the preservation of food by chemicals 487 



Legal Control of the Preservation of Foods by Chemicals 



The desirability of legal regulation of the use of chemical food pre- 

 servatives is now generally recognized, but there is still considerable 

 diversity of opinion concerning what this regulation should be. Few, 

 indeed, maintain that a substance exerting antiseptic action upon 

 microorganisms outside the body is wholly without influence, after 

 ingestion, upon the enzymes and bacteria of the normal digestive tract, 

 even if we disregard the possible effects of the substance after absorp- 

 tion. It seems necessary to grant the existence of some effeqt, even 

 though it be so slight as to have escaped detection. Over against the 

 possible injury to the consumer must be placed the economic saving 

 through the use of the preservative, often involving a considerable 

 amount of money. In the absence of accurate and trustworthy 

 knowledge concerning the actual influence of preservatives in the human 

 body it would seem wise to prohibit all deception in regard to their 

 presence. The principle advocated by Pasteur (1891) would still seem 

 to be best, that is, to allow the use of preservatives, which are not 

 known to be dangerous, upon the condition that their presence and the 

 exact amounts be definitely' and clearly stated on an appropriate label 

 for the benefit of the purchaser and the ultimate consumer. Such 

 regulation would not only protect the consumer against deception and 

 fraud but would go far toward removing unjust prejudice against 

 preservatives, for even now there is little or no objection to those 

 preservative substances of which the presence and the amount can be 

 detected and roughly measured by the senses, such as salt, sugar, spices, 

 vinegar and wood smoke. 



