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PEESEEVATIVES  IN   FOOD 

AND 

FOOD  EXAMINATION 


ALSO    BY    DR.  THRESH. 


THE  EXAMINATION  OF  WATERS  AND  WATER 
SUPPLIES.  With  19  Plates  and  11  Figures  in  the 
taxt.  Royal  8vo.  14s.  net. 

A     SIMPLE    METHOD    OF    WATER    ANALYSIS, 

especially  designed  for  the  use  of  Medical  Officers  of 
Health.     Fifth  Edition.     Fcap.  8vo.  2s.  Gd. 


PEESEEVATIVES   IN   FOOD 

AND 

FOOD  EXAMINATION 


BY 

JOHN  C.  THKESH,  M.D.  (Vic.)  D.Sc.  (LOND.),  F.I.C." 

LECTURER  ON  PUBLIC  HEALTH,  LONDON  HOSPITAL  MEDICAL  COLLEGE 
MEDICAL  OFFICEK  OP  HEALTH,  ESSEX  COUNTY  COUNCIL,  ETC. 

AND 

AETHUK  E.  POKTEK,  M.D.,M.A.  (CANTAB.) 

ASSISTANT  MEDICAL  OFFICER  OF  HEALTH  AND  CHIEF  SANITARY  INSPECTOR,  CITY  OF  LEEDS 
DEMONSTRATOR  OF  PUBLIC  HEALTH,  LEEDS  UNIVERSITY 


LONDON 
J.    &    A.    C  HUE  CHILL 

7  GREAT  MABLBOEOUGH  STEEET 
1906 


PRISTKU   BY 

3POTTISWOODE  AND   CO.   LTD.,   NKW-STREET  SQUAUK 
LONDON 


PEE  FACE 

THE  extraordinary  increase,  during  recent  years,  in  the  use  of 
preserved  foods  of  various  kinds,  and  especially  of  foods  pre- 
served by  the  addition  of  antiseptics,  has  had  far-reaching 
economic  results,  and  the  frequent  objections  made  by  Public 
Analysts  to  the  use  of  antiseptics  for  this  purpose  have  not 
only  resulted  in  much  litigation,  but  have  threatened  seriously 
to  interfere  with  the  development  of  industries  whereby  foods, 
produced  in  countries  where  there  are  not  sufficient  popula- 
tions to  consume  them,  have  been  transferred  to  other  coun- 
tries where  the  populations  require  more  than  they  are  able 
themselves  to  produce.  There  have  not  been  wanting  also 
members  of  the  medical  profession  who,  basing  their  opinions 
upon  theoretical  considerations,  or  upon  experience  of  a  very 
limited  number  of  cases  in  which  the  use  of  such  foods  had 
apparently  been  followed  by  evil  effects,  have  strongly  objected 
to  the  use  of  antiseptics  or  preservatives.  The  result  has  been 
a  desire  on  the  part  of  the  importers  and  preparers  of  such 
foods,  and  of  the  general  public,  for  an  inquiry  into  the  whole 
subject,  in  order  that,  if  possible,  the  truth  might  be  ascer- 
tained. For  this  reason  a  Departmental  Committee  was 
appointed  in  1899  by  the  President  of  the  Local  Government 
Board  to  inquire  into  the  use  of  preservatives  (and  colouring 
matters)  in  the  preservation  (and  colouring)  of  food,  and  to 
report : 

1.  Whether  the  use  of  such  materials,  or  any  of  them,  in 


vi  PRESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

certain  quantities  is  injurious  to  health,  and,  if  so,  in  what 
proportion  does  their  use  become  injurious  ? 

2.  To  what  extent,  and  in  what  amounts,  are  they  used  at 
the  present  time  ? 

The  Committee  examined  thirty-seven  witnesses  represent- 
ing trading  companies  and  societies,  and  forty-one  chemists, 
medical  men,  and  professional  experts,  and  in  1901  a  Keport 
was  issued  containing  all  the  evidence,  and  the  conclusions 
arrived  at  by  the  members  of  the  Committee  as  the  result  of 
their  deliberations.  The  recommendations  made  by  the  Com- 
mittee will  be  referred  to  elsewhere,  but  they  arrived  at  the 
very  important  conclusion  that '  the  instances  of  actual  harm 
which  were  alleged  to  have  occurred  from  the  consumption  of 
articles  of  food  and  drink  chemically  preserved  were  few  in 
number,  and  were  not  all  supported  by  conclusive  evidence.' 
-The  inquiry  showed  that  practically  every  person  in  the 
United  Kingdom  who  has  passed  the  suckling  stage  consumes 
daily  more  or  less  food  containing  chemical  preservatives.  It  is 
obvious,  therefore,  that  if  such  food  were  markedly  deleterious 
some  conclusive  evidence  should  have  been  forthcoming.  A 
study  of  our  mortality  records,  however,  shows  that,  during 
the  period  which  has  elapsed  since  such  food  began  to  be  used, 
the  death-rate  as  a  whole  has  steadily  declined,  and  it  is  very 
probable  that  one  of  the  causes  of  this  decline  is  the  better 
feeding  of  the  people  in  consequence  of  the  introduction  of 
cheaper  foods,  this  being  rendered  possible  by  the  use  of 
chemical  and  other  means  of  preservation. 

A  careful  study  of  all  that  has  been  written  on  this  subject 
both  at  home  and  abroad,  and  of  inquiries  made  of  medical 
practitioners,  leads  one  to  the  conclusion  that  the  dangers 
arising  from  the  use  of  preservatives  have  been  greatly  exag- 
gerated. It  is  impossible  to  say  definitely  that  a  single  case  of 


PREFACE  vii 

illness  has  ever  been  conclusively  traced  to  the  preservative 
used  in  any  article  of  food  or  drink.  Preservatives  have  been 
used  from  time  immemorial,  and  it  would  certainly  be  strange 
if  with  the  advance  of  scientific  knowledge  better  preservatives 
could  not  be  discovered  than  those  which  were  origin  all  j 
discovered  by  uncivilized  or  semi-civilized  man ;  yet  the  old 
preservatives  are  permitted  without  question,  although  some  of 
them  are  more  deleterious  if  taken  in  immoderate  quantities 
than  their  more  modern  substitutes.  Many  articles  of  food 
contain  small  quantities  of  proximate  principles  of  a  poisonous 
character,  yet  no  outcry  is  ever  raised  for  parliamentary  in- 
terference with  their  use  ;  whereas  if  minute  traces  of  far  less 
potent  substances  are  introduced  for  the  purpose  of  preventing 
decomposition,  with  the  consequent  formation  of  decidedly 
poisonous  products,  prosecutions  at  once  follow,  and  attempts 
are  made  to  show  that  the  Food  and  Drugs  Act  is  being 
infringed.  The  fact  that  the  use  of  certain  preservatives  is 
prohibited  in  other  countries  is  often  quoted  as  a  proof  that  in 
those  countries  the  Government  have  been  satisfied  that  their 
use  was  attended  with  danger  to  the  health  of  the  community, 
but  when  such  cases  are  investigated  it  is  always  found  that 
there  were  political  reasons  for  their  prohibition,  that  '  danger 
to  health '  was  merely  a  pretext,  and  that  the  evidence  adduced 
thereof  was  of  the  most  unconvincing  character. 

The  subject,  however,  is  one  which  bristles  with  difficulties, 
and  it  may  be  that  certain  preservatives  either  from  their 
quality  or  from  their  use  in  excessive  quantity  have  an  in- 
jurious effect  upon  health,  and  that  the  further  increase  in  the 
use  of  preservatives  may  by  their  cumulative  action  dele- 
teriously  affect  certain  organs,  or  insidiously  undermine  the 
constitution.  Since  the  issue  of  the  Departmental  Commit- 
tee's Keport  investigations  have  been  conducted  on  scientific 


viii  PRESEKVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

lines,  chiefly  in  America,  and  the  results,  which  are  referred 
to  in  the  various  sections,  tend  to  show  that  danger  may 
be  apprehended  from  the  indiscriminate  use  of  certain  pre- 
servatives. It  may  be  desirable  that  there  should  be  some 
restriction  as  to  their  employment,  and  that  in  certain  cases 
their  use  should  be  forbidden,  as,  for  example,  in  milk.  The 
reasons  for  these  statements  will  be  found  fully  set  forth  in 
the  present  volume,  in  which  will  be  found  also  a  summary 
of  all  the  facts  elicited  by  the  Departmental  Committee,  and 
which  are  scattered  through  their  Eeport. 

The  question  of  the  danger,  if  any,  arising  from  the  use  of 
colouring  matters  is  a  subject  of  much  less  importance,  but  it 
has  been  deemed  desirable  to  include  a  chapter  dealing  with  it. 

The  Departmental^Committee  urged  the  desirability  of  the 
appointment  of  a  Court  of  Reference,  such  as  had  previously 
been  recommended  by  the  Select  Committee  on  Food  Products 
Adulteration  (1896),  the  number  of  which  should  not  be  too 
large,  but  include  at  least  a  chemist,  a  bacteriologist,  a  pharma- 
cologist, a  physician,  a  physiologist,  and  a  representative  of  the 
Public  Health  Service.  Failing  this,  they  suggest  that  some 
definite  obligation  should  be  placed  upon  the  Local  Govern- 
ment Board  to  exercise  supervision  over  the  use  of  preservatives 
and  colouring  matters  in  foods.  Unfortunately,  as  yet,  no 
action  has  been  taken,  and  in  the  Police  Courts  the  most  diverse 
decisions  are  constantly  being  given,  the  only  right  of  appeal 
being  to  Quarter  Sessions.  Such  a  condition  is  in  the  highest 
degree  unsatisfactory,  both  to  the  public  and  to  those  engaged 
in  the  preparation  or  sale  of  articles  of  food  or  drink  to  which 
preservatives  or  colouring  matters  are  usually  added. 

Closely  related  with  the  subject  of  food  preservation  is  that 
of  unsound  food,  and  during  recent  years  it  has  become  notori- 
ous that  serious  and  wide-spread  epidemics  of  illness  are 


PKEFACE  ix 

attributable  to  the  use  of  food  which  has  become  infected 
with  organisms  capable  of  producing  disease.  We  refer, 
amongst  others,  to  the  cases  of  so-called  '  ptomaine  '  poisoning 
which  are  so  frequently  reported,  to  epidemics  of  scarlet  fever, 
diphtheria,  and  other  forms  of  illness  due  to  milk,  to  outbreaks 
of  typhoid  fever  due  to  contaminated  shell-fish,  water-cress, 
&c.,  and  to  the  prevalence  of  certain  forms  of  tubercular 
disease,  probably  due  to  milk  from  infected  cows. 

In  other  cases,  numbers  of  persons  have  been  seriously 
injured  by  the  use  of  food  or  drink  which,  during  the  process 
of  manufacture,  had  become  impregnated  by  some  poison,  such, 
for  example,  as  the  epidemic  of  arsenical  poisoning  in  and 
around  Manchester  due  to  beer. 

We  are  not  aware  of  any  work  in  which  this  subject  of 
unsound  food  in  its  relation  to  health  is  so  fully  dealt  with  as 
in  the  present  volume,  and  we  have  endeavoured  to  make  the 
sections  relating  thereto  not  only  generally  interesting,  but 
of  practical  value  to  Medical  Officers  of  Health,  and  others 
interested  in  the  nation's  welfare. 

Our  thanks  are  due  to  Mr.  Beck  for  advice  re  Legal 
Cases,  &c.,  and  to  Mr.  Pratchett  for  the  drawings  from  which 
the  various  illustrations  have  been  produced. 

JOHN  C.  THRESH. 
ARTHUR  E.  PORTER. 


CONTENTS 


PAKT  I 

CHAPTEE   I 

PAGE 

Preservation  of  Food  by  the  Action  of  High  and  Low  Temperatures, 
Exclusion  of  Air,  &c. — Growth  of  Moulds  and  Bacteria — Effect  of 
Temperature — Sterilization — Pasteurization  —  Befrigeration  • —  Exclusion 
of  Air — Drying — Smoking  ....... 

CHAPTEB   II 

Chemical  Preservatives — Sodium  Chloride  and  Potassium  Nitrate — Pharmaco- 
logical Effects  of  Salt ;  Effect  on  Bacteria — Pharmacological  Effects  of 
Saltpetre  .........  11 

CHAPTER   III 

Boron  Compounds — Germiciclal  Powers — Pharmacological  Effects— Salivary 
Digestion — Action  on  Pepsin — Action  on  Bennin — Action  on  Amylopsin — 
Action  on  Trypsin — Experiments  on  Animals — Experiments  on  Children 
— Experiments  on  Adults  .......  16 

CHAPTEB   IV 

Formaldehyde — Action  on  Gelatin — Action  on  Ptyalin,  Pepsin,  Bennin, 
Trypsin,  and  Amylopsin — Experiments  on  Animals — Experiments  on 
Children — Skin  Disease  .  .56 


Sulphurous  Acid  and  Sulphites — Physiological  Effect — Effect  on  Animals — 

Application  to  Meat  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .70 

CHAPTEB   VI  . 

Salicylic  and  Benzoic  Acids — Presence  in  Fruits,  &c. — Effects  on  Digestive 

Processes — Alleged  Toxic  Effects  of  Salicylic  Acid .  .  .  .78 

CHAPTEB   VII 

Fluorine  Compounds — Pharmacological  Action — Alum — Ammonium  Acetate 

— Copper  Sulphate — Sodium  Carbonate  and  Lime — Sulphuric  Acid .        .      87 


xii  PRESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 


CHAPTER   VIII 

PAOK 

Formic  Acid — Sources  of,  and  Distribution  in  Animal  and  Vegetable  King- 
dom— Pharmacological  Effects — Alcohol — Saccharin — Vinegar — Peroxide 
of  Hydrogen— Buddeized  Milk  -  Asaprol — Crude  Pyroligneous  Acid  .  91 


PART   II 

CHAPTER   IX 

Milk — Bacteria  in  Clean  and  Unclean  Milk— Antiseptics  used  in  Milk- 
Seasonal  Variation  in  Use  of  Antiseptics — Boron  Compounds — Formalin 
— Preservatives  Unnecessary — Precautions  Necessary  for  obtaining  Clean 
Milk — The  Cows — The  Cowsheds — The  Milkers  and  Process  of  Milking — 
Refrigeration — The  Copenhagen  Milk  Supply  Company — Pasteurization 
and  Sterilization — Effect  of  Heat  upon  Milk — Milk  and  Infantile  Scurvy 
— '  The  Milk  Supply  Pasteur  '  of  Copenhagen — Inspected  Milk  Supply  of 
New  York — Preservation  by  Carbonic  Acid  and  Oxygen — Buddeized  Milk 
— Powdered  Milk  ........  97 

CHAPTER  X 

Cream,  Butter,  and  Margarine— "Preservatives  'usually  employed  —  Cream 
used  for  Infants  ^Microbes  in  Butter — Preservatives  versus  Refrigeration 
— Danish,  Irish,  and  Colonial  Butters — Carriage  of  Butter — Dutch  Mar- 
garine Free  from  Preservatives  ......  137 

CHAPTER   XI 

Alcoholic  Beverages — Yeasts — Starters — Beer  and  Cider — Salicylic  Acid  in 
Imported  Beers  — Trade  Preparations — Wines,  Foreign  and  British — 
Medicated  Wines  ........  151 

CHAPTER   XII 

Temperance  Beverages — Carbonic  'Acid  Gas — Aerated  Waters — Temperance 

Wines — Lime  Juice — Cordials— Syrups — Fruit  Juices        .  .  .     15ft 

.  CHAPTER   XIII 

Fruits,  Jams,  and  Vegetables — Bottled  and  Tinned  Fruits — Jams — Anti- 
septics usually  employed  in  Jams — Fruit  Pulp — Desiccated  Vegetables — 
Sauces  and  Ketchups  .  .  .  .  .  •  .162 

CHAPTER  XIV 

Meat,  Game,  Eggs,  and  Fish — Salting  and  Pickling — Bacon,  Mild  and  Salt  — 
Increased  Use  of  Boric  Acid — Amount  Absorbed  by  Bacon— Sausages 
— Pork  Pies  —  Smoked  Meat  —  Drying — Game — Poultry— Eggs — Fish — 
Refrigeration — Smoking — Pyroligneous  Acid  .  •» •  .  165> 


CONTENTS  xiii 

PAKT  III 

CHAPTER   XV 

PAQK 

Colouring  Matters  used  in  Food  and  Drink — Government  Laboratory  Table — 

Vegetable  Colours — Mineral  Colours — Copper — Aniline  Dyes         .  .     173 

CHAPTER  XVI 

Mineral  Poisons  which  may  occur  in  Food  and  Drink — Arsenic — Epidemics 
of  Arsenical  Poisoning — Classes  of  Foods  in  which  Arsenic  may  occur — 
Physiological  Effects  of  Minute  Doses  of  Arsenic — Arsenic  and  Moulds — 
Antimony  in  Aerated  Beverages — Lead  and  Tin  in  Canned  Goods  and 
other  Articles  of  Food — Copper  ......  191 

PART   IV 

CHAPTER  XVII 

The  Law  relating  to  Food  Inspection— The  Public  Health  Act,  1875 — The 
Public  Health  Acts  (Amendment)  Act,  1890 — The  Markets  and  Fairs 
Clauses  Act — Qualifications  of  a  Food  Inspector  ....  205 

CHAPTER   XVIII 

Unsound  Food — Meat— Public  Abattoirs — Veterinary  Inspection  of  Animals 
— Characteristics  of  sound  Meat  — Emergency  Slaughter — Early  Signs  of 
Putrefaction — Immature  Animals  —  Tubercular  Diseases  —  Anthrax — 
Black-leg  or  Quarter-evil — Braxy— Swine-fever — Swine  Erysipelas — 
Diphtheria  —  Septicffiinia  —  Rinderpest — Pleuro-pneumonia  —  Tetanus — 
Cow-pox  and  Vaccinated  Animals  -Rabies — Glanders — Foot-and-Mouth 
Disease — Actinomycosis— Poultry  and  Game  .  .  .  .211 

CHAPTER   XI  £ 

Animal  Parasites — Trichinosis — Taenia  mediocanellata  -Tsenia  Solium — 
Bothriocephalus  latus — Echinococcus— Distoma  hepaticum  and  lan- 
ceolatum — Round  Worms  —  Pentastomes  —  Coccidia  —  Sarcosporidia — 
Protozoa — Trypanosomata  .......  230 

CHAPTER   XX 
Fish — Shell-fish — Green  Oysters — Typhoid  Fever  and  Shell-fish — Caviare    .     246 

CHAPTER   XXI 

The  Bacteriological  Examination  of  Shell-fish — Detection  of  the  Bacillus 
coli — Houston's  Method  of  Examination — Klein's  Method — Detection  of 
the  Bacillus  typhosus  .  .  .  ...  .  .  257 


xiv  PEESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

CHAPTER  XXII 

PAOB 

Milk  and  Dairy  Produce— Milk  and  Tubercular  Diseases— Diphtheria — 
Typhoid  Fever — Scarlet  Fever  and  Cholera  in  relation  to  Milk — 
Epidemics  of  Sore-throat  due  to  Milk — Skin  Disease  alleged  due  to 
Preservatives  in  Milk — Unsound  Milk — Unwholesome  Condensed  Milk — 
Seizure  of  dirty  Milk— Cream— Ice  Cream— Butter— Cheese— Eggs  .  266 

CHAPTER   XXIII 

Examination  of  Milk  and  Dairy  Produce— Collection  and  Examination  of 
Sediment — Pus  Corpuscles — Streptococci— Tubercle  Bacilli — Diphtheria 
Bacilli — Organisms  of  Intestinal  Origin— Oidium  Lactis — Enumeration  of 
Bacteria — Difference  between  Raw  and  Boiled  Milk — Condensed  Milk- 
Cream  and  Ice-cream — Butter — Cheese  .....  284 

CHAPTER  XXIV 

Unsound  Fruit — Vegetables  and  Corn — Typhoid  Fever  due  to  Uncooked 
Vegetables — Hydatid  Disease — Mushrooms  and  Allied  Fungi — Cereals, 
and  their  Animal  and  Vegetable  Parasites — Bread— Fruit— Tinned  Fruits 
and  Vegetables  ........  292 

CHAPTER   XXV 

Food-poisoning  frequently  due  to  the  Use  of  Preserved  Foods — Tinned 
Meats — Flesh  of  Swine— Food-poisoning  generally  an  Infective  Disease — 
Outbreaks  Investigated  by  the  Local  Government  Board— Proteid  De- 
composition and  its  Products — Ptomaines — Toxins  —  Intoxication  versus 
Infection — Micro-organisms  associated  with  Food-poisoning  .  .  303 

CHAPTER   XXVI 

Examination  of  Food  suspected  of  causing  Disease — Detection  of  Ptomaines 

— Of  Toxins — Of  Tyrotoxicon— Isolation  of  specific  Bacteria        .  .     322 


PART   V 

CHAPTER   XXVII 

Detection  and  Estimation  of  Boron  Compounds  — Of  Sulphurous  Acid  and 
Sulphites— Of  Fluorine  Compounds — Of  Formaldehyde— Of  Salicylic  Acid 
— Of  Benzoic  Acid — Of  Formic  Acid — Of  Hydrogen  Peroxide — Of  Abrastol  328 

CHAPTER   XXVIII 

Detection  and  Estimation  of  Metallic  Impurities — Arsenic — Lead — Copper- 
Tin — Antimony  ......  .  357 


CONTENTS  XV 

CHAPTER   XXIX 

PAOK 

Examination  for  Coal-tar  Colours         ......    369 

CHAPTER   XXX 

Deceptive  Appearances — Foaming  Preparations  used  in  Beverages — Pharma- 
cological Effects  of  Saponin— Composition  and  Detection  of  Saponin — 
Facing  of  Rice  ........  371 

CHAPTER  XXXI 

Legal  Cases  — The  Food  and  Drugs' Act— Prosecutions  relating  to  Boric 
Acid— To  Formaldehyde — To  Salicylic  Acid — To  Copper  in  Peas,  A-C.— 
Prosecutions  relating  to  Unsound  Food — High  Court  Decisions  .  .  375 

APPENDIX  I 

Abstracts  from  Report  of  the  Departmental  Committee  on  the  Use  of 
Preservatives  and  Colouring  Matters  in  Articles  of  Food  and  Drink  .  431 

APPENDIX   II 

Law  and  Practice  in  certain  Foreign   Countries  and  the   Colonies  as  to 

Preservatives  and  Colouring  Matters  in  Foods        ....    435> 


PLATES 

I.      ACTINOMYCES.      TRICHINA    SPIRALIS 443 

II.    TRICHINA  SPIRALIS 445 

III.  T.ENIA     MEDIOCANELLATA.        CYSTICERCUS    Bovis    AND     CELLULOS.E. 

BOTHRIOCEPHALUS   LATUS.      T.ENIA   EcHINOCOCCPS        ....  447 

IV.  ECHINOCOCCUS  CYSTS 440 

V.     DISTOMA.     PENTASTOMUM.      COCCIDIA.      MIESCHER'S    SACS.      DEPOSIT 

FROM  UNCLEAN  MILK 451 

VI.     VIISRIO  TRITICI.     TYROGLYPHUS  FABINJE.     PENICILLIUM.    ASPEROILLCS  453 

VII.     MUCOR  MUCEDO.    LOLIUM  TEMrLENTUH.     UsTILAGO  SEGETU1T.    UlSEDO 

FCETIDA 455 

VIII.     DAMAGED  FLOCR.     CRUSHED  WHEAT  GRAIX.     MAIZE.     MOULDY  JAM   .  457 


INDEX  45JV 


PRESERVATIVES    IN    FOOD 


AND 


FOOD    EXAMINATION 


PART   I 

CHAPTEE   I 

PRESERVATION    OF    FOOD    BY    THE    ACTION    OF    HIGH    OR 
LOW   TEMPERATURES,    EXCLUSION    OF   AIR,    ETC. 

THE  changes  which  a  food  undergoes  when  it  '  goes  bad  '  may 
be  said  to  be  due  exclusively  to  the  propagation  and  multi- 
plication of  micro-organisms — moulds,  yeasts,  and  bacteria — 
and  the  products,  deleterious  or  otherwise,  of  such  changes  are 
a  part  of  the  life-history  of  the  organisms  in  question. 

Speaking  generally,  these  micro-organisms  will  only  grow 
in  the  presence  of  moisture  and  between  certain  temperatures. 
Multiplication  rarely  takes  place  below  about  10°  C.  (though 
bacteria  and  spores  will  survive  exposure  to  a  temperature 
of  —180°  C.),  and  ceases  as  a  rule  above  40°  C. 

Nearly  all  bacteria  are  killed  when  submitted  to  a  tem- 
perature of  about  65°  C.  for  a  short  time,  although  their  spores 
are  not  destroyed  unless  heated  to  100°  C.  or  over  for  a  few 
minutes.  A  few  '  thermophylic  '  bacteria,  chiefly  found  in  soil 
and  water,  appear  to  thrive  best  between  60°  C.  and  70°  C.. 
but  these  are  not  concerned  with  the  changes  in  food  with 
which  we  are  dealing.  To  take  a  concrete  instance,  it  has 
keen  found  that  the  Bacillus  acidi  lactici,  one  of  the  most 

1 


2  PEESEEVATIVES  IN   FOOD 

important  organisms  concerned  with  the  souring  of  milk,  will 
not  multiply  below  10°  C.,  that  it  begins  to  produce  lactic  acid 
at  15°  C.,  and  that  this  action  reaches  a  maximum  between 
35°  and  40°  C.,  and  ceases  at  45-5°  C. 

Hence  it  is  obvious  that  if  a  food  is  heated  for  a  short  time 
to  100°  C.  (or  better  to  105°-110°  C.  under  pressure),  and 
afterwards  stored  in  such  a  manner  that  no  organisms  can 
obtain  access,  bacteria,  pathogenic  or  otherwise,  will  be 
destroyed,  and  the  food  will  keep  indefinitely. 

If  heated  to  65°-70°  C.  for  about  twenty  minutes,  all  the 
bacteria  will  be  killed,  and  only  their  spores,  if  present,  will 
remain.  Fermentation  and  decomposition  will  therefore  be 
arrested  either  until  fresh  bacteria  have  obtained  access  and 
have  multiplied,  or  until  the  spores  have  germinated.  As  all 
the  principal  pathogenic  organisms,  with  the  exception  of 
those  which  cause  anthrax,  tetanus,  and  possibly  epidemic 
diarrhosa,  are  non-sporing,  they  will  be  destroyed  by  this 
process.  The  tubercle  bacillus  is  somewhat  more  resistant 
than  most  of  the  non-sporing  bacteria,  but  it  has  been  shown 
that  in  the  case  of  milk  a  temperature  of  60°  C.  for  twenty 
minutes  is  sufficient  to  destroy  it,  if  the  heating  takes  place 
in  a  closed  vessel  so  that  no  film  is  formed  on  the  surface. 
Otherwise  a  temperature  of  65°-70°  C.  for  twenty  minutes  is 
necessary  for  this  purpose. 

If,  thirdly,  the  food  is  kept  below  10°  C.,  bacterial  multi- 
plication will  be  held  in  check  until  the  temperature  again 
rises. 

These  three  processes  are  known  as  sterilization,  pas- 
teurization, and  refrigeration,  respectively. 

Sterilization  is  employed  chiefly  for  tinned  foods,  the  tins 
being  hermetically  sealed  during  the  process,  and  it  is  also 
applied  to  milk. 

In  the  case  of  sound  meat  adequately  sterilized,  there  are 
no  disadvantages  except  such  as  may  possibly  arise  from  the 
solution  of  the  metal,  but  in  that  of  milk  there  are  several 
drawbacks. 


PEESEEVATION  OF  FOOD  BY  HEAT,  COLD,  ETC.        3 

In  the  first  place,  the  milk  has  a  '  cooked  '  taste ;  in  the 
second,  it  is  generally  held  to  be  less  digestible,  owing  to  the 
changes  produced  by  heat  on  the  proteid  constituents  ;  and, 
thirdly,  many  physicians  consider  that  infants  fed  exclusively 
on  sterilized  milk  are  liable  to  a  somewhat  serious,  but  com- 
paratively rare,  disease  known  as  infantile  scurvy,  or  scurvy 
rickets.  The  evidence  on  which  this  view  is  based  is  not 
entirely  conclusive,  and  the  relationship  has  been  doubted  by 
many  eminent  members  of  the  medical  profession.  It  will  be 
more  fully  considered  in  a  later  section. 

The  disease  is  readily  prevented  by  the  addition  of  suitable 
articles  of  diet,  and  usually  is  quickly  cured  by  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  requisite  antiscorbutic  food :  nevertheless,  the 
possibility  of  its  occurrence  is,  unless  the  relationship  be 
disproved,  a  sufficient  reason  for  hesitating  to  recommend 
indiscriminate  sterilization,  since  other  methods  of  maintaining 
the  milk  in  a  suitable  condition  are  available. 

A  further  drawback  lies  in  the  necessity  of  the  distribution 
of  the  milk  in  bottles,  which  afterwards  require  collecting  and 
carefully  washing.  In  spite  of  this  difficulty  the  sterilization 
of  milk  is  practised  largely  in  Paris  and  Denmark,  and  the 
Aylesbury  Dairy  Company  do  a  considerable  trade  in  bottled 
(sterilized)  milk.  The  Walker-Gordon  Company  supply  un- 
treated milk  in  bottles,  and  contend  that  there  is  an  advantage 
in  so  doing,  as  the  risk  of  contamination  is  reduced. 

The  compensating  advantages  are  chiefly  that,  in  addition 
to  the  keeping  qualities  of  the  milk,  all  germs,  pathogenic  and 
otherwise,  are  destroyed,  and  that  a  single  daily  delivery  is 
sufficient. 

Pasteurization,  though  applied  to  wines  and  beer,  is  chiefly 
used  for  milk  and  cream.  It  is  carried  on  to  a  small  extent  in 
England,  and  to  a  larger  extent  in  Denmark  and  other  Con- 
tinental countries.  If,  immediately  after  the  heating  process 
is  completed,  the  milk  is  rapidly  cooled,  the  '  cooked '  flavour 
is  not  noticed.  Pasteurization  is  also  less  likely  to  render 
the  milk  indigestible,  or  to  produce  infantile  scurvj7,  than 


4  PRESEKVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

sterilization,  and  it  will  be  equally  efficient  in  destroying  the 
pathogenic  germs  usually  conveyed  by  this  fluid. 

On  the  other  hand,  since  any  spores  present  are  unaffected, 
they  will  in  time  propagate  bacteria  at  a  suitable  temperature, 
and,  though  the  keeping  period  of  the  milk  is  considerably 
extended,  decomposition  is  not  indefinitely  postponed. 

Refrigeration. — As  has  already  been  pointed  out,  refrigera- 
tion is  only  a  temporary  means  of  arresting  fermentation, 
which  recommences  as  soon  as  the  temperature  rises  above 
about  10°  C. 

It  is  used  chiefly  in  the  case  of  fresh  meat,  poultry, 
game,  fish,  and  dairy  products,  the  temperature  employed 
varying  according  to  the  time  during  which  storage  is 
necessary. 

Thus  for  meat,  imported  into  England  from  abroad,  the 
freezing  chambers  are  kept  at  about  15°  to  20°  F.  The  meat 
is  frozen  into  a  hard  mass,  which  may  take  some  days  to 
resume  its  natural  condition  when  removed  from  the  chamber. 
It  is  held  by  some  that  the  flavour  is  partially  destroyed  by 
this  process,  but  this  opinion  is  not  universal.  Aiter  thawing, 
the  meat  appears  to  become  tainted  somewhat  more  rapidly 
than  fresh  meat,  though  possibly  this  largely  depends  on 
the  interval  which  has  elapsed  between  slaughtering  and 
refrigeration.  Frozen  meat  is  equally  as  nutritious  and  equally 
as  digestible  as  fresh  meat. 

Some  large  cold-storage  firms  have  certain  of  their  chambers 
maintained  at  about  20°  F.,  and  in  these  all  kinds  of  flesh  are 
stored  for  an  indefinite  period,  whilst  others  are  kept  at  about 
44°  F.,  and  are  used  for  meat  which  only  requires  storage  for  a 
week  or  two. 

