LJSTS OF COLORS RECOMMENDED BY INDIVIDUALS. 169 



With respect to 435, it must be pointed out that 434, which is the 

 methyl instead of the ethyl derivative, has only been regarded as 

 suspicious, and one examination of 435, namely, that of Lieber 

 (p. 144), does not appear to disclose anything which would positively 

 exclude 435. 



QUALITY, CLEANLINESS, AND EFFICIENCY. 



The justification for limiting the permitted colors to 6 out of 16, 

 against which nothing unfavorable is contained in the literature and 

 regarding which favorable statements are at hand, and the addition 

 to these 6 of the seventh color is to be found in the very great variation 

 in tinctorial quality, in percentage of coloring matter, in amounts 

 of insoluble matter, both organic and inorganic, and in the amounts 

 of organic matter not coloring matter, as well as in the large number 

 of samples containing an amount of arsenic in excess of that permitted 

 by the United States Pharmacopoeia for the only coal-tar color 

 therein mentioned, namely, Methylene Blue, and the varying amounts 

 of heavy metals, such as copper, lead, and iron, mostly in excess of 

 the limits permitted in the Pharmacopoeia for various medicinal 

 chemicals. This wide variation in quality and degree of cleanliness, 

 all pointing to a very great difference in the care with which coal-tar 

 colors offered for food purposes are prepared, render the conclusion 

 safe that some control over food colors in respect to quality is desir- 

 able, necessary, and essential. 



The efficiency of the 7 colors, 6 of which were selected from among 

 the 16 considered for the purpose of making this list of permitted colors 

 as being reasonably sure to be harmless, is evidenced by the fact that, 

 although the addition of colors has been sought by persons interested 

 in the food-coloring art, not one of the remaining 10 colors of those 

 16 has been so requested. In other words, the colors that the depart- 

 ment has been requested to add to the permitted list were outside 

 of the 16 colors which were on the markets of the United States in 

 1907, and were described in the literature in such a manner as to lead 

 to the conclusion that they were probably not harmful. 



XIII. LISTS OF COLORS SUBSEQUENTLY RECOMMENDED BY 

 INDIVIDUALS AND ASSOCIATIONS. 



Since Food Inspection Decisions Nos. 76 and 77 were published 

 recommendations of lists of permitted colors have been made by 

 other individuals and by a voluntary association. For the purpose 

 of comparing these proposed lists of permissible colors with the per- 

 mitted list of Food Inspection Decision No. 76, the former are now 

 to be examined in the same manner as the coal-tar colors, on the 

 United States market in the summer of 1907 for food coloring pur- 



