Benzoate  of  Soda. 
J  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
X     October,  19U9. 
It  is  very  doubtful  if  the  lives  of  many  of  those  whom  the  world 
has  judged  to  be  illustrious  have  been  more  fruitful,  more  beneficial, 
or  exerted  a  wider  influence  in  shaping  the  characters  and  lives  of 
others  than  has  been  the  quiet  humble  career  of  this  unassuming 
pharmacist.  It  remains  for  God  alone  to  estimate  the  worth  of  such 
a  life  and  record  its  true  value. 
G.  M.  B. 
THE  BENZOATE  OF  SODA  CONTROVERSY. 
The  following  is  an  excerpt  from  an  editorial  in  The  Outlook 
for  September  n,  1909,  which  not  only  shows  how  one  of  the  lead- 
ing lay  publications  of  the  country  looks  at  this  problem  but  also 
furnishes  an  illustration  of  how  the  unscrupulous  seek  to  advance 
theTr  interests : 
"  It  is  true  that  benzoate  of  soda  is  used  in  some  food  products 
of  a  high  grade,  not  to  conceal  bad  material,  but  because  the  manu- 
facturers believe  that  they  can  best  maintain  the  natural  flavor  in 
this  way.  But,  in  view  of  the  past,  no  one  can  complain  if  chemical 
preservatives  are  looked  upon  with  suspicion,  and,  considering  the 
prevailing  commercial  standards  in  this  country,  it  appears  to  us 
that  there  is  more  danger  of  giving  food  manufacturers  too  much 
latitude  than  there  is  of  restricting  them  too  much.  The  contro- 
versy over  benzoate  of  soda  will  at  least  have  served  one  good 
purpose  if  it  arouses  the  country  to  the  need  of  the  most  rigorous 
kind  of  inspection  and  regulation  of  every  class  of  food-producing 
establishment.  In  some  way  the  country  will  insist  that  only  whole- 
some materials  are  used,  and  that  hygienic  methods  of  preparing 
those  materials  are  followed. 
"  And,  finally,  the  manufacturers  who  believe  sincerely  in  the 
right  and  propriety  of  their  use  of  benzoate  of  soda  are  not  really 
doing  their  cause  good  by  some  of  their  methods  of  creating  public 
opinion.  An  organization  bearing  the  high-sounding  title  of  the 
National  Association  for  the  Promotion  of  Public  Health,  and  pur- 
porting to  be  a  philanthropic  and  public-spirited  society,  is  really 
maintained  as  an  advertising  or  press  agency  by  some  at  least  of  the 
manufacturing  group  which  use  benzoate  of  soda.  This  press 
agency  recently  submitted  to  The  Outlook  for  publication  an  article 
by  a  physician  which,  under  the  guise  of  a  charitable  appeal  for 
poor  children  suffering  from  infantile  paralysis,  was  a  thinlv  dis- 
guised advocacy  of  the  use  of  benzoate  of  soda  in  preserved  foods." 
