230  Standard  for  Flavoring  Extracts.  {^'S^'J^^' 
The  artificial  flavors,  such  as  pineapple,  strawberry,  raspberry,  etc., 
must  be  produced  from  "  harmless  "  substances,  must  be  free  from 
artificial  .color,  must  contain  no  statement  or  design  to  deceive  the 
purchaser.  Artificial  extracts  will  not  be  permitted  where  true 
extracts  can  be  produced.  (The  form  of  labelling  must  be  the  same 
as  under  vanilla.) 
One  of  the  biggest  "holes  in  heaven,"  punched  by  the  "  Pure 
Food  and  Drug  Regulations,"  is  the  requirement  of  the  Association 
of  Food  Commissioners,  that  all  artificial  extracts  of  such  drugs  as 
pineapple,  banana,  raspberry,  strawberry,  etc.,  be  labelled  as  "  imita- 
tion extracts."  These  "  extracts  "  have  for  many  years  been  sold 
to  some  of  the  more  or  less  ignorant  bottlers  of  beverages  as  "  natu- 
ral extracts,"  beautifully  colored,  of  course,  and  usually  marked 
from  two  to  ten  "  X,"  thus  purporting  to  be  of  from  two  to  tenfold 
the  strength  of  the  "  druggists'  extracts." 
Now  these  artificial  fruit  essences  must,  in  the  future,  go  uncol- 
ored ;  they  must  be  labelled  "imitation  extracts ;"  they  must  show 
their  "  true  alcohol  content ;"  they  must  give  "  the  true  name  and 
address  of  their  manufacturer,"  and,  worst  of  all,  they  cannot  be 
marked  "  double  "  or  "  quadruple  X,"  or  "  extra  quality  "  (all  of 
which  statements  commanded  an  extra  price)  and  they  cannot  be 
offered  for  sale  where  true  extracts  can  be  produced.  "  Und  da  liegt 
der  Hund  begraben." 
For  years  and  years  the  extract  manufacturers  offered  for  sale 
these  products  as  bona  fide,  highly  concentrated  extracts,  extract- 
ing correspondingly  higher  prices  for  each  "  X  "  upon  the  label,  and 
claimed  the  products  to  have  been  prepared  from  "  fresh  fruits."  How 
can  they  now  face  the  bottlers  and  admit  their  guilt?  How  can  they 
(and  they  must,  to  meet  competition)  drop  from  their  high-priced 
scale  to  the  low  prices  which  cheap  products  command  ? 
Now,  what  are  the  "  artificial  fruit  essences  ?"  The  banana 
essence  is  a  solution  of  butyric  ether  and  amyl  acetate  in  alcohol. 
The  pineapple  essence  is  made  by  dissolving  butyric  ether  in  alco- 
hol. The  strawberry  extract  is  a  mixture  of  nitrous  ether,  acetic 
ether,  butyric  ether  and  methyl  salicylate  in  alcohol.  The  rasp- 
berry extract  is  a  mixture  of  the  above  strawberry  extract  with 
the  addition  of  benzoic  and  cenanthic  ether.  And  these  simple 
mixtures  may  be  repeated  for  all  the  flavors  in  creation.  They  are 
all  simple,  all  inexpensive,  and  all  surrounded  with  a  mantle  of 
secrecy — of  mystery. 
