172 A. A. RAMSAY. 



Note on the FORMATION of FORMALDEHYDE in 

 SOLUTIONS of CANE SUGAR and its bearing on 

 Hehner's Test for Formaldehyde in Saccharine 

 Mixtures. 



By A. Alexander Ramsay. 



[Read before the Royal Society of N. S. Wales, November 6, 1907-2 



Trillat 1 has shown that on heating cane sugar, traces of 

 formaldehyde are given oil* even at 125° 0. At 150° 0. the 

 aldehyde is liberated in greater quantity. Analysis of the 

 vapours emitted at 200° C, shewed the presence of 0'2 to 

 5'7/'» formaldehyde, and the residual caramel contained up 

 to m 27°jo of polymerised formaldehyde, probably in the state 

 of trioxy methylene. The amounts produced were found to 

 vary with the method of heating, the nature of the vessel, 

 and the purity of the sugar. 



The object of the present note is to draw attention to 

 the fact, that the production of formaldehyde takes place 

 in minute quantities when cane sugar and water are heated 

 together from 100° to 103° C. This fact renders the Hehner 

 test' 2 unreliable as an indication of the addition of formalin 

 to jam or saccharine beverages, since formaldehyde is pro- 

 duced in the manufacture of jam. Moreover, the act of 

 distilling a saccharine liquid, results in the formation of 

 formaldehyde, even if it were not originally present. 



The following experiments were performed: — 1. 100 

 grams pure cane sugar was dissolved in 5 ozs. cold distilled 

 water, heated for half an hour, and distilled. The distillate 



1 A. Trillat, "The formation of formaldehyde in the caramelisation of 

 sugar," Bull. Soc. Chim., 1906, xxv., 681 - 685. 



2 Analyst, 1896, xxi., 95. 



