Show WHAT WE EAT the adulteration of food ald and drinks has become almost as general as the use of these theae articles itself scarcely an article used by men in civilized countries has escaped this process where it was possible to unite some come cheaper substance with it flour coffee toffee tea sugar butter and and a hundred other articles are known to be the commonest j articles that undergo this adulteration tion process the methods have been BO so often exposed that the pub hlo ile lie are tolerably acquainted with the manipulations thebe these substances undergo at the hands of experts bread truthfully called the staff of life is no exception to this ruled the new york post has been giving giva this subject some attention an and the result of some re iila illa able auie investigations which are worthy the close attention of thoughtful people from ita its recent exposure of the use of burnt burdt alum in some brands of baking powders in place of cream of tartar the following extracts are mainly taken pursuing the investigation of the quality of the food sold in this cit city y the representative of the evening post up baking balrig powder aa as one of tho the arti artl articles clis ln In mast general in cur households it is used by nearly every family in the city and it iti iii naturally of great importance to tho teo thoa who eat the food made mado with it to know whether it if contains anything injurious to health there are constituents of g good oad baking biking ap pp powder ader which may be bd regarded as entirely free frum from dl dan n ger they consist of pure grape pe of tartar bicarbonate of sod soa soda boda a and carbonate of ammonia tho cream of tartar unites with the other two ingredients and carbonic acid gas gaa is thrown ion off producing the same effect as yeast in a much shorter time it has been found hia hin however ever that alum will also U iila with the other two article articles and nd carbonic acid gaar will wiil bei be produced As alum costs less than three cents while cream of tartar costs coats more than thirty thiry cents a 8 pound it Is easy to see why alum I 1 is s substituted for the latter by some baking powder res rea it is admitted by all medical sath authorities orides that cream of tartar leaves no injurious substance in the bread alum on the other hand is in itself an as stringent trin gent and there ia Is wide and deep seated pr prejudice edIce against sic fiC its use in england and other countries the adulteration of food with alum f la forbidden by law under heavy penalties the chemical effect of alum used in bread to whiten it is to to form two salts of the sulphate and the phosphate to of when used in baking powder the alum forms a third salt the hydrate of as well as the other two this hydrate of al um inala Is far fhi more easily soluble than the other two hence li nce nee any ob that may exist to the use of alum alone in bread applies with greater grester force to its use in baking doit this this fact sean lean can be proven low gow by bythe the tho following ti anaed authorities parke peg lahn lahe leader ct df the no new w achrol of hygiene inu iff england in in 1 h his 19 1 00 66 71 h he 0 bays says then cheh h to ta the positive tivo LIVO evi evl demoe dedee an d the thi reasonableness of thab that evidence evide in beil dejl it beems seems e e 8 t to 0 me m e ext exin I 1 t V it strongly ro ng 1 a blum alum u 1 ed bread pro p C e t he the injurious ef fecca ascribed ed to 0 it V T these thebe ese e effects is aa as he pro previously pre ilou hiou sly state sare bare indigestion tion griping constipation and kindred troubles rea resulting tilting from irritation of the mucous membrane produced by the astringent properties of alum in dr hammonds Ham monda work on by glence stence written in the following passages occur aluin alum acts by rendering the albumen in the bread lees less soluble lb the use of alum in id bread is ii injurious both because it tends to co conceal riceal the bad quality of the flour employed and because it is capable of exercising an injurious effect upon the bread by rendering it indigestible it is also probably pro bablo that the continued in of alum ia Is calculated to disorder the healthy action of the digestive system persons who havo have not strong constitutions glowing growing birbas girl giri young children and nursing mothers are f V particularly par ticul arly 1 l lable liable to the evil effects I 1 produced by this use of alum heartburn he i and the prevalent forms of hi indigestion digestion arg arc 0 of ten solely trace able abie ablo action of alum 0 on n the delic delicate ihfe iffe coats of the stomach those who think the