THE  AMEEIOAIST 
JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY 
FEBRUARY,  igrj 
WHAT  IS  TERRA  ALBA? 
By  Charles  H.  La  Wall. 
For  many  years  previous  to  the  passage  of  the  Federal  Food  and 
Drug  Act  of  June  30,  1906,  the  substance  terra  alba  had  been 
associated  with  confectionery  in  the  sense  of  its  being  an  adulterant 
and  cheapener.  In  the  popular  mind  as  well  as  among  chemists 
it  conveyed  the  impression  of  a  white,  insoluble  and  tasteless  earthy 
substance  (terra  alba  L.,  white  earth)  which  could  be  used  as  a 
filler  and  cheapener  in  candy.  Where  the  idea  of  the  prevalence 
of  its  use  originated  it  would  be  difficult  to  say.  It  may  be  true 
that  it  was  occasionally  used  by  unscrupulous  manufacturers,  just 
the  same  as  sugar  may  have  been  adulterated  with  sand  by  some 
grocers,  but  so  far  as  any  authenticated  instances  of  either  of  these 
forms  of  adulteration  having  been  detected  by  any  person  of 
authority,  who  afterward  made  a  record  of  the  fact,  they  are  con- 
spicuous by  their  absence  in  the  literature  of  foods  and  food 
adulteration. 
In  the  Federal  Act  before  mentioned  terra  alba  is  one  of  the 
several  adulterants  which  are  specifically  prohibited  by  name  in  the 
following  clause : 
"  An  article  of  food  shall  be  deemed  to  be  adulterated,  in  the  case  of 
confectionery,  if  it  contain  terra  alba,  barytes,  talc,  chrome  yellow,  or  other 
mineral  substances." 
This  specific  prohibition  of  terra  alba  by  name  is  also  found  in 
the  State  laws  of  Alabama,  Arkansas,  California,  Colorado,  Con- 
necticut, Florida,  Georgia,  Idaho,  Illinois,  Iowa,  Kansas,  Louisiana, 
Maine,    Maryland,    Minnesota,    Missouri,    Montana,  Nebraska, 
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