These  low  temperatures  are  attained  by  the  compression 
and  subsequent  expansion  of  ammonia  vapour.  The  cold 
produced  by  the  expansion  is  communicated  to  brine,  and 
thence  to  air,  previously  filtered,  which  is  allowed  to  circulate 
through  the  chambers. 

An   attempt   has   been    made   to    apply  the   refrigerating 


PEESERVATION  OF  FOOD  BY  HEAT,  COLD,  ETC.   5 

process  to  hams  imported  in  a  fresh  state  from  America,  to 
be  cured  in  England,  but  it  has  not  proved  to  be  a  financial 
success. 

In  the  case  of  butter,  Mr.  James  Riley  l  stated  that  New 
Zealand  butter,  containing  no  preservative  other  than  a  small 
quantity  of  salt,  would  keep  for  about  three  weeks  after  re- 
moval from  the  refrigerating  chamber,  and  Dr.  Voelcker's 
experiences  with  Australian  butter  under  similar  circumstances 
corroborated  this.2 

In  the  case  of  milk  such  low  temperatures,  although  perhaps 
desirable,  are  not  essential,  since  forty-eight  hours  should  be 
an  ample  period  between  the  times  when  the  cow  is  milked 
and  the  milk  is  consumed. 

The  relationship  between  the  temperature  and  the  multi- 
plication of  bacteria  in  milk  has  been  investigated  by  Freuden- 
reich  and  others.  Expressing  the  number  of  organisms  present 
at  the  commencement  of  the  experiments  as  unity,  Freuden- 
reich  3  found  that  the  numbers  at  different  intervals  and  at 
various  temperatures  were  as  follows  : 


— 

3  hours 

6  hours                9  hours 

24  hours 

59°  F. 

1 

2-5 

5 

163 

77°  F. 

2 

18-5 

107 

62,100 

95°  F. 

4 

1,290                3,800 

5,370 

It  will  be  noticed  that  at  59°  F.  (15°  C.)  little  multiplication 
takes  place  for  nine  hours,  while  at  the  temperature  of  a  warm 
summer's  day  the  increase  at  the  end  of  twenty-four  hours  is 
enormous  ;  this  is  probably  largely  due  to  common  species  of 
saprophytic  bacteria,  which  grow  more  readily  at  this  tem- 
perature than  at  one  approaching  that  of  the  body,  since  at 
95°  F.  the  increase,  which  is  more  strongly  marked  in  six  and 
nine  hours  than  that  at  the  lower  temperature,  is  not  main- 
tained. 

1  Report  of  Departmental  Committee  on  the  Use  of  Preservatives  in  Food. 

z  Ibid.  3  Newman's  Bacteriology  and  the  Public  Health,  1904,  p.  185. 


6  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

Another  example  is  furnished  by  Professor  Conn 1  in  the 
subjoined  table  : 

NUMBER  OF  BACTERIA  PER  CUBIC  CENTIMETRE  ix  MILK  KEPT  AT  DIFFERENT 

TEMPERATURES 


No.  at  outset 

In  12  hours  at 
50°  F. 

In  12  hours  at 
70°  F. 

In  50  hours  at 
50°  F. 

In  50  hours  or  at  time  of 
cunlliug  at  70°  F. 

46,000 
47,000 
50,000 

39,000 
44,800 
35,000 

249,500 
360,000 
800,000 

1,500,000 
127,500 
160,000 

542,000,000 
792,000,000  36  hours 
2,560,000,000  42  hours 

Mr.  James  Long  '2  stated  that,  according  to  one  of  the  largest 
provincial  dairy  companies  in  England,  milk,  if  cooled  to  54°  F., 
will  keep  for  twenty-four  hours,  and,  if  first  strained  and 
afterwards  cooled,  for  thirty-six  to  forty  hours  in  the  hottest 
weather. 

Dr.  Schidrowitz,3  by  estimating  the  acidity  of  samples  of 
milk  cooled  at  once  to  50°  F.,  and  subsequently  kept  at  a 
temperature  not  greater  than  60°  F.,  found  that  the  milk 
remained  in  a  satisfactory  condition  for  sixty  hours,  whilst 
without  such  treatment  it  would  not  keep  for  more  than  half 
this  time.  He  further  found  that  this  process  of  cooling  was 
more  efficacious  for  the  preservation  of  milk  than  the  addition 
of  1  in  50,000  formalin,  or  1  in  2,000  boric  acid  to  uncooled 
milk. 

The  whole  subject  of  milk  preservation  will  be  fully  dealt 
with  in  a  separate  section,  as  it  is  of  the  greatest  practical 
importance  both  to  the  dairy  farmer  and  the  general  public. 

Exclusion  of  Air. — The  enclosure  of  food  substances  in 
hermetically  sealed  coverings  may  be  adopted  subsequently  to 
sterilization,  as  in  the  case  of  tinned  meat  and  fish  preparations, 
fresh  and  condensed  milk,  and  the  like,  or  it  may  be  employed 
without  such  previous  treatment — as,  for  instance,  the  coating 
of  fresh  eggs  with  sodium  silicate  or  the  plunging  of  lard  into 
boiling  water. 

Under  both  circumstances  the  effects  are  twofold  :  evapora- 
tion and  oxidation  are  prevented,  and  micro-organisms  are 

1  Newman's  Bacteriology  and  the  Public  Health,  1904,  p.  185. 
•  Report  of  Departmental  Committee.  a  Ibid. 


PKESEBVATION  OP  FOOD  BY  HEAT,  COLD,  ETC.   7 

excluded.  Where  complete  sterilization  is  combined  with  the 
exclusion  of  air  no  putrefaction  or  fermentation  can  take  place, 
and  the  food  should  remain  unchanged  indefinitely.  During  the 
process  of  sterilization  practically  all  the  air  present  in  solution 
or  in  the  interstices  of  the  food  is  driven  out,  so  that  exclusion 
of  air  is  complete. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  mention  the  different  classes  of  food 
which  are  preserved  in  this  manner,  since  innumerable 
instances  will  suggest  themselves. 

The  drawbacks  to  this  method  lie  chiefly  in  failure  to 
ensure  sterilization,  and,  in  the  case  of  tinned  foods,  in  the 
solution  of  the  tin  or  solder  by  the  juices  of  the  food,  with  the 
consequent  danger  (?)  of  metallic  poisoning. 

In  the  first  case,  putrefaction,  when  it  has  occurred  to  a 
considerable  extent  in  a  tinned  food,  is  recognized  by  the 
'  blown  '  condition  of  the  tin,  by  the  absence  of  the  inrush  of 
air  when  it  is  opened,  and  by  the  resonant  note  elicited  when 
the  unopened  tin  is  tapped.  Such  food  often  gives  rise  to 
symptoms  of  ptomaine  poisoning,  characterised  by  vomiting, 
diarrhoea,  cramps,  pyrexia,  and  prostration. 

Tin,  zinc,  and  lead  have  been  found  in  the  food  thus 
preserved,  but  this  danger  is  avoided  when  glass  or  earthen- 
ware receptacles  are  used  in  place  of  tins. 

Instead  of  entirely  excluding  the  air,  meat  has  been 
preserved  by  removing  a  portion,  and  destroying  the  remainder 
of  the  oxygen  by  sodium  sulphite  (M'Call's  process).1 

Another  method  (Jones  and  Trevithick's  process)  consists 
in  withdrawing  the  air,  and  substituting  nitrogen  and  a  little 
sulphur  dioxide.2 

Processes  of  this  character  are  not  extensively  employed, 
since  the  bacteria  must  be  previously  destroyed,  and  providing 
this  has  been  done  effectually,  and  the  exclusion  of  air  is 
perfect,  the  food  will  keep  for  an  indefinite  period,  and  it 
matters  nothing  whether  the  gases  left  in  the  food  itself 
consist  of  oxygen,  nitrogen,  or  any  other  innocuous  gas. 

1  Notter  and  Firth,  Theory  and  Practice  of  Hygiene,  p.  362.  '•'  Ibid. 


8  PRESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

During  1901  the  Inland  Bevenue  Department  of  the 
Dominion  of  Canada  sent  schedules  to  medical  practitioners  in 
the  various  provinces  asking  for  information  as  to  whether  any 
cases  of  illness,  apparently  attributable  to  the  use  of  tinned 
foods,  had  occurred  in  their  practices  within  recent  years. 

Out  of  1,313  schedules  sent,  254  affirmative  replies  were 
received. 

In  many  cases  the  illness  was  attributed  to  the  presence  of 
metallic  salts  in  the  food,  taken  up  from  the  solder  or  lining  of 
the  can.  It  is  exceedingly  doubtful,  however,  whether  any 
preserved  food  of  this  character  can  take  up  sufficient  metal  to 
produce  harmful  effects,  and  the  illnesses  recorded  were  more 
probably  due  to  some  change  which  had  taken  place  in  the 
food-stuff  with  the  production  of  ptomaines  or  other  noxious 
bodies,  either  before  or  after  the  canning  process,  or  to  bacteria 
or  their  spores  which  had  survived  the  process,  and  which, 
when  introduced  into  the  human  alimentary  canal,  increased 
and  multiplied,  and  there  produced  poisonous  substances  giving 
rise  to  nausea,  diarrhoea,  or  febrile  and  other  symptoms. 

Canned  food  which  has  produced  symptoms  of  poisoning 
has  frequently  presented  some  peculiarity  in  appearance,  odour, 
or  taste,  indicating  that  the  food  had  undergone  change. 

Drying". — It  has  already  been  mentioned  that  micro-organ- 
isms require  moisture  for  their  growth.  Hence  by  thoroughly 
drying  a  food  microbic  fermentation  is  inhibited. 

An  example  in  the  case  of  meat  is  furnished  by  the  '  biltong  ' 
of  the  Boers.  Many  of  the  proprietary  invalid  and  infant  foods 
are  prepared  in  this  way,  such  as  Liebig's  food  and  Horlick's 
malted  milk. 

Bread  dried  by  heat  forms  the  '  pain  biscuite '  of  the 
French  army,  while  vegetables,  fruit,  and  white  of  egg  are  like- 
wise preserved  by  drying.  Dried  potatoes  are  either  sliced  or 
granulated,  and  after  soaking  become  very  palatable ;  and  the 
same  is  also  true  of  dried  green  vegetables.  They  are  said  to 
be  less  efficient  as  antiscorbutics  than  fresh  vegetables,  but  are 
valuable  for  many  purposes.  Even  milk  may  be  dried  and 


PRESEKVATION  OF  FOOD  BY  HEAT,  COLD,   ETC.        9 

powdered,  and  if  kept  dry  will  remain  sweet  indefinitely,  but 
whether,  when  mixed  with  water,  it  forms  a  liquid  with  the 
properties  of  the  original  milk  remains  to  be  proved.  This 
simple  method  of  preserving  food  has  not,  as  yet,  been  utilised 
as  fully  as  it  might  be  with  advantage. 

Smoking*. — Several  articles  of  food  are  frequently  preserved 
by  being  exposed  to  the  smoke  from  smouldering  wood  or  sawT- 
dust.  During  this  process  they  are  partially  dried  and  the 
material  absorbs  certain  antiseptic  substances  from  the  smoke, 
the  ultimate  flavour  depending  upon  the  extent  of  the  smoking 
and  the  nature  of  the  material  used  to  produce  the  smoke. 
Creosote  is  probably  one  of  the  active  antiseptic  agents.  It  is 
a  very  poisonous  substance,  and  doubtless  a  great  outcry 
would  be  raised  were  anyone  to  attempt  to  use  it  for  pre- 
serving food,  but  so  long  as  it  is  introduced  into  the  food 
in  an  old-fashioned  manner  no  objections  are  raised.  It  is 
only  when  someone  wishes  to  improve  upon  ancient  methods 
that  the  effect  of  prejudice  and  conservatism  makes  itself  felt. 
It  has  never  been  alleged,  so  far  as  we  are  aware,  that  smoked 
meat  is  unwholesome,  though  its  digestibility  is  almost 
certainly  impaired.  Any  modern  system  of  preserving  which 
affected  the  digestibility  to  a  similar  degree  would  be  strongly 
condemned.1 

Two  kinds  of  smoking  are  practised,  the  slow  and  the  rapid 
methods.  In  the  former,  the  meat  is  exposed  to  the  smoke  for 
several  days  at  a  temperature  of  about  25°  C. ;  and  in  the  latter, 
largely  used  in  the  case  of  fish,  smoke  at  a  temperature  of 
70°  to  100°  C.  is  employed  for  a  few  hours.  The  best  woods 
for  producing  smoke  are  said  to  be  juniper  bushes,  beech  chips 
with  juniper  berries,  and  tan-bark  with  mahogany  chips.  Fir 
chips  are  not  desirable,  as  they  affect  the  taste  of  the  meat 
unfavourably. 

Smoke   has  a  powerfully  destructive  effect  on  cultures  of 

1  Reference  is  made  in  Chapter  XV.  on  '  Colouring  Matters '  to  a  preparation 
called  '  Smokene,'  consisting  of  borax,  salt,  creosote,  and  a  red  coal-tar  dye ;  by 
the  external  use  of  this,  hams  and  tongues  may  appear  to  have  been  well  smoked. 


10  PEESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

pathogenic  organisms,  even  anthrax  spores  being  destroyed 
within  eighteen  hours.  Judging  from  experiments  made, 
however,  with  artificially  infected  meat,  the  process  of  smoking 
appears  to  act  less  energetically,  the  smoke  penetrating  with 
difficulty  through  the  layer  of  coagulated  albumen  formed  on 
the  surface  of  the  meat.  Consequently  if  the  interior  of  a 
portion  of  meat  be  infected  with  pathogenic  germs,  although 
these  may  be  held  in  check  by  desiccation,  it  is  improbable  that 
they  will  be  destroyed. 


CHAPTEE   II 

CHEMICAL  PEESEEVATIVES 

SODIUM  CHLORIDE  AND  POTASSIUM  NITRATE. 
SALT  AND  SALTPETRE 

Salt. — Common  salt  is  probably  the  oldest  preservative  in 
use,  and  it  certainly  is  the  commonest,  since  it  occurs  in 
practically  every  sample  of  ham,  bacon,  other  forms  of  salted 
meat,  salted  fish,  butter,  and  cheese  in  the  market.  It  is 
frequently  employed  in  conjunction  with  saltpetre,  and  less 
often  with  boron  compounds. 

Many  of  the  preparations  used  for  this  purpose  contain 
from  90  to  100  per  cent,  of  sodium  chloride,  others  consist  of 
varying  proportions  of  salt  and  saltpetre,  whilst  '  Preservitas,'  a 
substance  largely  employed  by  the  butter  trade,  contains  47'8 
per  cent,  of  boric  acid,  8-6  per  cent,  of  saltpetre,  and  11-1  per 
cent,  of  sodium  chloride.1 

Before  the  introduction  of  the  boron  compounds  both  ham 
and  butter  were  very  strongly  salted,  the  butter  containing  even 
as  much  as  15  per  cent.,  whilst  6  to  8  per  cent,  were  common 
proportions.  Such  large  quantities  would  not  now  be  tolerated, 
and  mild  butters  usually  have  less  than  2  per  cent,  of  sodium 
chloride,  while  some  contain  none  at  all.  The  strongly  salted 
butters  keep  sweet  for  a  sufficiently  long  time  for  trade  purposes, 
but  there  is  no  doubt  that  mild  butter,  made  in  the  manner 
usually  adopted  in  the  British  Isles  and  the  Colonies,  would 
be  rancid  long  before  it  was  consumed,  if  no  more  than  2  per 
cent,  of  salt  were  added. 

1  Report  of  Departmental  Committee.  (The  composition  of  this  and  similar 
substances  is  not  necessarily  a  constant  one,  and  different  samples  of  '  Preservitas ' 
may  give  different  analytical  results.) 


12 

Reference  will  be  made  to  experiments  on  this  point  under 
the  heading  of  '  Boron  Compounds,'  and  it  will  be  sufficient 
here  to  say  that  in  one  instance  it  was  found  that  after  nine 
months  butter  containing  even  6  per  cent,  of  salt  had  become 
uneatable. 

In  one  of  the  Cork  creameries,1  however,  where  the  butter 
is  made  from  pasteurized  cream  with  the  aid  of  a  '  starter,'  it 
has  been  found  that  3  per  cent,  of  salt  is  sufficient  to  keep  the 
butter  from  two  to  three  months. 

In  the  case  of  hams,  occasionally  the  salt  pickle  is  injected, 
but  more  usually  the  meat  is  kept  in  a  dry  mixture  of  salt  or 
salt  and  saltpetre  for  a  week  to  a  fortnight,  and  is  then  for 
export  purposes  packed  in  boric  acid.  Formerly  such  hams 
were  packed  in  salt,  and  the  process  of  curing  proceeded  during 
the  voyage,  but  even  these  highly  salted  hams  were  liable  to 
become  tainted  and  fly-blown.2 

Sodium  chloride  differs  from  all  the  other  principal  chemical 
preservatives  not  only  in  being  an  absolutely  essential  article 
of  diet,  but  also  in  occurring  in  considerable  quantities  in  the 
human  body,  more  especially  in  the  fluid  tissues.  It  is  readily 
excreted  by  the  kidneys. 

Deprivation  of  salt  by  use  of  a  diet  from  which  it  is  normally 
absent  leads  to  general  weakness,  anaemia,  and  redema,  as  was 
evidenced  in  France  before  the  repeal  of  the  Salt  Tax.  The 
acid  radicle  is  required  for  the  formation  of  the  hydrochloric 
acid,  without  which  peptic  digestion  would  not  be  efficiently 
carried  on. 

In  large  quantities  of  a  tablespoonful  and  upwards,  salt 
acts  as  a  mild  emetic,  and  may  also  purge,  indicating  that 
it  exerts  an  irritative  effect  on  the  gastro-intestinal  mucous 
membrane. 

This  is  borne  out  by  Liebreich's3  observations  on  the 
action  of  solutions  of  sodium  chloride  on  the  gastro-intestinal 
epithelium  of  a  dog,  to  which  reference  will  be  made  later. 

1  Report  of  Departmental  Committee.  2  Ibid. 

3  Effects  of  Borax  and  Boric  Acid  on  tlie  Human  System. 


CHEMICAL  PEESEEVATIVES  13 

Distinct  signs  of  inflammation  were  observed  when   the  salt 
was  present  to  the  extent  of  5  per  cent. 

Scurvy  was  formerly  ascribed  to  the  use  of  salted  foods,  but 
this  theory  has  since  been  disproved,  although  the  etiology  of 
the  disease  is  still  a  disputed  point. 

Braithwaite l  has  suggested  a  causal  relationship  between 
the  consumption  of  salt  and  the  production  of  malignant 
disease,  but  his  arguments  are  not  convincing. 

Luff  has  found  that  sodium  chloride  hinders  the  solution  of 
biurate  of  soda,  and  hence  considers  that  it  is  contra-indicated 
in  gout. 

Beyond  this,  however,  there  is  no  evidence  pointing  to  the 
production  of  deleterious  results  by  the  consumption  of  salt  in 
moderate  quantities,  and  it  cannot  with  our  present  knowledge 
be  considered  a  dangerous  substance  in  the  proportions  used 
for  the  preservation  of  food.  It  will  be  observed,  however, 
that  it  labours  under  the  disadvantage  urged  so  strongly  against 
the  use  of  other  preservatives,  viz.  that  in  large  quantities  it 
produces  ill  effects,  that  it  is  contra-indicated  in  certain  diseased 
conditions,  and  that  it  may  render  food  less  amenable  to  certain 
of  the  digestive  processes. 

Experiments  have  been  made  in  Amsterdam  by  Professor 
J.  Forster  and  Heer  de  Freytag  as  to  the  effect  of  salting  or 
pickling  meat  on  various  forms  of  bacteria.  It  was  found 
that  cholera  bacilli  were  soon  destroyed  under  the  influence 
of  abundance  of  salt,  but  that  tubercle  and  typhoid  bacilli, 
staphylococci,  the  streptococcus  of  erysipelas,  and  the  bacilli  of 
porcine  infectious  diseases  retained  their  vitality  for  weeks  or 
even  months.  Portions  of  the  viscera  of  a  tuberculous  animal, 
preserved  for  a  considerable  time  in  salt,  were  found  capable  of 
causing  tuberculosis  in  a  healthy  animal  when  introduced  into 
the  peritoneal  cavity.  On  the  other  hand,  1\  per  cent,  of  salt 
destroyed  anthrax  bacilli  in  the  spleen  of  an  animal  in  about 
eighteen  hours. 

Obviously,  therefore,  salting  has  little  effect  upon  many  of 
1  Lancet,  1901,  vol.  ii. 


14  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

the  bacteria  found  in  unsound  meat.  These  organisms  remain 
as  it  were  in  a  dormant  condition  until  such  time  as  they  are 
freed  from  the  influence  of  the  salt,  when  they  may  again 
multiply  and  increase. 

Saltpetre. — As  mentioned  under  the  heading  of  '  Salt,' 
saltpetre  (using  this  term  to  include  both  the  potassium  and 
sodium  salts)  is  largely  used  in  salted  meats,  and  to  some  extent 
in  butter,  and  reference  has  been  made  to  the  change  which 
has  taken  place  in  the  quantity  of  these  substances  used  since 
the  adoption  of  boron  compounds  as  preservatives. 

Pharmacologically  there  are,  however,  considerable  differ- 
ences between  the  chloride  and  nitrate  of  sodium  and  of 
potassium.  Potassium  nitrate  is  liable  to  produce  nausea, 
vomiting,  and  diarrhoea,  and  in  large  doses  tends  to  inflame 
the  urinary  passages,  causing  hsematuria ;  it  is  also  a  cardiac 
depressant,  owing  chiefly  to  the  basic  radicle,  since  all  potassium 
salts  exert  this  effect  to  some  extent.  Small  doses  are  diuretic 
and  diaphoretic,  and  the  drug  is  occasionally  administered  for 
this  purpose  in  doses  from  5  to  20  grains.  Excretion  takes 
place  chiefly  through  the  kidneys. 

Liebreich l  has  investigated  the  effect  of  saltpetre  on  some 
of  the  digestive  ferments.  On  ptyalin  he  found  that  no 
influence  was  exerted  when  the  salt  was  present  in  the  pro- 
portion of  \  per  cent. 

In  the  case  of  pepsin  0'5  gramme  of  the  ferment,  0'8  gramme 
hydrochloric  acid,  and  O5  gramme  albumen  were  put  into  each 
of  several  flasks,  and  varying  quantities  of  saltpetre  were  added, 
together  with  water  up  to  100  c.c.  The  flasks  were  kept  at 
98-6°  F.  for  twenty-four  hours,  after  which  the  quantity  of 
albumen  digested  was  estimated.  It  was  found  that,  when  the 
saltpetre  was  present  to  the  extent  of  O'l  per  cent.,  only  three- 
quarters  of  the  albumen  was  digested  as  compared  with  a 
control  experiment,  whilst  when  it  reached  a  strength  of  0'5 
per  cent,  digestion  ceased. 

'  Effects  of  Borax  and  Boric  Acid  on  tlie,  Human  System. 


15 

On  amylopsin,  saltpetre  up  to  1  per  cent,  appeared  to  be 
without  influence. 

The  same  observer '  gave  3  grammes  of  saltpetre  daily  in 
addition  to  ordinary  food  to  a  dog  weighing  28  kilogrammes. 
After  thirty-six  days  the  dog  had  lost  5 '4  kilogrammes  in 
weight  (19'4  per  cent.),  and  had  suffered  for  several  days  from 
diarrhoea,  to  which  no  doubt  the  loss  of  weight  was  largely 
due. 

Liebreich 2  also  investigated  the  action  of  saltpetre  on  the 
gastro-intestinal  epithelium  of  a  dog,  and  found  that  a  certain 
amount  of  inflammation  was  caused  by  a  \  per  cent,  solution, 
and  that  this  became  well  marked  when  the  strength  reached 
2  per  cent. 

Experimental  and  clinical  evidence  therefore  indicate  that 
saltpetre  has  the  power  of  inducing  irritation  and  inflammation 
of  the  epithelium  of  mucous  membranes,  and  cannot  be 
considered  an  inert  substance. 

The  experiments  with  pepsin  also  suggest  that  meat  pickled 
with  saltpetre  is  more  difficult  of  digestion  in  the  stomach  than 
ordinary  meat,  although  it  is  a  matter  of  clinical  experience 
that  in  some  cases  of  flatulent  dyspepsia  meat  thus  cured  is, 
if  carefully  masticated,  more  readily  taken  than  other  forms  of 
flesh. 

The  question,  whether  the  quantity  of  saltpetre  present  in 
articles  of  food  is  sufficient  to  produce  the  inflammatory  effects 
referred  to,  is  difficult  to  answer,  since,  although  the  proportions 
used  for  curing  are  known,  the  quantity  absorbed  by  the  meat 
is  not  easy  to  estimate.  It  is  fairly  obvious,  however,  that  if 
long  custom  had  not  sanctioned  the  use  of  this  drug  as  a 
preservative,  such  use  would  be  strongly  condemned  by  those 
who  have  the  supervision  of  the  purity  of  our  food  supplies. 

1  Loc.  cit.  2  Loc.  cit. 


CHAPTEE   III 

CHEMICAL    PRESERVATIVES    (continued} 

Boron  Compounds 

WITH  the  exception  of  salt,  boron,  in  the  form  of  borax  or 
boric  acid,  or  a  mixture  of  each,  has  probably  a  more  extensive 
application  than  any  other  chemical  preservative.  The  presence 
of  one  or  other  of  these  compounds  has  been  detected  in  milk, 
cream,  butter,  margarine,  ham  and  bacon,  fresh  meat,  salted 
beef,  salted  pork,  game,  poultry,  venison,  pickled  tongue, 
sausages,  pork  pies,  polonies,  minced  meat,  potted  meat,  meat 
extracts,  fresh  and  smoked  fish,  potted  fish,  shell-fish,  caviare, 
eggs,  lime-juice,  lemon  squash,  wines,  ales,  fruit  juices,  vinegar, 
condensed  milk,  rennet,  and  cakes  for  feeding  cattle.1 

As  a  rule  mixtures  of  the  two  substances  in  a  solid  or 
liquid  form  are  sold  for  use  under  various  trade  names,  though 
occasionally  one  or  other  is  employed  in  a  pure  state ;  some- 
times salicylic  acid  is  added.  Thus  '  Sal  Preservare '  has  been 
found  to  consist  of  42'6  per  cent,  of  anhydrous  boric  acid 
mixed  with  15-15  per  cent,  of  borax;  ' Preservitas '  of  39*5 
per  cent,  of  the  former  and  26'8  per  cent,  of  the  latter. 
'  Arcticanus '  and  '  Conservare '  on  analysis  have  yielded  85'5 
per  cent,  of  boric  acid,  the  remainder  being  borax.  '  Burton's 
Household  Milk  and  Food  Preservative  '  appears  to  consist 
solely  of  boric  acid,  whilst  '  Health  Guard  '  has  been  found 
to  contain  boric  acid  combined  with  soda  and  salicylic  acid.2 

Borax  and  boric  acid  both  possess  very  feeble  germicidal 
powers.  A  saturated  solution  of  the  latter  in  water  contains 
less  than  4  per  cent,  of  the  salt,  and  has  no  effect  on  the 

1  Report  of  Departmental  Committee.  '-'  Ibid. 


CHEMICAL  PEESERVATIVES 


17 


spores  of  the  Bacillus  anthracis,  and  is  unable  to  kill  pus  cocci 
after  five  hours'  exposure,  but  Koch  found  that  anthrax  bacilli 
cease  to  multiply  in  a  medium  containing  O12  per  cent,  (about 
10' 5  grains  per  pint). 

Borax  is  effective  in  about  the  same  proportions. 

Both  of  these  compounds  nevertheless  appear  to  have  the 
power  of  inhibiting  the  organisms  which  cause  the  souring  of 
milk  in  even  more  dilute  solutions. 

Several  observers  have  made  experiments  in  this  direction, 
and  their  results  are  on  the  whole  concordant. 

Rideal  and  Foulerton  '  found  that  milk  curdled  on  being 
heated  to  100°  C.  as  soon  as  the  acidity  expressed  as  lactic 
acid  reached  the  proportion  of  O25  per  cent.,  and  they  took 
this  figure  as  the  point  at  which  the  milk  might  be  considered 
sour  and  unfit  for  sale.  They  found  that  by  adding  35  grains 
of  a  commercial  mixture  of  boric  acid  and  borax  to  a  gallon  of 
milk  (equivalent  to  O05  per  cent.)  the  souring  point  was 
delayed,  and  milk  so  treated  would  remain  uncurdled  for  more 
than  twenty-four  hours  at  75°  F.,  whilst  without  such  addition 
souring  took  place  within  that  period.  Apparently  this  is  the 
smallest  quantity  which  can  be  relied  upon  to  keep  milk  sweet 
for  twenty-four  hours  in  warm  weather. 

Mr.  H.  Droop  Richmond,  analyst  to  the  Aylesbury  Dairy 
Company,  furnished  the  Departmental  Committee  with  a  similar 
set  of  figures,  showing  the  number  of  hours  during  which 
milk  will  keep  sweet  at  various  temperatures  with  and  without 
boric  acid  : 


Boric  preservative  added  to  milk,  per  cent. 

Temperature  F. 

0-05 

0-10 

None 

(4  '4  grains  per  pint) 

(8-8  grains  per  pint) 

Hours 

Hours 

Hours 

60° 

50 

84 

110 

70° 

34 

43 

54 

80° 

22 

26 

36 

90° 

15 

18 

27 

100° 

9 

12 

23 

Public  Health,  1899. 


18  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

The  point  at  which  the  milk  might  be  considered  sour  was 
slightly  lower  than  that  taken  by  Kideal  and  Foulerton,  and 
was  equivalent  to  an  increase  of  25  degrees  of  acidity  (i.e. 
100  c.c.  of  milk  required  25  c.c.  more  N/10  soda  solution  to 
neutralise  it  with  phenol-phthalein  as  the  indicator  than  when 
the  milk  was  quite  fresh). 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  with  the  smaller  quantity  of 
preservative  there  is  a  gain  of  thirty-four,  nine,  and  four  hours 
respectively  at  the  temperatures  usually  met  with  during  the 
warmer  months  in  England,  whilst  with  twice  this  quantity  the 
figures  are  sixty,  twenty,  and  fourteen  hours  respectively. 
When  the  temperature  is  80°  F.  the  advantage  gained  by  the 
use  of  4-4  grains  of  preservative  per  pint  is  almost  negligible. 

It  is,  however,  open  to  doubt  whether  in  these  experiments 
the  souring  of  milk  can  be  taken  as  a  true  index  of  the 
various  fermentative  changes  actually  taking  place.  Many 
"chemical  reagents  have,  to  some  extent,  a  selective  action  as 
regards  the  inhibition  of  the  growth  of  bacteria.  Bacillus 
coli  and  Bacillus  typhosus  will,  for  instance,  grow  readily  as  a 
rule  in  broth  containing  0*05  per  cent,  of  phenol,  whilst  most 
other  bacteria  are  inhibited,  and  it  is  not  therefore  safe  to  take 
for  granted  that  boric  acid  and  borax  act  alike  on  all  the 
organisms  present  in  milk.  Moreover,  lactic  acid  is  a  product 
of  carbohydrate  fermentation,  and  is  therefore  unreliable  as  a 
criterion  of  any  proteid  decomposition  that  may  be  taking 
place  simultaneously,  and  it  is  worth  bearing  in  mind  that  it 
is  by  the  latter  kind  of  change  that  ptomaines  and  other 
poisonous  bodies,  which  appear  to  be  the  causal  agents  in 
cases  of  food  poisoning,  are  formed. 

Dr.  Blaxall,1  after  a  series  of  experiments,  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  boric  acid  inhibited  first  the  organisms  pro- 
ducing lactic  acid,  then  those  giving  rise  to  butyric  acid,  whilst 
certain  vegetable  moulds  proved  most  resistant. 

