202 
Pharmaceutical  Meeting. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
April,  1906. 
that  the  use  of  food  preservatives  was  not  desirable,  and  that  his 
position  had  been  criticised  both  favorably  and  unfavorably,  the 
advocates  of  preservatives  claiming  that  their  use  is  to  be  recom- 
mended under  certain  circumstances,  as,  for  instance,  in  delay  in 
transportation.  Mr.  Lemberger  said  that  in  view  of  the  arguments 
advanced  by  Dr.  Wiley  and  Dr.  Wood,  he  felt  that  it  would  be 
wrong  to  encourage  the  use  of  preservatives.  He  said  that  he  per- 
sonally was  opposed  to  the  use  of  foods  containing  them  and  that 
what  he  did  not  favor  for  himself  he  did  not  consider  good  for  his 
neighbor.  Referring  to  the  Pure  Food  Bill,  he  hoped  that  it  would 
pass  both  houses  of  Congress,  and  said  that  then  provision  should 
be  made  for  the  proper  inspection  of  food  products,  so  as  to  insure 
their  purity. 
Warren  H.  Foley  desired  to  know  if  preservatives  have  the  same 
effect  after  being  applied  to  food  as  when  administered  directly,  or, 
in  other  words,  if  the  preservative  combines  with  the  food  material 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  be  less  harmful  than  it  otherwise  would  be. 
Dr.  Wiley  in  reply  said  that  in  the  experiments  which  he  had  been 
making  the  chemicals  had  been  directly  administered,  that  his  object 
had  been  to  study  the  effects  on  the  organism  and  not  on  the  foods. 
He  said  that  borax  undergoes  no  change  when  applied  to  foods,  and 
stated  that  in  those  cases  where  there  is  a  combination  of  the  chemi- 
cal and  food  product  the  effect  of  the  chemical  on  the  organism 
would  ultimately  be  realized. 
Prof.  Joseph  P.  Remington  said  that  he  was  in  favor  of  improving 
the  quality  of  foods,  but  that  he  was  not  quite  convinced  that  a 
small  amount  of  preservative  is  objectionable.  In  this  connection 
he  referred  to  an  experience  of  Dr.  Squibb  during  the  Civil  War. 
Dr.  Squibb  had  undertaken  to  supply  the  army  with  chloroform  and 
ether,  but  in  transporting  these  liquids  over  the  mountains  in  Vir- 
ginia and  the  neighboring  States,  they  were  decomposed,  the  chlorine 
being  liberated  from  the  chloroform,  and  it  was  found  necessary  to 
add  a  small  quantity  of  alcohol  to  prevent  decomposition.  On  the 
other  hand,  Professor  Remington  said  that  he  was  thoroughly  assured 
that  if  food  preservatives  are  used,  the  fact  should  be  stated  on  the 
label,  and  that  this  also  applies  to  all  medicines  and  proprietary 
preparations.  Florence  Yaple, 
Secretary  pro  tern. 
