The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-02-06

dose. 1t is ony q matter OF degree.
Saccharin should be barred from
every article Of food and beverage.
and until every statute provides for Its
complete prohibition we shall have
manufacturers seeking to have the
article used in the same fraudulent
manner 1t has always been employed.
It is because the national law IS silent
with regard to these particular pro-
ducts that certain manufacturers are
seeking to have the state laws put In
harmony with the national law and
then force upon the states the use Of
foods containing these products In
such proportion as may be accepted
by the national authorities. At times
1t would seem as though politics and
business interests were more import
should be used than the welfare and
health Of the public at large.
Coal Tar Dyes
Coal tar or aniline dyes have caused
a great deal Of discussion and on
troversy in the consideration of food
law matters. There are those who
would use coal tar dyes to make their
products in imitation Of the genuine
article. Outside of confectionery,
there is no Reuse for the use of col
ors. so far as the writer has been able
~ S0oA q NSVS O4 GA0S
ed to a beverage to be known as
strawberry or raspberry, 1t Is done for
the purpose Of deception. When jel-
lies and jams are colored 1t Is done
for purposes Of deception. When dis
titled or white vinegars are colored 1t
is done for purposes Of deception.
When imitation elders are prepared
color is added for deception. When
synthetic vanillion extract is prepar-
al IL to NNNN~1a v,ikh nNoN <a. HvvA FN~
purposes of deception. Lemon extract
is colored with naphthol yellow to
make it appear like lemon extract,
containing the color Of orange and
lemon skin for no other purpose than
deception. ~
Purpose is Deception.
The writer maintains that when
color is added to butter it is. for the.
purpose Of deception and is no more
desirable in the case of butter than
in the case Of whiskey where alcohol.
the appearance Of old aged whiskey or
brandy or blackberry cordial. Are
these dyes harmless? BY no means.
Aniline itself is a poison SO the aniline
dyes r toxic.
Death as Result.
The writer "a point to two In
stances in North Dakota where death
has resulted from the use Of coal tar.
intended as q butter-color. The. writ
er saw the i'll effects from the eating
OF candy colored with an Objectionable
coal tar dye where physicians were
called to treat the patients. and later
the writer made an examination of
the candy and found that coal tar dye
was the n Objectionable feature and
this Of a particular bad character;
a student in his own laboratory
was stricken down within two hours
after eating OF this candy and suf-
fered severely from the affects of the
same. The writer is now convinced
that the death Of a brother at the age
of four years came as the result Of
eating candy colored with coal tar
dye; and we know Of numerous in
stances OF a like nature. We have in
mind at h present time a case where
the wearing OF a fur collar, which had
been dyed with coal tar dye to give it
the appearance Of a fur which 1t was
desired to initiate, resulted in poison
ing the face and neck. The patient
cred from the ill effects. again
bundled up with the fur collar, pre-
srired and produced the same toxic
This was repeated over
and over again. The writer made an
of the fur collar, found
the dye to be coal tai dye. The COL
was discarded, and no further
trouble followed. II from a fur COL
or from a pair OF stockings. enough
OF this coal tar a be absorbed into
the protective skin Of the body to pro-
such serious results, why should
we not expect more serious effects
from taking even greater quantities of
these same dyes into the stomach in
connection with our foods and bever-
ages. =.
Would Use Certified Colors.
The North Dakota statute complete.
ly prohibits the sale of foods or bev-
erages which contain coal tar OF AMI
line dyes. OF late much pressure has
ment to SO modify the law as to per-
NIT Of the use certified colors. The
has as yet found no evidence
that would lead him to advocate q
modification Of the law to permit Of
the sale of food products colored even
with certified dyes. Why not do away
with dyes altogether in every article
of food and beverage. unless 1t be in
n case Of candy or CONNECTIONS,
dyes as are least Objectionable.
Let every food product and beverage
stand. upon its own merit. List the
who seeks to retain the natural
color and flavor Of his product have
the benefit Of the same. Then the mar
whose butter is made from cows that
produce a high grade product. or!from
that have been carefully fed, and
with feed which will bring
into the butter the color sought for,
will be rewarded for the efforts they
have put forth. Rather than let down
the bars to introduce new evils, or to
magnify those we already have, let us
seek to strengthen the laws We have
until every chemical preservative,
every coal tar dye. and every fraudu-
lent use Of color that shall make de-
ception possible. has been done away
with. Then. and not until then, in
with proper sanitary work
In the factory. shall we have articles
Of food that merit tho fullest endorse
ment Of the consuming public.