12 



and sulphites. Several others, such as ammonium fluorid, pyrolig- 

 iieous acid, beta naphthol, and abrastol, are used to a limited extent. 

 These substances may be divided into two classes, those which are 

 undoubtedly injurious, such as formaldehyde, salicylic acid, and sul- 

 phites, and those whose toxic action is disputed, like borax and ben- 

 zoic acid. The addition to foods of substances belonging to the first 

 class should be prohibited. The others should be used only with food 

 that is so marked as to inform the purchaser of their presence. Alleged 

 new discoveries, which are claimed to be entirely wholesome, are now 

 extensively sold for the preservation of food. Without exception, 

 these products consist of chemicals (often mixtures of two or more) 

 which are well known to the scientific world, and many of which are 

 familiar to the general public. A number of commercial preserva- 

 tives, and of the chemical substances of which they are composed, 

 are exhibited on the fourth shelf of this case. 



It is claimed by those interested in their use that the amount of 

 preservatives added to foods is so small as to be unimportant. It is 

 certainly true, however, that the amount added sometimes greatly 

 exceeds that which is believed to be necessary by those who favor the 

 use of chemical preservatives. On shelf 3 of the fourth case are 

 exhibited a series of samples of preservative chemicals which were 

 actually recovered from foods. 



Canned vegetables. Among the most important abuses which are 

 practiced in the preparation of canned vegetables is the use of an 

 excessive amount of water, and of mature vegetables which are 

 soaked before canning and placed on the market as green vegetables. 

 Many States require that cans containing soaked goods shall have 

 the word "soaked" printed in conspicuous type on the label. The 

 tendency of some firms to evade pure-food legislation was illus- 

 trated on the original labels of some of the samples exhibited on the 

 shelves 4 and 5 of this case. These labels attempted to comply with 

 the letter of the law above mentioned by publishing the following 

 sentence: "These goods are carefully prepared from selected stock 

 and soaked in artesian well water." The practice of preserving in 

 leguminous vegetables a bright green color by the use of copper sul- 

 phate (blue vitriol) is illustrated by samples on the same shelves. In 

 this connection it may be stated that some State laws require that 

 vegetables containing copper salts shall be labeled with, or bear a 

 paster stating, the amount of copper in each can. 



Baking powder and baking powder chemicals. Several illustrations 

 of the frauds in this class of food adjuncts are given on the fifth 

 shelf of this case. Whatever standards may be adopted for baking 

 powders; the sale of an article whose composition is markedly differ- 

 ent from that represented by the label must always be regarded as 

 fraudulent. Insoluble matter, such as gypsum and talc, should not 

 enter into the composition of substances of this nature. 