Delepine  2  has  shown  that  one  of  the  most  important  group 
of  bacteria  having  a  causal  relationship  to  summer  diarrhoaa  is 
1  Report  of  Departmental  Committee.  2  Trans.  Epidem.  Soc.  vol.  xxii. 


CHEMICAL  PEESERVATIVES  19 

the  Bacillus  enteritidis  (Gartner).  This  bacillus  flourishes  in 
milk,  producing  neither  permanent  acidity,  curdling,  nor  distinct 
smell,  thus  indicating  that  the  usual  criteria  for  distinguishing 
stale  from  fresh  milk  are  practically  useless.  Delepine  also 
finds  that  B.  typhosus,  B.  coli  communis,  and  B.  enteritidis 
continue  to  multiply  in  milk  at  summer's  temperature  in  the 
presence  of  as  much  as  140  grains  per  gallon  of  the  usual 
borax  and  boric  acid  mixture. 

Similar  experiments  have  been  made  by  different  observers 
as  to  the  influence  of  boric  acid  on  the  keeping  properties  of 
butter.1 

One  series  was  conducted  by  an  association  of  butter 
merchants  in  Limerick.  A  large  churning  of  about  112  Ibs. 
of  butter  was  made  and  divided  into  four  equal  parts.  No.  ] 
was  cured  with  1  per  cent,  of  preservative ;  No.  2  with  1  per 
cent,  of  preservative  and  3  per  cent,  of  salt ;  No.  3  with  3  per- 
cent, of  salt ;  No.  4  with  6  per  cent,  of  salt.  These  were 
stored  in  similar  boxes  for  nine  months.  At  the  end  of  this 
period,  Nos.  1  and  2  were  good  and  eatable,  while  Nos.  3  and  4 
were  uneatable  and  rancid. 

Mr.  H.  C.  Cameron,  Produce  Commissioner  to  the  New 
Zealand  Government,  related  to  the  Departmental  Committee 
experiments  made  by  his  Government.  Six  samples  of  butter, 
marked  A,  B,  C,  D,  E,  and  F,  from  the  same  churning  were 
treated  with  different  quantities  of  salt  and  preservative  (chiefly 
consisting  of  boric  acid).  These  were  examined  and  found  to 
be  practically  identical  in  flavour,  and  were  then  kept  at  a 
temperature  of  29°  F.  in  a  freezing  chamber  for  eleven 
weeks,  as  representing  the  period  necessary  for  transporting  to 
England.  They  were  then  taken  out  and  kept  for  ten  days 
at  a  temperature  varying  from  45°  to  60°  F.,  corresponding  to 
the  period  of  storage  in  the  English  shops,  and  were  re- 
examined  by  experts.  As  a  result,  it  was  found  that  box  E,  in 
which  the  butter  had  received  3  per  cent,  of  salt  and  ^  per 
cent,  of  preservative,  was  superior  to  sample  D,  which  was 

1  Report  of  Departmental  Committee. 


20  PRESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

treated  with  2  per  cent,  of  salt  and  1  per  cent,  of  preservative, 
and  this  was  superior  to  F,  which  had  received  3  per  cent,  of 
salt  and  1  per  cent,  of  preservative,  whilst  A,  B,  and  C,  which 
had  no  preservative  of  any  kind,  were  all  inferior  to  D,  E,  and  F. 
They  concluded,  therefore,  that  the  best  results  were  obtained 
with  \  per  cent,  of  preservative,  though  it  is  not  quite  obvious 
why  E  and  F  should  be  of  inferior  quality,  unless  the  extra 
amount  of  preservative  was  perceptible  to  the  palates  of  the 
observers. 

On  the  other  hand,  Dr.  Voelcker  stated  in  his  evidence  that 
he  had  received  from  Australia  samples  of  butter,  some  of 
which  contained  preservative  and  some  of  which  were  without ; 
these  were  kept  side  by  side  in  his  laboratory,  and  at  the  end 
of  six  weeks  he  was  unable  to  detect  any  difference  between 
them,  although  the  observations  took  place  during  the  summer. 
It  is,  however,  possible  that  a  butter  expert  would  have  been 
able  to  discern  a  difference. 

Discordant  results  such  as  these  can  be  readily  understood 
when  the  biological  changes  taking  place  in  the  manufacture 
of  butter  are  borne  in  mind.  If  butter  is  made  from  pasteurized 
cream  by  means  of  a  pure  '  starter,'  such  germs  as  cause 
rancidity  and  other  deleterious  changes  may  not  have  an 
opportunity  of  gaining  access,  and  the  addition  of  boric  acid  or 
borax  may  therefore  not  have  any  marked  effect  on  the  flavour ; 
whilst  if  these  organisms  are  not  removed  at  the  factory  or 
creamery,  they  will  indicate  their  presence  unless  checked  by 
means  of  a  preservative. 

In  any  case  ^  per  cent,  is  considered  sufficient  by  a 
large  number  of  those  connected  with  the  butter  trade,  and 
when  containing  this  proportion  well-made  butter  will  keep 
a  sufficient  time  to  be  imported  into  England  and  sold  for 
consumption. 

A  similar  quantity  of  boric  acid  is,  according  to  Mr.  Hudson 
(of  Hudson  Bros.),  sufficient  to  keep  cream  sweet  until  it  comes 
into  consumption.1 

1  Report  of  Departmental  Committee. 


CHEMICAL  PEESEBYATIVES  21 

In  the  case  of  ham  and  bacon  boron  preservatives  are 
usually  applied  to  the  outside  of  the  joint  or  side,  the  quantity 
used  by  different  wholesale  dealers  for  this  purpose  varying 
from  £  to  1  per  cent.  A  certain  proportion  of  this  appears  to 
be  absorbed,  and  is  found  in  the  interior  of  the  meat. 

Boric  acid  is  frequently  used  medicinally,  both  internally 
for  disinfecting  the  urinary  tract  and  for  relieving  flatulence, 
and  externally  as  an  application  for  inflammatory  conditions, 
and  for  washing  out  suppurating  cavities,  &c.  The  dose, 
which  was  formerly  5  to  30  grains,  was  diminished  in  the  1898 
edition  of  the  British  Pharmacopoaia  to  5  to  15  grains,  the 
smaller  giving  as  good  results  as  the  larger. 

Borax  is  often  used  as  an  application  in  cases  of  thrush 
and  similar  conditions  of  the  mouth,  and  was  formerly  largely 
given  internally  for  epilepsy.  Like  that  of  boric  acid,  the 
maximum  dose  has  been  halved,  and  is  now  20  grains. 

.  Both  these  substances  are  as  a  rule  quickly  eliminated  by 
the  kidneys.  When  given  in  small  doses  boric  acid  is  excreted 
as  a  borate,  but  with  larger  doses  it  appears  unchanged, 
indicating  that  the  alkaline  pancreatic  juices  have  been  unable 
to  neutralize  the  acid.  It  has  been  found  in  the  urine  within 
four  hours  of  the  initial  dose,  and  it  generally  disappears  within 
forty  to  forty-eight  hours  after  the  drug  has  ceased  to  be 
administered. 

When,  however,  the  kidneys  are  diseased  the  elimination 
is  less  rapid,  and  two  instances  were  mentioned  in  the  Report 
of  the  Departmental  Committee  in  which  boric  acid  was  found 
in  the  urine  forty-nine  and  fifty-three  days  respectively  after 
the  drug  was  left  off.  It  is  probable,  therefore,  that  occasionally 
boric  acid  may  have  a  cumulative  action. 

Many  experiments  have  been  performed  in  vitro  with  a 
view  to  ascertaining  what  action,  if  any,  boron  compounds 
exert  on  the  various  digestive  juices. 

For  those  who  are  unacquainted  with  physiological  processes 
it  may  be  briefly  stated  that  digestion  is  carried  out  by  the 
action  of  ferments  secreted  by  special  glands.  The  ferments 


22  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

split  up  the  starchy  and  nitrogenous  constituents  of  food  into 
sugars  and  proteid  bodies,  capable  of  being  absorbed  into  the 
blood  and  utilised  by  the  body. 

In  the  mouth  the  food  is  masticated  with  saliva  containing 
the  ferment  ptyalin,  which  splits  up  starch  into  dextrin  and 
sugar.  When  the  food  passes  into  the  stomach  this  process 
probably  proceeds  for  a  further  period  until  checked  by  the 
hydrochloric  acid  secreted  by  the  stomach.  The  latter  organ 
also  produces  pepsin  and  rennin  :  the  former,  in  the  presence 
of  hydrochloric  acid,  acting  on  the  nitrogenous  portion  of  the 
food,  whilst  the  rennin  precipitates  casein  from  milk,  and  so 
allows  the  pepsin  to  convert  it  into  proteid  bodies  capable  of 
being  absorbed  by  the  intestine. 

The  pancreas  secretes  two  ferments,  trypsin  and  amylopsin, 
which  act  respectively  on  nitrogenous  and  carbohydrate  material, 
and  so  deal  with  any  food  which  may  have  escaped  the  action 
of  the  ptyalin  and  pepsin. 

The  functions  of  the  intestines  are  chiefly  concerned  with 
the  absorption  of  food  prepared  in  the  manner  indicated,  though 
a  ferment,  succus  entericus,  is  also  produced  which  appears  to 
have  some  action  on  carbohydrate  food. 

Fats  undergo  a  slight  chemical  change  as  a  rule,  and  are 
then  absorbed  in  the  form  of  an  emulsion.  The  emulsifying 
effects  are  chiefly  produced  by  the  pancreatic  juice  and  bile. 

When  studying  the  effects  of  boron  compounds  on  the 
various  ferments,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  whilst  boric 
acid  possesses  very  feeble  acid  properties,  borax  is  distinctly 
alkaline,  as  the  differences  found  in  the  action  of  these 
substances  are  probably  largely  due  to  their  respective  re- 
actions. 

Salivary  Digestion. — Chittenden  l  obtained  mixed  human 
saliva,  filtered  and  neutralized  it,  and  diluted  it  to  one-half. 
His  experiments  were  made  in  series,  in  which  one  digestion 
of  each  series  served  as  a  control  for  comparison.  Ten  c.c.  of 
the  diluted  saliva  was  mixed  with  1  gramme  of  perfectly 

1  Dietetic  and  Hygienic  Gazette,  February  1893. 


CHEMICAL  PEESEEVATIVES 


23 


neutral  potato  or  arrowroot  starch,  the  volume  made  up  to 
100  c.c.  with  water,  and  various  percentages  of  boric  acid  or 
borax  added.  The  mixtures  were  kept  at  40°  C.  for  fifty 
minutes,  after  which  further  fermentative  action  was  stopped 
by  boiling  the  solutions.  The  extent  of  the  amylolytic — change 
of  starch  into  sugar — action  wras  ascertained  by  determining 
the  amount  of  maltose  formed  in  one-fourth  of  the  solution. 

In  the  case  of  saliva  acting  on  potato  and  arrowroot  starch 
in  the  presence  of  borax,  the  following  results  were  obtained  : 


Maltose  formed 

Potato  starch 

Arrowroot  starch 

O'OO    per  cent.               70'40  per  cent.                67'08  per  cent. 

0-005 

—                         65-68 

o-oi 

65-96 

62-48 

0-05 

49-44 

39-16 

0-10- 

41-84 

36-84 

0-50 

40-56 

30-60 

1-00 

37-60 

27-20 

2-50 

29-36 

22-36 

5-00 

22-68 

17-32 

10-00 

17-56 

13-28 

From  this  it  will  be  gathered  that  borax  exerts  an 
inhibitory  effect  on  ptyalin,  but  is  unable  to  arrest  its  action 
even  when  present  in  the  large  proportion  of  10  per  cent. 

Boric  acid  appears  to  have  still  less  effect  in  this  direction, 
as  shown  by  the  following  figures,  the  amylaceous  material 
being  arrowroot  starch  : 


Boric  acid  added 

Maltose  formed 

O'O    per  cent. 
0-05 

o-io      „ 

0-50 
1-00 

67-08  per  cent. 
67-72        „ 
67-76 
68-08 
62-76 

It   will  be  seen  that   the  addition  of  boric  acid  up  to  a 
certain    point    actually   appears   to   increase   the   quantity  of 


24  PRESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

starch  converted  into  sugar.  It  was  further  found  that  this 
change  was  not  prevented  by  an  addition  of  salt  up  to  5  per 
cent. 

Liebreich l  obtained  similar  results  with  borax,  using 
10  c.c.  of  mixed  human  saliva  with  20  c.c.  of  a  2^  per  cent, 
decoction  of  starch,  the  whole  being  made  up  to  100  c.c.  Two 
portions  contained  O'l  and  0-5  per  cent,  of  borax  respectively, 
whilst  a  third  was  used  as  a  control.  The  mixtures  were  kept 
at  50°  C.  for  an  hour  and  then  boiled,  and  the  sugar  estimated. 
His  results  were  as  follows  : 


Borax  added 

Sugar  formed 

Loss  from  addition  of  borax 

O'O  per  cent. 

o-i 

0-5        „ 

0-2075 
0-164 
0-158 

20-96  per  cent. 
23-85 

Similar  experiments  were  performed,  leaving  the  ferment 
in  contact  with  the  starch  for  twenty-four  hours  : 


Borax  added 

Sugar  formed 

Loss  from  addition  of  borax 

O'O  per  cent. 

o-i 

0-5        „ 

0-249 
0-204 
0-205 

18-07  per  cent. 
18-07        „ 

These  results  have  been  further  confirmed  in  England  by 
Rideal  and  Foulerton  and  others,  and  tend  to  show  that  whilst 
boric  acid  rather  favours  the  amylolytic  action  of  saliva,  borax 
and  mixtures  containing  both  substances  retard  it.  It  should, 
however,  be  remembered  that  starchy  foods  such  as  bread,  for 
which  this  action  is  chiefly  required,  are  not  usually  preserved, 
though,  in  the  case  of  bread  and  butter  and  milk  puddings,  the 
addition  of  borax  might  retard  this  preliminary  digestion  by 
the  salivary  ferments. 

Pepsin  Digestion. — Peptic  digestion  takes  place  in  an  acid 
medium,  and  for  this  purpose  hydrochloric  acid  is  secreted  by 
special  cells  in  the  stomach  wall.  This  acidity  at  the  height  of 

1  Effects  of  Borax  and  Boric  Acid  on  the  Human  System. 


CHEMICAL  PEESEKVATIVES 


25 


digestion  is  equivalent  to  about  0'2  per  cent,  of  hydrochloric 
acid.  At  the  commencement  of  gastric  digestion  no  free 
hydrochloric  acid  is  present,  as  it  forms  a  compound  (hydro- 
chlor-protein)  with  the  proteid  material  of  the  food.  When 
the  proteids  are  fully  saturated,  free  hydrochloric  acid  appears. 
To  a  certain  extent  the  flow  of  gastric  juice  is  excited  by  the 
introduction  of  an  alkali,  and  borax  may  therefore  exert  this 
effect,  and  also  neutralize  the  lactic  acid,  which  is  an  abnormal 
product  and  due  to  microbic  fermentation  of  the  food  in  the 
stomach.  On  the  other  hand,  an  excess  of  alkali  may  have 
a  prejudicial  effect  in  tending  to  neutralize  the  hydrochloric 
acid  essential  for  the  process  of  proteid  digestion. 

Chittenden  ]  investigated  the  action  of  boron  preservatives 
on  pepsin  by  digesting  coagulated  egg  albumin  for  a  given 
time  with  varying  quantities  of  borax  and  boric  acid,  using,  as 
a  control,  mixtures  in  which  there  were  no  preservatives. 

Each  mixture  consisted  of  9  grammes  of  albumin  (contain- 
ing 1*247  grammes  of  dry  proteid)  and  100  c.c.  of  pepsin 
hydrochloric  acid,  prepared  by  dissolving  O'l  gramme  of  a 
very  strong  pepsin  in  1  to  2  litres  of  a  0'2  per  cent,  solution  of 
hydrochloric  acid.  The  amount  of  albuminous  matter  dis- 
solved after  standing  for  four  hours  at  40°  C.  was  taken  as  a 
measure  of  the  proteolytic  action  under  the  given  conditions. 
The  results  were  as  follows  : 


Borax  added 

Boric  acid  added 

Proteid  digested 

O'OO  per  cent. 

O'OO  per  cent. 

73-2  per  cent. 

o-oi      „                     — 

73-3 

0-05 

— 

75-3 

0-20 

71-8 

0-50 

— 

57-1 

o-io 

74-5 

0-30 

82-3 

0-50 

81-2 

1-00 

82-6 

2-50 

73-6 

5-00 

46-1 

6-00 

41-3 

1  Loc.  cit. 


26 


In  a  second  series  of  experiments  a  weaker  digestive 
mixture  was  used  in  the  presence  of  boric  acid,  while  the 
proteid  employed  was  1  gramme  of  blood  fibrin  in  each  solu- 
tion. Digestion  went  on  at  40°  C.  for  six  hours,  the  results 
being  as  under : 


Boric  acid  added 

Proteid  digested 

O'OO  per  cent. 

36-2  per  cent. 

0-05 

36-0 

o-io 

38-5 

0-50 

38-0 

1-00 

34-9 

5-00 

28-4 

These  experiments  seem  to  show  that  in  vitro  any  effect 
which  boric  acid,  in  quantities  up  to  about  1  per  cent.,  may 
have  on  peptic  digestion  is  rather  in  the  direction  of  accele- 
rating than  retarding  the  action.  Borax,  on  the  other  hand, 
appears  to  inhibit  the  process  when  the  percentage  rises  to  O2 
per  cent.,  possibly  on  account  of  its  neutralizing  effect  on  the 
hydrochloric  acid.  If  this  be  the  cause,  it  would  probably  be 
overcome  in  the  stomach  by  the  continued  secretion  of  acid 
from  the  oxyntic  cells. 

Chittenden's  results  were  to  a  certain  extent  confirmed  by 
Liebreich,1  who,  however,  used  somewhat  different  methods. 
He  mixed  O5  gramme  pepsin,  O8  gramme  hydrochloric  acid, 
and  045  gramme  albumin  with  varying  quantities  of  borax 
(neutralized  by  N/10  .hydrochloric  acid)  and  boric  acid : 
100  c.c.  of  water  was  added,  and  the  flasks  left  for  twenty- 
four  hours  at  35°  C. 

In  the  case  of  borax  he  found  that  with  quantities  up  to 
0'25  per  cent,  all  the  proteid  was  dissolved,  whilst  a  small 
residuum  was  left  when  the  strength  reached  0'5  per  cent.  In 
the  case  of  boric  acid  all  the  proteid  was  digested  even  when 
0-5  per  cent,  of  the  acid  was  added.  These  experiments  are 
open  to  the  objection  that  a  contact  of  twenty-four  hours  was 
allowed,  which  is  a  longer  period  than  would  obtain  naturally. 
1  Effects  of  Borax  and  Boric  Acid  on  the  Human  System. 


CHEMICAL  PEESEEVATIVES 


27 


Action  on  Rennin. — Any  effects  produced  by  boron  pre- 
servatives on  rennin  are  of  particular  importance,  since  for  the 
proper  digestion  of  milk,  on  which  infants  and  invalids  so 
largely  depend,  it  is  essential  that  this  ferment  action  shall 
take  place  before  proteolytic  action  commences.  Halliburton  ! 
has  found  that  whilst  boric  acid  has  no  effect  on  rennin, 
minute  proportions  of  borax,  even  Ol  per  cent.,  are  sufficient 
entirely  to  arrest  the  curdling  action  for  twenty-four  hours  at 
least.  If,  therefore,  the  acid  present  in  the  gastric  juice  is 
unable  to  convert  the  borax  into  boric  acid,  the  digestion  of 
milk  to  which  the  above  quantity  of  borax  may  be  added  will 
probably  be  arrested. 

Action  on  Amylopsin. — This  ferment  acts  normally  in  an 
alkaline  medium,  though  digestion  will  also  take  place  in  a 
neutral  solution. 

Liebreich2  found  by  experiments  in  vitro  that  3  per  cent, 
of  boric  acid  did  not  inhibit  the  action  of  amylopsin,  whilst 
borax  had  a  slight  effect  in  this  direction.  He  obtained  a 
solution  of  the  ferment  from  the  gland  of  a  pig,  mixed  it  with 
a  decoction  of  starch,  and  allowed  the  mixture  to  stand  for 
twenty-four  hours  at  35°  C.  The  albuminoid  bodies  were 
separated,  and  the  quantity  of  sugar  estimated.  His  figures 
were  as  follows : 


Borax  added 

Boric  acid  added 

Quantity  of  glucose  formed 

O'OO  per  cent. 

O'OO  per  cent. 

0'791  gramme 

0-66        „ 

— 

0-768 

1-33        „ 

— 

0-770 

1-99        „ 

— 

0-753 

1-66        „ 

0-790 

3-33 

0-789 

These  experiments  are  open  to  the  objection  that  they  fail 
to  show  the  presence  or  absence  of  any  inhibitory  effect  which 
may  be  exerted  during  such  period  of  time  as  the  food  is 
exposed  to  the  action  of  the  pancreatic  ferments  in  the  human 
body. 

1  Keport  of  Departmental  Committee.  2  Loc.  cit. 


28  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

Foulerton,1  in  quoting  experiments  made  by  Eideal  and 
himself,  states  that,  taking  the  value  of  the  digestive  power  of 
amylopsin  on  arrowroot  starch  as  100,  by  the  addition  of 
various  quantities  of  a  mixture  (consisting  of  75  per  cent,  boric 
acid  and  25  per  cent,  borax),  the  process  of  digestion  in  thirty 
minutes  was  retarded  as  follows  : 


Boric  mixture  added 

Quantity  of  sugar  formed 

Weak  amylopsin                    Strong  amylopsin 

O'OO  per  cent. 
0-05 

o-i 

0-3 

100-0 

77-2 
63-0 
50-8 

100-0 

64-0 
53-6 
47-0 

It  will  be  seen  that  these  figures  differ  considerably  from 
those  of  Liebreich,  the  explanation  being  probably  in  the  great 
difference  of  time  allowed  by  the  two  observers.  If  Kideal 
and  Foulerton  had  estimated  the  sugar  formed  at  the  end  of 
twenty-four  hours,  they  would  very  likely  have  found  that  the 
additions  had  made  little  difference  to  the  amount  of  starch 
converted  into  sugar. 

Their  observations,  however,  are  probably  of  more  value 
than  Liebreich 's,  since  pancreatic  digestion  cannot  be  supposed 
to  continue  for  the  length  of  time  allowed  in  the  latter's 
experiments. 

Action  on  Trypsin. — Like  amylopsin  this  ferment  will  act 
in  an  alkaline  or  a  neutral  medium,  though  in  the  intestine  the 
former  condition  is  the  one  which  obtains. 

Chittenden2  investigated  the  influence  of  borax  in  both  a 
neutral  and  an  alkaline  solution,  and  that  of  boric  acid  in 
a  neutral  medium.  The  albuminous  material  employed  was 
10  grammes  of  cooked  beef  proteids,  which  were  mixed  with 
50  c.c.  of  the  neutral  trypsin  and  varying  quantities  of  borax. 
These  mixtures  were  kept  at  40°  C.  for  four  hours,  with  the 
following  results : 

1  Lancet,  November  1899.  2  Loc.  cit. 


CHEMICAL  PRESERVATIVES 


29 


Borax  added 

Proteid  digested 

OOO  per  cent. 

35*8  per  cent. 

o-oi 

43-2        „ 

0-05      ' 

43-7 

0-20 

51-3        „ 

0-50 

56-9 

1-00 

57-2 

9 

2-00 

61-2 

f 

3-00 

59-1 

'f 

5-00 

56-1 

| 

10-00 

48-8 

' 

In  an  alkaline  medium  (containing  O5  per  cent,  of  sodium 
carbonate)  similar  results  were  obtained  : 


Borax  added 

Proteid  digested 

O'OO  per  cent. 

57'5  per  cent. 

o-oi 

64-1 

0-05 

65-0 

0-20 

67-4 

0-50 

69-2 

1-00 

63-3 

2-00 

64-5 

3-00 

56-5 

5-00 

52-9 

10-00 

45-7 

When  a  stronger  solution  of  trypsin  was  used  the 
accelerating  effect  of  borax  was  to  a  large  extent  lost. 

In  the  case  of  boric  acid  a  neutral  solution  of  trypsin  was 
used,  the  mixture  being  allowed  to  stand  for  seven  hours  before 
the  amount  of  digested  proteid  was  estimated  : 


Boric  acid  added 

Proteid  digested 

O'OO  per  cent. 

25'9  per  cent. 

o-oi 

25-3 

0-02 

24-9 

0-05 

24-1 

o-io 

23-7 

0-20 

24-4 

0-50 

24-3 

1-00 

24-3 

2-00 

19-8 

3-00 

18-9 

30  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

It  will  be  noticed  from  these  experiments  that  whilst  boric 
acid  appears  to  exert  on  the  whole  a  slightly  inhibitory  action, 
borax  favours  the  action  of  trypsin.  Similar  results  were 
obtained  by  Foulerton.1 

Although  the  ferments  thus  experimented  on  cover  the 
most  important  of  those  met  with  in  digestion,  the  action  of 
boron  preservatives  on  the  emulsifying  properties  of  the  bile 
and  pancreatic  juice  have  not  been  directly  determined.  It 
might  be  supposed  that  borax  would  favour  and  boric  acid 
hinder  this  process,  though  the  investigations,  to  be  quoted 
later,  on  the  results  of  administering  borax  and  boric  acid  to 
children  and  animals  would  seem  to  show  that  no  appreciable 
influence  is  exerted. 

To  sum  up,  although  too  much  stress  must  not  be  laid 
on  experiments  conducted  in  vitro,  borax  in  small  quantities 
appears  to  exert  a  markedly  prejudicial  effect  on  the  action  of 
rennin  and  a  slighter  one  on  ptyalin  ;  when  present  in  a  greater 
proportion  than  O2  per  cent,  it  also  retards  peptic  digestion. 
Unless  added  in  large  quantities  it  rather  favours  than  retards 
the  action  of  trypsin. 

Boric  acid,  on  the  other  hand,  has  no  action  on  rennin, 
slightly  retards  the  action  of  ptyalin  when  present  in  the 
proportion  of  1  per  cent.,  favours  peptic  digestion  until  of  a 
greater  strength  than  1  per  cent.,  but  begins  to  retard  the 
action  of  trypsin  when  present  to  the  extent  of  2  per  cent.  Of 
the  two  substances,  therefore,  boric  acid  is  less  likely,  judging 
from  these  experiments,  to  exert  a  prejudicial  effect  on  digestion 
than'borax. 

As  regards  amylopsin,  which  is  a  most  important  ferment 
from  a  physiological  point  of  view,  there  can  be  no  question 
that  small  quantities  of  boric  mixture  retard  the  action,  though 
after  a  considerable  lapse  of  time  the  quantity  of  starch  con- 
verted into  sugar  is  almost  the  same  whether  the  preservative 
is  present  or  absent. 

Foulerton  and  Eideal 2  also  estimated  the  digestibility  of 

1  Lancet,  November  1899.  2  Loc.  cit. 


CHEMICAL  PEESEEVATIVES  31 

meat  and  milk  which  had  been  in  contact  with  a  mixture  of 
boric  acid  and  borax.  Fifteen  grammes  of  beefsteak  was 
allowed  to  stand  for  twenty-four  hours  in  100  c.c.  of  water 
containing  the  mixture  (boric  acid  75  per  cent.,  borax  25  per 
cent.).  The  meat  was  then  digested  for  an  hour  at  38°  C. 
with  pepsin.  The  dissolved  nitrogen  in  the  filtrate  was  then 
estimated,  with  the  following  results  : 


Control  Boric  mixture 


(containing  no  preservative) 


0'05  per  cent.       O'l  per  cent.        0'3  per  cent. 

100-0 


97-22  90-17  73-93 


In  the  case  of  milk  50  c.c.  was  allowed  to  stand  in  contact 
with  the  preservative  for  twenty-four  hours,  after  which  the 
mixture  was  digested  with  commercial  extract  of  pancreas  for 
half  an  hour  at  38°  C.  The  undigested  casein  was  precipitated 
and  the  dissolved  nitrogen  in  the  filtrate  estimated  : 


Control 
(containing  no  preservative) 

Boric  mixture 

0'05  per  cent. 

O'l  per  cent. 

0-3  per  cent. 

100-0                          99-4 

97-3 

97-7 

It  would  therefore  appear  that,  whilst  the  digestibility  of 
meat  may  suffer  when  exposed  to  boric  acid  of  a  greater 
strength  than  1  in  1,000,  there  is  little  effect  in  the  case  of 
milk.  Similar  experiments  in  which  rennin  and  pepsin  were 
used  might  give  different  results. 

Liebreich  l  has  made  a  number  of  experiments  with  regard 
to  the  direct  effect  of  boric  acid  and  borax  on  gastro-intestinal 
epithelium.  Under  narcosis  the  stomach  and  intestine  of 
several  dogs  were  laid  open  and  irrigated  for  five  minutes  with 
4,  1,  2,  3,  and  5  per  cent,  solutions  of  boric  acid  and  borax 
respectively.  For  purposes  of  comparison  similar  experiments 
were  made  with  solutions  of  common  salt,  saltpetre,  and  soda. 
The  mucous  membrane  of  the  stomach  and  intestine  was 

1  Arch*  of  Hygiene. 


32  PRESERVATIVES  IN   FOOD 

examined  while  fresh,  by  the  naked  eye  and  microscopically, 
and  permanent  microscopic  specimens  were  afterwards  made. 

He  found  that  boric  acid  even  in  a  5  per  cent,  solution 
exerts  no  irritating  effect  on  the  gastro-intestinal  mucous 
membrane.  Borax,  on  the  other  hand,  began  to  cause  excess 
of  secretion  and  disintegration  of  the  epithelial  lining  when  a 
strength  of  2  per  cent,  was  reached.  At  1  per  cent,  there  were 
very  slight  changes  visible  under  the  microscope.  He  ascribes 
this  to  the  alkaline  reaction  of  the  drug.  With  a  1  per  cent, 
solution  of  soda  he  found  a  distinctly  deleterious  effect,  though 
the  comparison  is  perhaps  hardly  fair,  as  he  should  have  com- 
pared equal  degrees  of  alkalinity  of  borax  and  soda  rather  than 
equal  weights. 

Experimenting  with  saltpetre  he  found  that  the  injurious 
effect  began  with  a  \  per  cent,  solution,  whilst  a  5  per  cent, 
solution  of  common  salt  exercised  an  inflammatory  action  on 
the  gastro-intestinal  mucous  membrane.  He  concluded  that 
boric  acid  is  less  injurious  to  mucous  membranes  than  common 
salt  or  saltpetre,  while  the  latter  is  capable  of  producing 
inflammation  in  weaker  solutions  than  borax. 

The  effects  of  the  administration  of  boron  compounds  on 
the  nutrition  of  animals  have  been  investigated  by  Chittenden, 
Liebreich,  Eideal  and  Foulerton,  Tunnicliffe  and  Bosenheim, 
Annett,  and  others. 

Chittenden  ]  used  dogs  for  the  purpose  of  his  experiments, 
bringing  them  first  into  a  condition  of  nitrogenous  equilibrium. 
They  were  then  fed  on  a  carefully  weighed  mixed  diet  of  meat, 
fat,  and  carbohydrate  for  nine  days.  Each  dog  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  experiments  weighed  12  kilogrammes.  For 
the  next  nine  days  5  grammes  of  borax  (about  77  grains)  was 
administered  daily  in  the  same  quantity  of  food,  an  amount 
equivalent  to  1'3  per  cent,  of  the  solid  food  and  0'6  per  cent,  of 
the  total  food  and  drink.  For  a  further  period  of  nine  days 
the  borax  was  omitted.  The  nitrogen  of  the  urine  and  faeces 
was  determined  daily,  also  the  volume  of  the  urine,  together 

1  New  York  Medical  Journal,  February  26,  1898. 


CHEMICAL  PEESEEVATIVES  33 

with  its  specific  gravity,  total  sulphur  and  phosphorus,  uric 
acid  and  combined  sulphuric  acid,  &c.  The  fatty  or  ether- 
soluble  matter  of  the  faeces  was  also  determined. 

