l6o BACTERIA, YEASTS, AND MOLDS 



own country is less common, because our markets are nearer 

 the sources of supply. The national Pure Food Law, 

 making these preservatives illegal, has greatly reduced 

 their use, and to-day the food on our markets is mostly 

 free from them. 



It has been an open question for some years whether 

 borax used in small quantities under such conditions is 

 injurious to the consumer. Nor is the question yet posi- 

 tively settled. It has become in a measure an interna- 

 tional question, involving the importation of American beef 

 and other products into foreign markets, and a great deal 

 of contradictory evidence has been advanced. The fact that 

 people have for years been unconsciously using food preserved 

 by means of such substances, without any apparent injuri- 

 ous effects, seems prima facie evidence that no harm results ; 

 but it is possible, of course, to say that the harmful effects 

 are not at first discernible, and that many of the digestive 

 and other troubles of man are due to this unconscious con- 

 sumption of such drugs. No positive answer can be given 

 to the question. Although it is certain that many people in 

 large cities have occasionally, or even constantly, consumed 

 them without any apparent injury, the general belief is that 

 they are injurious. 



Moreover, when such materials are used for preserving 

 food, it frequently happens that a considerable quantity 

 is unconsciously used. Our foods usually pass through 

 the hands of several people before they are consumed. 

 The original producer may put in a little preservative, the 

 middleman adds more in order that the material may not 

 spoil on his hands, and the householder, in ignorance of 

 these additions, may put in a little more. By the time it 



