The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1914-07-16
Weekly Chats With the Consumers
BY the Tennessee Food and Drugs Department
"CANNINC ACID"
By Lucius p Brown, and Drug Commissioner


The time of the year for home can
ming is now here and the employees of
the state agricultural and educational
departments will soon be busy with
their work of instruction in home
canning. The wide distribution of
small canning plants is a fine thing
for the state. Every family in the
state living on farm should put up
all the canned goods they will use
during the winter. All that is needed
is care, cleanliness and heat-care in
selecting the fruit or vegetable to be
canned, cleanliness in preparing it,
and a proper degree of heat in putting
it up, so that all germs will be killed
Unfortunately, knowledge of these
facts has not heretofore been so wide
| ly spread as it is now or as it ought
to have been all the time, and equally
unfortunately, ignorance on another
phase of this matter has been wide
spread mean, on the subject of pre-
servatives. The careless housewife,
or the one who is careful but ignor-
ant, has taken the short cut and used
a so-called canning acid" This ma
terial consists almost universally of
salicylic acid. This is made from car
bolic acid, a product of the distilla-
ton of coal tar, and it is one of the
strongest germ killers we have. We
might as reasonably think of putting
it in our stomach as of putting the
somewhat stronger carbolic acid
there. 1t stops digestion and puts a
greater burden upon the kidneys, pro-
duces disturbances which may result
in illness of even a fatal character,
paving the way, as it does, for the en-
trance of any disease to which it's
user is exposed. 1t is true that COM
pounds of this acid are used in the
treatment of rheumatism but this is
done under the direct and personal
charge of physician. When used
by the housewife she gets unknown
amounts into her cans and it is safe
to say that more often than not the
goods preserved with it carry to the
consumer larger dose of salicylic
acid than any physician would give
1t is obvious that if it stops decay out
side the body it will stop the like
process of digestion inside it. 1t is |
altogether probable that certain
proportion of the indigestion and al
lied troubles in country districts is
due to discriminate and ignorant use
of this material. 1t fosters uncleanli-
ness, and is used only by careless or
ignorant housewives. The results
which it gives can be obtained by
proper care and knowledge, and there
is no excuse for its use in food mate
rails. Foods preserved by it are not
allowed to be sold. The sale of the
acid itself, when made especially for
preserving purposes, is forbidden in
Tennessee. These facts in themselves
ought to be enough % carry convic- |
ton to any woman who has been US
ing it taht it is an unsafe thing to |
feed her family.
The Tennessee Anti-NarcOtics Law.
For many years past the practice |
of the habitat use of compounds of |
opium and coca leaves has been in
creasing in the United States Com
pounds of opium are such things as
gum opium, laudanum, morphine, CO.
define, heroin, etc. These produce a
certain amount of stimulation and a
very pronounced tendency towards
sleepiness and quiet. Cocaine, made
from the leaves of the coca plant of