Similar  observations  were  made  with  boric  acid,  the  experi- 
ments extending  over  thirty  days  equally  divided  into  a  fore, 
a  boric  acid,  and  an  after  period.  From  1  to  2  grammes  (15'5 
to  31  grains)  of  the  salt  was  given  per  diem. 

A  third  series  of  experiments  was  made,  lasting  over  fifty- 
six  days.  During  the  first  eight  days  no  preservative  was  given. 
An  average  quantity  of  4  grammes  of  borax  was  administered 
per  diem  during  the  next  eight  days ;  there  was  then  a  further 
period  of  eight  days  during  which  no  borax  was  administered, 
.after  which  boric  acid  was  given  for  a  like  period,  the  total 
average  quantity  per  diem  being  2£  grammes.  Another  rest  of 
eight  days  was  allowed,  after  which  an  average  quantity  of 
8  grammes  of  borax  was  given  daily  for  eight  days,  and  finally 
this  was  followed  by  an  equal  period  during  which  no  antiseptic 
was  administered. 

The  experiments  showed,  in  the  case  of  borax,  administered 
up  to  a  maximum  dose  of  5  grammes  a  day,  that  while  the 
weight  of  the  animal  remained  constant,  and  the  quantity  of 
fat  in  the  faeces  was  not  increased,  there  was  a  slight  rise  in 
the  quantity  of  nitrogen  excreted  in  the  faeces,  which  might 
indicate  that  less  proteid  is  absorbed  when  borax  is  administered. 
The  urine  showed  a  tendency  to  become  alkaline  and  to  decrease 
: slightly  in  quantity. 

Boric  acid  in  doses  up  to  3  grammes  a  day  was  apparently 
without  influence  on  proteid  metabolism  or  on  the  general 
nutritional  processes  of  the  body.  It  also  had  no  effect  on  the 
volume  of  the  urine,  which  remained  acid. 

Both  these  drugs,  however,  when  administered  to  the  extent 
of  l-5  to  2'0  per  cent,  of  the  food  were  liable  to  produce  nausea 
and  vomiting.  No  cumulative  action  was  observed,  elimination 
.being  completed  in  twenty-four  to  thirty-six  hours. 

Liebreich 1  fed  two  dogs,  weighing  12,700  and  8,530  grammes, 

1  Loc.  cit. 

3 


34  PRESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

on  food  containing  3  and  2  grammes  of  boric  acid  respectively 
per  diem.  Vomiting  occurred  on  the  twelfth  and  fifteenth 
days  in  the  two  cases,  but  the  first  dog  in  thirty-six  days  put 
on  260  grammes  in  weight.  The  weight  of  the  second  under- 
went no  change. 

Three  rabbits,  varying  from  1,170  to  1,370  grammes 
respectively,  were  given  0'3  gramme  of  boric  acid  for  thirty- 
one  days,  and  gained  from  30  to  100  grammes  in  that 
time. 

A  dog  weighing  12,200  grammes  had  5  grammes  (77  grains) 
of  borax  administered  daily  in  its  food  for  ninety  days.  On  the 
sixteenth  day  there  were  symptoms  of  acute  intestinal  inflamma- 
tion, but  these  passed  away  in  a  few  days,  and  at  the  end  of 
the  period  the  dog  had  gained  3,400  grammes. 

The  results  of  these  experiments  showed  that  in  the  case 
of  borax  there  was  no  loss  of  weight,  a  slight  increase  in  the 
quantity  of  faecal  nitrogen,  but  no  change  in  the  ether-soluble 
constituents  of  the  faeces,  from  which  it  was  inferred  that 
proteid  and  fat  assimilation  are  practically  not  affected  by 
doses  of  borax  up  to  5  grammes  a  day.  The  urine  showed  a 
tendency  to  become  alkaline,  together  with  a  slight  decrease  in 
quantity. 

Boric  acid  in  doses  up  to  3  grammes  a  day  was  likewise 
without  influence  on  proteid  and  fat  metabolism  or  on  the 
general  nutritional  processes  of  the  body.  It  also  appeared 
to  be  without  effect  on  the  volume  of  urine,  which  remained 
acid. 

Neither  drug  had  any  influence  on  intestinal  putrefaction. 

In  order  to  ascertain  the  effects  of  boric  acid  on  young 
animals  a  number  of  observations  were  made  at  the  South  - 
Eastern  Agricultural  College,  Wye,  by  Messrs  Hall,  Hammond, 
and  Tunnicliffe,  sucking-pigs  being  used  for  the  purpose.1 
The  experiments  were  very  carefully  conducted,  and  controls 
were  used  for  comparison.  Eight  pigs  of  the  same  breed  were 
matched  in  pairs  as  nearly  as  possible  according  to  their 
1  Report  of  Departmental  Committee. 


CHEMICAL  PEESEEVATIVES  35 

weights.  They  were  about  two  months  old  when  the  experi- 
ments began.  They  were  fed  to  their  maximum  capacity  on  a 
diet  consisting  chiefly  of  meal  made  from  barley,  oats,  or 
wheat ;  each  individual  of  a  selected  pair  received  the  same 
quantity  of  food  as  the  other,  but  to  the  food  of  one  the  boric 
preservative  was  added.  Their  initial  weight  ranged  from 
30  to  40  Ibs.,  and  their  final  weight,  after  nine  weeks,  was  from 
70  to  90  Ibs.  The  daily  dose  of  boric  acid  began  at  3  grains 
and  was  gradually  increased  to  37  grains.  During  the  last 
twenty  days  of  the  experiments  the  faeces  were  collected,  and 
the  fat  and  nitrogen  estimated  in  two  nine-day  periods,  the 
first  period  being  one  in  which  the  dose  was  18*5  grains, 
and  the  latter  37  grains  per  day. 

The  results  were,  within  experimental  errors,  entirely  nega- 
tive— that  is  to  say,  the  pigs  receiving  boric  acid  throve  as  well 
as  their  confreres,  and  there  was  no  evidence  of  appreciable 
diminution  in  the  fat  or  nitrogen  assimilated. 

As  far,  therefore,  as  experiments  on  animals  can  be  con- 
sidered an  indication  of  what  would  probably  obtain  in  man 
under  similar  conditions,  these  experiments  would  seem  to 
indicate  that  moderate  doses  of  boron  preservatives  are  not 
likely  to  produce  ill-effects  even  when  administered  over  a 
considerable  period,  and  the  experiments  at  the  Agricultural 
College  go  a  short  distance  to  show  that  the  same  may  also  be 
true  with  regard  to  the  young.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind, 
however,  that  the  digestive  processes  taking  place  in  animals 
are  not  entirely  comparable  with  those  in  man.  For  instance, 
perchloride  of  mercury  and  iodoform  can  be  given  to  dogs  in 
quantities  sufficiently  large  completely  to  sterilize  the  ali- 
mentary canal  without  ill  effect,  whereas  corresponding  doses 
would  be  fatal  to  man.1 

Dr.  Annett 2  has  experimented  on  the  administration  of 
boric  acid  dissolved  in  milk  to  a  number  of  kittens  just  old 
enough  to  lap  milk.  These  were  chosen  as  more  nearly 

1  Halliburton,  Report  of  Departmental  Committee. 

2  Report  of  Departmental  Committee. 


36  PRESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

representing  infants  in  the  nature  of  their  food,  and  presumably 
their  digestive  processes,  than  the  animals  used  by  other  ob- 
servers. Some  were  fed  on  milk  containing  80  grains  of  boric 
acid  per  gallon,  and  the  others  on  milk  containing  half  this 
quantity  of  acid,  and  the  kittens  were  allowed  to  consume  as 
much  of  it  as  they  wished.  At  the  same  time  control  kittens 
were  fed  in  a  similar  manner  on  milk  free  from  preservatives. 

At  the  end  of  the  third  or  fourth  week  all  the  kittens  fed 
on  the  milk  containing  80  grains  of  boric  acid  per  gallon  were 
dead,  having  previously  undergone  great  emaciation,  whilst 
those  consuming  the  milk  with  40  grains  of  the  preservative 
per  gallon  became  emaciated  and  died  a  little  later.  In  all 
these  cases  diarrhosa  was  a  prominent  symptom.  The  control 
kittens  remained  perfectly  healthy,  and  gained  considerably  in 
weight.  Dr.  Annett  found  that  kittens  three  months  old  were 
practically  insusceptible  to  milk  containing  these  quantities  of 
boric  acid. 

Although  the  actual  volume  of  milk  consumed  was  not 
estimated,  the  experiments  are  extremely  suggestive,  as  showing 
what  might  possibly  happen  to  infants  artificially  brought  up 
on  milk  to  which  boric  acid  has  been  added.  The  proportion 
of  40  grains  per  gallon  is  (as  shown  on  p.  17)  nearly  the 
minimum  quantity  which  can  be  relied  upon  to  preserve  milk 
for  any  appreciable  length  of  time. 

Turning  now  to  the  observations  made  on  children,  Tunni- 
cliffe  and  Rosenheim  l  obtained  the  consent  of  the  parents  of 
three  children  to  keep  the  latter  under  observation,  whilst 
measured  doses  of  boric  acid  and  borax  were  administered. 
Two  of  them  were  typically  healthy  boys,  two  and  a  half  and 
five  years  of  age,  whilst  the  third  was  a  girl  of  four,  delicate, 
and  just  recovering  from  pneumonia.  During  the  whole  period, 
lasting  a  little  over  three  weeks,  absolute  control  was  kept  over 
all  ingesta,  which  were  accurately  weighed,  and  the  excreta, 
which  were  daily  collected  without  loss.  The  habits  and 
exercise  of  the  children  were  regular  in  every  respect.  Each 

1  Journal  of  Hygiene,  vol.  i.  p.  168. 


CHEMICAL  PRESERVATIVES  37 

period  was  divided  into  a  fore,  a  boric,  a  borax,  and  an  after  period. 
The  diet  was  a  mixed  one,  consisting  chiefly  of  milk,  bread, 
butter,  meat,  and  fruit,  and  so  selected  as  to  maintain  a  nitro- 
genous equilibrium.  Each  article  of  food  was  carefully  analysed 
with  regard  to  its  percentage  composition.  The  excreta  were 
measured  or  weighed,  and  the  nitrogen,  phosphorus,  uric  acid, 
and  fats  estimated. 

The  doses  of  boric  acid  and  borax  were  the  same  in  all 
three  cases. 

For  three  days  7'7  grains  of  boric  acid  was  given  per  diem, 
for  three  days  1O2  grains,  and  for  one  day,  15'4  grains. 
23-2  grains  per  day  of  borax  was  given  for  five  days.  The 
following  are  approximately  the  maximum  quantities  of  the 
substances  which  wrould  be  given  medicinally  : 


— 

Boric  acid 

Borax 

Boy  aged  2|  . 
Boy  aged  5    . 
Girl  aged  4    . 

8  grains 
13-2     „ 
11-25  „ 

13'5  grains 
17'6       „ 
15-0       „ 

The  fore  period  lasted  eight  days  in  the  first  case,  five  days 
in  the  second  and  third.  The  boric  acid  and  borax  periods 
were  in  each  instance  seven  and  five  days  respectively,  whilst 
the  after  period  lasted  five  days  in  every  case. 

The  conclusions  arrived  at  were  as  follows : 

BOEIC  ACID 

'  1.  Small  doses  up  to  1  gramme  (15-4  grains)  a  day  exert  in 
healthy  or  delicate  children  no  influence  upon  proteid  meta- 
bolism. The  assimilation  of  the  proteid  food  was  improved  in 
one  healthy  child. 

'  2.  The  phosphorus  metabolism  was  unaffected  in  all  cases. 
The  assimilation  of  phosphorus  was  in  all  cases  improved. 

'  3.  The  assimilation  of  fat  was  not  affected. 

'  4.  The  body  weight  increased  in  all  cases. 

'  5.  The  quantity  of  dry  faeces  was  not  affected.  Their 
nitrogen  percentage  was  slightly  decreased. 


38  PEESEKVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

'  6.  No  inhibitory  effect  upon  intestinal  putrefaction  could 
be  demonstrated.' 

BORAX 

'  1.  Continued  doses  of  1*5  gramme  (23-2  grains)  have  no 
influence  in  healthy  or  delicate  children  upon  proteid  meta- 
bolism. The  proteid  assimilation  was  unaffected  in  healthy 
children,  slightly  depressed  in  the  delicate  child. 

'  2.  The  phosphorus  metabolism  was  not  affected  in  healthy 
or  delicate  children.  The  assimilation  of  phosphorus  was 
improved  in  all  cases,  the  improvement  being  least  marked  in 
the  case  of  the  delicate  child. 

'  3.  The  fat  assimilation  was  improved  in  the  case  of  one 
healthy  child,  and  unaffected  in  the  case  of  the  others. 

'  4.  The  body  weight  was  increased  in  all  cases  ;  the  increase 
was  most  marked  in  the  case  of  the  delicate  child. 

'  5.  The  weight  of  dry  faeces  and  their  nitrogen  and 
phosphorus  percentage  remained  unaltered. 

'  6.  Borax  tended  rather  to  increase  intestinal  putrefaction.' 

BOEIC   ACID   AND   BOEAX 

'  1.  Both  boric  acid  and  borax  were  quickly  eliminated,  no 
cumulative  action  being  therefore  probable. 

'  2.  Neither  boric  acid  nor  borax  in  any  way  affected  the 
general  health  and  well-being  of  the  children.' 

If  any  criticism  is  needed  upon  these  admirably  conducted 
observations,  we  would  point  out  that  the  period  of  adminis- 
tration was  a  somewhat  short  one,  and  although  apparently  no 
cumulative  action  took  place,  a  more  prolonged  administration 
might  possibly  have  led  to  some  digestive  disturbance.  More- 
over, whilst  the  children  were  taking  for  the  greater  part  of 
the  time  an  amount  of  boric  acid  nearly  equivalent  to,  or  in 
one  case  exceeding,  the  maximum  dose  authorised  by  the 
British  Pharmacoposia,  the  quantity  of  boric  acid  actually  found 
in  milk  is,  as  will  be  mentioned  in  a  later  chapter,  frequently 


CHEMICAL  PRESERVATIVES  39 

20  grains1  to  the  pint,  so  that  an  infant  of,  say,  six  months, 
consuming  only  a  pint  of  milk  in  the  twenty-four  hours,  might 
take  considerably  more  boric  acid  than  the  quantity  used  in 
these  observations. 

The  increase  of  intestinal  putrefaction  in  the  case  of  the 
administration  of  borax  suggests  that  possibly  some  of  the 
food  was  unacted  upon  by  the  natural  gastric  and  intestinal 
ferments,  to  be  subsequently  decomposed  into  useless  products 
by  bacterial  action. 

The  experiments  throw  little  light  on  the  effects  which 
borax  has  been  found  to  produce  in  vitro  on  amylolysis,  but 
indicate  that  in  the  average  child  between  two  and  a  half  and 
five  years  of  age,  boric  acid  and  borax  may  be  administered  for 
several  days,  in  quantities  equal  to,  or  exceeding,  the  usual 
medicinal  doses,  without  any  ill  effects. 

Forster  2  came  to  similar  conclusions  after  administering 
about  46  grains  of  boric  acid  to  a  man  daily  for  three  days 
with  a  mixed  diet,  and,  in  another  instance,  after  giving  doses 
of  23  and  7'5  grains  of  boric  acid  on  two  days  with  a  milk 
diet.  He  found,  however,  a  small  increase  in  the  faecal 
nitrogen,  which  he  ascribed  to  a  slightly  diminished  assimila- 
tion, together  with  an  increased  intestinal  and  mucous  excretion 
from  the  intestine. 

The  elaborate  experiments  recently  conducted  by  Dr.  Wiley 
in  America,  to  be  referred  to  later,  lead  to  somewhat  different 
conclusions,  but  the  negative  results  of  the  greater  number 
of  observations  quoted  above  seem  to  indicate  that  these 
preservatives  in  moderate  quantities  exert  no  prejudicial  effect 
on  the  average  child  and  adult.  Annett's  experiments,  how- 
ever, suggest  that  in  infants  prejudicial  effects  may  occur,  and 
there  is  abundant  medical  evidence  to  show  that  in  an  appreci- 
able proportion  of  children  and  adults  boric  acid  has  caused 
serious  toxic  symptoms,  apart  from  any  influence  upon  the 
digestive  ferments,  when  administered  in  ordinary  medicinal 

1  As  much  as  80  grains  a  pint  has  been  detected. 

2  Arch.  f.  Hygiene,  1884,  ii. 


40  PEESEEYATIVES  IN  FOOD 

doses.  As  has  already  been  pointed  out,  boric  acid  is  excreted 
by  the  kidneys  ;  if,  therefore,  these  organs  are  the  seat  of 
disease,  or  are  otherwise  deficient  in  excreting  power,  there  is 
a  strong  possibility  of  a  cumulative  effect  being  produced.  It 
is  well  known  that  this  is  true  with  regard  to  opium,  which 
requires  the  most  careful  administration  in  cases  when  kidney 
lesions  are  present.  Young  children,  too,  are  extremely  sus- 
ceptible to  the  action  of  certain  drugs :  whether  this  is  the 
case  with  regard  to  boric  acid  it  is  impossible  to  say,  as  the 
diseases  for  which  it  is  usually  administered  do  not  obtain  in 
infancy,  and  digestive  derangements  are  so  common  in  artifi- 
cially fed  babies  that  it  is  difficult  to  ascribe  the  condition  to 
any  one  cause — as,  for  instance,  to  preservatized  milk. 

A  few  instances  of  the  ill  effects  produced  by  boric  acid 
may  be  quoted  from  the  evidence  given  by  witnesses  in  the 
Report  of  the  Departmental  Committee. 

Dr.  Handford  stated  that  he  had  frequently  used  boric  acid 
in  doses  of  10  grains  three  times  a  day  for  patients  suffering 
from  bladder  trouble,  but  had  to  suspend  it  in  from  20  to  40 
per  cent,  of  the  cases  on  account  of  digestive  disturbances. 
These  effects  always  disappeared  on  discontinuance  of  the 
drug. 

Dr.  Briggs  Wild  administered  doses  of  15  to  20  grains  a 
day  to  himself,  with  the  result  that  after  a  few  days  he  ex- 
perienced discomfort  after  food,  loss  of  appetite,  flushing  of 
the  skin  and  general  malaise.  The  symptoms  disappeared 
when  the  drug  was  left  off.  On  taking  quantities  up  to  120 
grains  in  four  hours  nausea  and  diarrhoea  resulted.  He  also 
mentioned  the  case  of  an  adult  who  was  taking  10  grains  three 
times  a  day.  After  three  or  four  weeks  there  was  a  severe 
eruption  spreading  from  the  palms  of  the  hands  to  the  body, 
face,  and  head.  The  hair  fell  off,  and  nearly  the  whole  skin 
was  reddened  and  covered  with  scabs.  This  condition  was 
ameliorated  as  soon  as  the  drug  was  discontinued  ;  subsequently 
the  treatment  was  adopted  again,  with  similar  results. 

Dr.  Tubb-Thomas  administered  boric  acid  to  himself  up  to 


CHEMICAL  PKESEEVAT1VES  41 

15  grains  a  day,  with  the  result  that  vomiting,  diarrhoea, 
headache,  and  almost  complete  suppression  of  urine  took 
place. 

Mr.  A.  E.  Anderson  stated  that  the  majority  of  his  patients, 
to  whom  he  had  given  boric  acid  for  bladder  troubles,  in  doses 
of  10  to  20  grains  three  times  a  day,  experienced  in  about  a 
fortnight  pain  after  food,  loss  of  appetite,  nausea,  vomiting 
and  skin  eruptions,  the  symptoms  disappearing  when  the  drug 
was  stopped.  Of  his  last  fourteen  patients,  eight  had  found  it 
necessary  to  discontinue  its  use. 

Similar  cases  have  also  been  reported  from  time  to  time  in 
the  medical  journals.  In  the  '  Lancet '  of  January  28,  1899, 
two  instances  were  given.  In  the  first,  30  grains  a  day  were 
administered  ;  after  10  days  an  irritable  papulo-erythematous 
rash  occurred  on  the  face,  trunk,  arms,  and  legs ;  the  urine 
was  free  from  albumen.  Similar  results  occurred  in  the  second 
case,  where,  in  addition  to  15  grains  taken  daily  by  the  mouth, 
the  bladder  was  washed  out  with  boric  acid.  In  both  instances 
the  symptoms  disappeared  when  the  drug  was  stopped. 

In  the  '  British  Medical  Journal '  of  the  same  month,  a  case 
is  mentioned  in  which  a  patient,  who  was  taking  up  to  60 
grains  of  boric  acid  a  day  for  three  weeks,  became  entirely 
bald,  and  was  covered  with  an  erythematous  rash. 

In  the  same  journal  (June  7, 1899)  another  case  is  described, 
in  which  nausea  and  dryness  of  the  skin  were  caused  by  rectal 
irrigation  with  boric  acid  of  a  strength  of  a  drachm  to  a  pint. 
They  ceased  when  the  injections  were  discontinued. 

As  regards  the  ill  effects  of  boron  preservatives  when  mixed 
with  foods,  some  were  quoted  by  witnesses  before  the  Depart- 
mental Committee. 

Dr.  J.  H.  Jones  stated  that  a  delicate  lady  was  suffering 
from  dyspepsia :  the  milk  and  butter  were  examined  and 
found  to  contain  boric  acid  (to  the  extent  of  1'3  per  cent,  in 
the  case  of  the  butter).  The  symptoms  disappeared  when  a 
purer  supply  was  obtained. 

Dr.  Tubb-Thomas  related   instances  of  children  suffering 


42  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  EOOD 

from  diarrhoea,  not  occurring  entirely  in  the  summer,  to  whom 
he  gave  small  doses  of  boric  acid  ;  instead  of  recovering,  they 
became  worse,  and  some  of  them  died.  It  was  found  that  the 
milk  they  were  taking  contained  from  40  to  120  grains  of  boric 
acid  per  gallon.  Children  in  similar  circumstances,  but  having 
different  milk  supplies,  escaped. 

He  had  also  met  with  cases  of  phthisis  in  which  the  patients 
had  had  to  give  up  milk  on  account  of  the  diarrhoea  it  caused. 
The  milk  was  found  to  contain  boric  acid.  When  a  fresh 
supply  of  milk  was  obtained,  the  patients  were  able  to  take  it 
without  ill  effects. 

Probably  the  most  striking  instance  of  the  ill  effects  pro- 
ducible by  boracic  acid  was  furnished  by  Dr.  E.  Hope.  A 
lady  had  made  arrangements  with  her  milkman  to  supply  pure 
milk  for  the  use  of  her  child.  Expense  was  no  object,  and  all 
the  cows  were  examined  by  a  veterinary  surgeon.  The  child 
was  taken  violently  ill  one  day,  and  it  was  ascertained  that  on 
that  particular  occasion  the  milkman  had  added  boracic  acid  to 
the  milk.  Careful  inquiries  were  made  as  to  the  possibility  of 
the  illness  being  due  to  any  other  article  of  food,  but  everything 
indicated  the  milk  as  the  cause.  The  fact  that  a  preservative 
had  been  added  on  that  day  is,  however,  suggestive  of  the 
milk  not  being  the  same  as  that  usually  supplied,  or  of  its 
having  shown  signs  of  undergoing  some  change.  However, 
Dr.  Hope  was  strongly  of  opinion  that  the  preservative  was  the 
cause  of  the  illness. 

A  far  more  serious  aspect  of  the  case  is  the  alleged  effect  of 
borax  and  boracic  acid  on  the  kidneys.  In  1901  Dr.  Kister, 
of  Berlin,  published  the  results  of  his  observations  on  the 
administration  of  boracic  acid  to  strong  and  healthy  subjects. 
He  found  that  doses  of  40  to  50  grains  a  day  produced  albumi- 
nuria  in  four  to  six  days,  the  albumen  persisting  until  the  drug 
•was  discontinued.  In  some  instances  he  found  that  a  dose  of 
15  grains  resulted  in  vomiting  and  diarrhoea.  With  a  15-grain 
dose,  exhibited  to  a  healthy  subject,  boracic  acid  appeared  in 
the  urine  in  two  hours,  but  eight  days  elapsed  before  the 


CHEMICAL  PEESEEVATIVES 


whole  was  eliminated.  With  half  the  dose  the  elimination 
occupied  five  days.  Dr.  Charles  Harrington l  conducted  a  series 
of  experiments  on  cats,  feeding  one  on  food  containing  no 
preservative,  six  on  similar  food  containing  borax,  and  five  on 
the  same  food  containing  some  other  preservatives  which  proved 
to  be  innocuous.  The  amounts  of  borax  administered  are 
given  in  the  following  table  : 


Weight  of  borax 

Average  daily  dose 

No.  of  days 
administered 

No.  1       72'5  grammes 
2     112-0 

0'54  gramme 
0-84 

133 
133 

3       28-0 

0-66 

42 

4     108-0 

0-81 

133 

5     106-5 

0-80 

133 

6      48-0 

0-85 

56 

Three  of  the  above  six  cats  became  ill.  No.  3  died  at  the 
end  of  the  sixth  week,  but  the  others  remained  active  till  the 
end  of  the  experiments.  The  eleven  remaining  cats  were  killed. 
The  organs  of  the  six  cats  which  had  not  received  borax  were 
healthy.  In  the  case  of  those  to  which  borax  had  been 
administered,  the  kidneys  were  in  all,  except  No.  2,  found  to  be 
affected  with  nephritis  of  varying  degrees  of  intensity.  The 
epithelium  of  the  tubes,  especially  the  convoluted  tubules,  was 
degenerated,  and  in  the  lumen  of  many  of  the  collecting 
tubules  there  were  granular  masses  of  fragments  of  cells. 
Some  tubules  were  almost  entirely  destroyed.  This  is  fairly 
conclusive  evidence  that  excessive  amounts  of  borax  are 
harmful,  but  it  does  not  follow  that,  because  0-54  to  0'85 
gramme  (8  to  13  grains)  administered  daily  to  a  cat  causes 
nephritis,  the  same  amount  taken  by  a  healthy  adult  would 
have  the  same  effect.  The  difference  in  body  weight  is  very 
considerable,  and  the  human  kidneys  may  possess  greater 
powers  of  elimination  than  those  of  the  cat.  Still,  taken  in 
conjunction  with  Dr.  Kister's  observations,  there  is  little  doubt 

1  Lancet,  September  17,  1904.     Quoting  from  the  American  Journal  of  tlie 
Medical  Sciences. 


44  PRESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

that  doses  of  40  to  50  grains  per  day  are  not  without  effect 
upon  the  human  kidney.  It  is  very  doubtful,  however, 
whether  any  individual  ever  takes  for  any  considerable  period 
in  his  food  more  than  10  to  15  grains  of  borax  or  its  equivalent 
of  boracic  acid  per  day  on  a  mixed  diet,  and  the  kidneys  of  a 
healthy  individual  may  be  perfectly  capable  of  eliminating  this 
amount  without  suffering  any  damage.  This  view  appears  to 
be  borne  out  by  the  results  recorded  by  other  observers. 
Dr.  Merkel,  of  Nuremberg,  administered  15  to  30  grains  of 
boracic  acid  to  a  number  of  invalids  for  periods  varying  from 
two  to  eight  days,  and  found  they  were  much  more  sensitive 
to  the  action  of  the  preservative  than  healthy  persons.  The 
amounts  above  mentioned  caused  excessive  formation  of  gas  in 
the  stomach  and  intestines,  with  eructations,  colic,  epigastric 
pain  and  diarrhoea,  but  he  records  no  production  of  albu- 
minuria  or  any  symptom  pointing  to  irritation  of  the  kidneys. 
In  the  most  elaborate  and  extensive  series  of  experiments  yet 
recorded,  carried  out  by  the  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture,  Dr.  Wiley,  in  his  report,  affords  no  evidence  of 
any  affection  of  the  kidneys  having  resulted  from  the  prolonged 
use  of  moderate  quantities  of  borax.  This  report  is  of  such 
interest  that  a  brief  reference  to  it  must  be  made  here. 

The  details  are  derived  from  Circular  No.  15  of  the  Bureau 
of  Chemistry  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture, 
this  in  its  turn  being  a  digest  of  '  Bulletin  No.  84 '  made  by 
Dr.  H.  W.  Wiley,  Chief  of  the  Bureau.  Bulletin  No.  84 
contained  several  hundred  pages,  and  as,  under  the  existing 
law,  1,000  copies  of  such  a  report  is  the  largest  number  which 
can  be  published,  Circular  No.  15  was  prepared  for  general 
circulation.  Although  it  gives  the  general  outline  of  the 
experiments  and  of  the  results  arrived  at,  it  is  lacking  in 
certain  details  which  were  no  doubt  present  in  the  full  report. 
There  is,  for  instance,  no  detailed  information  as  to  the  actual 
dosage  of  borax  given  day  by  day  or  week  by  week  to  the 
twelve  volunteers  who  offered  themselves  for  experiment,  the 
quantities  employed  being  mentioned  only  in  general  terms, 


45 

nor  does  it  give  the  ages  of  the  recipients,  nor  the  exact  periods 
during  which  the  observations  were  maintained. 

A  large  number  of  young  men  offered  themselves  as  subjects 
for  the  investigations,  and  twelve  were  selected.  Each  applicant 
was  required  to  answer  certain  questions  as  to  his  health  and 
habits,  and  only  total  abstainers  were  chosen.  The  moderate 
use  of  tobacco  was  not  forbidden. 

The  selected  subjects  were  boarded  at  a  special  '  hygienic 
table,'  but  otherwise  continued  their  usual  vocations  during 
the  whole  period  of  the  experiment.  They  were  placed  upon 
their  honour  to  observe  the  rules  and  regulations  prepared  by 
the  Bureau  of  Chemistry,  and  to  use  no  other  food  or  drink 
than  that  provided,  with  the  exception  of  water,  and  any 
water  consumed  away  from  the  hygienic  table  was  to  be 
measured  and  reported.  They  were  to  continue  their  regular 
habits,  and  to  indulge  in  no  excessive  amount  of  labour  or 
exercise.  After  the  experiments  were  over,  each  of  the  selected 
subjects  was  required  to  certify  that  these  requirements  had 
been  kept,  and  that  the  data  as  regards  weight,  temperature, 
and  pulse-rate  had  been  accurately  recorded  by  him. 

The  maximum  duration  of  the  experiment  was  to  be  six 
months,  though  in  point  of  fact  the  periods  during  which  the 
candidates  were  actually  kept  under  observation  varied  from 
thirty  to  seventy  days.  Periods  of  rest  were  given  during 
which  they  were  permitted  to  eat  moderately  at  tables  other 
than  those  of  the  Bureau  of  Chemistry.  The  hours  of  meals 
were  :  breakfast,  8  A.M.  ;  luncheon,  12  noon  ;  dinner,  5.30  P.M.  ; 
the  luncheon  being  only  of  a  light  character,  with  no  meat. 
The  meats  were  selected  from  roast  beef,  beefsteak,  lamb,  veal, 
pork,  chicken,  and  turkey.  Fish  and  oysters  were  given,  and 
eggs  twice  a  week.  The  butter  was  of  the  best  quality,  and 
free  from  colouring  matter  and  salt.  When  preserved 
vegetables,  fruits,  or  meats  were  unavoidable,  such  as  had 
been  preserved  by  cold  storage,  sterilization,  or  without 
antiseptics  were  selected.  Assurances  to  this  effect  were 
required  from  the  purveyors,  and  the  products  were  examined 


46  PBESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

chemically  from  time  to  time.  Tea  and  coffee  were  allowed  in 
moderation. 

The  observations  were  divided  into  three  divisions,  the  fore 
period,  preservative  period,  and  after  period.  The  time 
assigned  to  each  of  the  periods  varied,  and  the  total  time 
varied  from  thirty  to  seventy  days.  During  the  whole  of  this 
time  the  rations  of  each  member  of  the  '  table  '  were  weighed 
or  measured,  and  the  excreta  collected. 

Before  the  fore  period  was  commenced,  a  note  was  made  of 
the  quantities  of  food  voluntarily  consumed  by  each  of  the 
candidates,  and  from  these  the  proper  amount  necessary  in 
each  case  to  maintain  a  comparatively  constant  body  weight 
was  calculated.  When  a  suitable  result  was  thus  arrived  at, 
the  same  quantity  of  food  was  given  daily  during  the  pre- 
servative and  after  periods. 

