igi2] Lafayette B. Mendel 133 



Something of the history of food preservatives was recited, and 

 it was shown that a considerable number of substances are added to 

 food largely because of their preservative properties, rather than 

 because of flavors they may impart. Some of the so-called " na- 

 tural " preservatives come under this head. Modern conditions of 

 living and modern scientific advances have called for the introduc- 

 tion of more efficient substances, the so-called " chemical " or " arti- 

 ficial " preservatives. Many of these substances have been con- 

 demned, and perhaps properly, but frequently the condemnation is 

 solely on the ground of their origin. This basis of condemnation 

 has no justification in fact, as all preservatives are as truly chem- 

 ical as are those of recent introduction made by industrial processes. 

 The active principles in cloves, cinnamon, allspice, etc., are true 

 chemical Compounds, and in their action on the body and final dis- 

 position are much like benzoic acid, now made largely by laboratory 

 processes. 



A number of important investigations on the physiological action 

 of sodium benzoate have been carried out in the last few years, and 

 the results of these were discussed. The effects of large and small 

 amounts of benzoic acid are known, and it has been clearly shown 

 that the use of the small quantities employed in the ordinary pro- 

 tection of the condimental foods is quite unobjectionable. Such 

 small amounts are normally disposed of in the human body without 

 ill effects. 



The use of copper salts in coloring vegetables was next discussed. 

 There is an enormous literature on the subject, especially from 

 France and Germany, where copper has long been used in the can- 

 ning Industries. Several commissions have pronounced in favor of 

 permitting the use of copper salts, although others have opposed it. 

 But all authorities have come to agree that the toxicity of these 

 salts is much less than was at one time assumed. This toxicity 

 depends somewhat on the combinations in which the salts are in- 

 gested. The effects of copper as used in young peas or string beans 

 are far less marked than are those of its inorganic salts. It is, there- 

 fore, not quite justifiable to draw conclusions as to the behavior of 

 copper from experiments with copper sulfate alone. If only very 

 young and fresh vegetables, with plenty of chlorophyl, were treated 



