10 



Poisoning by Tinned Foods. 



By E. H. Bekn"ie, M.A., D.Sc, Professor of Chemistry in the 

 University of Adelaide. 



[Read April 6, 1886.] 



In December, 18S5, a family at Tanunda, S.A., who had par- 

 taken of some tinned fish (Machonochie's fresh herrings) were 

 seized with violent symptoms indicative of an irritant poison. 

 The portion of the fish which remained uneaten was forwarded 

 to me by the President of the Central Board of Health for 

 examination. Analysis revealed the presence of considerable 

 quantities of tin — about 025 grain oxide of tin to atablespoon- 

 ful of fish — and traces of lead, the interior of the tin being 

 much corroded. Under an impression, which seems to be a 

 general one, that tin salts are poisonous, I gave the opinion 

 that in the case referred to the symptoms were due to the 

 presence of these compounds in the fish. 



A very similar case occurred about the same time at Mur- 

 rurundi, N.S."W., the symptoms having been caused by eating 

 tinned fish of the same brand ; but Dr. Ashburton Thompson 

 (Medical Inspector under the Board of Health, Sydney) in- 

 formed me that in this case there were some symptoms which 

 could not be referred to an irritant metallic poison alone, and 

 he at the same time expressed himself as more inclined to be- 

 lieve that all these cases were referable to animal poisoning. 

 He at the same time pointed out that were they due to poison- 

 ing by tin compounds illness of the same kind would probably 

 be much more frequent, the presence of tin in larger or smaller 

 quantities having been so frequently recognised. 



Since then my attention has been called to a paper published 

 in a German periodical devoted to physiology (reference un- 

 fortunately lost), and to an abstract {Lancet, 1886, p. 455) of 

 a paper by Dr. Patenko. In the former paper an account is 

 given of experiments with two soluble tin compounds, viz., 

 tin triethyl and the double tartrate of tin and sodium, on 

 various animals, and it is shown that while the subcutaneous 

 injection of these compounds gives rise to very serious symptoms, 

 the administration of large doses by the mouth day after day 

 produces little or no effect. In the latter paper an account is 

 given of similar experiments with "bichloride of tin," w T ith 

 similar results. 



These facts, coupled with recent investigations on the for- 



