igof\ Wheeler — Food Adulteration. 137 



Standard Commission and a committee of the National Asso- 

 ciation of Pure Food Commissions. It is no simple matter to 

 say what the standard of any particular food shall be, and this 

 recent action only partially covers the ground. The standards 

 consist of definitions and chemical limits, and embrace meat 

 and its products, milk and its products, sugar and its related 

 substances, spices, cocoa and cocoa products. It is hoped that 

 this work will be completed within two years. 



The adulteration of food is not a sin of modern times. In 

 London, eighty-five years ago, grocers sold tea made of thorn 

 leaves, dried on copper and colored with logwood and verdigris. 

 Milk was largely made of chalk and water, and sugar was 

 mixed with sand. Only a few years ago a member of my fam- 

 ily while in London returned to a grocer some sugar which 

 only partly dissolved in water. The grocer appeared horrified 

 and made the exchange with remarkable rapidity. In the 

 United States the granulated white sugar is as pure as the 

 manufacturer can make it. 



The demand for pure food becomes more and more insistent 

 each year, as realization grows of the far-reaching extent of 

 adulteration. A recent bulletin of the North Carolina Board 

 of health reveals how extensively food is now adulterated. 

 The report says that 29 percent of the vinegar examined was 

 untrue to name; 33 per cent, of the honey was adulterated; 

 37.5 per cent, of the jellies and jams, and every single sample 

 of apple butter, catsup, and sauces. As I have already said, 

 most of the States have adopted pure food laws, and an im- 

 mense amount of good has been accomplished through them. 

 Each State has a Food Commission, which keeps a watchful 

 eye upon every variety of food sold within the boundaries of 

 the State. Samples are bought in the open market and care- 

 fully analyzed by the chemist of the Commission. Where 

 adulteration is found the violator is prosecuted, and prosecu- 

 tions are usually successful. In Ohio, during 1901, there were 

 252 prosecutions. The jury disagreed in only seven cases 

 and there were only nine acquittals. It is interesting 



