764 INFLUENCE OF FOOD PRESERVATIVES ON HEALTH. 



(4) To protect the fruit during drying from flies and other insects, the larvse of which 

 would otherwise develop after the fruit was stored. 



(5) To kill the cells of the fruit and thus make the texture more porous, which 

 expedites drying. 



In the application of the fumes of burning sulphur in the prepara- 

 tion of evaporated apples the principal object appears to be the preser- 

 vation of the color of the finished product. Fruits which have been 

 sulphured before evaporation seem to have a lighter color than 

 those which are dried without sulphuring. At the same time it is 

 well known that highly sulphured fruits are preserved with a lower 

 degree of desiccation than those not sulphured, and for this reason 

 a greater weight of fruit is produced from a given weight of the raw 

 material when sulphur is used. It is not difficult to preserve a water 

 content of 30 per cent or over in the finished product when liberal 

 sulphuring is practiced. The use of sulphurous acid also makes it 

 easier to protect the finished product from mold and fungous growths 

 in general after manufacture. That excessive quantities of sulphur 

 are not necessary for the production of evaporated fruits of pleasing 

 appearance is well attested by analytical data obtained by the exam- 

 ination of fruits purchased in the open market having a light and 

 pleasing color, and at the same time containing only a small quantity 

 of sulphurous acid. On the other hand, it is quite easy by certain 

 forms of treatment during the process of manufacture to obtain a 

 product in which sulphurous acid is present in excessively large 

 quantities. The analytical data also show that a portion of the 

 sulphurous acid used in the preparation of such products becomes 

 oxidized into sulphuric acid after a certain time, thus artificially 

 increasing the small amount of sulphates naturally present in some 

 food products, which does not appear to be a desirable practice. 



As sulphurous acid in some form is almost universally employed in 

 the manufacture of wines, molasses, and sirups, and in the prepara- 

 tion of desiccated fruits, it is evident that the prohibition of its use 

 would necessitate a radical change in methods of manufacture. This 

 fact, however, it might be stated, has nothing whatever to do with 

 the purposes of the present investigation. Assuming that in the 

 manufacturing processes certain added bodies are used which are 

 found on investigation to be injurious to health, the rational conclu- 

 sion of such an investigation would be, not to excuse or overlook the 

 use of such bodies, but to institute investigations looking to their sup- 

 pression. If, therefore, the results of the present study indicate that 

 sulphurous acid, even in small quantities, is a deleterious substance 

 when added to foods, it would be reasonable to expect that manufac- 

 turers, as well as investigators, would immediately take steps looking 

 to the early suppression of the injurious substance. While it is not 

 likely that such an event could be accomplished within a year or two, 

 it is reasonable to suppose that it could be eventually brought about 



