Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1920-09-28
Chemists Perfect Process of
Protecting Raw Product From
Mold and Bacteria.
PREY ON SWEETENING FACTOR
At Least $1,5o0ooo Worth of Sugar
Destroyed Yearly by Tiny, Greedy
orsanisms-70, ooo,ooo Pounds
Is Estimate.

Chicago, Ill.-More sugar will be
available for everybody through the
discovery of a process of keeping it
from being injured by molds and bac-
terra.
Fully one per cent of the Cuban
crop. or about 100000 pounds of
sugar a year and worth at least 81, $780,
600, 1t is estimated, has been destroyed
by the tiny, greedy organisms which
compete with the sweet tooth of man
kind. AS the per capita consumption
of sugar in the United States is APP
proXimately S1.S4. pounds annually the
amount hitherto consumed by the
$4,000 persons for a twelve month
period. This would keep the sugar
bowls of large city full. Counting
each family as five persons, IT'S, 900 of
such groups could be kept sweet tenn
pered during this period from the
supply which has been wasted by the
invisible hordes.
Mr.. Nicholas Kopeloff and Mrs. Lii
liam Kopeloff, bacteriologist and as
siStant bacteriOlogiSt at the Louisiana
sugar experiment station in New Or
leans, and members of the American
Chemical society, have just completed
bulletin on the method of prevent
ing the mOlds and bacteria from wrest-
ing sweet solace of the beet and cane
from mortals.
Loses Sweetness.
Sugar loses It's sweetness because
molds consume the sucrose, which is
its sweetening factor. Although the
amount thus lost may be only frac-
ton of one per cent, and far too slight
to be detected by the senses of taste
or smell in many cases, it is easily
determined by the pOlariscOpe, an in
strument especially designed for
measuring the amount of sucrose pres
ent When sugar deteriorates not
only does the pOlariscope detect the
differences, but anyone who is suffi-
GENTLY observant will note that 1t will
actually take larger spoonful to give
the same sweetening power. Thus, if
a barrel of raw sugar should be kept
through the summer months and 1t
is infected with harmful micro-organ-
ismS, it might be necessary to use an
extra Tablespoonful at the end of the
summer to get the same sweetening
power that could be obtained before
deterioration took place. AS all sugar
is sold strictly on the polariscopic ba-
sis, even small losses aggregate huge
sums
The usual source of these mOlds is
the air, which contains millions of mi
Cro-organisms at rest and in circula-
| ton Each individual mold, if it falls
on an object which can supply it with
sufficient food, such as sugar, can re-
produce 100000 more individuals of
the same species in less than week
This reproduction, however, can only
take place in the presence of sufficient
moisture, otherwise the organisms lie
dormant. Cane sugar primarily I'M
dergoes such losses by deterioration
in transportation or storage, mainly
due to the absorption Of moisture by
sugar in damp weather or humid eli
| mates.
For example. sugars made in Cuba
are stored in the hold of a vessel,
often with insufficient ventilation,
which causes them to Sweat" While
coming from a tropical climate into
cooler water the moisture cOndenses
on the surface of the sugar. This
also occurs when sugar is stored for
any length of time, especially at high
temperature, as in refneries, where
some is melted up at once and the re-