8 INFLUENCE OF FOOD PRESERVATIVES ON HEALTH. 



does not mean that in a concentrated form they have neither taste nor 

 odor. Quite the contrary is true. Nearly all of them in a concen- 

 trated state reveal themselves either by taste or by odor. For instance, 

 salicylic acid in a pure state has a distinct taste, and sulphurous acid 

 in the form of gas or in a nearly saturated solution is distinguished 

 by its odor and irritant effect upon the nostrils. Nevertheless, small 

 quantities of salicylic acid can be placed in food products without the 

 consumer being able to detect it, and the same is true of sulphurous 

 acid. 



Legislation has been enacted concerning the use of preservatives 

 and coloring matters in foods in foreign countries and in the various 

 States of the United States." This legislation is of varying character, 

 prohibiting in some countries what is allowed in others, establishing 

 rules and regulations which are local in character, and, in general, 

 producing a state of affairs which is annoying to the manufacturer of 

 food products and the dealers therein, and which, by the diversity of 

 laws and decisions relating thereto, does not secure to the consumer 

 the full benefit which was intended. The desirability of some inves- 

 tigation, therefore, is apparent, in order to establish certain principles 

 concerning the use or prohibition of these substances, which, by rea- 

 son of their more general applicability, may influence local and gen- 

 eral legislation in a manner tending to secure a greater uniformity and 

 efficiency. It is also evident that if these investigations are conducted 

 under some direction not particularly interested in the construction of 

 any law nor associated in any commercial way with the interests of 

 either manufacturer or consumer, they will have a greater weight. 



The Secretary of Agriculture is manifestly the proper official to 

 undertake and direct such an investigation. The interests of the 

 Department over which he presides are associated alike with pro- 

 ducers, manufacturers, and consumers of food products, and thus any 

 bias which might exist in other quarters in favor of any particular 

 interest would be eliminated. For this reason the investigations con- 

 ducted under his direction, even if no more thorough, painstaking, or 

 reliable than if carried on under other auspices, would be commended 

 more generally by reason of their freedom from influences which 

 might tend to divert them from their intended purposes. 



PLAN OF THE INVESTIGATION. 



In determining the method by which these investigations should be 

 conducted, a careful study was made of similar researches which have 

 been made both in the United States and in foreign countries. A sur- 

 vey of the field of rssearch in this direction shows that three principal 

 methods of procedure have been followed. 



U. 8. Dept. Agr., Bureau of Chemistry, Bui. No. 69, Pts. I- VI; Bui. No. 83, Pt. I. 