The  preservative  was  administered  in  the  form  of  borax 
and  boric  acid.  At  first  it  was  mixed  with  the  butter,  but 
subsequently  it  was  given  in  gelatine  capsules  (due  allowance 
being  made  for  the  food  value  of  the  gelatine).  This  method 
was  found  to  be  necessary  from  the  fact  that  when  the  pre- 
servative was  mixed  with  the  food  in  such  a  way  as  to  conceal 
its  physical  appearance,  a  certain  dislike  of  the  food  with 
which  it  was  supposed  to  be  incorporated  was  manifested  by 
some  of  the  members  of  the  table.  '  Those  who  thought  the 
preservative  was  concealed  in  the  butter  were  disposed  to  find 
the  butter  unpalatable,  and  the  same  was  true  with  those  who 
thought  it  might  be  in  the  milk  or  coffee.  When,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  preservative  was  given  in  the  capsules  with  the  full 
knowledge  of  the  subject,  much  less  disturbance  was  created.' 
Preliminary  experiments  with  the  capsules  showed  that  the 
gelatine  was  dissolved  in  a  few  moments  by  the  digestive 
ferments. 

The  doses  of  preservative  given  at  first  were  small,  and 
approximately  such  as  would  be  consumed  in  eating  foods,  such 
as  butter  and  meat,  which  had  been  preserved  with  borax. 
The  quantity  was  progressively  increased  in  order  to  reach  the 


CHEMTCAL  PEESEEVATIVES  47 

limit  of  toleration  for  each  preservative  and  for  each  individual. 
For  each  variation  of  the  quantity  given  a  separate  study  of 
the  digestive  processes  as  influenced  by  the  preservative  was 
made. 

At  the  end  of  the  preservative  period  the  after  period  began, 
approximately  the  same  quantities  of  food  being  given  as 
during  the  preservative  period. 

During  the  entire  time,  from  the  beginning  of  the  fore 
period  to  the  end  of  the  after  period,  the  foods  were  weighed 
or  measured  and  analysed,  and  the  excreta  collected  and 
analysed. 

The  candidates  were  kept  under  medical  supervision,  being 
examined  once  a  week,  and  treated  when  necessary  for  ailments, 
such  as  influenza,  when  these  occurred.  The  blood  of  the 
members  of  the  special  table  was  examined  periodically  as 
regards  colouring  matter  and  number  of  corpuscles. 

The  subjects  of  the  experiment  themselves  kept  a  record  of 
the  sublingual  temperature  before  and  after  dinner  each  day, 
and  at  the  same  time  counted  the  pulse  rate.  A  daily  record 
of  the  body  weight  was  also  kept. 

Dr.  Wiley  points  out  in  his  report  that,  although  it  is  not 
possible  to  collect  every  particle  of  the  nitrogen,  phosphorus, 
and  sulphur  excreted  from  the  body,  and  so  ascertain  the  exact 
fate  of  these  elements  ingested  as  food,  yet,  if  a  relation  can  be 
established  between  the  total  amount  of  these  substances 
entering  the  food  and  that  leaving  the  body  in  the  urine  and 
faeces,  any  disturbance  in  the  relation  due  to  the  addition  of  an 
abnormal  constituent  of  the  food,  such  as  a  preservative,  can 
be  easily  detected.  He  considers  it  fair  to  assume  that  in  spite 
of  the  difficulties  encountered,  any  slight  errors  which  may 
have  occurred  did  not  materially  affect  the  conclusions  based 
on  the  data  as  a  whole. 

It  is  further  pointed  out  that  the  regular  habits  of  life 
entailed  by  the  conditions  of  the  experiment  led  to  a  high 
standard  of  general  health  among  the  members  of  the  ex- 
perimental table,  in  spite  of  a  few  temporary  ailments  such  as 


48  PEESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

colds  and  influenza.  Consequently  it  is  not  impossible  that  an 
unfavourable  tendency,  which  might  have  been  caused  by  the 
preservative  in  the  case  of  persons  leading  a  less  regulated  life, 
was  counteracted  by  the  good  physical  condition  of  the  subjects 
of  the  experiment. 

Any  unfavourable  mental  influences  were  as  far  as  possible 
counteracted  by  the  open  administration  of  the  preservative  in 
capsules,  in  order  that  a  dislike  of  any  particular  preservatised 
food  should  not  be  raised,  and  in  addition  the  young  men  were 
cautioned  to  avoid  discussing  the  development  of  any 
symptoms  which  they  might  rightly  or  wrongly  attribute  to 
the  drug  administered.  It  was  found,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  that 
after  the  first  day  or  two  such  mental  influences  were  not 
noticeable.  • 

The  experimental  data  are  not  set  out  in  Dr.  Wiley's 
report,  but  the  magnitude  of  the  undertaking  is  indicated  by 
the  fact  that  the  observations  were  extended  over  a  period  of 
196  days,  in  which  time  analyses  were  made  of  2,550  food 
samples,  1,175  urine  samples,  and  the  same  number  of  fseces 
samples.  In  addition,  125  samples  of  urine  and  60  samples  of 
blood  were  examined  microscopically. 

As  regards  the  average  ratio  of  food  consumed  to  the  body 
weight,  the  following  figures  are  given  by  Dr.  Wiley  : 


Moist  food,  including 
water  consumed 


Water-free 
food 


Fore  period      .         .  4-20  per  cent.  0*96  per  cent. 

Preservative  period  .  :         4-22       ,,  0'99       „ 

After  period      .         .  |         4-21       „  1-01 


In  every  series  of  the  experiments  there  was  a  marked 
tendency  on  the  part  of  the  preservative  to  diminish  slightly 
the  weight  of  the  body.  As  a  rule  this  loss  of  weight 
continued  during  the  after  period,  though  in  some  instances 
the  loss  was  checked  and  occasionally  partly  regained  in  the 
:after  period. 

On  an  average  about  80  per  cent,  of  the  preservative  was 
.excreted  by  the  kidneys,  only  small  traces  being  found  in  the 


CHEMICAL  PEESERVATIVES  49 

faeces,  and,  unless  the  remainder  was  retained  in  the  body  it 
was  presumably  excreted  in  the  perspiration. 

During  the  course  of  the  observations  607-4  grains  of  either 
boric  acid  or  its  equivalent  of  borax  were  administered,  and 
468-69  grains  were  recovered  in  the  urine,  being  77-16  per 
cent,  of  the  whole.  The  percentage  actually  varied  in  different 
instances  from  63*87  to  83'05  per  cent, 

The  effect  of  the  preservative  on  the  composition  of  the 
fseces  was  in  general  to  slightly  increase  them  both  as  regards 
water  and  dry  matter.  There  was,  however,  no  tendency  to 
excite  diarrhoea. 

On  nitrogen  metabolism  the  administration  of  boric  acid 
had  very  little  influence,  but  taking  the  results  of  all  the 
observations  there  appeared  to  be  a  decrease  in  the  excretion  of 
nitrogen  during  the  preservative  period,  and  a  still  greater 
decrease  after  the  withdrawal  of  the  preservative.  Thus, 
during  the  fore  period,  94*2  per  cent,  of  the  nitrogen  taken  in 
the  food  was  recovered,  as  against  93-6  per  cent,  in  the 
preservative,  and  90-1  per  cent,  in  the  after  period.  It  is 
suggested  that  there  may  be  a  tendency  of  the  preservative  in 
large  amounts  to  increase  the  formation  of  insoluble  compounds 
of  nitrogen,  and  thus  to  retard  its  elimination. 

As  regards  phosphorus  the  combined  results  of  all  the 
observations  indicated  that  the  preservative  increased  the 
excretion  of  phosphorus  from  97-3  per  cent,  in  the  fore 
period  to  103-1  per  cent,  in  the  preservative  period,  the 
percentage  dropping  to  97-0  in  the  after  period. 

The  metabolism  of  fat  appeared  to  be  practically  uninfluenced 
by  the  administration  of  the  preservative,  but  there  was  evidence 
of  a  slight  tendency  for  the  boric  acid  to  interfere  with  the  com- 
bustion of  food  in  the  body,  the  tendency  being  most  marked 
in  the  after  period.  Combining  the  results  of  all  the  data, 
6-4  per  cent,  of  the  combustible  material  in  the  food  was 
eliminated  unburned  during  the  fore  period,  as  against  6*6  per 
cent,  during  the  preservative  and  7-0  per  cent,  during  the  after 
period. 

4 


50 


PEESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 


The  experiments  showed  that  the  boric  acid  tended  to 
increase  the  total  solids  in  the  faeces  and  to  decrease  those 
excreted  in  the  urine — that  is  to  say,  that  the  preservative  inter- 
fered with  the  processes  of  digestion  and  absorption.  The 
daily  averages  were  as  follows : 


—    • 

Quantity  of  solid 
food 

Percentage  in 
faeces 

Percentage 
eliminated  in 
urine 

Fore  period 
Preservative  period 
After  period 

631'5  grains 
627-6      „ 
614-1      „ 

4-1 
4-6 
4-6 

10-2 
9-5 
9-1 

The  figures  in  the  third  column,  it  should  be  noted,  include 
the  boric  acid  administered  during  the  preservative  period, 
and  as  the  drug  is  excreted  chiefly  by  the  urine  it  would  tend  to 
increase  the  solids  in  the  urine. 

As  regards  the  effect  of  the  preservative  on  the  composition 
of  the  urine  it  was  found  that  whilst  85-7  per  cent,  of  the 
nitrogen  was  excreted  in  the  fore  period,  the  figure  dropped  to 
85-1  and  81-1  per  cent,  in  the  preservative  and  after  periods 
respectively. 

The  acidity  was  increased  or  reduced  according  as  to 
whether  boric  acid  or  borax  had  been  administered,  and  in 
some  cases  the  reaction  became  alkaline,  thus  indicating  that 
a  large  part  of  the  borax  was  excreted  unchanged. 

In  the  few  instances  where  the  urine  contained  a  trace 
of  albumen  before  the  experiments,  there  was  a  tendency 
for  this  to  be  increased  in  both  the  preservative  and  after 
periods. 

No  influence  appeared  to  be  exerted  on  the  substances 
found  by  a  microscopical  examination  of  the  urinary  deposits. 

Similarly  no  conclusions  could  be  drawn  as  to  any  influence 
of  the  preservative  on  the  corpuscles  and  haemoglobin  of  the 
blood. 

The  effect  of  boracic  acid  and  borax  on  the  general  health 
varied  with  the  amount  administered.  Quantities  not  exceed- 
ing ^  a  gramme  of  boracic  acid,  or  its  equivalent  of  borax,  given 


CHEMICAL  PRESERVATIVES  51 

daily  produced  no  immediate  effects.  The  long-continued 
exhibition  of  such  small  doses  appears  to  have  produced  the 
same  results  as  the  use  of  large  doses  extended  over  a  shorter 
period.  In  many  instances  there  was  a  manifest  tendency  to 
diminish  the  appetite  and  to  produce  a  feeling  of  fulness  and 
uneasiness  in  the  stomach,  and  in  some  cases  actual  nausea 
was  experienced.  There  was  a  further  tendency  to  produce  a 
sense  of  fulness  in  the  head,  manifested  as  a  dull  and  persistent 
headache.  These  symptoms  disappeared  when  the  use  of  the 
preservative  was  abandoned.  The  continued  administration  of 
boracic  acid  to  the  amount  of  4  or  5  grammes  per  day  (or  its 
equivalent  of  borax)  resulted  in  most  cases  in  loss  of  appetite 
and  inability  to  perform  work  of  any  kind.  In  many  cases  the 
person  became  ill  and  unfit  for  duty.  The  administration  of 
3  grammes  per  day  produced  the  same  symptoms  in  many 
instances,  although  it  appeared  that  the  majority  of  the  men 
under  observation  were  able  to  take  3  grammes  a  day  for  a 
somewhat  prolonged  period  and  still  perform  their  duties. 
They  commonly  felt  injurious  effects  from  the  dose,  and  it  is 
reasonable  to  assume  that  a  normal  man  could  not  long  continue 
to  receive  3  grammes  (46  grains)  per  day.  In  some  cases 
2  grammes  and  even  1  gramme  per  day  appeared  to  cause 
illness,  but  it  is  acknowledged  that  these  persons  may  have 
been  suffering  from  influenza. 

The  administration  of  borax  and  boracic  acid  to  the  extent 
of  one-half  gramme  per  day  yielded  results  markedly  different 
from  those  obtained  with  larger  quantities.  The  experiments 
with  this  quantity  extended  over  a  period  of  fifty  days,  and  on 
the  whole  the  results  are  said  to  be  '  that  one-half  gramme 
per  day  is  too  much  for  the  normal  man  to  receive  regularly,' 
although  for  a  limited  period  there  may  be  no  danger  of  im- 
pairment of  health. 

Dr.  Wiley  sums  up  his  conclusions  in  the  following 
sentence  : 

'  It  appears,  therefore,  that  both  boracic  acid  and  borax, 
when  continuously  administered  in  small  doses  for  a  long 


52  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

period,  or  when  given  in  larger  quantities  for  a  short  period, 
create  disturbance  of  appetite,  of  digestion  and  of  health.' 

Dr.  Wiley's  report  and  conclusions  have  recently  been 
exhaustively  criticized  by  Liebreich,  who  has  had  the  oppor- 
tunity of  visiting  Washington,  of  examining  the  building  in  which 
the  men  experimented  upon  were  boarded,  and  of  studying  all 
the  documents  relating  to  the  investigation.  He  points  out  that 
the  results  were  so  indefinite,  and  the  number  of  persons  under 
control  so  small,  that '  one  case  of  self-deception  or  forgetfulness 
only  would  throw  into  absolute  uncertainty  the  solution  of  the 
whole  question.'  The  premises  used  were  not  very  suitable, 
being  near  kitchens  and  store-rooms  for  malodorous  oils,  and 
possibly  *  continuous  eating  in  such  rooms  would  tend  to 
diminish  the  appetites  of  young  men,  especially  those  who  are 
used  to  something  better,  and  lead  to  the  changes  in  metabolism 
attendant  upon  this  decrease.'  The  fore-periods  were,  according 
to  Liebreich,  in  nearly  all  cases  too  short  to  permit  of  the  normal 
metabolism  being  ascertained,  and  far  too  much  reliance  was 
placed  upon  chemical  results  and  too  little  on  medical  observa- 
tion. The  diminution  in  weight,  680  grammes  for  each  person 
(about  1£  lb.),  has  little  significance,  and  in  fact  may  actually 
have  indicated  an  improved  general  condition  of  the  body  due 
to  the  dieting  and  regular  habits  insisted  upon.  The  pre- 
servatives were  given  as  a  single  dose  daily  in  a  gelatine  capsule, 
and  not  mixed  with  the  food  at  each  meal.  This,  in  Liebreich's 
opinion,  renders  the  whole  results  unreliable,  as  the  effect  of 
many  substances  —  mustard,  salt,  and  alcohol,  for  example — is 
very  different  if  taken  alone  to  what  it  is  if  they  are  taken  well 
diluted  in  articles  of  food  or  drink.  A  very  significant  admission 
is  also  made  by  Dr.  Wiley.  He  says,  '  The  unfortunate  fact 
that  many  of  the  data  are  contradictory  must  be  accepted 
without  question.  As  the  judge  and  the  jury,  in  the  light  of 
contradictory  evidence,  seek  to  decide  which  is  the  more  trust- 
worthy, so  have  the  data  herein  contained  been  interpreted 

1  Third  Treatise  on  tlie  Effects  of  Bo/rax  and  Boric  Acid  on  tJie  Human  System. 
London,  J.  &  A.  Churchill,  1906. 


CHEMICAL    PEESEEVATIVES  53 

with  a  view,  if  possible,  to  giving  the  greater  weight  to  those 
which  deserve  the  greater  credit.'  Another  admission  of  great 
interest  and  importance  is  also  made.  He  says,  '  It  is,  never- 
theless, an  interesting  fact  to  note  that  at  the  end  of  the  year, 
after  the  final  "after  period"  had  been  passed,  they  [the  men 
experimented  upon]  appeared  to  be,  and  declared  themselves  to 
be,  in  better  physical  condition  than  when  they  entered  upon 
the  experimental  work  seven  months  before.' 

We  cannot  do  better  than  give  Liebreich's  final  conclusions, 
since  they  briefly  summarise  the  whole  matter,  and  appear  to 
us,  from  a  careful  consideration  of  Wiley's  Tables  as  given  by 
Liebreich,  to  be  perfectly  fair  and  reasonable : 

FINAL  CONCLUSIONS  1 

'  The  conclusion  drawn  from  an  exhaustive  examination  of 
the  figures  and  reports  drawn  up  by  Dr.  Wiley  is  that  no 
injurious  effect  was  produced  by  the  administration  of  the  boron 
preservatives.  The  symptoms  of  ill-health  noticed  during  the 
attendance  at  the  Borax-table  must  be  attributed  to  inefficient 
hygienic  conditions,  and  to  an  injudicious  mode  of  administering 
the  preservative,  as  well  as  in  a  few  cases  to  an  unsuitable 
choice  of  persons  for  this  experiment  in  spite  of  medical 
examination. 

'  1.  With  regard  to  weight,  Dr.  Wiley  assumes  that  a  loss  of 
weight  resulted.  The  average  loss  of  680  grammes  is  so  slight 
that  it  need  not  be  ascribed  to  the  use  of  boric  acid  and  borax, 
but  can  be  explained  by  chance  occurrences  at  the  preservative 
table.  Moreover  a  loss  of  weight  does  not  by  any  means  always 
mean  an  injurious  influence. 

'  2.  The  experiments  on  metabolism  were  undertaken  with 
no  equilibrium  of  nutrition. 

'  3.  The  fore  periods  were  too  short  to  prove  regularity  in 
feeding. 

'  4.  The  percentages  of  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid  in  the 
food  were  constantly  changing.  Consequently 

1  Op.  dt.  p.  69. 


54  PEESEEVATIVES    IN    FOOD 

'  5.  It  is  impossible  to  decide  whether  the  excretion  increased 
during  the  preservative  period. 

'  6.  Dr.  Wiley  calculates  the  elimination  of  phosphoric  acid 
in  percentages.  This  method  of  reckoning  is  a  fault  in  calcula- 
tion when  the  supply  of  phosphoric  acid  is  not  constant,  the 
more  so  that  Dr.  Wiley's  figures  are  obtained  promiscuously 
from  positive  and  negative  phosphoric  acid  balances  in  the  fore 
period. 

'  7.  On  considering  the  separate  tables  we  see  that,  in  the 
rise  and  fall  of  the  elimination  of  phosphoric  acid,  there  is  no 
connection  between  the  magnitude  of  the  dose  of  preservative 
or  the  number  of  days  in  the  preservative  period,  and  the 
amount  of  the  elimination  of  phosphoric  acid. 

'  8.  The  hygienic  arrangements  were  not  on  a  scale  to  do 
justice  to  every  individual. 

'  9.  The  medical  supervision  and  self -supervision  were  not 
sufficient  for  experiments  of  this  kind. 

'  10.  The  administration  of  the  preservative — that  is,  of  borax 
and  boracic  acid  in  capsules — allows  of  no  conclusions  as  to  the 
effect  of  borates  when  added  to  food. 

'  11.  It  is  not  necessary  to  go  into  the  question  of  calories. 
Dr.  Wiley's  own  words  explain  this  best.  He  says  :  "  The 
data  are  not  wholly  decisive,  but  very  suggestive."  He  does 
not  say  why  they  are  suggestive,  and  he  himself  adds  that  his 
investigations  were  not  exhaustive  enough. 

'  12.  No  lasting  injury  to  health  was  found,  in  spite  of 
transient  disturbances  caused  by  the  room  used  for  experiment 
and  the  administration  of  the  boron  compounds  in  capsules. 
On  the  contrary,  all  the  persons  declared  themselves  to  be  in 
better  physical  condition  after  seven  months  than  they  had 
been  before.' 

Assuming  Dr.  Wiley's  conclusions  to  be  justified  it  seems 
probable  that  no  inconsiderable  amount  of  ill-health,  arising 
from  disturbances  of  the  digestive  functions,  may  be  due  to  the 
preservatives  contained  in  articles  of  food,  milk,  butter,  bacon, 


55 

«&c.,  and  yet  the  cause  be  rarely  suspected,  and  still  more  rarely 
admit  of  proof.  Certainly  this  has  not  been  proved  at  present, 
but  now  that  the  attention  of  the  medical  profession  is 
being  directed  to  this  subject  it  is  possible  that  the  causal 
relationship,  if  any,  between  indigestion,  anomalous  skin  erup- 
tions, and  kidney  affections,  and  the  use  of  boracic  or  other 
preservatives  may  be  established. 

Whether  boron  compounds,  when  used  in  reasonable 
quantities  as  food  preservatives,  have  any  deleterious  effect 
upon  healthy  individuals  or  not,  there  are  two  widely  prevalent 
conditions  which  especially  contra-indicate  their  use,  namely 
kidney  affections  and  atonic  dyspepsia,  and  although  there  is 
no  evidence  of  any  weight  with  reference  to  the  action  of  boric 
acid  on  the  uterus,  the  possible  danger  to  pregnant  women 
should  not  be  overlooked.  The  digestive  functions  of  children 
being  more  easily  disturbed  than  those  of  adults,  there  is 
nothing  unreasonable  in  assuming  that  these  preservatives  will 
be  more  likely  to  be  harmful  to  children  than  to  adults. 

The  action  of  boron  compounds  has  been  dwelt  upon  in 
some  detail  because  they  are  more  largely  used  than  any 
others  as  preservatives  in  a  greater  variety  of  foods,  and 
because  the  greatest  diversity  of  opinion  has  hitherto  pre- 
vailed with  reference  to  their  action  upon  the  human  system. 


CHAPTEE   IV 

CHEMICAL  PRESERVATIVES  (continued) 

Formaldehyde 

THIS  preservative  has  to  some  extent  supplanted  boric  acid 
in  the  case  of  milk  and  cream,  but  is  not  much  employed  for 
other  articles  of  food,  though  it  is  occasionally  painted  or 
sprayed  over  the  surface  of  meat,  fish,  and  fruit,  and  it  has 
been  found  in  temperance  beverages  such  as  ginger  beer. 

In  a  pure  state  it  is  a  gas,  but  it  is  usually  sold  under  the 
name  of  formalin,  which  consists  of  a  40  per  cent,  solution  in 
water  or  dilute  alcohol.  It  is  sometimes  purchased  for  dairy 
purposes  in  a  weaker  solution,  such  as  1  per  cent.  It  does  not 
keep  well,  as  it  readily  undergoes  oxidation  into  formic  acid, 
and  is  also  apt  to  polymerize.  One  of  its  most  remarkable 
properties  is  its  power  of  hardening  albuminous  substances. 
Apparently  it  is  able  to  enter  into  combination  with  proteid 
material,  which  is  thereby  generally  rendered  insoluble  and  less 
easily  acted  upon  by  ferments.  Serum  albumen,  however,  is 
an  exception  to  the  rule,  and  remains  soluble  in  water,  but  it 
is  not  coagulable  by  heat  after  it  has  been  exposed  to  the 
action  of  formaldehyde. 

Cassal l  found  that  gelatine,  by  the  addition  of  O'l  to  0-5 
per  cent,  of  formalin  (0*04  to  0-2  per  cent,  formaldehyde), 
became  hard  and  horny,  and  would  not  dissolve  in  water, 
whilst  egg  albumen  was  converted  into  a  gelatinous  mass 
insoluble  in  water,  after  a  few  drops  of  a  similar  solution  had 
been  added. 

1  Report  of  Departmental  Committee. 


CHEMICAL  PEESEEVATIVES  57 

According  to  Weigle  and  Merkel  the  casein  of  formalined 
milk  falls  in  thick  voluminous  flocculi,  and  is  rendered 
insoluble  even  in  the  mixture  of  sulphuric  and  acetic  acid 
used  in  Gerber's  method  of  estimating  milk  fat,  and  equally  so 
in  a  medium  containing  pepsin  and  trypsin  (Benedecenti).1 

Formaldehyde  is  an  excellent  germicide,  and  is  largely 
employed  in  the  form  of  a  vapour  or  spray  for  disinfecting 
rooms,  whilst  the  solution  is  used  for  sterilizing  clothing, 
surgical  instruments,  &c.  A  1  per  cent,  solution  has  been 
found  to  destroy  non-sporing  bacteria  in  less  than  an  hour,  and 
many  species  are  prevented  from  multiplying  by  so  dilute  a 
solution  as  1  in  20,000.  Dr.  Blaxall 2  found  that  milk  is 
sterilized  by  the  addition  of  formaldehyde  in  the  proportion  of 
1  in  500. 

Rideal  and  Foulerton 3  have  shown  that  the  organisms 
producing  the  souring  of  milk  are  checked  for  some  hours 
when  the  proportion  is  only  1  in  50,000,  and  consider  that  this 
quantity  need  not  be  exceeded  for  practical  purposes. 

The  point  at  which  the  milk  was  deemed  unfit  for  sale  in 
these  experiments  was  the  same  as  that  in  the  case  of  boric 
acid,  namely  an  acidity  equivalent  to  0-25  per  cent,  of  lactic 
acid.  The  following  table  represents  the  percentage  acidity 
of  the  milk  after  the  addition  of  formaldehyde,  at  various 
temperatures  : 


Milk  without 
Temperature 


P. 


55-4° 
64-0° 
75-2c 


formaldehyde 

formaldehyde  had  been  added 

15  hours 

20  hours 

23  hours    39  hours 

15  hours 

2  0  hours 

23  hours 

39  hours 

0-18 
0-20 
0-23 

0-18 
0-20 
0-24 

0-18     i    0-19 
0-21     i    0-39 
0-28     j    0-80 

0-18 
0-18 
0-19 

0-18 
0-18 
0-20 

0-18 
0-18 
0-22 

017 
021 
059 

It  will  be  seen  that  at  75*2°   there  is  a  gain  of  over  three 
hours,  and  at  64°  one  of  16  hours  by  the  use  of  the  preservative. 

1  Zeitschrift  fiir  Hygiene  und  Infectionskranklicitcn,  vol.  48,  part  i. 

2  Report  of  Departmental  Committee. 
Public  Health,  1899. 


58 


PEESEEYATIVES  IN  FOOD 


It  is,  however,  as  discussed  in  Chapter  III.,  open  to  doubt 
whether  the  formation  of  deleterious  products  is  likewise 
checked — that  is  to  say,  whether  lactic  acid  can  be  taken  as  an 
index  of  the  effect  of  formic  aldehyde  on  all  the  organisms 
which  may  produce  toxic  substances  in  milk.  In  fact, 
according  to  Delepine,1  more  than  one  part  of  formaldehyde  in 
10,000  is  necessary  to  check  the  multiplication  of  B.  typhosus 
in  fluid  media,  and  a  still  stronger  solution  is  required  in  the 
case  of  organisms  of  the  B.  coli  group. 

Droop  Richmond 2  conducted  similar  experiments  on  the 
same  lines  as  those  already  quoted  in  the  case  of  boric  acid. 
The  following  results  are  expressed  as  the  length  of  time 
during  which  milk  will  keep  sweet  at  various  temperatures 
with  and  without  the  addition  of  preservative : 


Temperature 

Formaldehyde  added  per  cent. 

F. 

None 

0-0023 

0-0047 

0-0093 

Hours 

Hours 

Hours 

Hours 

60° 

50 

60 

100 

140 

70° 

34 

40 

58 

92 

80° 

22 

29 

40 

66 

90° 

15 

18 

31 

52 

100° 

9 

11 

27 

44 

Thus  with  the  addition  of  1*15  parts  of  formaldehyde  in 
50,000,  a  gain  of  10,  6,  and  7  hours  respectively,  is  observed  at 
60°,  70°,  and  80°,  whilst  with  twice  this  quantity  the  corre- 
sponding figures  are  50,  24,  and  18  hours. 

Bearing  in  mind  the  powerful  germicidal  properties  of 
formaldehyde,  one  would  expect  it  to  produce  an  inhibitory 
effect  on  the  digestive  ferments.  That  this  takes  place  to  some 
extent  is  shown  by  the  experiments  of  several  observers,  and 
the  following  are  a  few  of  the  results. 

Action  on  Ptyalin. — Eideal  and  Foulerton3  found  that, 
expressing  the  amount  of  a  given  quantity  of  arrowroot  starch 

1  Trans.  Epidem.  Society,  vol.  xxii.  p.  58. 

2  Eeport  of  Departmental  Committee. 

3  Public  Health,  1899. 


CHEMICAL  PEESEEVATIVES  59 

converted  into  sugar  as  100,  the  quantity  thus  produced  by 
ptyalin  in  the  presence  of  formic  aldehyde  was  as  follows  : 

1  in  100,000  formaldehyde     .  .  .    99'8 

1  „     50,000  „  .  .  .     96-0 

1  „     10,000  „  ...    89-0 

This  effect  is  apparently  due  to  the  action  of  the  preservative 
not  upon  the  starch,  but  on  the  ferment,  as  Bliss  and  Novy ; 
found  that  starch  which  had  been  exposed  to  a  1  per  cent, 
solution  of  formaldehyde  for  five  days  behaved  to  ptyalin 
exactly  like  fresh  starch. 

Action  on  Pepsin. — Eideal  and  Foulerton2  showed  that 
1  part  of  formaldehyde  in  50,000  inhibited  the  digestive  action 
of  pepsin  by  2-4  per  cent. 

Cassal 3  found  that  in  a  solution  containing  1  part  of 
formalin  in  10,000  (1  in  25,000  formaldehyde),  pepsin  failed  to 
digest  fibrin  in  six  hours,  and  that  an  insoluble  deposit  was 
formed  at  the  bottom  of  the  flask.  In  the  absence  of  formalin 
digestion  was  practically  complete  in  two  and  a  half  hours. 

This  inhibitory  effect  increases  with  the  concentration  of 
the  antiseptic.  Thus,  according  to  Starling,4  fibrin,  which  had 
been  exposed  to  a  solution  of  1  in  2,500  formaldehyde,  was 
incapable  of  digestion  by  gastric  juice,  and  this  condition 
persisted  even  after  the  fibrin  had  been  washed  for  two  days  in 
running  water. 

It  appears  probable  that  the  effect  is  due  to  the  action  of 
formaldehyde  more  on  the  albuminous  material  than  on  the 
ferment,  since  Bliss  and  Novy5  have  shown  that  the  anti- 
septic has  no  deleterious  effect  on  pepsin  even  when  the  latter 
has  been  exposed  for  some  weeks  to  a  4  per  cent,  solution. 

Eideal  and  Foulerton  6  allowed  15  grammes  of  beefsteak  to 
stand  in  100  c.c.  of  water  to  which  measured  quantities  of 
formaldehyde  had  been  added.  After  twenty-four  hours  the 
meat  was  digested  with  pepsin  for  an  hour  at  38°  C.,  and  the 

1  Journ.  of  Experimental  Medicine,  1899,  vol.  iv.  p.  74.         -  Loc.  cit. 
3  Report  of  Departmental  Committee.  '  Ibid. 

s  Loc.  cit.  B  Loc.  cit. 


60  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

dissolved  nitrogen  estimated,  a  control  experiment  being  made 
in  which  no  preservative  had  been  used. 
The  results  were : 


Quantity  of  formaldehyde 

Quantity  of  proteid  digested 

None 
1  in  100,000 
1  „     50,000 
1  „     10,000 
1  „       2,500 

100-00 
91-45 
90-38 
85-25 
81-19 

showing  that  formaldehyde  renders  proteid  material  resistant  to 
pepsin  in  proportion  to  the  quantity  present. 

