Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1909-10-24

William Wolff Smith Tells Something About the Use
of Benzoate of Soda.

,on the frosted and half-ripe fruit may
The used Part OF this material can
mot be considered sound fruit as
contemplated by the food and drug
act The pulp is put mp In barrels
Ipreserved, and allowed 10 stand pos
sibly In the sun. until a sufficient
ouantity has accumulated for ship
ment Old ketchup barrels may be
used and be none too clean. AS
result il is not uncommon to see an
inch or more of pulp In the bottom
OF n car az the end of shipment.
caused by the blowing out of the
barrel heads from fermentation. The
sanitary condition OF the factory may
ne moor. the handling of the goods ne
unclean, the spices be the refuse from
the spice houses. the sugar be OF the
cheapest grade. and the bottles only
| rinsed or be used without even that
| precaution. The ketchup is coneoc-
ton so heavily spiced with hot spices
that the tomato favor is lost and
might as well be anything else. The
color is normally dirty brown"
The divergence between DR.. Longs
report that 6enzoate cannot be used
| 10 conceal inferiority and DR.. BIT
ting's statement of conditions as he
found them, is so wide and startling
that the writer undertook personal
investigation. He found conditions pre-
cisely as described by DIR. Biting. The
process or making pulp begins with
the peeling OF the tomatoes. They
are placed in wire baskets and plung-
ed INTO boiling water to loosen the
skins. The .peelers" are given
bucket of the steamed tomatoes. With
their left hand they squeeze the TO-
mato to remove the skin while with
the right they cut the core, green and
rotten parts. When the tomato Is
trimmed" it is tossed into a bucket
which goes to the filling machine. The
waste is thrown into bucket on the
floor. together with any tomatoes too
rotten or too green for canning. This
material. which is surely garbage. Is
gathered up. run through a cyclone
to reduce 1t to pulp and to remove
the skins and such hard parts as will
not squash up. stewed to the proper
consistency and run into barrels.
L. aA n
ate CT soda and shipped to ketchup
manufacturers. The amount OF ben
zoate OF soda used depends, the writer
was informed, on the season and the
point OF destination. hot weather re-
quiring that more of the preservatiye
be used. He was also informed that
the stuff would keep indefinitely and
could be worked up into ketchup
through the winter The writer was
|forcibly impressed with the labor con-
ditIons. Men. women and children. OF
all ages. whites, blacks, and Poles,
were employed and as the garbage
passing through their hands was des-
tined to eventually find its way to
the table in ketchup preserved with
benzoate OF soda, an investigation in
TO the quarters for living and eating
was made. At the largest factory We
visited, where hundred or more
barrels we're sitting in the sun wait
ing for their load of pulp, We found
some eighty to one hundred Poles,
men, women and children. housed IN
eight compartments. Each compart-
ment contained an enclosed sleeping
room and a partially enclosed place
to eat. The cooking was done in the
fields. along with the family washing.
The only toilet facilities provided
consisted Of a small clubhouse. Flies
visited the camp and pulp factory
impartislly A number of photo
graphs were taken OF this camp which
is situated right in town OF several
thousand inhabitants. Photographs
were also taken of other camps. the
J condition OF which is intoierable, as
well as Of carts hauling garbage.
workmen and women and others
showing the conditions found An
especially good one shows a young
Polish workgiTl in rubber boots and
leather aporn. covered with fifth.
From the results OF his investsge-
ton. which were most carefully made
and during which he was accompanied