Albuquerque citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1907-1909, 1909-08-26
.BENzOATE OF SODA AS
PREStRvATIvE NOT
HARMFUL
Convention of Fooo inspectors
at Denver Endorses
Findings Of Rem.
sen Board.
SECRETARY WILSON
wins HIS / i.GHT
Wiley. Who Claimed That Berzo.
ate Was Detrimental to
Health. Defeated After
Sharp StruggIein
Convention.

Denver, Aug. 26.-The federal gov
ernment was accused of licensing the
sale of "medicated food fit only for
the sewer" at the convention OF the
Association of State and National
Food and Dairy Departments today.
DR.. Charles l.. Reed. of Cincinnati.
In attacking the famous Remsen ref-
cree board of scientific experts. de-
elared that the board in urging the
government to allow the use OF BEN
zoate OF soda as food preservative
had ignored public welfare.
THAT recommendation benefited
only two classes of people" he said
these We're the manufacturers of
ibenzoate of soda and the manufactur-
ers of food of such character that IL
could not be sold without being pre-
served by the addition of Chemicals.
The public received no benefit"
The special committee appointed by
the association to '.investigats' the
referee board reported adversely 10
the boards findings
After "A protracted debate. a resolu-
ton endorsing the findings of the
Remsen board, which declared benzo-
ate of soda not harmful when used as
a preservative. was adopted by tn
Convsntien~t gl'his Is ,s,sNtetorys fpr
secretary Wilson a.i6 q ,iefeat 9or
DR.. Wiley.
Pure but Unsanitary.
In discussing sanitary Inspection
of food production and distribution
DR.. Ii. IL. Barnard, state food COM
missioner Of Indiana. said
The question of purity in food has
now been superseded by that of sani-
tation in the handling of food. While.
by sheer force of law we are COM
pelling food and drug manufacturers
TO guarantee purity. we are almost
entirely ncglecting sanitary milk pro-
duction, clean bake shops or whole
some markets. We forget that meat
sterilized by Nhrat cannot contain in
furious bacteria, and that our bread
and milk may be swaf ming with the
germs of filth even though they con-
form to all legal standards of strength
and composition.
'ln other words we must no longer
ignore the important fact that foods,
though chemically pure. may be san
itarily unfit to eat
"The enforcement of the federal
meat inspection law has solved the
meat problem for city dweners. but
the time has come when we must put
a stop to the distribution OF unfit
meat sent out by small slaughter
houses
while most bakcshops are nov
sanitary. conditions under which
bread is handled after il leaves tn,
bakeshop is subject to serious criti-
cism. BY being carried i'm unclean
baskets, brushed against dirty frockS.
or distributed by uuWashcd hands. II
carries an amount of germs unpleat-
ant TO think abnut.' Dust kicked up
by horses, throwing the bread into a
wagon, indiscriminately with vinegar
jugs, Kerosene can ana a sack Of
onions. an suggests the necessity for
a dust-proof wrapper Does the con
sumer know that the dried fruits.
crackers, sugar and other articles
commonly sold i'm hulk are free from
flies and worms Does he know that
rtfrigcrators are free from odor Hn
mould ", need laws that will COM
pei tho shopSccpcr To- protect his
wares from tho flying dust of the
streets. Along with the law that for
bids the sale of milk which contains
chemicals, We want q law that win
prohibit the sale of milk which con-
tains filth, probably moro destructive
to health than chemicals. ] have nor
touched upon methods employed at
some canning factories picking
houses and ice cream factories. But
all these subjects suggest the necessity
for vigorous campaign rr cleanli-
ness as wcll as purity iu food"