No. 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 83 



ingredients. It is probable that the greater oart of this so-called 

 ice cream was perfectly harmless. The substances used to dimin- 

 ish the cost of manufacture were not poisonous. The chief trouble 

 was that the consumer jvaid for ice cream and got something else. 

 The offense in this instance, as in many others, was in the deliberate 

 elfort to deceive the public; to convince the consumer that he was 

 getting genuine ice cream, when, as a matter of fact, he was getting 

 a very little ice cream and a great deal of some other substance, 

 something which' he did not ask for and which he did not want. 

 In this respect, also, there is encouragement to look for much bet- 

 ter things during the coming year. It is to the credit of the large 

 manufacturers of ice cream that they have taken the initiative in 

 the work of reform. 



ADULTERATIONS OF FLOUR. 



While but twenty-one samples of flour were analyzed by our 

 chemists, the results attained were by no means reassuring, for 

 seventeen of these samples were found to be adulterated. Out of 

 six samples of buckwheat flour, four were impure; out of 11 samples 

 of gluten flour, all but one were adulterated, and of the three 

 samples of wheat flour examined, only one was found free from 

 adulteration. Thes-e figures speak for themselves and indicate a 

 condition of affairs sadly in need of reformation. It is still true of 

 the peoi)le of the United States, that bread is the "^staff of life," and 

 it will be readily perceived that if the flour out of which this bread 

 is made b(^ adulterated the health of the consumer must be seriously 

 affected. All that has been said of the injurious effects of adul- 

 teration of other foods applies with equal force to flour. The pro- 

 cesses of adulteration are employed for the purpose of cheapening 

 the cost' to the manufacturer and also of permitting him to^ use in- 

 ferior qualities of wheat in the manufacture of flour. Many experi- 

 ments have been made by practical chemists, the results of which 

 have been given in more or less detail in various numbers of the 

 Monthly Bulletin. The judgment of the chemists is that artificially 

 whitened flour is not health}^, the adulterants used for the purpose 

 of bleaching the flour acting injuriously upon the human stomach, 

 retarding the processes of digestion and otherwise harming the un- 

 conscious consumer. A great responsibility rests upon manufactur- 

 ers. It is their duty to. post themselves concerning the nature of 

 the bleachers they are tempted to use and, without regard to the 

 mandates of law, to refrain from the use of any adulterant that 

 endangers the health of the consumer. The latter is not in a posi- 

 tion to. know that the flour from which his bread was made was 

 bleached, and unless the conscience of the manufacturer restrains 

 him there is likely to be serious trouble. Here in Pennsylvania we 

 are hoping for better things. 



SOME MISCELLANEOUS PRODUCTS. 



Under this heading the statistical tables tell of 77 samples of 

 various products that were gathered by our agents during the year 

 and examined bv our chemists. Of these, 49 were adulterated and 

 28 were found to be exactly what they were represented to be. Tlie 

 samples of cream puffs, egg custard, cinnamon candy, whipped 

 cream chocolate, Italian chocolate, chocolate fudge, vanilla fudgf^, 

 marshmellows, salt water taffy, Worcestershire sause, ground must- 