bize of the dose Is too small to be dangerous will see by tho the accompanying analysis that the doe dom deeo e is not so small after all ail moreover even a small email dose may i have serious results to make sure of knowing the action of alum the evening posts representative obtained the following expressions of opinion as to its effect when used in baking powder from some physicians of new york of the highest reputation and ability dr william formerly surgeon general united states of no 43 west fifty f fourth street expressed himself as perfectly certain of the injurious s effe effects ets of alum yv whether hether used alone to io whiten bread prasan pr as an adulterant of baking powders ow alluding to the claim advanced that the alum was neutralized and changed into an insoluble salt he said that this was a wholly improbable assumption since such a perfect change chango could riot not take place unless the amounts of and the of soda were combined in the exact chemical ratio necessary jor each 0 o absorb all of the other not only was this impossible M iu lu the manufacture of large largo quantities of baking powder but the homogeneous ous character of the compound could not be exactly maintained throughout the whole mass and therefore there would be sure to be a certain a amount M aunt of free freb alum in any bread made with an alum baking powder but even if tie the exact proportion were maintained ta the salts formed would retain their their injurious properties RO as they would be dissolved in the gas trio trie juice the gastric juice contained not only lactic acid but a large amount of hydro hydrochloric ch lorle acid and both the sulphate and hydrate of would be dissolved the phosphate might not be but in that case ease the bread would be deprived of one of its most desirable ingredients making the use of alum not only dangerous to the stomach but deteriorating to the food the hydrate of lamina s dr hammon hammond d said would eer certainly taini be injurious to the mucous membrane it would inevitably tend to constipate the bowels and inter feie fere with digestion and und anything thad that ends to redder render the Olbu zao zae of the bread insoluble and therefore takes away from its nutritive value 19 Is 19 lD jurious injurious 21 dr willard parker porker said that if alum was substituted for cream of tartar in bakin baking g powder in hla hia hi opinion such powder would gould be in J jurius arfus to health dr alonzo alonza clark dark considers that alum hai has its uses but it should not riot be ignorantly taken into the stomach in food A substance which can derange the stoma stomach dh and in certain cases produce vomiting should not mot sot be tolerated in baking powder dr je lie grand N denslow of no west twenty thard third street gave the following as his bis opinion anthis subject bread containing the salts of aluin alum which are freely soluble in the gastric juice is undoubtedly prejudicial to health the salts acting as irritants to the stomach 7 having obtained the foregoing medical opinions the reporter investigated vesti gated a number of brands of baking haking powder the brooklyn board of health and the new york board of health have both ordered an official investigation of baking powder and the hanl Saul sanitary tary superintendent of the brockly board has made his report in which be he says from a careful examination 1 I am satisfied that the weight of evidence is against the use of alum ic in baking powders and that the risks incurred in its use are too great to be incurred for the sake of ch cheapness ea p alone the mucous membranes of the stomach and the intestinal tes canal is a delicate structure and materials which would produce no effect on the outside skin might irritate and inflame these organs lir the analysis of the tho various baking powders as officially reported by the brooklyn boards board reveal reveals 8 only two brands containing alum being beine sold in that city Doo loys and pa As to the cream eream of tartar powders the same report mentions the royal baking powder as free from alum or any an other substance injurious to life or health there are probably more than five hundred kinds of baking powder manufactured in this country and while bome some of them are sold bold sold from the atlantic to the paci pact pacific tle fie the ma majority arity have only a lobal local sale near th their air respective places of manufacture through dr henry A mott jr the w well weil ell eli known chemist one of the most competent and eare care careful full experts of this country the following analyses were obtained showing tho the pre presence of alum in large quantities in many of the