ADULTERATION 



artificial product to be sold as a natural product. 

 For instance, pure butter is frequently colored 

 because most people prefer yellow to white 

 butter; on the other hand, artificial butter, 

 such as oleomargarine, is often colored so that 

 it may be sold as butter. The latter use of 

 coloring matter is fraudulent, while the former 

 is considered legitimate if the coloring matter 

 is harmless. (See subheading Butter and Its 

 Substitutes, below.) 



A considerable number of vegetable dyes 

 are known which are entirely harmless. As the 

 iv-ult of a careful investigation made by the 

 United States Department of Agriculture, it 

 was found that there are seven aniline dyes 

 which are entirely harmless when pure. Any 

 desired color may be produced by some one 

 of these dyes or a combination of two or 

 more of them. However, unless these dyes 

 are manufactured with great care, poisonous 

 substances, such as other dyes or arsenic, will 

 be present. For this reason when these dyes 

 are to be used in foods they are tested by the 

 government and a certificate is given that the 

 lot tested is pure. Such tested dyes are known 

 as certified dyes, and may be used in foods 

 where there is no intention to deceive. 



It is also illegal to sell the flesh of diseased 

 animals, decayed or decomposed fruits or 

 vegetables. To guard against such sales, foods 

 are inspected by national or local health 

 officers. 



Milk. Milk owes its value as a food to the 

 presence of butter fat, casein, milk sugar and 

 mineral matter. It is adulterated when the 

 fat has been removed as cream or when it 

 has been diluted by the addition of water. 

 Most civilized countries have passed laws speci- 

 fying the percentage of fat and water which 

 must be present in milk which may be sold. 

 Usually not less than three or three and one- 

 half per cent of fat is required, and not more 

 than eighty-seven or eighty-seven and one-half 

 per cent of water may be present in milk. 

 Generally thin milk is produced by skimming 

 or watering, but occasionally cows are found 

 which naturally produce milk with less fat 

 than required by law. The sale of such milk 

 is illegal. The addition of a chemical pre- 

 servative such as formaldehyde or borax is also 

 illegal. The greatest danger from the con- 

 sumption of milk arises from the presence of 

 disease germs such as the tuberculosis, typhoid 

 or diphtheria germs. Milk produced with the 

 best known precautions against the entrance 

 of these germs is known as certified milk. 



ADULTERATION 



Butter ami //N Substitute*. Pure butter must 

 not contain an excessive amount of water due 

 to the addition of a large amount of salt. It 

 may be colored with a harmless dye. An 

 inferior grade of butter known as renovated or 

 process butter is prepared from rancid or 

 inferior butter. Renovated butter is whole- 

 some, but it is inferior to good creamery but- 

 ter and should be sold as such. 



Oleomargarine is an artificial substitute for 

 butter which is manufactured from various 

 animal and vegetable fats, to which some 

 milk has been added. There is therefore always 

 present in oleomargarine some true butter fat . 

 While wholesome and nutritious, oleomargarine 

 is inferior in flavor and probably in digesti- 

 bility to butter, and it is therefore illegal to 

 sell it as such. If it is colored yellow it is 

 difficult to distinguish it by appearance, taste 

 or odor from butter. See OLEOMARGARINE. 



A number of other substitutes for butter 

 have been developed; most of these are com- 

 pounded from vegetable oils. This has been 

 rendered possible by the development of a 

 process known as hydrogenation oj oils, by 

 which oils are converted into solid fats. The 

 vegetable oils are quite as wholesome and 

 nutritious as the animal fats and are consid- 

 erably cheaper, but are not suitable for culinary 

 use because they are not solid. The hydro- 

 genated oils are excellent substitutes for lard 

 and butter for cooking purposes. These fats 

 are excellent foods, and their sale is entirely 

 legitimate if sold for what they are. 



Oils. Olive oil is the choicest of the vege- 

 table oils and has been used as food for cen- 

 turies. Many other vegetable oils are quite 

 as nutritious and wholesome, but are not 

 equal to olive oil in flavor. Olive oil is the 

 most expensive of these vegetable oils, and for 

 this reason other oils are at times mixed with 

 it or substituted for it. In the United States 

 cotton seed oil (which see) is the most largely- 

 produced vegetable oil. The most common 

 adulterant of the olive oil sold in the United 

 States and Canada is cotton seed oil. See 

 OLIVE OIL. 



Meats. Meats and meat products are at 

 times subjected to adulteration by the addition 

 of preservatives, borax and sulphite of soda 

 being commonly used for this purpose. Sul- 

 phite of soda gives a bright red color to meat 

 which is decomposed and unfit for consump- 

 tion. If the preservative were not added the 

 odor and appearance of the meat would give 

 evidence of its condition. 



