FOOD VALUE OF CANNED VEGETABLES. 1021 



presumably of an oily or fatty nature; 8.67 per cent of indigestible 

 fiber; 25.5 of mineral matter, of which 18.37 per cent was common 

 salt and 6.68 per cent of other mineral substances. Of nitrogenous 

 matter in the form of albuminoids it contained 16.16 per cent, of which 

 11.23 per cent were digestible. Of carbohydrates, including sugar, 

 starch, etc., it contained 49.63 per cent. Of the total solid matter pres- 

 ent only 69.19 per cent were digestible. We have here a substance 

 which cost nearly $5 per pound, and of which, in round numbers, only 

 70 per cent were digestible. Thus the digestible matter cost about one- 

 third more, or about $6.50 per pound. 



In regard to the use of common salt in these canned vegetables, it 

 may be said that as a rule it is added as a condiment and not as a 

 preservative. The proportion of it in relation to the whole contents of 

 the can is not very high, but the percentage in the dry matter of the 

 can is very considerable. In one instance, viz, 10923, of American 

 string beans, it was found that 40.58 per cent of the dry matter con- 

 sisted of salt. In this case the salt evidently had been added either 

 as a preservative or with the fraudulent intent of increasing the weight, 

 more likely as a preservative. The extent to which common salt may 

 be added is a matter which has, I believe, not been regulated by law 

 in any country. There should, however, be a limit even to the addition 

 of this comparatively harmless substance. 



The percentage of water in the French haricots verts was even higher 

 than in American string beans. In one instance, No. 10939, the per- 

 centage of water found was 96.13. 



The percentage of salt in the dry matter of the French product is 

 quite uniform, the maximum being 19.13 per cent and the minimum 

 8.34 per cent. The percentage of albuminoids is somewhat higher than 

 in American goods, but the digestible albuminoids are in no greater 

 abundance. 



GENERAL REMARKS. 



A general view of the digestive experiments must lead to the con- 

 viction that the process of canning, especially when preservatives are 

 employed, such as salicylic acid and sulphites, tends to diminish the 

 digestibility of the albuminoid and other bodies. The low percentage 

 of digestible albuminoids will be remarked with some degree of aston- 

 ishment in all the analytical tables. 



A careful perusal of the data in the body of the report will not fail to 

 convince every unbiased person that the use of canned vegetables is 

 upon the whole an expensive luxury. It is not the purpose of this 

 investigation to discourage the use of such bodies, but only to secure 

 to the consumer as pure an article as possible. Nevertheless these 

 practical conclusions may prove of some help to the laboring man and 

 the head of a family, when he finds himself in straightened circum- 

 stances, by assisting him in investing his money in a wiser and more 



