1070 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



FOODS— NUTRITION. 



Report of the department coramittee appointed to inquire into the use of 

 preservatives and coloring matters in the preservation and coloring of food 



{Lo)idon: Eyre <.t- SpoUiswoodn, 1901, pp. XXXVI {^407, figs. i'S). — This volume con- 

 tains the detailed report of the British officia] committee on food preservatives ap- 

 pointed in 1899, together with minutes of evidence and appendices reporting a number 

 of special investigations, experiments, and discussions or summaries. A number of 

 these have to do with such topics as the law and practice in certain foreign countries 

 and the British colonies as to preservatives and coLjring matter in food; the use of 

 preservatives in dairy and vegetable products, the use of preservatives and coloring 

 matter in foods, drinks, and drugs; analyses of milk and other products with a view 

 to detecting preservatives and coloring matters; analyses of commertdal preservatives; 

 physiological experiments, and related topics. Regarding the use of preservatives 

 and copper salts, the recommendations of the committee (which consisted of Herbert 

 Maxwell, T. E. Thorpe, H. Timbrell Bulstrode, and F. W. Tunnicliffe) were as follows: 



" That the use of formaldehyde or formalin, or preparations thereof, in foods or 

 drinks be absolutely j)rohibited, and that salicylic acid be not used in a greater pro- 

 portion than 1 grain per pint in licjuid food and 1 grain per jiound in solid fooil. Its 

 presence in all cases to be declared. 



"That the use of any preservative or coloring matter whatever in milk offered 

 for sale in the United Kingdom be constituted an offense under the Sale of Food and 

 Drugs Acts. 



"That the only preservative which it shall be lawful to use in cream be boric acid 

 or mixtures of boric acid and borax, and in amount not exceeding 0.25 per cent 

 expressed as boric acid. The amount of such preservative to l)e notified by a label 

 upon the vessel. 



"That the only preservative permitted to be used in butter and margarine be boric 

 acid or mixtures of boric acid and borax, to be used in pi-oportions not exceeding 

 0.5 per cent expressed as boric acid. 



"That in the case of all dietetic preparations intended for the use of invalids or 

 infants chemical preservatives of all kinds be prohibited. 



"That the use of copper salts in the so-called greening of preserved foods be 

 prohibited." 



F. W. Tunnicliffe jiresented a minority report which was not averse to the reason- 

 able use of copper salts for greening vegetables. 



Experiments upon the effect of boracic acid and formaJdehyde upon the live weight, 

 groivth, and food assimilation of young sucking pigs, A. I>. Hall, H. S. Hamiiwnd, and 

 F. W. Tunnicliffe (pp. 306-311, figs. 4). — Digestion and nitrogen metabolism experi- 

 ments, in which boracic acid and formaldehyde were added to the rations of pigs, 

 are reported. The authors' general conclusions follow: 



"The experiments conducted with boracic acid showed a negative result attending 

 the administration of this substance, and a combinative examination of the feces of 

 a boracised and normal pig showed no sensible difference in the amounts of fat, nitro- 

 gen, and fiber digested in the 2 cases. Formalin gave similar results; the adminis- 

 tration of formalin did not materially alter the rate of growtli. 



"Our experiments would show that the digestion of young, rapidly growing pigs, 

 as reflected in their general health and increase in live weight, is not sensibly affected 

 by the regular administration over a long period, of doses of boracic acid and formalin 

 in much larger proportions than they are usually employed for the preservation of 

 food." 



Report upon certain experiments made upon the extent to wliich the copper ingested with 

 artificially coppered peas is absorbed and retained by tlie human body, F. W. Tunnicliffe 

 (p. 312) . — Experiments with man on the effect of copper are reported, in which the 



