PRESERVATIVES AND COLOURING MATTERS IN FOODS 77 
which is used for brushing over hams, bacon, tongue, fish, &c, and which gives the 
article the appearance of having been perfectly and carefully smoked, the operation, 
like the name, being very ingenious. Amongst other common fraudulent colourings 
may be mentioned the use of burnt sugar with dilute acetic acid to resemble vinegar, 
and the use of glucose with a very common black treacle to imitate the brightness of 
golden syrup. 
The dirt, or staleness of goods may be concealed by colouring matters, as, for 
example, dirty rice, used to make egg powders, coloured with a yellow coal tar dye which 
takes away the dirty appearance ; similarly, stale milk coloured with a slightly yellow 
dye, gets a richer look. With regard to egg powders, which in reality are merely 
baking powders, these are coloured yellow and labelled ' each packet equivalent to one 
egg.' Cases have actually come under notice in which the purchaser has believed 
that the packet did actually contain the equivalent in food of a desiccated egg, possibly 
the yellow colour completed the delusion. 
It does not appear that the Food and Drugs Act, which is essentially framed 
on commercial lines, discountenances the use of colouring matters and preservatives, 
unless it can be proved that such ingredients are injurious to health. 
Every person adding any colouring matter, or preservative whatever, to 
articles of food, should state on a plain, simple and conspicuous label — 
1. The material used. 
2. The quantity used. 
3. The date at which the material was added. 
A form of label for supplying this information might be suggested. 
Heat and cold as preservatives are exceedingly common, and many articles are 
now sold as sterile. An article sold as sterile ought certainly to be sterile ; if it is 
not, it possesses the disadvantage of giving a false sense of security to the purchaser. 
But the sterility should not be secured by using chemicals. 
In procuring samples with a view to obtaining information as to the extent to 
which any given preservative, colouring matter, or adulterant is used, it is of the 
utmost importance that persons trained in the procedure of obtaining samples should 
be employed ; they, of course, can make use of the services of agents when necessary, 
but a case may be instanced in which a gentleman not conversant with the methods 
obtained a considerable number of samples, and on causing them to be analysed found 
all of them to contain the same preservative. Inquiry, however, showed that all these 
samples had been supplied from one and the same source. 
Preservatives and Cold 
Last year chemical preservatives were substituted for cold to a very great 
extent in the case of imported pork. This pork is packed in small boxes of 50 lbs. 
each, which are placed in a refrigerator on board ship with other ' chilled ' meat, and 
