62 COAL-TAR COLORS USED IN FOOD PRODUCTS. 



A search of the literature herein compiled fails to disclose any such 

 searching physiological examination of any of the coal-tar colors- 

 recommended for use by human beings in food products, as is asserted i 

 in the above quotation to be necessary in the case of a new chemical ' 

 intended for use as a drug. If Fraenkel, as quoted on page 60, is 

 correct in his statement that coal-tar colors act physiologically 

 because they are chemicals and not because they are coloring matters, 

 then coal-tar coloring matters prior to use in foods, in which they are 

 used by the young and the old, the well and the sick, without restric- 

 tion and without supervision, should also be thoroughly tested, and 

 very few, if any, coal-tar colors seem to have been examined with 

 the thoroughness set forth in the above quotation. That uniformity 

 and purity of product is necessary in order to be sure that the chem- 

 ical is going to act physiologically in the same way every time is 

 obvious. According to Fraenkel, what is true of a chemical is just 

 as true of a coal-tar color, and if uniformity of strength and cleanli- 

 ness of product are desirable when a chemical is to be used as a medi- 

 cine, such properties are equally desirable when a chemical is to be 

 used as an ingredient in food. 



CLASSIFICATION OF OPINIONS IN LITERATURE AND IN LEGAL 

 ENACTMENTS SHOWING CONDITION OF THE MARKET IN 1907. 



The literature and legal enactments hereinafter grouped under the 

 relevant Green Table numbers have been classified as (1) unfavora- 

 ble i. e., only unfavorable reports found in the literature; (2) favor- 

 able, and (3) contradictory reports, as each case required; so that 

 under each Green Table entry there is not only the relevant literature, 

 but also the character assigned to it for the purpose of coming to a 

 conclusion as to the propriety of the use of such color in foods as 

 based on such literature, which conclusion formed in that respect 

 the basis for Food Inspection Decisions Nos. 76, 77, and 106. 



However, it does not follow that all dyes placed in the " favorable" 

 list are actually harmless ; the investigations or opinions reported of 

 each may very well be based upon insufficient data. This classifica- 

 tion, therefore, is merely intended to reflect the present state of the 

 literature with respect thereto, and is not necessarily final nor con- 

 clusive. 



In substantially all the recorded cases the observers directly or 

 indirectly assert the absence of arsenic and mineral poisons in the 

 dyes subjected to physiological test, but the kind of other impurity, 

 if any, is not stated. 



For the purpose of a comprehensive survey of the literature and 

 legal enactments, the following tabulation is presented: 



