SULPHUROUS ACID AND SULPHITES. 765 



without any disturbance to manufacture and without any diminution 

 in the output of the article. 



In matters of this kind it is advisable to proceed when possible 

 with conservative steps and to avoid any attempt at sudden and 

 revolutionary changes in methods of manufacture. In all such cases, 

 however, it will be found not only possible and desirable to make the 

 food product in question without the use of the deleterious substance, 

 but there is evidence to show that the products thus manufactured 

 will be more palatable, more wholesome, and more valuable than 

 those made according to the methods commonly used at present. 

 Practical experiments have shown, for instance, the possibility of pro- 

 ducing a high-grade sirup from cane juice and other saccharine saps 

 without the use of the fumes of burning sulphur. Analytical data 

 show the presence on the market of considerable quantities of desic- 

 cated fruits of good appearance in which the quantity of sulphur is 

 so small as to be ascribed rather to the conversion of the natural sul- 

 phur content of the product than to the addition of the sulphur in 

 its manufacture. At the present time considerable quantities of wine 

 are made without the addition of sulphur of any description, and 

 these wines are of fine appearance, excellent flavor, and of noted 

 purity and wholesomeness. 



In so far as the mere tint of the food product is concerned, it is 

 not a difficult matter to familiarize the public with a tint of a differ- 

 ent kind from that which would be produced by the use of sulphur. 

 The only arguments of any force favoring the use of sulphurous 

 acid in food products are those which relate either to the preserva- 

 tion of the food product or to its color. As the preservation of the 

 product can be easily secured, and a slight change in color rendered 

 familiar without working any hardship, these arguments seem to 

 have no force whatever in justifying the continuation of the use of 

 sulphurous acid in foods. It may be the part of wisdom in the 

 administration of food laws to tolerate existing methods of manu- 

 facture for a certain length of time looking to their amelioration or 

 change, but that is a question with which this investigation is not 

 concerned. 



There is reason to believe, therefore, as a result of the present 

 studies, which have shown that the use of sulphurous acid in foods 

 is deleterious, that a rapid change will be made in the processes of 

 manufacture looking to the Complete and somewhat speedy suppres- 

 sion of its employment. The use of sulphurous acid and sulphites 

 never adds anything to the flavor or quality of a food, but renders 

 it both less palatable and less healthful. Every fact which has been 

 brought out, therefore, in the investigation tends to accentuate the 

 justness of the conclusion, namely, that the use of sulphurous acid 

 in foods should be suppressed. The data on which these conclusions 

 are based are given in detail in the following pages. 



