Of the 11 samples purchased in the open market, 8, from five 

 different packing houses, were corned beef. Two samples, one 

 packed by the Armour Canning Company, of Chicago, and one by 

 the Armour Packing Company, Kansas City, were luncheon beef, 

 and one sample was roast beef. 



The labels of the two samples obtained from the War Department 

 were almost identical, the only difference being the position of a 

 small shield. To one of the cans, however (No. 17516), gelatin had 

 been added to fill the spaces between the particles of meat ; while in 

 the case of the other sample (No. 17517), fat was used instead. 



In every case, both in the samples purchased in the open market 

 and in those obtained from the War Department, the contents of the 

 cans were in excellent preservation, and the surfaces of all the cans 

 were markedly concave, showing that no decomposition had begun. 

 This was also indicated by the fact that when the cans were opened 

 there was an appreciable influx of air ; while in the presence of even 

 incipient decomposition the surfaces of the cans are usually slightly 

 convex, and, on opening, an outflow of air may always be noticed. 



A careful examination was made for all of the preservatives which 

 are ordinarily employed in meat products, namely, borax and boric 

 acid, sulphites and sulphurous acid, salicylic and benzoic acids. No 

 traces of these preservatives were found in any case. 



An examination was also made for the presence of saltpeter. The 

 presence of saltpeter was confirmed in all of the samples of corned 

 beef and luncheon beef. No trace was found in any sample of roast 

 beef. The quantitative examination of the corned beef and Juncheon 

 beef, however, showed that the amount of saltpeter present was very 

 small, varying from 0.02 of one per cent to 0.145 of one per cent. 

 Only in two cases did the amount exceed 0.09 of one per cent. 



Common salt was also present to a considerable extent, though the 

 approximate amount of that ingredient which was used can be 

 determined very readily by the taste, and the amount present is 

 naturally not greater than is desired by the consumers of the meat, 

 nor than would be added in its preparation in private families. The 

 percentage of salt present was not determined by analysis. 



It is a matter of common information that in the preparation of 

 corned beef, salt and saltpeter are always used, whether it be in a 

 large packing house or in a private family. All recipes for its prep- 

 aration published in encyclopedias and in the correspondence columns 

 of our agricultural papers and similar publications, prescribe the use 

 of both salt and saltpeter, and corned beef prepared according to 

 these recipes would ordinarily contain at least as much salt and a 

 greater quantity of saltpeter than is found in the samples mentioned 

 in this report. 



