LEGAL, ENACTMENTS. 37 



From the table it appears that there is no one Green Table number 

 that is permitted by each and all of these 13 legal enactments, nor 

 is there any one color that is prohibited by each and all of these 13 

 legal enactments; and as late as 1902 there was considerable con 

 Fusion as to what should or should not be permitted or forbidden. 

 That the European enactments were not in reality consistent or 

 effective appears from the following: 



1. In respect to the use of coal-tar colors, the views as to their hannfulness or harm- 

 leesness are very divergent, and this uncertainty is expressed in the various legislative 

 enactments, (v. Raumer, Zts. Nahr. Unters. Hygiene &Waarenk., 1895, v. 9, p. 207.) 



2. After eating groats, which no doubt were free from ordinary poisons but had been 

 colored with Martius Yellow, a whole family became sick. Since this coloring matter 

 is not mentioned among those which, under the law of July 5, 1887, are forbidden 

 for the purpose of coloring articles of food, a complaint could not be lodged. Never- 

 theless, the use of Martius Yellow for the coloring of articles of food would seem to be 

 dangerous, since this coloring matter exerts poisonous effects. It is a weakness in 

 the law that coal-tar colors, of which new members are continuously appearing on 

 the market, and whose physiological action is unknown, should be at all permitted 

 for the coloring of articles of food. (Dietrich, Th., Jahresberichte der landwirthschaft- 

 lichenVersuchsstation, Marburg, 1900-1901, p. 13; abst. Zts. Nahr. Genussm., 1902, v. 5, 

 p. 364.) 



On account of their large number and the great diversity of opinion 

 as to harmfulness of some coal-tar colors and the harmlessness of 

 others therein reflected, no attempt was made to collect all the 

 legal enactments and regulations made with respect to coal-tar 

 dyes. The foregoing are typical of the remainder. 



COLORS SAID TO BE PERMITTED UNDER THE GERMAN LAW 



OF 1887. 



That some of the laws did not employ specific terms but used those 

 possessed of a great degree of elasticity appears from the following 

 taken from WeyFs "Sanitary relations of the coal-tar colors," page 38, 

 concerning the Chamber of Commerce and Trade of Sonneberg which 

 declared on December 4, 1887, that the German law of July 5, 1887, 

 allowed the unrestricted use of 



All blue and violet anilin (that is coal-tar) colors, all ponceaus; all orange colors, 

 Methyl Green, Brilliant Green, Malachite Green, Chrysoidin, Naphthol Yellow, Martius 

 Yellow, Eosin, Phloxin, Safranin, Erythrosin, Fuchsin, Phenylene Brown, and Anilin 

 Black. 



This amounts to not less than 233 permitted colors, as will now be 

 shown. 



Using the Green Tables as a guide it will be found that under the 

 above ruling there are to-day no less than 107 blue coal-tar colors 

 which could be used for food coloring. They are arranged as follows, 

 showing the comments on same in the literature. 



