THE ETHICS OF FOOD 285 



per million parts of flour and that at least two-thirds of all the 

 bleached flours tested contained less than one part of nitrite per 

 million of flour. 



These figures amply serve to negative all the statements that 

 have been made as to the introduction of large quantities of 

 poisonous nitrites into flour during bleaching. Yet in spite 

 of this evidence, Dr. Monier-Williams makes sweeping state- 

 ments as to the injurious effect of bleaching on flour — on the 

 basis, however, of special experiments he has made with flour 

 containing from 100 to 300 parts of nitrite per million! He 

 appears to have manufactured a case against bleaching. 



Dr. G. W. Monier- Williams's section of the Report of the 

 chemical changes produced by bleaching is framed on the 

 evidence of experiments made in the Local Government Board 

 laboratory which are described in some detail. The flour was 

 bleached so as to contain increasing amounts up to 330 parts 

 per million of sodium nitrite, an amount out of all proportion to 

 the quantity present in commercially bleached flour. His con- 

 clusions are based chiefly on these over-bleached flours ; indeed 

 the experiments with commercially bleached flours recorded 

 in his tables show almost always no action. It is somewhat 

 difficult to understand why the deleterious changes produced by 

 the excessive doses of nitrite should be emphasised as if the same 

 result accompanied commercial bleaching. 



In brief, the more important conclusions that he draws are 

 (1) that the proportion of nitrites decreases considerably as the 

 flour is kept ; (2) that in highly bleached flour a considerable in- 

 crease in the amount of soluble proteins and soluble carbo- 

 hydrates takes place ; (3) that the oil becomes oxidised and 

 absorbs nitrogen but that no diazo-compounds are formed. 



It would have been more in accordance with the experi- 

 mental data which he records if it had been pointed out that 

 commercial bleaching has no influence on flour, though gross 

 overbleaching causes certain changes in the constituents : but 

 even these latter appear to be of the same order as those pro- 

 duced during fermentation or on keeping flour, as they involve 

 either the production of soluble proteins and soluble carbo- 

 hydrates or the oxidation of fatty matter; therefore it is 

 impossible to regard them as deleterious. Really deleterious 

 substances such as diazo-compounds are shown not to be formed. 



It is therefore impossible to regard Dr. Monier-Williams's 



