90 



ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



IN THE SUrKKMK COUKT OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



CO.MMONWKALTII 1 



Vfe. 



SOUS w. Ki:\iN. 



No. :'.5:). JANUARY TERM, 1901. 



ArrEAL BY THE DEFENDANT 

 FROM THE JUDGMENT OF 

 THE SUPERIOR COURT OF 

 PENNSYLVANIA. 



FILED MARCH :'., 1!)0l'. ) 



MKSTKKZAT, J. | - 



The d^^feudant, v,±o is en«;aged in the grocery business in the city 

 «f Philadelfthia, was tried and convicted in the court of quarter ses- 

 sions of Pliihidelphia county on an indictment charging him with 

 kaving sold "one pint of raspberry syrup, the said raspberry syrup 

 tlien and there contained an added substance and ingredient, to wit: 

 Salicylic acid, which is poisonous and injurious to health." The 

 indictment was found under tlie act of June 26, 1895, P. L. 317, en- 

 titled "An act to provide against the adulteration of food and provid- 

 ing for the enforcement thereof," and commonly known as tlie Pure 

 Food Law. 



The first section prohibits the manufacture or sale of adulterated 

 food, the second section defines the term "food" as used in the aet, 

 and the tihird section provides inter alia that ''an article shall be 

 deemed to be adulterated within the meaning of this act: (a) in case 

 of food * * * (7) if it contains any added substance or ingre- 

 dient wliich is poisonous or injurious to health." The defendant 

 was indicted for a violation of the seventh clause of the third section 

 of the act. 



C>n the trial of the case, it was shown that the defendant iliad sold 

 a bottle of raspberry syrup, and it was admitted by liim that it con- 

 tained salicylic acid. It ap})eared from the evidence that the acid 

 was a eubtbtance foreign to raspberry syrup. Exiiert testimony was 

 introduced by the Commonwealth and the defense to prove what 

 salicylic acid is, and whetlier it is poisonous and injurious to health. 



The Commonwealtli's expert made an analysis of the syrup and 

 testified that the acid was injurious to healtli; that it was dangerous 

 because it was apt to produce disease; that the words "poisonous" 

 and "injurious to health" were almost synonymous in cases where the 

 pois«n is not always fatal; that if coatinually used, the acid is in- 

 jurious to health in any quantity, but if not so used, its injuriousness 

 would depend upoR the person taking it. 