Action  on  Rennin.— Foulerton l  found  that  a  quantity  of 
formalin,  equivalent  to  1  in  40,000  formic  aldehyde,  delayed 
the  action  of  rennin  a  few  minutes,  1  in  10,000  about  an  hour, 
while  when  the  strength  reached  1  in  1,000  the  ferment  was 
almost  entirely  inhibited.  Bliss  and  Novy 2  have  shown  that 
formaldehyde  may  be  added  to  rennet  in  the  proportion  of  5  per 
cent,  without  destroying  the  ferment,  in  which  case  the  results 
of  Foulerton's  experiments  must  be  ascribed  to  the  direct 
action  of  formic  aldehyde  on  the  casein.  Lowenstein  has 
recently  further  investigated  this  subject  and  arrives  at  the 
following  conclusions  : 3 

1.  Formaldehyde  so  alters  the  milk  that  it  no  longer  reacts 
towards  rennet.     The  degree  of  alteration  depends,  first,  on  the 
length  of  contact,  and,  secondly,  on  the  strength  of  the  formalin 
solution. 

2.  These  changes  in  the  milk  take  place  with  the   small 
quantities  of  formalin  which  are  used  in  practice  for  preservation. 

Action  on  Trypsin. — It  has  been  shown  by  Eideal  and 
Foulerton 4  that  formaldehyde  when  present  to  the  extent  of 
1  in  50,000  has  a  slightly  inhibitory  effect  on  the  proteolytic 
ferment  of  the  pancreatic  juice.  The  amount  of  fibrin  digested 
in  one  of  their  experiments  was  97*0  as  against  300  in  the 
absence  of  the  antiseptic. 

1  Lancet,  1899,  vol.  ii.  2  Loc.  cit. 

»  Public  Health,  April  1905,  p.  457.  4  Ibid.,  1899. 


CHEMICAL  PEESEEVATIVES 


61 


Halliburton  '  found  that  fibrin,  which  had  previously  been 
in  contact  with  a  1  in  2,000  solution  of  formaldehyde  for  two 
days,  resisted  the  action  of  pancreatic  juice  three  times  as 
long  as  ordinary  fibrin,  whilst  if  the  strength  of  formaldehyde 
was  doubled  no  digestion  took  place  in  twenty-four  hours. 

Bliss  and  Novy2  have  shown  that  this  ferment  is  itself 
destroyed  by  a  ]  in  500  solution  of  formaldehyde,  and  inhibited 
by  one  half  this  strength,  apart  from  any  action  which  the 
antiseptic  may  have  upon  the  proteid  substances  to  be  digested. 
In  this  connection  Eideal  and  Foulerton  exposed  milk  for 
twenty  hours  to  the  influence  of  varying  quantities  of  form- 
aldehyde, and  then  digested  the  mixture  with  extract  of  pan- 
creas. After  half  an  hour  the  quantity  of  casein  dissolved  was 
estimated,  with  the  following  results  : 


Quantity  of  formaldehyde 


None 

1  in  100,000 
1  „  50,000 
1  „  10,000 


Quantity  of  casein  digested 

100-0 
94-6 
94-1 
91-4 


Possibly,  if  digestion  had  been  carried  on  for  a  longer  period,  a 
larger  proportion  of  the  casein  would  have  been  dissolved. 

Action  on  Amylopsin. — The  same  observers,  using  two 
different  samples  of  this  ferment,  found  the  effects  of  the  ad- 
dition of  varying  quantities  of  formic  aldehyde  to  be  as  follows  : 


Formaldehyde  added 

Ferment  A 

Ferment  B 

None 

100-0 

100-0 

1  in  100,000 

96-4 

87-2 

1  „     50,000 

91-8 

84-2 

1  „     10,000 

91-5 

83-0 

Starling  3  found  that  1  in  5,000  formalin  (equivalent  to  1  in' 
12,500  formic  aldehyde)  entirely  stops  the  action  of  pancreatic 
juice. 

1  Report  of  Departmental  Committee. 

"  Loc.  cit.  3  Report  of  Departmental  Committee. 


62 

No  observations  have  been  recorded  as  to  the  action  of 
formic  aldehyde  on  Succus  entericus,  or  on  the  emulsifying 
agents  in  bile  and  pancreatic  juice,  but  it  will  be  gathered 
from  the  experiments  just  recorded  that  in  vitro  all  the 
principal  natural  digestive  enzymes  are  retarded  to  some 
extent  by  formic  aldehyde  even  in  such  small  proportions  as 
1  part  in  50,000.  The  effect  seems  to  be  most  marked  in  the 
case  of  amylopsin— a  most  important  ferment  in  the  digestion 
of  farinaceous  food — and  least  in  that  of  pepsin. 

In  addition  there  appears  to  be  a  specific  reaction,  of  the 
nature  of  a  chemical  combination,  between  the  preservative 
and  albuminous  material,  whereby  the  action  of  proteolytic 
ferments  is  retarded. 

There  is  thus  a  considerable  contrast  between  boron  com- 
pounds and  formalin,  as,  in  the  case  of  the  former,  the  action 
of  many  of  the  digestive  ferments  appears  to  be  actually  favoured. 

Nothing  is  known  as  to  whether  formaldehyde,  in  such 
weak  solutions  as  those  necessary  for  the  preservation  of  food, 
has  any  direct  effect  on  the  secretory  cells  of  the  digestive 
tract.  In  concentrated  solutions  it  undoubtedly  has  a  depress- 
ing influence  on  their  vitality,  and  it  is  possible,  therefore,  that 
this  may  take  place  when  the  substance  is  present  in  such 
quantities  as  those  used  in  the  foregoing  experiments,  in  which 
case  an  additional  inhibitory  effect  would  be  added. 

A  few  experiments  have  been  carried  out  on  animals  in 
order  to  ascertain  how  far  formaldehyde  exerts  a  prejudicial 
effect  on  nutrition. 

At  the  South-Eastern  Agricultural  College  at  Wye  l  ob- 
servations, similar  to  those  already  mentioned  in  the  case  of 
boracic  acid,  were  made  on  six  young  sucking-pigs.  They 
were  kept  under  observation  until  it  was  found  that  their  rate 
of  growth  was  steady,  and  were  then  matched  in  three  pairs. 
The  pigs  in  each  pair  always  received  equal  weights  of  the 
same  food,  but  one  of  them  was  given  a  dose  of  formalin 
suitably  diluted.  The  experiments  lasted  over  seven  weeks,  the 

1  Report  of  Departmental  Committee. 


63 

initial   daily   dose   of    formalin   being   2  c.c.    (=  O8  gramme 
formaldehyde),  this  being  afterwards  increased  to  4  c.c. 

At  the  end  of  the  time  no  deleterious  influence  was 
observed  on  the  pigs  to  whom  formalin  was  administered,  and 
they  grew  rapidly,  and  fed  as  well  as  those  to  whom  none  was 
given.  The  formaldehyde  represented  a  concentration  varying 
from  1  in  185  to  1  in  730  of  the  total  food.  Annett l  obtained 
different  results  by  using,  as  in  the  case  of  boric  acid,  very 
young  kittens,  taken  as  far  as  possible  from  the  same  litters, 
for  his  experiments. 

A  set  of  five  kittens  received  milk  containing  1  part  in  50,000 
of  formaldehyde,  for  seven  weeks,  whilst  another  set  of  four  were 
fed  on  pure  milk.  Of  the  former,  three  died,  and  the  average 
increase  in  weight  per  kitten  was  177 -6  grammes,  as  against 
251*1  grammes  in  the  case  of  the  latter  set.  Annett  considers 
this  to  indicate  a  retarding  effect  on  nutrition  to  the  extent  of 
29-3  per  cent. 

Similar  experiments  were  made  using  milk  containing 
twice  this  quantity  of  formaldehyde,  with  a  result  that  the 
increase  of  weight  was  retarded  by  39 '6  per  cent.  None  of  the 
kittens  succumbed. 

With  a  concentration  of  1  in  12,500,  two  kittens  died,  and 
there  was  a  retardation  in  weight  of  69*1  per  cent. 

In  no  instance  was  the  quantity  of  milk  controlled,  the 
kittens  being  allowed  to  take  as  much  as  they  wished. 

Rideal 2  has  criticised  these  experiments,  pointing  out  that 
the  results  were  extremely  irregular  in  comparison  with  the 
number  of  kittens  used,  and  that  cow's  milk  is  an  unsuitable 
diet  for  these  animals.  Nevertheless  the  fact  remains  that 
five  of  the  kittens  fed  on  formalined  milk  died,  whilst  none  of 
the  controls  shared  this  fate,  and  many  of  the  former  had 
symptoms  such  as  loss  of  appetite,  diarrhrea,  gaseous  distension 
of  the  abdomen,  and  changes  in  the  fur,  chiefly  in  the  direction 
of  roughening.  Moreover,  the  loss  of  weight  increased  pari 
passu  with  the  concentration  of  the  preservative. 

1  Lancet,  1899,  vol.  ii.  *  Ibid.,  1900,  vol.  i. 


64  PRESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

Kideal  repeated  the  experiments  by  feeding  kittens  five 
weeks  old  with  70  c.c.  of  milk  containing  1  in  5,000  form- 
aldehyde daily,  but  could  detect  no  injurious  effects. 

As  has  already  been  stated,  the  digestive  processes  in  man 
and  animals  differ  considerably,  and  it  is  not  safe  to  attach  any 
great  importance  to  such  feeding  experiments. 

Observations  as  to  use  and  effects  of  formaldehyde  on  the 
nutrition  of  children  were  made  bj  Tunnicliffe  and  Rosenheim.1 
The  same  children  to  whom  boric  acid  had  previously  been 
administered  were  employed  for  this  purpose,  the  experiments 
lasting  twenty-eight  days  in  the  case  of  the  two  healthy  boys, 
aged  two  and  a  half  and  five  years  respectively,  and  twenty- 
one  days  in  that  of  the  delicate  girl,  aged  four  years.  A  mixed 
diet  was  given,  and  in  each  instance  there  was  a  fore  and  an 
after  period  of  seven  days.  During  the  intervening  fourteen 
or  seven  days  formaldehyde  was  administered. 

In  the  case  of  the  boys  formic  aldehyde  was  given  in  the 
morning  and  evening  milk  for  seven  days,  in  the  proportion  of 
1  part  in  10,000,  the  total  quantity  being  0'05  gramme  of 
formic  aldehyde  per  diem ;  the  evening  milk  had  been  exposed 
to  the  action  of  the  preservative  for  about  nine  and  a  half 
hours.  During  the  next  week  twice  this  quantity  was  ad- 
ministered, partly  in  the  milk,  and  partly  with  the  meat  at 
dinner. 

In  that  of  the  girl  0*1  gramme  of  formic  aldehyde  per  diem 
was  given,  partly  in  the  milk  (in  which  it  reached  a  concen- 
tration of  1  in  5,000),  and  occasionally  in  the  meat,  for  a 
period  of  seven  days. 

The  constituents  of  the  foods  were  ascertained  by  analysis, 
and  the  nitrogen,  uric  acid,  sulphuric  acid,  &c.,  of  the  urine, 
and  the  nitrogen  and  fat  of  the  faeces  determined. 

The  general  conclusions  arrived  at  were  as  follows : 

'  1.  In  healthy  children  formic  aldehyde  administered  with 
the  food  in  doses  up  to  1 :  5,000  in  milk,  or  1 :  9,000  in  total 

1  Journal  of  Hygiene,  vol.  i.  p.  321. 


CHEMICAL  PEESEEVATIVES  65 

food  and  drink  exerted  no  appreciable  effect  on  the  nitrogen, 
or  phosphorus  metabolism,  or  on  fat  assimilation. 

'  The  analytical  figures  suggest,  however,  that  formic  alde- 
hyde has  a  tendency  to  diminish  phosphorus  and  fat  assimila- 
tion, and  hence  it  may  be  inferred  that  in  larger  doses,  or  if 
continued  for  a  longer  period,  it  would  act  in  this  direction. 
The  effect  is  referable  to  an  influence  upon  pancreatic  diges- 
tion. 

'  2.  In  healthy  children  formic  aldehyde  in  the  above  doses 
produces  a  retention  of  water  in  the  body. 

'  3.  In  a  delicate  child  formic  aldehyde  in  the  above  maxi- 
mum dose  had  a  chemically  measurable  deleterious  effect  upon 
the  nitrogen,  phosphorus,  and  fat  assimilation,  again  referable 
to  an  action  upon  the  pancreatic  digestion,  combined  with  a 
slight  intestinal  irritant  action.  There  was  a  slight  tendency 
to  stimulate  the  katabolism  of  proteid  material. 

'4.  In  a  delicate  child  formic  aldehyde  increased  the  volume 
of  urine  and  the  weight  of  faeces. 

'  5.  In  all  cases  the  excretion  of  lecithin  in  the  fgeces  was 
diminished  under  the  influence  of  formic  aldehyde.  This 
effect  is  probably  referable  to  a  stimulating  action  of  formic 
aldehyde  on  the  lecithin-splitting  ferment  of  the  pancreas. 

'  6.  In  no  instance  did  formic  aldehyde  exert  any  appreciable 
intestinal  antiseptic  action. 

'7.  In  no  instance  was  there  any  influence  on  the  general 
health  or  well-being  of  the  children.' 

It  will  be  observed  that  these  conclusions  are  distinctly 
less  favourable  than  those  in  the  case  of  boric  acid,  when  the 
results  were  practically  negative,  and  this  in  spite  of  the 
comparatively  short  time  during  which  the  observations  were 
carried  on. 

If,  however,  we  take  O'l  gramme  of  formaldehyde  to  be  the 
maximum  dose  permissible  for  a  healthy  child  of  two  and  a 
half  years,  that  for  a  baby  of  six  months  would  be  about  one- 
fifth,  or  O02  gramme.  This  quantity  would  be  contained  in 
less  than  two  pints  of  milk,  supposing  that  the  preservative 


66  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

were  added  to  the  extent  of  1  part  in  50,000,  and  the  child 
would  therefore  be  taking  daily  the  maximum  dose  of  form- 
aldehyde permissible,  whilst  this  would,  of  course,  be  exceeded 
unless  great  care  were  taken  to  prevent  an  increase  in  the 
quantity  of  antiseptic  added.  If  the  child  were  a  delicate  one, 
even  one- fiftieth  of  a  gramme  might  possibly  have  deleterious 
effects  on  nutrition. 

Since  formic  aldehyde  is  rarely,  if  ever,  administered  as 
such  by  the  mouth  medicinally  its  ultimate  fate  in  the  body 
has  been  but  little  studied. 

Both  formaldehyde  and  formic  acid  have  been  found  in  the 
urine  of  rabbits  to  which  the  former  drug  has  been  administered, 
and  apparently  oxidation  takes  place  to  some  extent  in  the 
liver.  Urotropine,  the  ammonium  compound  of  formic  alde- 
hyde, is  excreted  unchanged  in  neutral  and  alkaline  urines, 
and  as  formic  aldehyde  in  acid  urines. 

This  drug  is  frequently  given  to  disinfect  the  urinary 
passages  in  cases  of  cystitis,  and  also  in  enteric  fever,  the  usual 
dose  being  about  30  grains  a  day,  without  ill  results. 

Formalin  is  sometimes  administered  as  an  inhalation  in 
cases  of  phthisis  and  septic  conditions  of  the  lung,  any  dele- 
terious effect  being  usually  in  the  direction  of  causing  irritation 
to  the  air  passages. 

In  Dr.  Maguire's  Harveian  Lectures l  an  instance  was 
mentioned  in  which  50  c.c.  of  a  1  in  2,000  solution  of  form- 
aldehyde were  injected  intravenously  for  phthisis  without  any 
toxic  symptoms  arising. 

Vomiting  and  death  in  twenty -nine  hours  occurred  after 
about  two  and  a  half  grammes  of  this  substance  had  been 
taken  by  a  youth  in  the  form  of  a  4  per  cent,  solution,2  whilst 
Hehner3  experienced  violent  abdominal  pains,  lasting  for  some 
days,  after  taking  milk  which  contained  1  in  5,000  parts  of 
formalin  (1  in  12,500  formic  aldehyde). 

1  British  Medical  Journal,  1900,  vol.  ii. 

2  Medical  Press,  1899,  p.  309. 

3  Report  of  Departmental  Committee. 


CHEMICAL  PEESEBVATIVES  67 

After  a  consideration  of  the  experimental  evidence  on  the 
hardening  effects  of  formic  aldehyde  on  proteids,  its  action  on 
the  various  digestive  ferments,  and  the  observations  on  the 
effect  of  its  administration  to  newborn  kittens  and  to  children, 
it  is  difficult  to  resist  the  conclusion  that  this  antiseptic  has 
powerful  properties  even  when  highly  diluted,  and,  if  used  at 
all  for  preserving  food,  should  be  very  carefully  employed  in 
order  to  prevent  deleterious  effects  in  the  digestive  processes  of 
the  consumers. 

Comparing  it  with  the  boron  compounds,  experiments  seem 
to  show  that  it  exerts  on  the  whole  a  more  prejudicial  effect  on 
the  digestive  ferments,  and  on  the  nutrition  of  children,  whilst 
evidence  as  to  any  possible  toxic  effects,  when  dilute  solutions 
are  used,  are  at  present  wanting,  except  such  as  are  referable 
to  direct  irritation  of  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  alimentary 
tract. 

The  possibility  of  skin  disease  being  caused  by  the 
continued  use  of  milk  preserved  by  the  addition  of  formalin 
is  suggested  by  Dr.  Moncton  Copeman's  Eeport  to  the  Local 
Government  Board  on  an  outbreak  of  Epidemic  Skin  Disease 
.amongst  inmates  of  the  Central  London  Sick  Asylum,  Hendon, 
in  1903. 

Some  sixty-eight  of  the  inmates  were  affected,  and  two  of 
the  cases  terminated  fatally.  The  epidemic  was  confined 
.entirely  to  the  patients  of  the  institution,  and  chiefly  to  those 
of  comparatively  advanced  age,  who  were  subjects  of  various 
-chronic  ailments.  The  porters,  officials,  and  nurses  (with  two 
possible  exceptions)  were  unaffected. 

The  eruption  was  chiefly  erythematous,  but  in  some  of  the 
patients  it  was  papular  or  even  bullous,  whilst  in  many 
instances  pustules,  chiefly  in  connection  with  the  hair  follicles, 
occurred.  All  parts  of  the  body  were  liable  to  attack,  though 
in  most  of  the  patients  the  eruption  was  more  or  less  localized, 
the  forehead  and  scalp  and  the  trunk  being  the  principal 
seats.  Desquamation,  frequently  very  profuse,  took  place,  and 
jthe  rash  was  accompanied  by  much  irritation. 


68  PEESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

Sources  of  local  irritation,  such  as  coarse  body  clothing, 
bad  soap,  or  newly  dyed  bedding,  infection  from  without,  and 
personal  infection,  having  been  excluded,  Dr.  Copeman  turned 
his  attention  to  the  food  supplied  to  the  inmates.  Milk,  bread, 
and  butter  were  found  to  be  the  only  foods  which  were  par- 
taken of  by  practically  all  the  inmates  of  the  infirmary.  The 
bread  was  of  good  quality,  as  was  also  the  butter ;  moreover, 
one  of  the  inmates  affected  disliked  butter,  and  had  eaten  none 
for  over  two  months  prior  to  the  outbreak. 

A  few  cases  occurred  in  June  and  the  first  half  of  July 
1903,  but  the  disease  only  showed  itself  in  epidemic  form  in 
the  last  week  of  July,  continuing  till  the  end  of  September, 
when  it  abruptly  ceased. 

Suspicion  having  been  thrown  upon  the  milk  supply,  the 
patients  were  given  Swiss  milk,  and  the  milk  contract  was 
transferred  on  October  4  to  new  hands,  and  at  an  increase  in 
price  of  4icZ.  per  barn-gallon. 

At  least  half  a  pint  of  milk  is  included  in  the  dietary  of 
nearly  all  the  patients  in  the  infirmary,  and  amongst  the  few 
who  had  certainly  consumed  no  milk  there  was  no  instance  of 
the  occurrence  of  the  skin  disease.  Previous  attacks  of  eczema 
appeared  to  predispose  to  subsequent  attacks  of  the  special 
ailment. 

The  milk  was  supplied  by  a  contractor,  and  was  derived 
partly  from  his  own  cows  and  partly  from  other  sources. 
Milk,  kept  at  the  Asylum  in  open  graduated  tubes  for  the 
purpose  of  estimating  the  amount  of  cream,  was  noticed  to 
remain  uncurdled  for  three,  four,  or  even  more  days  in  July 
during  exceptionally  hot  weather,  and  there  was,  therefore,  a 
strong  presumption  that  a  preservative  had  been  added.  The 
steward  mentioned  that  the  milk  possessed  a  faint  slightly 
burnt  smell,  absolutely  unlike  that  of  good  fresh  milk.  It  was 
not,  however,  until  September  29  that  samples  of  the  morning 
and  evening  milk  were  submitted  for  analysis.  They  were  of 
somewhat  poor  quality,  especially  as  regards  the  non-fatty 
solids,  whilst  the  ash  was  unusually  high.  Neither  boracic 


CHEMICAL  PEESEEVATIVES  69 

nor  salicylic  acids  were  present,  but  both  samples  contained 
traces  of  formalin. 

Strong  presumptive  evidence  was  therefore  obtained  con- 
necting the  epidemic  with  the  milk  supplied  and  with  the 
presence  of  the  preservative,  but  it  by  no  means  follows  that 
the  formalin  was  the  actual  cause. 

Similar  outbreaks  have  occurred  in  other  public  institutions 
and  have  been  attributed  to  the  milk,  but  the  possibility  of 
the  '  preservative  '  being  the  cause  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  considered  in  these  earlier  cases. 


CHAPTER   V 

CHEMICAL  PRESERVATIVES  (continued) 

Sulphurous  Acid  and  the  Sulphites 

SULPHITES,  chiefly  the  acid  sodium  and  calcium  salts,  are 
frequently  employed  for  the  preservation  of  beverages  such  as 
beer,  cider,  wines,  cordials,  lime  juice  and  lemon  syrup,  and 
also  of  various  kinds  of  meat,  poultry,  and  game,  and  they 
have  been  found  in  other  food  substances  such  as  vinegar, 
pickles,  catsups,  anchovy  paste,  and  in  desiccated  apricots  and 
other  fruits  (0-2  to  1-15  per  cent,  of  Na2S037H20). 

The  active  principle  of  the  sulphites  is  the  available 
sulphur  dioxide,  which  is  a  moderately  active  germicide,  used 
largely  for  the  disinfection  of  rooms,  and  also,  in  the  absence 
of  a  steam  sterilizer,  for  articles  of  clothing.  When  present  to 
the  extent  of  1  per  cent,  of  the  cubic  capacity  of  a  room 
non-sporing  bacteria  are  killed  in  a  few  hours,  though  it  is 
doubtful  whether  even  a  much  more  concentrated  vapour  is 
capable  of  destroying  their  spores.  Casks  to  contain  beer, 
wine,  or  fruits,  are  often  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  gas  to 
ensure  surface  sterilization. 

Sulphites  are  used  medicinally  as  an  application  in  some 
parasitic  skin  diseases,  and,  although  they  are  seldom  ad- 
ministered internally,  the  dose  of  the  British  Pharmacopoeial 
preparation  is  up  to  a  drachm,  which  is  equivalent  to  about 
0'2  gramme  of  sulphur  dioxide. 

Sulphites  are  obtained  commercially  for  preserving  purposes 
under  various  trade  names.  '  Meat  preserve  crystal '  has  yielded 
on  analysis  both  sulphite  and  sulphate  of  soda :  '  Freeze-em  ' 
has  been  found  to  contain  sodium  sulphite  with  traces  of 


CHEMICAL  PEESERVATIVES  71 

sodium  carbonate  and  common  salt ;  whilst  '  Hawke's  Anti- 
ferment,'  a  preparation  sold  to  cider  manufacturers,  consists 
chiefly  of  sulphite  of  calcium  with  traces  of  lime.1  The  basic 
portion,  by  neutralizing  an  excess  of  acid  might  presumably 
render  an  inferior  and  possibly  injurious  brand  of  cider 
palatable. 

Both  sulphurous  acid  and  sulphites  readily  take  up  oxygen 
from  the  air  or  from  liquids  in  which  they  are  dissolved.  Such 
sulphites  as  are  used  for  preservatives  may,  therefore,  be 
gradually  oxidized  into  sulphates,  which  are  comparatively 
inert.  In  bottled  beverages,  however,  oxidation  would  take 
place  very  slowly,  if  at  all.  The  bisulphites  used  by  butchers 
for  dusting  over  meat  and  for  preserving  minced  meat  in 
sausages,  &c.,  not  only  act  as  an  antiseptic,  but  also  as  a 
deodorant  and  restorer  of  the  red  colour  of  the  fresh  meat, 
hence  their  advantages  over  the  boron  compounds  and  most 
other  preservatives. 

The  possible  effects  of  the  administration  of  sulphites 
on  the  human  subject  and  animals  have  not  been  studied  in 
England  to  any  great  extent,  but  they  have  been  inquired 
into  on  the  Continent,  where  there  is  a  large  consumption 
of  minced  meat  ('Hackfleisch,'  to  which  reference  will  be 
made  later)  preserved  by  these  substances,  and  in  America 
Dr.  Charles  Harrington,2  Assistant  Professor  of  Hygiene, 
Harvard  Medical  School,  has  collected  a  large  number  of 
facts,  and  added  to  them  the  results  of  his  own  experiments. 
It  is  from  his  work  on  the  subject  that  the  greater  part  of 
the  following  information  is  derived. 

Since  sulphur  dioxide  is  readily  liberated  from  sulphites 
by  the  action  of  dilute  acids,  this  dissociation  will  presumably 
be  effected  by  the  acids  present  in  gastric  juice,  the  extent 
being  largely  dependent  on  the  amount  of  free  acid  present. 
Hyperacidity  is  by  no  means  an  uncommon  condition  in 
certain  kinds  of  dyspepsia,  and  in  such  cases  eructations 

1  Keport  of  Departmental  Committee. 

-  Boston  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal,  pp.  555-59,  May  26,  1904. 


72  PEESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

containing  sulphur  dioxide,  or  possibly  under  certain  con- 
ditions sulphuretted  hydrogen,  might  be  expected.  In  1869 
Bernatzik  and  Braun  l  administered  80  mlgm.  of  free  sulphur- 
ous acid  in  360  c.c.  of  water,  by  divided  doses  extending 
over  twenty-four  hours,  to  each  of  fourteen  women  with 
various  disorders  of  pregnancy.  In  twelve  of  the  patients 
eructations  of  sulphur  dioxide,  an  unpleasant  taste,  vomiting, 
diarrhoea,  and  general  malaise  ensued,  the  symptoms  lasting 
for  a  day. 

Doses  of  1  gramme  of  magnesium  sulphite  were  also  badly 
borne,  causing  vomiting  and  diarrhoea.  The  administration 
of  3'75  grammes  of  sodium  bisulphite  caused  purging  in  eight 
women  out  of  twelve  after  the  first  dose. 

Borntrager  2  found  that  eructations  of  sulphur  dioxide  and 
sulphuretted  hydrogen,  together  with  discomfort  and  headache 
lasting  for  some  hours,  were  caused  as  a  result  of  eating 
certain  sausages,  or  of  drinking  certain  Rhine  and  Moselle 
wines  containing  sulphites. 

Pfeiffer3  applied  aqueous  solutions  of  sulphur  dioxide 
to  the  gastric  mucous  membrane  (presumably  of  animals), 
and  found  that  inflammation  was  set  up  even  by  dilute 
solutions,  and  that  death  ensued  shortly  after  the  application 
of  a  5  per  cent,  solution,  there  being  marked  corrosion  of  the 
layers  of  the  stomach  wall,  and  even  of  the  surface  of  neigh- 
bouring organs. 

He  also  states  that  half  a  gramme  of  sulphite  in  dilute  solu- 
tion causes  oppression  and  discomfort  in  himself  and  others, 
whilst  Leuch 4  asserts  that  wines  containing  free  sulphur  dioxide 
cause  discomfort  more  readily  than  those  which  contain  it  in 
combination  :  45  mlgm.  of  the  former  being  equivalent  in  this 
respect  to  250  mlgm.  of  the  latter.  These  amounts  taken 
in  about  two-thirds  of  a  pint  of  wine  caused  irritation  of  the 

1   Wiener  medicinische  Wochenschrift,  xix.  1869. 

-  Die  Beurtheilung  des  Zusatzes  schwefligsaurer  Salze  zum  Fleische  von 
Sanitatspolizeilichen  Standpunkte,  Leipzig,  1900. 

3  Archiv  fiir  experimented  Pathologie  und  Pharmakologie,  xxvii.,  1890. 

4  Correspondenzblatt  fiir  schioeitzer  Aerzte,  1895,  no.  15. 


CHEMICAL  PEESEEVATIVES  73 

throat  and  headache.  Severe  headache  and  diarrhoea  resulted 
with  quantities  of  55  and  350  mgm.  respectively. 

In  addition  to  these  subjective  symptoms,  there  is  reason 
to  believe  that  sulphites  are  liable  to  cause  organic  changes  in 
the  abdominal  organs,  especially  the  kidneys,  even  though 
symptoms  of  poisoning  are  not  at  once  manifested. 

The  earliest  experiments  were  those  of  Kionka  in  1896  ;  he 
reported  that  repeated  small  doses  administered  to  dogs  pro- 
duced serious  lesions  in  various  parts  of  the  system. 

His  results  were  challenged  by  Liebreich  and  others,  and 
his  experiments  repeated  by  Lebbin  and  Kallmain,1  neither  of 
whom  was,  however,  a  pathologist.  They  reported  an  entire 
absence  of  lesions  on  a  post-mortem  examination. 

A  more  extensive  series  of  experiments  by  Kionka  and 
Ebstein 2  confirmed  the  former's  first  results,  and  Schultz 3 
obtained  similar  results.  In  both  series  of  Kionka's  investiga- 
tions none  of  the  dogs  showed  any  outward  appearance  of 
injury,  and  in  fact  occasionally  gained  in  weight.  Two 
of  Schultz's  dogs  suffered  from  purging,  but  in  the  end  they 
all  increased  in  weight ;  nevertheless  in  every  case  nephritis 
was  discovered  at  the  autopsy. 

Dr.  Harrington  4  employed  cats  instead  of  dogs,  as  about 
25  per  cent,  of  the  latter  animals  are  subject  to  nephritis 
when  kept  caged  and  in  confinement.  Six  cats  were  under 
observation  for  a  period  of  twenty  weeks,  one  of  them  acting 
as  a  control,  the  remaining  five  receiving  six  feedings  weekly 
of  meat  containing  0'2  per  cent,  of  sodium  sulphite.  The 
control  animal  showed  a  constant  gain  in  weight  throughout ; 
the  others  gained  till  about  the  ninth  week  and  then  began  to 
lose  ground,  frequently  refusing  food  or  leaving  it  uneaten, 
but  otherwise  exhibiting  no  signs  of  injury.  At  the  end 
of  twenty  weeks  they  were  killed  and  examined  by  Dr.  Tyzzer, 


1  Zeitschrift  fiir  o/entliche  Chemie,  1901,  p.  324. 

2  Zeitschrift  filr  Hygiene  und  InfectionsJcrankheitcn,  xli.  p.  123. 

3  DeutscJie  niedicinischc  Wochenschrift,  1902,  p.  265. 

4  Loc.  cit. 


74  PEESEKVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

of  the  Department  of  Pathology  of  the  Harvard  Medical 
School.  To  the  naked  eye  the  organs  appeared  normal, 
but  microscopically  the  kidneys  of  all  the  cats,  with  the 
exception  of  the  control,  showed  inflammatory  changes. 
Among  other  conditions  the  kidneys  were  hyperaemic,  the 
lining  cells  of  many  of  the  tubules,  especially  those  in  the 
medullary  rays,  showed  a  marked  degree  of  cloudy  swelling, 
and  the  cells  of  the  convoluted  tubules  were  loaded  with  fat. 
Fibrin  was  present  in  the  lumen  of  the  tubules,  and  in  one 
instance  there  was  an  invasion  of  the  interstitial  tissue  with 
lyrnphoid  and  plasma  cells.  The  microscopic  appearances  of 
the  kidneys  of  the  control  animal  were  normal. 

