:
Preserved meats: Ham, bacon
dried beef and cured meats shOult
he preserved by smoke, desiccatiOn
salt and sterilization only.
Sausages: Sausages are finely div. \