The San Francisco call., 1910-08-03
CALLS EXPOSE
OF POISONOUS
cones PRAISED
Physicians Commend Campaign
sOf Publicity Against the
Deadly Tidbit
EnfantiIe Complaints Traced to
Dyes Used in coIoring
COrnucopias


The. expose by DIR. A c. Bottle, city
chemist at the board Of health labor
atories.; of the poisonous compounds
employed in .coloring. ice cream cornu-
copias, has met with general COM
.nendation by the physicians Of the
city. The result OF the investi cations.
as published exclusively in The Call
Yesterday, has awakened public interest
in the matter Of adulterated foodstuffs,
and the opinions expressed by the
chemist and his associates are shared
by a number of medical men of San
Francisco.
g. It is generally. believed by physi-
clans that infantile complains have
been caused in many instances by the
naphthol poisoning Of the cones. Doc
tor Bothe's, demonstration that the
anilipe dye is contained in the yellow
cOnfections will probably result in the
manufacture of plain -four and water
cornucOpias. The pink cones are col
oned with vegeta BILE dye. the use of
which rs permitted by the state law
as wei as. the. city: health ordinance.
Prosecutions for disregard of the
law, If any are made, viii be conducted
by the staff health authorities who are
empowered TO bring actions under the
Mccartney pure food act; This law
provides for both fine and amprison-
mentr
LESSON TO CITY 49,
DR.. z. S. Howard. chief surgeon of the
city emergency hospital service, sneak
ing Of the disclosures made by Doctor
Bottle, declared that valuable object
lesson has been given 10 the city by
the widespread publicity and scientific
accuracy of the experiments.
The discovery of napthol yellow IN
the ice cream. cones said he, by Doc
tor Bottle and his assistants can not
be too seriously regarded. 1t is a clear
demonstration that poisons are used by
certain manufacturers in their goods.
While the dye used in the cones was
diluted greatly. it was easily extracted
g an a quantity sufficient 10 redye wool
and other cloths.
The hospital service Of the city is
called upon daily TO treat children. suf-
fering with pains and aches. A simple
remedy usually affords relief and that
ends the matter. However in many of
these cases nobody knows the cause.
The physicians know that there is an
irritant in the child's stomach, but can
not tell how il got there.
The naphthol yellow from colored
cones could cause this, and it is an ex-
eellent thing for parents to be Informed
Of the presence of this acid in the
cOrpUcOpias."
REPORT AIDS CRUSADE
q DR.. Sidney Dahnenbaum, city bac-
teriologist. in viewing Doctor Bothe's
report. said:
.'-Bothe's work contributes materially
to the foodstuffs crusade. now being
conducted by the board Of health. Naph-
.thof poisoning is highly dangerous and
can cause death within a brief time.
1t might cause infantile paralysis, and
we all know how common and serious
that is among the younger children.
These cones are sold on street corners.
under conditions which would undoubt-
edly contribute to contamination of the
cbntents. The dirt and dust of the city
certainly does not improve even pure
foods. to say nothing of those which
already contain poison. Hawkers carry
these things from place TO place. and
the conditions under which they are
sold are not inviting
esThe publicity given the experiments
and discovery IN The Call win un-
doubtedlY have its effect on the parents
of the city. The cones are not in
furious when not colored with acids,
but The confections in which this yell
EOw is used are exceedingly dangerous
to the babies and children who eat
them.
EVIL EFFECTS WIDESPREAD
DR. George NJ 'Terrlll, identified with
the emergency service of the city, who
has been called upon TO attend many
cases of -infanti1e complaints. said:
1.-The expose demonstrates that the
Weflk of the board of health in testing
fOodstuffs is highly commendable. Many
children have suffered what is COM
monty termed stomach ache" when,
as. a. matter of fact, the intestinal tis-
sues have been irritated by naphthol
yellow poisoning. These cones are
mainly sold to young children and
given by parents and nurses to babies
whose stomach tissues are the least
able te withstand the irTitant. In many
cases it may be thought that the ice