In  the  case  of  meat  the  sodium  salt  is  the  one  usually 
employed,  and  it  is  applied  externally,  Ol  to  O2  per  cent, 
being  the  smallest  quantity  which  is  likely  to  produce  the 
desired  effect,  but  even  as  much  as  4  per  cent,  has  been  found.1 
As  already  indicated  a  slow  oxidation  takes  place  with  the 
formation  of  sodium  sulphate,  but  Gartner  has  experimentally 
recovered  from  56-8  to  87'3  per  cent,  of  the  original  sulphite 
twenty-four  hours  after  the  admixture,  whilst  Polenski  re- 
covered 81  per  cent,  from  a  sausage  after  three  months,  and 
from  72  to  77  per  cent,  after  six  months.2 

The  action  of  the  sulphite  on  the  meat  appears  to  be 
threefold.  It  undoubtedly  checks  the  growth  of  organisms 
even  when  present  to  so  slight  an  extent  as  O05  per  cent., 
whilst  apparently  its  maximum  influence  is  exerted  when  it 
reaches  about  0'5  per  cent. 

Comparing  the  number  of  organisms  in  meat  so  treated 
with  plain  meat,  Altschuler  obtained  the  following  figures  : 


- 

Plain  meat 

Treated  meat  (5  per  cent, 
sulphite). 

First  day 
Fourth  day     . 
Ninth  day 

1,200,000  per  gramme 
1,829,100,000 

1,200,000  per  gramme 
2,500,000 
300,500,000 

Dr.  Charles  Harrington,  loc.  tit.  -  Ibid. 


75 

Dr.  Harrington  experimented  with  hashed  beef  divided  into 
two  portions.  To  the  one  0'2  per  cent,  of  sulphite  was  added, 
and  both  portions  were  kept  in  a  refrigerator  under  similar 
conditions.  The  number  of  bacteria  per  gramme  was  esti- 
mated daily.1 


— 

Plain  meat 

Preserved  meat 

After  1  day  . 

610,000 

1,760,000 

2  days 

1,045,000 

1,600,000 

3 

2,709,000 

2,709,000 

4 

6,579,000 

3,999,000 

5 

10,346,000 

2,322,000 

6 

26,313,000 

3,483,000 

7 

Very  foul  odour 

Faint  rnouldy  odour 

The  salt  exerts  its  influence  best  when  the  meat  is  kept  at  a 
low  temperature,  and  apparently  quickly  loses  its  power  at 
ordinary  room  temperatures,  having  in  fact  less  preservative 
influence  than  the  low  temperature  of  a  refrigerator.  Gartner, 
as  quoted  by  Dr.  Harrington,  obtained  the  following  results  : 


— 

Untreated  meat  kept  at  39°  F.  in  a 
refrigerator 

After  24  hours 

„      48     „             . 

320,000  organisms  per  gramme 
575,000 

— 

Meat  kept  at  room  temperature  and  treated 
with  0-09  per  cent,  of  sulphite 

After  24  hours 
„     48      „             . 

448,750  organisms  per  gramme 
5,385,000 

— 

Meat  kept  at  room  temperature  and  treated 
with  0'36  per  cent,  of  sulphite 

After  24  hours 
„     48     „            .        . 

448,750  organisms  per  gramme 
678,000 

The  number  of  organisms  found  in  meat  to  which  a  sulphite 
has  been  added  bears  no  relation  to  the  quantity  of  preservative 
present,  being  no  doubt  dependent  on  the  number  originally 

1  Dr.  Harrington,  loc.  cit. 


76  PRESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

present  before  the  addition.  Stroscher  ]  examined  a  number 
of  samples  containing  from  0-029  to  0-520  per  cent,  of  sodium 
sulphite  with  the  following  results  : 


Quantity  of  preservative 

Number  of  organisms  per  gramme 

0-065  per  cent. 
0-075 
0-080 
0-430 
0-470 
0-520 

62,096,000 
54,056,000 
13,500,000  (approximately) 
147,000 
14,138,000 
50,917,000 

The  second  effect  of  the  addition  of  sulphite  to  meat  is  a 
remarkable  preservation  of  the  red  colour,  which  may  even 
become  abnormally  bright.  This  effect  is  apparently  due  to 
the  formation  and  preservation  of  oxy-hsemoglobin,  and  is  one 
of  the  chief  incentives  to  the  addition  of  sulphites  to  meat. 
An  enormous  quantity  of  minced  or  ground  meat  is  sold  on  the 
Continent  under  the  name  of  '  Hackfleisch  '  and  in  America  as 
'Hamburg  steak.'  According  to  Dr.  Harrington  this  is  pre- 
pared largely  from  trimmings  and  various  inferior  parts  not 
otherwise  saleable,  which  accumulate  in  the  receptacles  for 
waste  at  meat  stalls,  and  thereby  acquire  an  extensive  bacterial 
flora.  Such  meat  when  treated  by  the  addition  of  a  sulphite 
looks  invitingly  fresh  even  when  actually  stale  and  swarm- 
ing with  bacteria.  The  red  colour  is  most  intense  on  the  ex- 
terior of  the  mass,  and  the  interior  may  be  quite  dark,  though 
changing  to  a  bright  red  tint  on  exposure  to  the  air.  It  should 
be  noted  that  even  stale  meat  which  has  darkened  in  colour 
will  attain  a  bright  red  tint  if  treated  with  a  sulphite,  so  long  as 
the  addition  is  made  before  decomposition  has  proceeded  too  far. 

A  third  effect  of  the  preservative  is  to  act  as  a  deodorant, 
and  so  mask  the  foul  odours  of  decomposition.  Altschuler  'z 
found  that  untreated  meat  yielded  1,829,100,000  bacteria  per 
gramme  at  the  '  stinking  '  stage,  whilst  another  portion  to 
which  1  per  cent,  of  the  salt  had  been  added  was  without 

1  Dr.  Harrington,  loc.  cit,  -  Ibid. 


CHEMICAL  PEESEEVATIVES  77 

odour  until  the  number  of  bacteria  reached  4,757,000,000  per 
gramme. 

The  objections  to  the  use  of  sulphites  in  the  case  of  meat 
are  therefore  obvious,  without  even  taking  into  consideration 
the  possibility  of  injury  to  health  from  the  action  of  the  pre- 
servative on  the  abdominal  organs. 

For  the  preservation  of  beer  the  lime  and  potash  salts  are 
those  chiefly  employed,  and,  according  to  evidence  furnished  to 
the  Departmental  Committee,  about  1  part  in  5,000  is  the 
customary  amount.  In  the  case  of  cider  one  of  the  witnesses 
stated  that  1  part  in  10,000  was  a  sufficient  quantity.  It  has  also 
been  found  in  vinegar  to  the  extent  of  1  part  in  5,000.  Al- 
though these  proportions  are  small,  it  must  be  remembered 
that  both  beer  and  cider  may  be  consumed  in  large  quantities, 
and  if  the  results  of  the  experiments  referred  to  are  applicable 
to  human  subjects,  even  1  part  in  10,000  cannot  be  regarded 
as  free  from  the  risk  of  insidiously  producing  disease  of  the 
kidneys  and  possibly  of  other  organs. 

It  is  somewhat  disquieting  to  find  that  so  many  of  the 
preservatives  most  largely  employed  for  preventing  the  decom- 
position of  foods  are  alleged  to  have  an  injurious  effect  upon 
the  kidneys.  If  proved,  this  would  be  a  strong  argument,  if 
not  for  refusing  to  permit  the  use  of  such  preservatives,  at 
least  for  limiting  their  use  to  the  smallest  amount  possible,, 
and  for  insisting  upon  the  declaration  both  of  the  quantity  and 
character  of  preservatives  present  in  all  articles  of  food  and 
drink.  In  any  case,  were  this  done,  the  risks  of  danger  would 
cease  to  exist  for  those  who  wished  to  avoid  articles  containing 
such  preservatives. 


CHAPTEE  VI 

CHEMICAL   PRESEEVATIVES    (continued) 
SALICYLIC   AND   BENZOIC   ACIDS 

1.  Salicylic  Acid 

CUBING  recent  years  it  has  been  discovered  that  salicylic  acid 
is  present  in  a  large  number  of  fruits,  and  in  various  odorous 
flowers.  In  certain  natural  wines  its  presence  has  been  detected, 
but  whether  it  is  derived  from  the  original  grapes,  or  from  the 
grape  stalks,  or  whether  it  is  produced  during  the  fermentation 
process,  has  not  been  positively  ascertained.  The  oil  of  winter- 
green  contains  nearly  90  per  cent,  of  the  methyl  ester,  and  it  is 
probably  the  same  compound  which  occurs  in  fruits.  The  acid 
has  been  detected  in  Portuguese,  German,  and  Austrian  wines, 
but  the  amount  is  very  small,  probably  not  more  than  1  mlgm. 
per  litre  ;  in  any  case  a  large  volume  of  wine  has  to  be  taken 
for  its  isolation  and  identification.1  It  has  been  detected  in  the 
following  fruits,  and  will  therefore  be  naturally  present  in  their 
juices :  strawberries,  raspberries,  blackberries,  currants,  plums, 
cherries,  apricots,  peaches,  crab-apples,  and  oranges.2  Des- 
inouliere  has  estimated  the  amount  present  in  various  kinds  of 
cherries,  and  finds  that  it  varies  from  Ol  to  O21  mlgm.  per  kilo- 
gramme.3 Up  to  the  present  time  it  has  not  been  found  in  any 
fruit  in  a  larger  proportion.  This  quantity  is  far  too  small  to 
have  any  effect  as  a  preservative,  but  unless  its  presence  is 
remembered,  a  wine  or  fruit  juice  may  be  certified  to  contain 
it  as  an  added  preservative,  especially  as  it  is  the  chief  antiseptic 
employed  for  jams  and  other  forms  of  preserved  fruit,  and 
also  for  beverages  containing  a  considerable  quantity  of  sugar 

1  The  Analyst,  vol.  xxvi.  pp.  274  and  72. 

2  Ibid.,  vol.  xxviii.  p.  149.  3  Ibid.,  vol.  xxix.  p.  90. 


CHEMICAL  PEESEEVATIVES  79 

and  little  or  no  alcohol,  such  as  cider,  perry,  beer,  British  wines, 
sweetened  lime  and  lemon  juice,  and  syrups,  though  it  is  to 
some  extent  supplanted  by  the  use  of  sulphites  in  the  case  of 
beer  and  cider. 

It  has  also  been  found  in  butter,  sauces  and  ketchups,  in 
meat  juices,  potted  meat,  and  sausages,  in  sherry,  port,  ipeca- 
cuanha wine,  and  orange  quinine  wine. 

Occasionally  it  is  employed,  either  alone,  or  more  usually 
in  conjunction  with  boric  acid,  for  preserving  milk  and  cream. 

Like  the  other  preservatives  already  mentioned  it  is  generally 
sold  under  various  trade  names.  Thus  '  Cynin '  contains 
salicylic  acid,  borax,  and  glycerine,  while  '  Walter  Gregory's 
Powder '  consists  almost  entirely  of  salicylic  acid  mixed  with 
red  oxide  of  iron.1 

For  pharmaceutical  purposes  the  acid  is  either  obtained 
from  the  oil  of  winter-green  or  of  the  sweet  birch,  or  is  made 
by  combining  phenol  with  carbonic  acid  gas,  in  which  case 
impurities,  such  as  ortho-  and  meta-creasotic  acids,  are  apt  to 
be  included.  It  is  to  these  impurities,  rather  than  to  the  acid 
itself,  that  many  of  the  ill  effects  produced  when  it  is  used  as 
a  drug  are  to  be  attributed,  since  such  effects  were  more 
frequently  observed  when  the  acid  was  first  introduced  than  has 
been  the  case  since  a  far  purer  article  has  been  on  the  market. 

It  is  a  fairly  reliable  germicide,  a  solution  containing, 
according  to  some  observers,  1  in  400,  and,  according  to  others, 
2^  per  cent,  of  the  acid  being  sufficient  to  kill  non-sporing 
bacilli  in  a  few  hours,  but  it  seems  to  be  unable  to  destroj1" 
anthrax  spores.  Wool  impregnated  with  the  acid  is  frequently 
used  as  a  surgical  dressing,  though,  if  applied  direct  to  a  raw 
surface,  it  is  apt  to  produce  irritation. 

It  is  a  good  antiseptic,  its  action  in  this  respect  being  well 
marked  when  it  reaches  a  strength  of  1  in  1,000,  and  it  appeal's 
to  have  the  power  of  inhibiting  especially  the  growth  of  moulds 
and  of  those  organisms  which  cause  fermentation  in  prepara- 
tions of  fruit  and  in  the  beverages  already  referred  to.  In  the 
1  Beport  of  Departmental  Committee. 


80  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

case  of  jams  2  grains  per  Ib.  (0*03  per  cent.),  and  in  that  of 
beverages  7  grains  a  gallon  (O'Ol  per  cent.)  are  considered  by 
some  manufacturers  to  be  sufficient  for  preventing  fermenta- 
tion,1 though  these  quantities  are  frequently  exceeded,  as  much 
as  108  grains  a  gallon  having  been  found  in  lime  juice,  140 
grains  a  gallon  in  black-currant  wine,  28  grains  a  gallon  in  beer, 
37  grains  a  gallon  in  wine,  and  8^  grains  per  Ib.  in  jam.2 

With  regard  to  the  effects  exerted  by  salicylic  acid  on  the 
digestive  ferments,  less  attention  has  been  paid  than  in  the 
case  of  boric  acid  and  formalin.  A  priori,  taking  into  account 
its  antiseptic  and  germicidal  properties,  it  would  be  expected 
to  have  an  inhibitory  action  in  proportion  to  the  strength  in 
which  it  was  used. 

Lauder  Brunton 3  states  that  the  action  of  ptyalin  is  arrested 
by  1  in  1,250,  pepsin  by  1  in  250,  and  pancreatin  by  1  in  9,000 
parts  of  salicylic  acid. 

Williams  and  also  Starling 4  have  found  that  this  effect  is 
only  exerted  in  an  acid  medium,  so  that,  whilst  gastric  digestion 
should  be  retarded,  that  of  the  pancreatic  juice  would  probably 
be  unaffected. 

Salicylic  acid,  or  more  usually  its  sodium  salt,  is  frequently 
employed  medicinally,  and  its  pharmacological  actions  have 
been  studied,  the  maximum  single  dose  being  20  grains  (reduced 
from  30  grains  in  1898),  whilst  as  much  as  120  grains  in  the 
twenty-four  hours  is  not  infrequently  given  under  careful 
supervision. 

Unless  well  diluted  it  acts  as  an  irritant  to  the  stomach, 
causing  pain  and  vomiting.  It  circulates  in  the  blood  as 
salicylate  of  soda,  and  is  excreted  chiefly  by  the  urine,  either  in 
the  form  of  salicyluric  acid  or  salicylic  acid,  the  sodium  salt 
having  been  acted  upon  by  glycin,  or  by  the  acid  phosphates 
of  the  urine  respectively. 

On  the  heart  it  exerts  a  depressing  effect,  though  this  is 

1  lleport  of  Departmental  Committee.  2  Ibid. 

3  Pharmacology  and  Therapeutics. 

4  Report  of  Departmental  Committee. 


CHEMICAL  PEESEKVATIVES  81 

probably  to  some  extent  due  to  the  impurities  already  mentioned 
as  being  present  in  the  artificial  variety. 

Occasionally  it  acts  as  an  irritant  in  its  passage  through 
the  kidneys,  producing  albuminuria  and  even  haematuria. 
Sometimes  skin  eruptions,  erythemata  or  petechise,  follow  its 
administration. 

It  is  one  of  the  few  drugs  that  appear  to  act  as  direct 
cholagogues,  giving  rise  to  an  increased  flow  of  bile. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  salicylic  acid  is  a  powerful  drug, 
and  one  which  requires  careful  administration,  and  this  is 
emphasised  by  the  fact  that  it  affords  one  of  the  best  instances 
of  the  effects  of  personal  idiosyncrasy  in  the  production  of 
toxic  symptoms  by  the  administration  of  a  drug. 

In  a  considerable  proportion  of  persons — according  to  Hale 
White  as  much  as  60  per  cent.1 — a  train  of  symptoms  known 
as  '  Salicylism '  occurs  when  the  drug  is  given  in  pharma- 
ceutical doses.  Amongst  these  deafness,  headache,  delirium, 
vomiting,  haemorrhage  in  various  parts  of  the  body,  failure  of 
the  heart,  and  death  have  been  recorded.  The  dose  necessary 
to  produce  salicylism  cannot  be  definitely  stated,  since  it  will 
vary  according  to  the  age  of  the  patient,  the  degree  of  idiosyn- 
crasy, and  the  condition  of  the  excretory  apparatus. 

Children  generally  take  proportionate  doses  well,  but  great 
caution  is  necessary  where  the  kidneys  are  the  seat  of  disease, 
and  also  where  heart  disease  is  present.  Stevenson  2  has  cited 
the  case  of  a  physician  in  whom  a  dose  of  10  grains  would 
bring  down  the  pulse  rate  by  ten  beats  a  minute. 

The  untoward  results  above  described  were  much  more 
frequent  formerly  than  at  present,  and  it  has  been  proved  that 
they  were  due  to  impurities  contained  in  the  salicylic  acid. 
Since  pure  acid  has  been  used  they  have  rarely,  if  ever,  been 
recorded.  Kolbe  took  one  gramme  daily  for  nine  months  and 
continued  in  excellent  health,  and  many  other  observers 3  have 


Mater  ia  Medica.  z  Eeport  of  Departmental  Committee. 

3  Food  Preservatives.    E.  G.  Eccles,  M.D.,  p.  4'J. 

6 


82  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

administered  the  acid  in  daily  doses  for  considerable  periods 
without  producing  any  unfavourable  symptom. 

This  acid  is  only  used  to  a  limited  extent,  and  chiefly  in 
liquids  or  foods  containing  saccharine  matter.  It  is  unlikely, 
therefore,  to  be  consumed  in  any  quantity  or  for  any  lengthened 
period,  and  if  the  amount  does  not  exceed  that  which  is  really 
necessary  for  preventing  fermentation,  possibly  no  harmful 
results  will  follow.  It  is  absurd,  however,  to  suggest  the  same 
limit  for  all  fluids,  as  has  been  done  by  the  Departmental 
Committee,  irrespective  of  the  quantities  which  may  be 
imbibed  daily,  of  the  conditions  under  which  they  may  be 
stored,  and  of  the  length  of  time  they  are  required  to  keep. 
Lager  beer,  for  example,  requires  only  to  be  kept  for  a  com- 
paratively short  time  and  is  always  stored  in  a  cool  place, 
whereas  British  wines,  fruit  juices,  and  syrups  are  expected  to 
keep  indefinitely,  whether  in  a  cool  cellar  or  in  a  shop  window. 
The  latter,  therefore,  must  require  more  preservative  than  the 
former,  and  the  larger  quantity  should  be  permissible  seeing 
that  such  liquids  are  only  used  in  small  quantities  at  a  time, 
whilst  lager  beer  may  be  drunk  by  the  pint  many  times  daily. 
The  declaration  of  its  presence  and  amount  would  probably 
meet  most  of  the  objections  that  can  reasonably  be  raised  to 
its  use. 

Drs.  McAlister  and  Bradshaw,  in  an  article  contributed  to 
'  The  Lancet '  (March  14,  1903)  on  '  Salicylic  Acid  as  a  Food 
Preservative,'  say  that  the  acid  is  alleged  to  be  injurious  to 
health  on  three  grounds :  (1)  that,  being  an  antiseptic,  it  is 
liable  to  destroy  the  digestive  ferments  ;  (2)  that  after  absorp- 
tion it  interferes  with  nutrition ;  and  (3)  that  it  is  an  irritant, 
and  apt  to  injure  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  stomach  and 
intestines.  The  authors  contend  that  the  first  objection  is 
refuted  by  the  fact  that  a  saturated  solution  of  the  acid  (1  in 
500)  retards  artificial  gastric  digestion  of  proteid  matter  only 
to  the  same  extent  as  a  solution  of  common  salt  of  equal 
strength,  and  that  an  equivalent  amount  of  sodium  salicylate 
does  not  retard  at  all  the  digestion  of  starch  by  the  pancreatic 
juice.  "With  reference  to  the  second  objection,  experiments 


CHEMICAL  PEESEEVATIVES  83 

conducted  by  one  of  the  authors  upon  himself  and  on  some 
healthy  children  showed  that  no  ill  effects  were  produced. 
The  adult  took  5  grains  daily,  the  children  less  in  proportion 
to  age  and  weight,  the  experiments  extending  over  one  month. 
They  suggest  that  previously  recorded  experiments  made  with 
cats  were  not  conclusive,  as  the  cats  probably  refused  the  food 
owing  to  its  disagreeable  taste,  and  consequently  suffered  loss 
of  weight  from  this  cause.  The  third  objection  they  meet  by 
arguing  that  pure  salicylic  acid  is  certainly  not  more  harmful 
to  epithelium  than  pure  hydrochloric  acid,  and  that  the  latter 
acid  diluted  to  the  same  extent  (1  in  500),  so  as  to  correspond 
with  the  strongest  aqueous  solution  of  salicylic  acid  which  can 
be  administered,  is  a  constituent  of  the  normal  gastric  juice. 

Finally  the  authors  contend  that,  as  temperance  beverages 
must  not  only  be  made  to  keep  when  bottled,  but  also  for  a 
reasonable  length  of  time  after  being  opened,  some  antiseptic 
is  necessary.  If  the  use  of  such  an  antiseptic  as  salicylic  acid 
is  prohibited,  manufacturers  will  be  compelled  to  use  artificial 
essences  less  prone  to  decomposition,  but  probably  more 
objectionable  than  the  antiseptic. 

It  has  recently  been  contended  that  salicylic  acid  has  a 
cumulative  action,  because  it  can  be  detected  in  the  urine 
many  hours  after  the  last  dose  has  been  taken.  Einger  ' 
states  that  it  is  speedily  eliminated,  though  a  trace  may  remain 
for  four  days  after  discontinuance  of  the  medicine.  Bruce 
says,2  on  the  other  hand,  that  it  is  but  slowly  excreted  in  the 
sweat,  saliva,  bile  and  mucous  secretions  generally.  Wood 3 
says :  '  Salicylic  acid  escapes  from  the  body  chiefly  through  the 
kidneys,  its  elimination  beginning  almost  immediately  after  its 
ingestion,  but  its  elimination  proceeds  slowly.  Thus  in  a  case 
of  exstrophy  of  the  bladder  it  was  detected  in  the  urine  dripping 
from  the  ureters  eight  and  a  half  minutes  after  ingestion,  and 
it  has  been  found  in  the  urine  eight  days  after  the  exhibition 
of  the  last  dose.'  No  reference  is  made  in  any  of  these  works 
to  any  cumulative  action.  Experiments  made  by  one  of  us  on 

1  Einger  and  Sainsbury,  Therapeutics. 
•  Bruce,  Tlierapeutics  and  Materia  Medica.  3  Wood's  Therapeutics. 


84  PEESEKVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

healthy  adults  indicate  that  the  acid  cannot  usually  be  detected 
in  the  urine  for  more  than  twenty-four  hours  after  the  last  dose 
of  5  or  10  grains  of  sodium  salicylate.  With  the  larger  dose  on 
one  occasion  the  acid  was  detected  after  thirty  hours  but  had 
disappeared  at  the  expiration  of  thirty-six  hours.  After  taking 
doses  of  5  and  10  grains  daily  for  a  week,  the  acid  had  dis- 
appeared in  30  hours  in  all  cases. 

The  acid  is  most  frequently  found  in  Lime  Juice  preparations 
and  especially  in  the  Cordial ;  in  fact,  it  is  difficult  to  obtain  a 
sample  free  from  it,  though  in  a  few  cases  sulphurous  acid  is 
used  instead.  In  such  cordials  the  amount  present  varies  from 
4  to  8  grains  per  pint,  and  a  drinker  of  this  temperance 
beverage  would  have  to  take  a  large  quantity  to  imbibe  5  grains 
of  salicylic  acid.  The  citric  acid  would  be  much  more  likely 
to  disturb  his  digestive  organs  than  the  salicylic  acid,  and  in 
any  case  the  latter  would  be  eliminated  from  the  system  with 
sufficient  rapidity  to  prevent  any  cumulative  effects.  Most 
probably  the  diuretic  effect  of  the  citrates  would  assist  in  the 
elimination. 

There  is  apparently  no  evidence  that  salicylic  acid  employed 
as  a  preservative  has  ever  produced  any  injurious  effects, 
though  Dixon  Mann,  in  his  evidence  before  the  Departmental 
Committee,  mentioned  a  case  in  which  the  consumption  of 
cider,  into  which  the  acid  had  been  introduced,  appeared  to 
cause  looseness  of  the  bowels.  It  is  obvious,  however,  that 
if  the  acid  does  occasionally  produce  symptoms  of  gastro- 
intestinal irritation,  such  symptoms  are  induced  by  so  many 
and  varied  agencies  that  it  would  be  practically  impossible  in 
most  cases  to  trace  the  effect  to  the  preservative. 

The  United  States  Treasury  have  requested  that  their 
Consuls  in  France  may  be  instructed  to  refuse  the  authenti- 
cation of  invoices  of  fruits  preserved  by  the  introduction  of 
salicylic  or  benzoic  acid,  as  they  consider  food  so  treated  to  be 
injurious  to  health.  Dr.  Eccles *  strongly  protests  against  the 
action  of  the  Treasury,  affirming  that  that  Department  cannot 
adduce  a  single  instance  of  harm  resulting  from  the  use  of 
1  Eccles,  Food  Preservatives. 


CHEMICAL  PEESEEVATIVES 


85 


salicylic  acid  in  preserved  food,  and  Professor  Ingram,1  after 
examining  the  organs  and  tissues  of  animals  fed  on  such 
food,  declares  that  there  is  no  injurious  effect  on  any  internal 
organ. 

(2)  Benzoic  Acid 

This  acid  is  widely  distributed  in  nature,  being  found  in 
such  resinous  products  as  benzoin,  balsam  of  Tolu,  storax, 
and  dragon's  blood  ;  in  essential  oils,  in  cinnamon,  bergamot, 
calamus  root,  cloves,  &c. 

The  acid  or  its  sodium  salt  is  occasionally  used  as  a 
preservative,  chiefly  for  the  same  classes  of  foods  for  which 
salicylic  acid  is  employed.  Thus  it  has  been  found  in  wines  of 
low  alcoholic  strength,  in  medicated  and  sacramental  wines,  in 
fruit  juices,  jams,  jellies,  and  ketchup,  in  ham,  bacon,  potted 
meat,  minced  meat  and  sausages.  In  France,  when  salicylic 
acid  was  prohibited,  benzoic  acid  was  to  some  extent  sub- 
stituted, and  this  may  possibly  be  the  case  in  other  countries. 

It  has  been  long  known  as  an  antiseptic  in  surgery.  The  old 
remedy  Friar's  balsam  owes  its  antiseptic  action  to  the  presence 
of  this  acid,  and  has  been  a  favourite  application  to  wounds  for 
centuries.  It  is  probably  quite  as  powerful  an  antiseptic  as 
salicylic  acid,  but,  no  one  having  any  special  patent  for  its 
manufacture,  there  has  been  no  inducement  for  manufacturers 
to  advertise  its  properties.  AVernitz  found  that  it  arrested  the 
action  of  enzymes  in  aqueous  solutions,  and  the  following  table, 
showing  the  strength  necessary  to  effect  this  and  comparing  it 
with  salicylic  acid,  is  taken  from  Brunton's  '  Pharmacology  ' : 


Diastase 


Salicylic  acid 
Benzoic  acid 


1  in  5,100 
1  „  1,025 


Invertin 

Ptyalin 

1  in  166 

1  „  400 

1  in  1,250 
1  „  2,600 

— 

Pepsin 

Pancreatin 

Eennet 

Salicylic  acid 
Benzoic  acid 

1  in  250 
1  „  200 

1  in  9,000 
1  „  2,600 

1  in  200 
|       1  „  300 

Eccles,  Food  Preservatives,  p.  15. 


86  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

Brunton,  quoting  Croix  and  Koch,  also  gives  the  results  of 
experiments  showing  that  with  meat  infusions  benzoic  acid  is 
more  powerful  than  salicylic  acid. 


— 

Prevents:develop- 
ment  of  bacteria 
in  meat  infusion 

Kills  developed 
spores 

Prevents  develop- 
ment of  spores  in 
unboiled  meat 
infusion 

Salicylic  acid         . 
Benzoic  acid 

1  in  1,003 
1  „  2,867 

lin    60 

1  „  410 

1  in  1,121 
1  „  1,439 

With  anthrax  spores  different  results  were  obtained  by  Koch, 
salicylic  acid  being  the  more  powerful. 

In  medicine  the  acid  is  used  as  a  stimulating  expectorant, 
and  for  disinfecting  the  urinary  passages.  Whether  exhibited 
in  the  free  state,  or  as  the  sodium  or  ammonium  salt,  it  is 
absorbed  by  the  blood  and  excreted  in  the  form  of  hippuric 
acid,  the  urine  acquiring  an  acid  reaction  and  on  occasions 
being  somewhat  irritating.  A  little  is  excreted  from  the  lungs 
and  possibly  the  skin.  In  medicinal  doses  (10  to  15  grains)  it 
does  not  appear  to  produce  any  toxic  effect,  and  no  evidence  of 
a  cumulative  action  is  forthcoming,  though  both  of  these  would 
presumably  occur  in  persons  whose  excretory  functions  are 
inactive,  and  possibly  where  idiosyncrasy  exists. 

Hutchinson  stated  before  the  Departmental  Committee 
that  he  had  experienced  irritating  effects  locally  after  taking 
5  to  10  grains  of  the  acid  on  an  empty  stomach.  This,  how- 
ever, has  no  bearing  upon  its  use  in  very  small  quantities  as  a 
preservative.  The  arguments  for  and  against  its  use  are 
precisely  the  same  as  those  given  in  the  previous  section  in 
relation  to  salicylic  acid.  Of  the  two,  it  seems  very  probable, 
judging  from  medical  experience,  that  there  are  fewer  objections 
to  the  use  of  benzoic  acid  than  to  salicylic  acid,  and  as  it  is 
much  more  difficult  to  detect  and  estimate,  it  is  probable  that 
in  the  course  of  time  it  will  be  much  more  generally  em- 
ployed ;  in  fact  there  are  reasons  for  believing  that  it  is  at 
present  more  extensively  introduced  than  is  usually  supposed, 
and  that  its  presence  is  overlooked. 


CHAPTER  VII 

CHEMICAL   PEESEBVATIVES  (continued) 

FLUORINE  COMPOUNDS,  &c. 

Fluorine  Compounds. — Certain  compounds  of  fluorine  are 
found  to  possess  marked  antiseptic  properties,  and  they  are 
used  to  a  small  extent  for  preserving  butter,  cream,  and  beer. 
An  attempt  has  recently  been  made  to  introduce  them  into 
this  country  for  use  in  the  manufacture  of  jams  and  other 
foods,  but  as  yet  the  attempt  has  either  been  unsuccessful,  or 
analysts  have  failed  to  detect  their  presence.  Hydrofluoric 
acid  and  fluoboric  acid  are  probably  the  most  powerful  of  the 
fluorine  antiseptics.  Richmond1  has  shown  that  when  the 
former  is  added  to  fresh  milk  in  the  proportion  of  0'5  per  cent, 
the  sample  remains  sweet  for  a  period  of  some  months.  This 
is,  of  course,  a  much  larger  quantity  than  would  be  required 
to  keep  milk  for  ordinary  consumption. 

In  the  case  of  fluoboric  acid  the  same  observer  found  that 
O02  to  O03  per  cent,  had  an  appreciable  effect,  and  he 
estimated  that  it  was  at  least  five  times  more  powerful  as  an 
antiseptic  than  boric  acid.  He  also  experimented  with  sodium 
fluosilicate,  but  found  it  too  insoluble  to  be  useful  as  a  pre- 
servative, yet  '  Salufer,'  a  solution  containing  O6  per  cent,  of 
this  salt,  is  said  to  have  a  greater  antiseptic  effect  than  a  1  per 
cent,  solution  of  mercuric  chloride. 

