362  Adulteration  of  Food.  {^iuiy/im1"111, 
artificial  colors,  are  added  to  foods,  their  presence  is  promptly 
revealed  by  the  dangerous  symptoms  which  they  call  forth  in  the 
consumer.  About  a  year  ago,  some  Philadelphia  bakers  added 
chromate  of  lead  to  color  their  cakes,  and  caused  the  death  of 
several  persons,  and  serious  illness  in  nearly  every  one  who  ate  any 
of  these  products. 
The  great  majority  of  substances  used  for  food  adulterants  or 
substitutes  consist  of  cheap  and  harmless  substances,  which  are  not 
injurious  to  health,  as  the  following  list  of  those  most  commonly 
met  with  in  the  principal  food  products  will  show.  This  list  has 
been  compiled  from  the  reports  of  the  State  Boards  of  Health,  the 
returns  of  the  British  Inland  Revenue  Department,  the  reports  of 
the  British  Local  Government  Board,  and  those  of  the  Paris  Muni- 
cipal Laboratory. 
FOOD  PRODUCTS  AND  THEIR  CHIEF  ADULTERANTS. 
Food  Product. 
Adulterants. 
Milk,  Water,  removal  of  cream,  addition  of  oleo-oil  or  lard 
to  skimmed  milk. 
Butter,  Water,  salt,  foreign  fats,  artificial  coloring-matter. 
Cheese  Lard,  oleo-oil,  cottonseed-oil. 
Olive-oil,  Cottonseed  and  other  vegetable  oils. 
Beer,  Artificial  glucose,  malt  and  hop  substitutes,  sodium 
bicarbonate,  salt,  antiseptics. 
Syrup,   Artificial  glucose. 
Honey,  Artificial  glucose,  cane  sugar. 
Confectionery,  ....    Artificial  glucose,  starch,  artificial  essences,  poisonous 
pigments,  terra  alba,  gypsum. 
Wines,  liquors,    ,  .  .    Water,   spirits,    artificial    coloring-matter,  fictitious 
imitations,  aromatic  ethers,  burnt  sugar,  antiseptics. 
(Vinegar,   Water,  other  mineral  or  organic  acid. 
Flour,  bread,    ....    Other  meals,  alum. 
Bakers'  chemicals,  .  .  j  Starch,  alum. 
Spices,    .......    Flour,  starches  of  various  kinds,  turmeric. 
Cocoa  and  chocolate,  .    Sugar,  starch,  flour. 
Coffee,  Chicory,   peas,   beans,   rye,  corn,  wheat,  coloring- 
matter. 
Tea,  Exhausted  tea-leaves,  foreign  leaves,  tannin,  indigo, 
Prussian  blue,  turmeric,  gypsum,  soap-stone,  sand., 
Canned  goods,  ....    Metallic  poisons. 
Pickles,  Salts  of  copper. 
The  use  of  flours  and  starches  of  various  kinds — wheat,  corn, 
rye,  peas,  beans,  etc. — as  food  adulterants  cannot  be  considered 
injurious  to  health.  However  much  the  public  may  be  cheated  in 
the  purchase  of  such  adulterated  articles  of  food,  as  ground  spices, 
i 
