166 EXPERIMENT STATION EECORD. 



Official control of wines in Australia, C. Nourky {Rev. 8oc. Sci. Hyg. AU- 

 mciit., 7 (1909), No. G, pp. 161-110, }i{/s. G). — Tho system of goveriunent insi)ection 

 of Australian wines is discussed. 



Vinegar from milk, (J. Filavokau and Vnoux (Ann. Falsif., 2 {1909), No. 8, 

 pp. 21S-2S0).— The manufacture of so-called "milk vinegar" from skimmed 

 milk or wbey is described, and an analysis of such a product reported. 



According to the authors, milk vinegar, while it lacks the fine bouquet of 

 good wine vinegars, is a wholesome and agreeable condiment, which could be 

 used in place of some of the commercial vinegars made from alcoholic materials. 



Data on the production of caffein and thein-free food products, C. Kippen- 

 BERGER {Ztschr. Augew. Chem., 22 {1909), No. 38, pp. 1837-1 8.', 1\.— A discus- 

 sion especially with refei-ence to a patent process of removing caffein and thein. 



Deleterious ingredients of food, E. E. Smith {Science, n. ser., 30 {1909), No. 

 773, pp. 569-571). — In a paper presented before the section of biology. New 

 York Academy of Sciences, May, 1909, the author discusses the question of 

 food preservatives. 



According to his summary, " we conclude that substances added to food are 

 essentially injurious when incapable of serving a useful purpose in amount 

 widely separated from the quantity that may produce deleterious effects; and 

 that they are not essentially injurious when capable of serving a useful pur- 

 pose in amount widely separated from the quantity that may produce deleteri- 

 ous effect, even though, in this latter instance, they may become deleterious 

 by abuse of the quantitative relation." 



Preservatives in food materials. — Their detection and effect, D. H. Bergey 

 {Jour. Amer. Med. Assoc, 53 {1909), No. 10, pp. 755-757). — A series of tests 

 was undertaken to determine with what degree of accuracy the presence of pre- 

 servatives may be detected in foods by means of the antifermentative action 

 of the preservatives on trypsin. 



According to the author, " the use of the antifermentative test for the detec- 

 tion of preservatives in foods does not give results that are satisfactoi-y in 

 every particular. The employment of this test must be carried out in such a 

 manner as to eliminate normal antifermentative effects in the food substances, 

 and attempts to remove these normal antiferments may lead to the simultane- 

 ous removal of the preservative. 



" In view of our knowledge of the detrimental effects of chemical food pre- 

 servatives there is no more reprehensible practice than that of permitting their 

 use in foods in any quantity whatever." 



[The application of formaldehyde to meat], G. S. Buchanan and S. B. 

 ScHRY\'ER {Local Govt. Bd. [(It. Brit.], Food Rpts., 1909, No. 9, pp. 12).— This 

 report contains an account of the circumstances of the investigation by G. S. 

 Buchanan (pp. 1-4), and data on the i)resence and detection of formaldehyde 

 in meat by S. B. Schryver (pp. 5-12), from which the following conclusions 

 were drawn : 



" The results indicate that, in the case under consideration, formaldehyde 

 was not readily removed from meat even when the latter had been kept for 

 prolonged periods after formalization ; that where muscular surface was ex- 

 posed to the vapor, the contamination was relatively large (1 in .3,500) ; and 

 that a common depth of penetration into muscular tissue was 20 mm. under a 

 thin superficial layer of connective tissue." 



Harmfulness of headache mixtures, L. F. Kebler, F. P. Morgan, and P. Rupp 

 (U. S. Dept. Agr., Fanners' Bui. 377, pp. 16). — ^A popular summary of a report 

 previously noted (E. S. R., 21, p. 563) discussing the character and possible 

 harmful effects of acetanilid, antipyriu, and phenacetin. 



