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Commerce and Labor, in order that the regulations embodied in 
the decision may be put into effect. The decision follows : 
''At the request of the Secretary of Agriculture, the Referee 
Board of Consulting Scientific Experts has conducted an investi- 
gation as to the effect on health of the use of saccharin. The in- 
vestigation has been concluded, and the Referee Board reports 
that the continued use of saccharin for a long time in quantities 
over three-tenths of a gram per day is liable to impair digestion ; 
and that the addition of saccharin as a substitute for cane sugar 
or other forms of sugar reduces the food value of the sweetened 
product, and hence lowers its quality. 
'' Saccharin has been used as a substitute for sugar in over 
thirtv classes of foods in which sugar is commonly recognized 
as a normal and valuable ingredient. If the use of saccharin be 
continued it is evident that amounts of saccharin may readily be 
consumed which will, through continual use, produce digestive 
disturbances. In every food in which saccharin is used, some 
other sweetening agent known to be harmless to health can be 
substituted, and there is not even a pretense that saccharin is s 
necessity in the manufacture of food products. Under the Food 
and Drugs Act, articles of food are adulterated if they contain 
added poisonous or other added deleterious ingredients which 
may render them injurious to health. Articles of food are also 
adulterated within the meaning of the Act if substances have 
been mixed and packed with the foods so as to reduce or lower 
or injuriously affect their quality or strength. The findings of 
the Referee Board show that saccharin in food is such an added 
poisonous or other added deleterious ingredient as is contem- 
plated by the Act, and also that the substitution of the saccharin 
for sugar in foods reduces and lowers their quality. 
" The Secretary of Agriculture, therefore, will regard as adul- 
terated, under the Food and Drugs Act, foods containing sac- 
charin which, on and after July 1, 1911, are manufactured or 
offered for sale in the District of Columbia or the Territories, or 
shipped in interstate or foreign commerce, or offered for impor- 
tation into the United States." 
We regard this as one of the most important and far-reaching 
decisions that have been rendered by the general government for 
a long time. Dr. Wiley, of the Bureau of Chemistry, and the 
time-honored champion of pure food, has long opposed the use 
of saccharin. The fact that he is now supported by his associates, 
and by those higher up, is a matter of no little importance. It 
is going to mean a big boost to the bottled-honey business that 
has heretofore had to compete with saccharin-sweetened jellies 
and jams, and some glucosed products that could be sold for less 
money than honey. It will mean, too, that comb honey will also 
have a larger sale, although it has never belonged to the class of 
cheaper products. 