taking powders having a wide baio fialo dr mott kindly furnished n hot not only the results of his own analyses but also those of several chemists of high professional standi standing Dg including Profess professor ok henry morton president Bt evens institute of technology professor R NY Bc hedle hedie dr stillwell of walz fc analytical chemists this city and professor patrick of missouri dr motts motta report is as follows dear sir bir in accordance with your request I 1 herewith embody the results of the analyses of baking powders in all of which alum waslo was found und as ad an ingredient granta GRANTS contains alum J C a grant rant invincible contain af al alum ump snyder den dez bros co cincinnati contains alum dooley 4 bro no now vv york PATAPSCO contains alum smith hanway 4 co baltimore md CHARM contains alum rohrer christian Ss co st louis andrews kearl contains alum 0 E F Au andrews androws drews co milwaukee QUEEN contains alum bennett sloan new naven haven connecticut VIENNA contains alum church 4 co oot cot now york city oriet 0 con can afas ans alum C crouse e walrath co syracuse syra Byra cuse cuso nr AMAZON contains aluna aluni louisville kyl kyj lakeside contains alum 0 0 chicago ill TWIN SISTERS contains alum union chemical works chicago ill sij sif superlative contains alum A W zeitlow co nev ne york KING ICING contains alum WHITE LI ILY contains alum jewett jawett sherman Bherman co milwaukee WIS wib s imon MONARCH contains alum ricker kicker ci ombie aco eco Ss co I 1 milwaukee wib wis ONE onia SPOON contains alum taylor manufacturing co bt louis IM IMPERIAL contains alum spragues Sp warner warmer griswold chicago honesta A contains alum st paus m glnn inn ECONOM economical ick ICA L contains conta alum spencer bres bros co chicago ol L alum JL L B R th viar 1 ICAR ff ARTRES tress alun alua Thom thomson soli soji taylor Cb Ch leago 64 glant grant rant JANT contains alum vf F FM cLaughlin chicago RI hands queen contains alum star CL chemical works chicago yours very veit truly henry hanby A moti MOCT jr rh Ph phlem D DEM ii x having obtained the foregoing the reporter called at sit the office of the royal baking powder company no duane street the manti mauti manufacturers rs of the royal baking powder a brand which the report of the brooklyn health board revealed to be pure mr J C hoagland president of the company gave the following replies REPORTER what is the cause of the present excitement about baking powders MB MP silt eilt it is due to the substitution of alum for cream of tartar by some manufacturers REPORTER I 1 have you ever used any alum in the royal baking powder MR MP HOAGLAND no sir air REPORTER but I 1 find that it is used by others what is it used foi for MR hoagland 1 I presume because it is cheaper than cream of tartar which it replaces s REPORTER ER you would therefore obtain a larger profit by using alum than by using cre amot tartar MB MR HOAGLAND yes sir bir for a time such euch substitution would more than double our proff profits ts s REPORTER why then do you not use it MR MP HOAGLAND ND for two reasons first the tha authorities on this point are so eo poil positive tive tiva and conclusive that the continued use of alu aiu alum m in this way is dangerous to health that we could not conscientiously use it if others othera choose to take risks on the public health we shall not follow them preferring to continue the ube use of pure grape cream of tartar which is demonstrated to be wholesome second our experience during twenty years has satisfied us that that which is best for the public u ile lie is best beat for us we cannot b afford rd to peril the reputation of the royal baking powder other interviews were wore had all to the same samp general effect namely that alum Is used by many manufacturers rs to cheapen their powder and enable them to undersell the their r competitors many of them are aie at probably ignorant of the evil effects of alum on the system while others are indifferent BO so long as they make mako money and no one orle can ho he said to have dropped dead from taking their powder dr mott the government chemist in his review of this subject in the scientific amet amer american eean fean makes special mention of ha having analyzed the royal baking powder and found lc it composed of wholesome materials ho he also the public to avoid purchasing baking powders as sold loose or in bulk as he be found by analyses of many barm earn ples pies that the worst adulterations adulte rations are practiced in this form forat the label and trademark trade mak mark of 0 a well known and responsible manufacturer he adds ia it the best protection the public can have edries bazar |