736 FOODS AND FOOD ADULTERANTS. 



REMARKS ON ANALYSIS OF CONFECTIONS. 



The question of the adulteration of candies and confections is hardly 

 debatable. The general conception of a pure confection is one that 

 contains saccharine flavoring and coloring matters, so mixed and ad- 

 justed as to be attractive both to taste and sight. As long as these in- 

 gredients are not harmful to the health they can scarcely be regarded 

 as adulterations. 



Harmful ingredients and the admixture in confections of terra alba, 

 kaolin, or other mineral substance calculated to give weight and vol- 

 ume to the mass must be regarded as adulterations. 



Starches and gums, although insoluble in cold water, are not of 

 themselves hurtful to the health, and their presence in certain kinds of 

 confections may be regarded as necessary. Coloring matters are divided 

 first of all into organic and inorganic classes. The metallic oxides 

 comprising the latter class should never be used as pigments for con- 

 fections. It has been claimed that lead compounds have been used for 

 coloring candy, especially lead chromate, but our investigations have 

 shown that inorganic colors are not used to any very great extent in 

 this country. Were it otherwise more samples of it would have been 

 found in the 250 samples, mostly colored, bought in open market in 

 different parts of the country. The organic colors may be divided into 

 innocuous and hurtful, but it is difficult to say where the line should be 

 drawn. Harmless vegetable pigments, it may be said, can be used 

 without endangering the health of the consumer. The same is true of 

 the like compounds of insect origin like cochineal. Some of the coal 

 tar colors are also said to be without injurious effect, but this state- 

 ment can not be made to apply to the whole family of aniline dyes, 

 perhaps the most frequent colors in candies. Among the colors found 

 in the samples examined may be mentioned cochineal, eosin, and other 

 aniline dyes, and ultramarine. 



ANALYSES BY MR. HUSTON. 



Mineral coloring matter was found in Nos. 153 and 176. The nature 

 of the base is not stated, but it is noted that both these samples con- 

 tain ultramarine. Organic coloring matters were found in 20 of the 

 samples equivalent to 80 per cent. 



One of the samples had an offensive odor. Sample No. 158 had 

 nearly 45 per cent of flour, which accounts in part, also, for its large 

 percentage of ash. Eleven samples contain notable quantities of 

 glucose. Other samples containing large quantities of starch and gum 

 are 159, 172, 174, 175, and 176. This latter sample contains nearly 7 

 per cent of ash, which is almost high enough to point to the use of terra 

 alba. This idea is corroborated by the fact that the insoluble portion 

 and the ash are almost identical in amount. On the contrary, it can be 

 urged with better reason that the adulteration with so small a portion 



