28 FOOD ADULTERATION AND METHODS FOR DETECTION. 



The lard sold in tropical and subtropical countries is of a different 

 nature from that sold in cooler places. It is stated by manufactur- 

 ers that natural lard is too soft a product for marketing in warm 

 weather, and that it can be greatly improved in this respect by the 

 addition of a fat of a firmer nature. For this purpose stearin, that 

 portion of the ordinary fats which melts at the highest temperature, 

 is sometimes employed. Stearin is prepared b} r heating fat such as 

 beef suet or lard to a temperature sufficient to melt a portion of the 

 product, but insufficient to melt stearin, and then filtering by means of 

 pressure through bags prepared for that purpose. The stearin which 

 is not melted is frequently added to the commercial lard for the pur- 

 pose of making it more firm than it otherwise would be, as stated 

 above. Less stearin is necessary for this purpose in winter than in 

 summer, and less in cool climates than in hot. A considerable portion 

 is employed for lard used in tropical countries. Beef stearin is some- 

 times employed for this purpose, although lard stearin is f requently 

 used, especially in the preparation of lard intended for States forbid- 

 ding the addition of beef fat to lard. 



FLAVORING EXTRACTS. 



The class of products comprising flavoring extracts is very fre- 

 quently adulterated. Artificial extracts are commonly sold instead of 

 those prepared from natural sources, and cheaper products than those 

 supposed to be used are often employed. For instance, tonka beans 

 are used instead of vanilla beans in the preparation of supposed vanilla 

 extract, and artificial vanillin, a coal-tar derivative, is very commonly 

 employed in the preparation of the cheapest grade of vanilla extract. 



Lemon extract, supposed to be manufactured by dissolving lemon 

 oil in alcohol, may be made from lemon grass. Lemon oil is some- 

 times treated by distillation with steam, and the nonvolatile portions 

 employed in the preparation of lemon extracts, while the volatile por- 

 tions containing the terpenes (an essential characteristic of lemon oil) 

 of the oil are sold as lemon oil. Practically the same forms of adul- 

 teration are practiced with other classes of flavoring extracts. 



Lemon oil is almost insoluble in water, and a fairly strong alcohol 

 is required to obtain it in the strength desired for flavoring purposes. 

 Many manufacturers have unintentionally violated the law by attempt- 

 ing to dissolve lemon oil in alcohol that is not sufficient!} 7 strong. 

 They frequently Ix-l'icv that their extract is up to the standard when 

 a- a matter of fact only a small portion of the oil they employ is 

 <li olved in the weak alcohol, and the remainder is unintentionally 

 discarded. A lemon extract having hut a small amount of alcohol 

 must necessarily have a low percentage of oil of lemon. 



