PRESERVATIVES IN FOODS. 161. 
PRESERVATIVES IN FOODS. 
By W. Douerty, F.1C. 
Mi. W. Dowsrty, F.I.C., of the Government Laboratory, 
Sydney, forwarded a paper strongly adverse to the use of 
preservatives, which was well summarised in the concluding 
paragraph :— : 
“So general has the use of antiseptics become, that-we 
encounter them in almost every article of food. Thus, at 
breakfast, we may have borax in our coffee, boracic acid in 
our milk, in our butter, m fish (fresh and otherwise), in 
sausages, and salicylic:acid inyjams and preserves. Later on 
in the day we meet them again in wine, in ale, in aérated 
waters, in cheese, in pickles, &c., in quantities more or less 
in accordance with the personal equation of the purveyor. 
Our supper may ‘consist of salicylated stout, and oysters 
soaked in a solution of boracic acid. Forntaldehyde  sul- 
phites, fluorides, &c., may add their quota to the day’s menu. 
The cumulative effect of all this dosing, hour by hour, day 
by day, continued throughout the year, is quite a different 
_ matter from a grain or two of a drug in a bottle of ginger- 
beer.. We may not fear a Single ant, but we carefully avoid 
sleeping on an ant-bed. That’s the point.” 
A discussion followed. 
Mr. Blackett, Government. Analyst, Victoria, spoke against 
the use of preservatives,, and more especially of salicylic 
acid in wine or beer. 
Mr. W. F. Ward, the Tasmanian Government Analyst, 
said that, in his opinion, it might be laid down as a general 
rule that any chemical which retarded decomposition also © 
retarded digestion, and was, consequently, harmful. The 
onus of proof that it was not so should be upon those who 
desired to use such chemical: He especially wished to 
emphasise one point, which concerned future generations. 
In the first place, it was a matter of special, if not of general, 
knowledge, that the women of Australia were, to a large 
and increasing extent, shirking the duties of maternity, as 
the birth-rates showed. This being so, and until they could 
be brought to a more patriotic and less morbidly selfish 
frame of mind, we must do our best to preserve as many as 
possible of the lessened number of infants. Far too many 
of them are fed on condensed milk, to much of which preser- 
vatives are added, and while the milk has only been con. 
densed to one-third of its bulk, with the addition of some 
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