ADULTERATION OF COCOA. 



19 



FLOUR. 



ThiMv is an impression in some quarters, nn fortunately, that flour 

 is adulterated with ground gypsum or other mineral matter. It U 

 also believed by many that alum is used for the purpose of whitening 

 bread. It may be said, however, that these forms of adulteration are 

 not practiced in this country. 



Some years ago an effort was made to place 4 on the market a ground 

 stone for the purpose of adulterating flour. This product was exten- 

 sively advertised by means of circular letters addressed to millers. A- 

 far as we have been able to ascertain, however, the product was never 

 used. At one time during recent years the use of Indian corn flour 

 for the adulteration of wheat flour became somewhat prevalent. This 

 practice was entirely stopped by the enforcement of the Federal law 

 relating to mixed flour. At the present time there is probably no 

 product on our market more free from adulteration than wheat flour. 



Some adulteration is practiced in special kinds of flour. For 

 instance, much of the so-called gluten flour on the market is not at all 

 what it purports to be. Frequently untreated wheat flour is sold for 

 gluten flour. Buckwheat flour and other special articles of that nature 

 are also frequently adulterated with cheaper cereal products. 



TABLE IV. Cereal products. 



COCOA AND CHOCOLATE. 



In the preparation of cocoa and chocolate, cocoa beans are roasted, 

 freed from shells, and ground. The resulting product is known as 

 cocoa mass. It contains about 50 per cent of fat (cocoa butter), and is 

 sometimes melted into cakes without any further addition and sold as 

 plain chocolate or bitter chocolate. 



For the preparation of sweetened chocolate, cane sugar is added to 

 the cocoa mass and ground at a temperature sufficient to melt the fat. 

 Milk chocolate is prepared by mixing with the cocoa mass dry milk 

 powder (obtained by the evaporation of whole milk) and sugar. 



Cocoa is obtained by pressing the cocoa mass while still sufficiently 

 warm to melt the fat so that a portion of it is removed. The fat is 