Hydrofluoric  acid  is  too  powerful  a  drug  to  be  added  to 

food-stuffs,  and  the   same   applies  to  its  simple  salts.     The 

solution  of  the  acid  used  in  medicine  contains  only  0.16  per 

cent,    of    the    pure   acid,   yet    doses   of    15   minims   of   this 

1  Eeport  of  Departmental  Committee.    Appendix,  No.  XXXII. 


88  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

exceedingly  dilute  solution  are  said  to  often  cause  headache, 
nausea,  and  vomiting.  Ammonium  fluoride  also  causes  gastro- 
intestinal irritation,  a  lowering  of  the  blood-pressure,  and 
slowing  of  the  heart's  action.  The  dose  is  5  minims  of  a 
1  per  cent,  solution,  and  this  may  give  rise  to  unpleasant 
symptoms. 

Some  years  ago  one  of  us  was  consulted  with  reference  to 
the  suitability  of  fluorine  compounds  for  preserving  dairy 
produce,  as  it  was  stated  that  butter  was  being  imported 
which  contained  these  bodies,  and  in  1902  Hehner1  pointed 
out  that  certain  samples  of  Brittany  butter  contained  fluorides, 
and  stated  that  he  had  detected  fluorine  in  twenty  samples. 
The  maximum  amount  met  with  was  4  grains  to  the  pound, 
and  he  points  out  that  a  person  using  such  butter  might  easily 
consume  half  a  grain  of  sodium  fluoride  per  diem.  As  the 
result  of  his  experiments  he  concludes  that  O04  per  cent,  of 
sodium  fluoride  prevents  salivary  action,  and  that  O02  per  cent, 
greatly  interferes  with  peptic  digestion.  From  these  ex- 
perimental results,  and  the  consideration  of  a  quotation  from 
the  American  Dispensatory  given  below,  he  concludes  that  '  the 
quantities  of  fluorides  that  are  used  as  butter  preservatives  are 
not  without  injurious  action  upon  the  living  body.'  The 
following  is  the  quotation  referred  to :  '  Waddell  states  that 
the  alkaline  fluorides  are  not  pronounced  irritants,  but  when 
taken  internally  in  doses  of  a  grain  to  a  grain  and  a  half 
continuously  they  reduce  the  force  and  frequency  of  the  pulse, 
at  the  same  time  depressing  the  temperature  and  increasing 
somewhat  the  flow  of  urine,  without  distinctly  affecting  either 
the  respiratory  or  the  cutaneous  functions.  This  accords  with 
the  physiological  studies  of  Tappeneiner,  who  found  in  animals 
the  soda  salt  to  powerfully  depress  blood-pressure  loj  acting  on 
the  vaso-motor  centres.  Death  after  profound  collapse  was 
produced  by  centric  failure  of  respiration.  Dr.  "Waddell  also 
affirms  that  there  is  an  enormous  decrease  in  the  number  of 
red  corpuscles,  which  he  believes,  but  does  not  prove,  to  be  the 

1  TJie  Analyst,  June  1902. 


CHEMICAL  PKESEKVATIVES  89 

result  of  a  direct  action  upon  the  spleen.'  The  action  of  boro- 
fluorides  and  silico-fluorides  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
studied,  but  from  what  has  been  said  it  is  obvious  that  there 
can  be  no  justification  for  the  introduction  of  fluorine  com- 
pounds as  preservatives.  Even  if  certain  of  them  are  five 
times  more  powerful  as  antiseptics  than  boric  acid,  they  have 
so  much  greater  an  effect  upon  the  human  system  that 
the  latter  (boric  acid)  must  be  infinitely  preferable  as  a  pre- 
servative. In  any  case  the  onus  of  showing  that  the  fluorides 
are  harmless  in  the  quantities  used  should  rest  upon  the  person 
using  them. 

Ammonium  and  sodium  fluorides  occur  in  certain  preserva- 
tives sold  in  America  for  use  in  beer,  and  it  is  possible  that 
they  are  employed  to  some  extent  in  England,  but,  probably, 
no  analyst  in  this  country  systematically  examines  foods  for 
fluorides. 

Alum. — This  substance  is  not  generally  considered  to  be 
an  antiseptic,  but  it  is  a  constituent  of  certain  preservatives 
sold  for  curing  hams.  An  American  ham  preserver  was  found 
to  contain  70  per  cent,  of  potash  alum  and  21  per  cent,  of 
saltpetre.1  It  is  also  used  to  harden  vegetables  for  pickling, 
and  in  baking  powder  to  improve  the  appearance  of  the  bread. 

It  is  not  a  desirable  addition  to  food-stuffs,  although  it  may 
be  difficult  to  prove  that  any  harm  results  from  its  use  in 
minute  quantities.  The  medicinal  dose  is  5  to  10  grains, 
but  it  is  rarely  administered  internally.  In  larger  doses  it  may 
cause  constipation  or  gastro-intestinal  irritation.  Apparently 
it  is  not  absorbed  by  the  blood. 

Ammonium  Acetate. — This  salt  is  used  occasionally  for 
preserving  meat.  The  flesh  is  dipped  into  a  strong  solution 
and  then  allowed  to  dry,  when  it  is  said  to  keep  well  for 
a  considerable  period.  The  ammonium  salt  disappears  on 
roasting  or  boiling. 

Copper  Sulphate. — Salts  of  copper  are  probably  used  more 
for  colouring  purposes  than  for  preserving.  The  copper 

1  Report  of  Departmental  Committee. 


90  PRESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

forms  with  certain  proteids  a  compound  possessing  a  dark 
green  colour,  hence  the  use  of  copper  salts  for  colouring 
preserved  peas,  French  beans,  and  other  vegetables.  The 
statement  that  copper  merely  preserves  the  natural  colour  of 
these  vegetables  is  entirely  without  foundation,  since  chloro- 
phyll after  treatment  with  copper  sulphate  has  its  green 
colour  destroyed  when  boiled  with  water,  whereas  vegetables 
which  have  been  similarly  treated  retain  their  green  colour 
in  boiling  water.  The  copper  salt  also  hardens  the  exterior 
covering  of  peas,  so  that  when  preserved  in  bottles  or  tins  the 
peas  remain  intact  and  the  surrounding  fluid  clear.  The  integu- 
ment of  peas  not  treated  with  copper  easily  disintegrates,  and  the 
fluid  becomes  turbid.  When  this  occurs  the  peas  may  be  con- 
demned as  unsound,  whereas  they  are  perfectly  good  and  whole- 
some. The  subject  will  be  further  referred  to  in  the  section 
treating  of  colouring  matters. 

Sodium  Carbonate  and  Lime. — These  substances  are  some- 
times added  to  milk  and  cream.  They  do  not  act  as  preserva- 
tives in  the  quantity  employed,  but,  by  combining  with  the 
acid  products  of  fermentation,  they  delay  the  souring  which 
is  the  popular  index  of  fitness  or  unfitness  for  use.  For  this 
reason  their  use  is  strongly  to  be  deprecated.  A  saccharine 
solution  of  lime  is  sold  under  a  fancy  name  for  the  above 
purpose.  Both  are  harmless  in  themselves  in  the  quantities 
used. 

Sulphuric  Acid. — This  mineral  acid  is  occasionally  added 
in  small  quantities  to  inferior  vinegars,  to  prevent  fermenta- 
tive change.  Its  addition  is  totally  unnecessary,  but  in  the 
quantity  usually  employed  it  cannot  be  said  to  have  any 
deleterious  effect  upon  the  consumers. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

CHEMICAL   PEESEEVATIVES  (concluded] 

Formic  Acid. — A  60  per  cent,  solution  of  this  acid  has 
recently  been  introduced  into  this  country  as  a  preservative, 
more  especially  for  liquids  prone  to  fermentation.  It  is 
closely  allied  to  acetic  acid,  but  has  usually  been  considered 
inferior  thereto  as  an  antiseptic.  This  is  probably  a  mistake, 
as  a  research  at  the  Pasteur  Institute  showed  that  as  little  as 
0-014  per  cent,  of  the  acid  retarded  the  action  of  yeast,  and 
that  0-08  per  cent,  entirely  prevented  fermentation.  Eoscoe, 
quoting  lodin,1  says,  '  Formic  acid  is  a  powerful  antiseptic, 
preventing  fermentation,  putrefaction,  &c.,  even  more  power- 
fully than  phenol  does.' 

It  occurs  in  the  common  nettle,  pine  needles,  tamarinds, 
lemons,  limes,  and  grapes.  In  raisins  it  is  met  with  in  larger 
proportions  than  in  grapes,  and  very  possibly  it  would  be 
found  in  many  more  fruits  were  it  carefully  sought  for.  It 
is  probably  produced  in  small  quantities  in  all  fermentative 
changes,  resulting  in  the  formation  of  acetic  acid.  It  is 
formed  in  the  alimentary  canal  by  the  action  of  putrefactive 
organisms  on  fat,  and  its  presence  has  been  detected  in  the 
spleen,  pancreas,  thymus  gland,  muscle,  brain,  milk,  sweat, 
and  urine.  In  leucocythaemia  it  has  been  detected  also  in  the 
blood  and  bone-marrow.  It  is  contained  in  quantity  in  the 
bodies  of  certain  ants,  hence  its  name,  and  these  animals  are 
eaten  as  a  delicacy  by  the  aborigines  of  Australia. 

It  is  evidently,  therefore,  widely  distributed  in  nature, 
but  it  has  found  little  use  in  medicine.  Eecently,  how- 

1  lodin,  Compt.  EencL,  Ixi.  1179. 


92  PRESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

ever,  Clement  and  also  Huchard  have  recommended  its  use 
as  a  tonic.  Clement's  l  observations  show  that  formic  acid 
is  a  powerful  stimulant  of  muscular  action,  and  in  its  tonic 
effects  is  closely  allied  to  kola,  cocoa,  and  caffein.  Adminis- 
tered internally  it  dispels  the  sensation  of  general  lassitude. 
Experiments  controlled  by  the  dynamometer  and  ergograph 
show  that  the  muscular  power  undergoes  a  marked  elevation 
within  two  days  of  the  commencement  of  the  treatment, 
whilst  the  amount  of  bodily  exertion  which  can  be  undertaken 
without  fatigue  is  increased.  The  dose  administered  was  8 
to  10  drops,  four  times  daily,  of  a  25  per  cent,  solution  diluted 
with  aerated  water.  Subcutaneously  administered,  it  has 
been  found  useful  in  lupus  and  in  chronic  inflammation  of 
the  kidneys.  Clement,  however,  found  that  even  small  doses 
long  continued  tended  to  produce  irritation  of  the  stomach, 
and  this  may  militate  against  its  use  as  a  preservative,  if  his 
results  are  confirmed.  Eight  drops  of  a  25  per  cent,  solution 
contain  2  grains  of  the  pure  acid.  Assuming  that  Ol  percent, 
were  used  for  preservative  purposes,  a  person  taking  about 
2  ounces  of  fluid  would  receive  this  dose.  Obviously,  therefore, 
in  many  articles  of  food  and  drink  it  would  be  easy  to  exceed 
this  quantity,  and  in  beverages  especially  the  dose  might  be 
frequently  repeated.  Its  use,  therefore,  may  not  be  entirely 
free  from  objection,  but  most  probably  its  great  dilution 
would  prevent  any  irritant  action. 

Alcohol. — This  liquid  when  diluted  possesses  comparatively 
feeble  antiseptic  properties ;  even  when  '  absolute  '  an  exposure 
of  one  hour  or  more  is  required  to  destroy  non-spore-bearing 
bacilli.  The  presence  of  a  certain  quantity,  however,  tends  to 
check  fermentation,  the  amount  necessary  for  this  purpose 
depending  upon  the  nature  of  the  fluid.  Probably  not  less 
than  5  per  cent,  will  prevent  change  in  '  still '  liquors,  though 
less  may  suflice  in  beverages  charged  with  carbonic  acid  gas. 
In  British  wines  a  deficiency  in  alcoholic  strength  indicates 
defective  keeping  qualities,  and  to  remedy  this  salicylic  acid 
1  Presse  m6dicale,  1903,  No.  67,  p.  601. 


CHEMICAL  PRESEEVATIVES  93 

or  other  preservatives  are  often  used.  Whether  the  special 
preservative  or  the  alcohol  is  the  more  harmful  may  be  open 
to  discussion. 

Foreign  wines  containing  a  large  quantity  of  fermentable 
sugar,  such  as  port  and  sherry,  are  fortified  by  the  addition 
of  alcohol,  but  this  aspect  of  the  case  is  of  more  interest  to 
the  officers  of  the  Inland  Revenue  than  to  the  physician. 

Strong  spirits  are  used  for  certain  preserving  purposes. 
Housewives,  for  instance,  generally  soak  the  tissue  paper, 
which  they  lay  upon  the  exposed  surfaces  of  jams  before  tying 
over,  in  brandy  to  prevent  the  growth  of  moulds,  and  probably 
the  addition  of  rum  to  mince-meat  has  a  preservative  action. 
In  Ceylon  arrack  is  added  to  curried  meat  to  improve  its 
keeping  properties. 

Saccharin. — This  substance  may  be  mentioned  in  connec- 
tion with  wines  and  sweet  beverages,  inasmuch  as  it  is  used  to 
replace  sugar,  and  so  reduce  the  tendency  to  fermentation.  It 
is  added  to  ciders  and  beers  in  the  proportion  of  one-eighth  to 
one-half  an  ounce  per  100  gallons.  It  is  affirmed  that  its 
addition  disguises  inferior  qualities  or  liquors  already  showing 
signs  of  taint.  A  number  of  similar  substances  derived  from 
coal-tar  have  recently  been  introduced,  and  there  is  reason  to 
believe  that  they  affect  the  digestive  functions.  Dr.  Plugge 
'  has  shown  that  the  addition  of  saccharin  in  artificial  digestive 
experiments  with  various  digestive  ferments  interfered  with 
the  breaking  up  of  food  substances.  Dulcin,  another  sweeten- 
ing body,  which  has  been  used  as  a  substitute  for  saccharin, 
was  given  to  a  dog  at  the  rate  of  1  gramme  a  day.  The  animal 
died  in  three  weeks  (Aldehoff).' l 

Vinegar  is  a  very  popular  condiment  and  preservative. 
Taken  in' excessive  quantities  it  interferes  with  the  digestive 
processes,  and  its  use  in  such  quantities,  if  persisted  in, 
ultimately  causes  emaciation.  Used  in  moderation,  however, 
it  is  not  likely  to  produce  injurious  consequences;  neverthe- 
less, if  it  were  not  one  of  the  oldest  preservatives  in  use, 
1  British  Medical  Journal,  May  10;  1902. 


94  PEESEEVAT1VES  IN  FOOD 

objections  would  be  raised  to  its  introduction.  The  effect  of 
excessive  quantities  on  adults  and  children,  and  its  potential 
effect  on  invalids,  would  be  dilated  upon,  and  its  use  probably 
condemned. 

Peroxide  of  Hydrogen. — During  recent  years  processes 
have  been  devised  for  preparing  this  powerful  oxidizing  agent 
at  a  cheap  rate,  and  it  has  been  proposed  to  utilize  it  for  the 
preservation  of  certain  articles  of  drink,  such  as  milk  and  beer. 
It  readily  parts  with  a  portion  of  its  oxygen,  especially  at  a 
temperature  of  about  50°  C.,  splitting  up  into  oxygen  and 
water.  The  oxygen  liberated  in  the  nascent  condition  appears 
to  exercise  a  germicidal  effect,  and  as  only  a  little  water  is  thus 
added  to  the  liquid  no  trace  of  antiseptic  remains.  Tangott, 
as  the  result  of  a  long  series  of  experiments,  concluded  that  the 
pure  peroxide  is  twice  as  strong  a  germicide  as  carbolic  acid, 
and  Schillow  finds  a  O5  per  cent,  solution  kills  the  cholera 
spirillum  in  three  minutes,  and  a  0*3  per  cent,  solution  in  an 
hour.  The  typhoid  bacillus,  however,  proved  far  more  resistent, 
requiring  a  14  per  cent,  solution  to  kill  in  three  minutes,  and 
a  2  per  cent,  solution  to  kill  in  one  hour.  Schillow  also  found 
that  the  peroxide  solution  was  several  times  more  powerful  if 
used  at  38°  C.  than  at  18°  to  20°  C.  Dr.  Budde,  of  Copenhagen, 
has  recently  patented  the  use  of  this  article  for  sterilizing  milk 
and  other  fluids  at  50°  C.,  and  Dr.  Lewin  and  others  have 
conducted  investigations  to  ascertain  the  effect  upon  milk 
when  used  as  Budde  directs.  Lewin  added  to  milk  the  typhoid 
bacillus,  diphtheria  bacillus,  tubercle  bacillus,  spore-bearing 
bacilli  of  anthrax  and  from  hay,  respectively,  and  submitted 
the  mixtures  to  the  influence  of  varying  quantities  of  the 
peroxide  for  varying  times.  He  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that 
'  three  hours'  heating  of  the  milk  at  50°  C.,  when  the  right 
proportion  of  hydric  peroxide  has  been  added,  is  quite  sufficient 
to  obtain  a  well-preserved  milk,  free  from  all  spores  and 
bacteria,  pathogenic  or  non-pathogenic.'  Milk  so  treated  is 
unchanged  in  appearance  and  taste,  but  it  is  admitted  that  the 
enzymes  present  in  the  milk  are  affected,  and  it  is  probable 


CHEMICAL  PEESEEVATIVES  95 

that  it  is  by  the  interaction  of  the  peroxide  and  the  enzymes 
that  the  nascent  oxygen  is  produced.  How  far  this  change 
will  affect  the  nutritive  quality  of  the  milk  remains  to  be  seen, 
but  physicians  in  Denmark,  Norway,  and  Sweden  have  re- 
ported most  favourably  upon  it.  The  treatment  above  referred 
to  is  now  known  as  the  '  Buddeizing  '  process,  and  liquids  so 
treated  are  said  to  be  '  Buddeized.' l  The  liquor  hydrogenii 
peroxidi  of  the  British  Pharmacopoeia  contains  3  per  cent,  of 
H202,  or  ten  volumes  of  available  oxygen.  Solutions  much 
stronger  than  this  are  now  prepared.  The  dose  is  one-half 
to  2  drachms  (1-8  to  7  c.c.).  The  solution  is  more  frequently 
used  as  a  spray,  gargle,  or  dressing.  It  decomposes  so  readily 
when  mixed  with  organic  substances  that  the  whole  more  or 
less  rapidly  disappears.  It  is  very  unlikely,  therefore,  that  it 
will  ever  be  used  in  such  quantities  for  preservative  purposes 
as  to  have  any  injurious  effect  upon  persons  using  liquids  to 
which  it  has  been  added. 

Asaprol,  or  Abrastol. — The  substance  sold  under  these 
names  is  a  calcium  salt  of  /S-naphthol-sulphonic  acid.  It  is  a 
white  powder,  freely  soluble  in  water,  and  it  is  claimed  that  it 
has  antiseptic  properties  equal,  if  not  superior,  to  salicylic  acid. 
We  are  not  aware  of  its  presence  having  yet  been  detected  in 
any  article  of  food  or  drink,  but  there  is  very  little  doubt  that 
it  is  being  used.  In  medicine  it  has  been  recommended  for 
use  as  an  antipyretic  in  place  of  salicylic  acid,  in  doses  of  10  to 
30  grains.  Should  this  substance  be  found  in  any  article  of 
food  or  drink,  it  would  probably  rest  with  the  person  who 
had  added  it  to  prove  that  it  was  innocuous  in  the  quan- 
tity employed.  The  use  of  new  chemicals  should  not  be 
permitted  until  extended  series  of  experiments  have  been 
made  to  demonstrate  their  suitability  for  the  purpose  of  food 
preservation. 

1  Whilst  these  pages  were  going  through  the  press  an  article  has  appeared  in 
Tlie  Lancet,  January  27,  1906,  by  Professor  Hewlett,  in  which  he  records 
experiments  confirming  Lewin's  results,  and  expresses  the  opinion  that  the 
process  '  has  a  great  future  before  it.' 


96  PRESERVATIVES    IN    FOOD 

Crude  Pyroligneous  Acid. — This  is  the  crude  acid  obtained 
by  the  destructive  distillation  of  wood,  and  containing  large 
traces  of  creosote  and  other  tarry  matters  capable  of  imparting 
to  fish  and  flesh  the  odour  and  taste  of  smoked  products.  Such 
food  stuffs  may  be  effectually  preserved  by  immersion  for  a 
period  in  this  acid  and  after  drying  they  are  sold  as  '  smoked.' 
The  time  occupied  in  the  process  is  much  shorter  than  that  of 
'  smoking '  and  the  whole  process  is  more  under  control.  There 
is  no  doubt  that  the  antiseptic  principle  in  both  cases  is  creosote, 
an  acknowledged  poison.  How  far  the  use  of  such  a  powerful 
drug  is  permissible  in  the  preservation  of  food  stuffs  may  be  a 
debatable  question,  but  as  '  smoking '  is  an  ancient  mode  of 
preservation  the  point  is  never  raised.  Had  it  been  a  recent 
introduction  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  it  would  have  been 
received  with  a  howl  of  execration,  and  the  evidence  adduced 
of  the  poisonous  nature  of  the  antiseptic  would  have  sufficed 
to  put  an  end  to  the  practice  speedily.  According  to  Brunton -1 
*  Creosote  destroys  low  vegetable  organisms,  and  prevents  the 
fermentation  which  they  cause.  When  administered  to  small 
animals  it  causes  great  dyspnoea,  weakening  of  the  heart's 
action,  paralysis  and  often  sudden  death.'  It  destroys  the 
epithelium,  and  large  doses  cause  nausea,  vomiting,  colicky 
pains  and  diarrhoea.  In  doses  of  1  to  5  minims  it  is  used  for 
phthisis  and  to  check  sickness. 

1  Pharmacology,  TJwrapeutics  and  Matcria  Medica. 


PART   II 

CHAPTEE   IX 

MILK 

HAVING  discussed  the  chief  methods  by  which  the  preservation 
of  various  foods  is  effected,  we  propose  to  deal  with  the 
question  of  the  necessity  and  desirability  of  these  processes  as 
looked  at  from  a  public  health  point  of  view,  and  for  this  pur- 
pose it  will  be  convenient  to  consider  separately  each  of  the 
principal  foods  which  are  subjected  to  preservative  processes. 

Milk  is  perhaps  the  most  important  food  in  this  connection, 
since,  while  it  enters  largely  into  the  diet  of  most  persons,  it  is 
the  chief  or  only  nutriment  for  infants,  young  children,  and 
invalids,  who  together  form  an  appreciable  proportion  of  the 
community. 

As  it  contains  all  the  elements  of  food  it  forms  an  excellent 
culture  medium  for  nearly  all  kinds  of  bacteria,  pathogenic 
and  otherwise,  many  of  which,  in  addition  to  any  direct 
injurious  influence  on  the  human  economy,  are  capable  of 
decomposing  some  of  the  milk  constituents,  with  the  formation 
of  products  which  may  or  may  not  be  deleterious  to  the  health 
of  the  consumer. 

Milk  as  it  leaves  the  glands  of  a  healthy  cow  is  sterile, 
and  can  be  collected  in  this  condition  if  elaborate  precautions 
are  taken,  but  the  opportunities  for  the  introduction  and  sub- 
sequent multiplication  of  micro-organisms  are  so  great,  that  by 
the  time  it  reaches  the  distant  consumer  it  seldom  contains 
under  1,000,000  bacteria  per  cubic  centimetre  (16,400,000  per 
cubic  inch),  and  may  contain  10,000,000  to  15,000,000  per 
cubic  centimetre.  In  one  sample  which  was  taken  in  the 

7 


98  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

month  of  February,  we  counted  16,600,000  organisms  per 
cubic  centimetre,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  milk 
contained  about  90  grains  of  boric  acid  per  gallon.  There  had, 
however,  been  an  interval  of  fully  48  hours  between  milking 
and  the  examination,  and  the  milk  was  turning  sour. 

The  greatest  degree  of  pollution  probably  takes  place  at  the 
time  of  milking,  which  is  not  surprising  when  one  considers 
the  dirty  state  of  the  udders  and  flanks  of  the  cow,  the  polluted 
air  of  the  byre,  and  the  condition  of  the  hands  and  clothes  of 
the  milker,  in  many  farms  where  no  especial  precautions  are 
taken. 

Professor  Bussell l  recounts  some  experiments  carried  out 
by  him  illustrating  the  possibilities  of  pollution  by  neglect  of 
simple  cleanliness :  '  A  cow  that  had  been  pastured  in  a 
meadow  was  taken  for  the  experiment,  and  the  milking  done 
out  of  doors,  to  eliminate  as  much  as  possible  the  influence  of 
the  germs  in  the  barn  air.  Without  any  special  precautions 
being  taken,  the  cow  was  partially  milked,  and  during  the 
operation  a  covered  glass  dish,  containing  a  thin  layer  of 
sterilised  gelatine,  was  exposed  for  sixty  seconds  underneath 
the  belly  of  the  cow  in  close  proximity  to  the  milk-pail.  The 
udder,  flank,  and  legs  of  the  cow  were  then  thoroughly  cleaned 
with  water,  the  milker's  hands  washed  first  with  corrosive 
sublimate,  and  afterwards  with  pure  water,  and  the  milking 
resumed.  A  second  plate  was  then  exposed  in  the  same  place 
for  an  equal  length  of  time,  a  control  also  being  exposed  at  the 
same  time  at  a  distance  of  10  feet  from  the  animal  and  6  feet  from 
the  ground,  to  ascertain  the  germ  contents  of  the  surrounding 
air.  From  this  experiment  the  following  instructive  data  were 
gathered.  When  the  animal  was  milked  without  any  special 
precautions  being  taken,  there  were  3,250  bacterial  germs  per 
minute  deposited  on  an  area  equal  to  the  exposed  top  of  a 
10-inch  milk  pail.  After  the  cow  had  received  the  precautionary 
treatment  suggested  above,  there  were  only  115  germs  per 
minute  deposited  on  the  same  area.  In  the  plate  that  was 
1  Dairy  Bacteriology,  p.  46. 


MILK  S9 

exposed  to  the  surrounding  air  at  some  distance  from  the  cow 
there  were  sixty-five  bacteria.  This  in  dicates  that  a  large  number 
of  organisms  from  the  dry  coat  of  the  animal  can  be  kept  out 
of  the  milk  if  such  simple  precautions  as  these  are  carried  out.' 

Had  the  milking  been  performed  inside  the  byre,  the 
pollution  would  undoubtedly  have  been  much  greater.  Under 
ordinary  circumstances  it  is  difficult  to  produce  a  milk 
containing  less  than  50,000  bacteria  per  cubic  centimetre. 
With  extraordinary  precautions  the  milk  may  still  contain  over 
2,000  per  cubic  centimetre. 

Further  contamination  may  arise  from  dirty  utensils  and 
milk  cans,  and  exposure  of  the  milk  during  transit  and  storing, 
while,  at  a  favourable  temperature,  multiplication  will 
rapidly  take  place,  even  though  the  initial  number  of  organisms 
be  small. 

Bacteria  may  also  be  introduced  when  the  milk  ducts  are 
the  seat  of  inflammation  (mastitis),  the  fore-milk  being 
especially  affected,  and  likewise  by  the  addition  of  water  for 
purposes  of  adulteration. 

It  will  be  gathered  from  these  remarks,  and  also  from  the 
section  dealing  with  the  preservation  of  milk  by  refrigeration, 
that  in  warm  weather  it  is  impossible  to  supply  good  milk  to 
consumers  at  a  distance  without  taking  some  means  to  check 
the  introduction  and  growth  of  these  organisms. 

The  methods  chiefly  employed  are  sterilization,  pasteuriza- 
tion, refrigeration,  and  the  addition  of  antiseptics. 

We  propose  to  deal  first  with  the  addition  of  antiseptics, 
since  this  has  been  largely  practised,  is  the  easiest  method  for 
the  milk  dealer,  and  has  given  rise  to  great  differences  of 
opinion  among  medical  men,  chemists,  and  those  connected 
with  the  milk  trade. 

The  commonest  antiseptics  in  use  are  boric  acid  or  borax, 
and  formaldehyde,  whilst  salt,  saltpetre,  salicylic  acid,  the 
fluorides,  and  sodium  carbonate  are  occasionally  employed. 

The  extent  to  which  these  chemical  substances  are  added 
varies  considerably,  not  only  in  the  different  seasons  of  the  year 


100 


PEESEEVATIVES  IN   FOOD 


but  also  in  different  parts  of  England.  It  is  probably  largely 
influenced  by  the  energy  or  the  reverse  shown  by  the  local 
authority  in  taking  action  in  this  matter. 

Some  indication  of  the  prevalence  of  preservatives  in  milk 
is  furnished  by  the  returns  of  public  analysts  who  have 
systematically  searched  for  these  substances,  though  their 
figures,  based  as  they  are  on  a  comparatively  small  proportion 
of  the  total  milk  supply,  must  necessarily  be  accepted  with  a 
certain  amount  of  reserve. 

The  following  figures,  taken  from  the  Keport  of  the 
Departmental  Committee,  show  the  number  of  samples  of  milk 
examined  for  preservatives  in  different  parts  of  the  kingdom  : 


Preservatives 

j   Total 

•  contain- 

Percent- 

Locality 

Authority               JnSL 

Boron 

Formal- 

ing pre- 
serva- 

age pre- 
serva- 

- 

i 

com- 
pounds 

dehyde 

tive 

tized 

Various    . 

Government 

Laboratory                  296 

48           7 

54- 

18-2 

Birmingham     . 

Dr.  Hill                    !  1,537 

— 

— 

135 

8-9 

Glamorganshire       .     Mr.  W.  C.  Williams      976 

17 

—  . 

17 

1-7 

Liverpool.         .         .               „            „               862 

12 

6 

18 

2-1 

County  of  Lancaster  -             „           „              253 

2 

— 

County  of  Lancaster 

489 

— 

H 

— 

\  2-2 

In  Cardiff  8-5  per  cent,  of  the  samples  of  milk  taken  in  1898 
were  reported  as  containing  boric  acid,  and  the  percentage 
rose  to  13*5  at  a  later  date. 

The  above  figures  refer  to  samples  of  milk  examined 
regularly  throughout  the  year.  In  the  summer  the  percentage 
preservatized  rises  considerably.  Thus  Dr.  Muter  found  that 
during  the  months  of  September  to  December  1899  the 
percentages  were  41,  29,  18,  and  13  respectively.3 

During  the  latter  half  of  September  and  the  first  half  of 
October  1901,  out  of  49  samples  of  milk  taken  in  Leeds, 
preservatives  were  found  in  25,  a  percentage  of  51. 4 

1  One  sample  contained  both  formalin  and  boric  acid. 

2  Two  hundred  and  thirty-six  further  samples  (489  in  all)  were  only  examined 
for  formalin,  and,  supposing  the  proportion  to  be  maintained,  the  totrl  samples, 
pveservatized  with  boric  acid  or  formalin  would  be  11,  or  2-2  per  cent. 

3  Beport  of  Departmental  Committee.  *  Ibid. 


MILK  101 

In  Birmingham,  from  April  1896  to  September  1900,  1,877 
samples  were  examined.1  During  the  six  months  November 
to  April  the  percentage  containing  preservative  was  4,  whilst  it 
rose  during  May  to  October  to  16. 

Similarly  a  variation  is  seen  between  Sunday  and  weekday 
samples.  In  the  Government  Laboratory  the  percentage  in 
the  former  case  was  found  to  be  28'9  as  against  14'2  in  the 
latter. 

When  successful  prosecutions  have  been  obtained  against 
milk  dealers,  on  account  of  the  addition  of  boric  acid,  formalin 
is  frequently  substituted.  In  Birmingham,  for  instance,  when 
•convictions  were  obtained  in  1897  and  1898,  the  number  of 
samples  containing  boric  acid  decreased,  whilst  those  contain- 
ing formaldehyde  increased : 2 


Percentage  of  sample  containing 

Boric  acid            Formaldehyde 

Both 

1896  (April  to  Dec.)             8-3 
1897      .        .        .             5-5 
1898      .        .        .             3-1 
1899  (Jan.  to  Sept.)             1-2 

3-3 

6-7 
6-3 

o-o 

0-4 

o-o 

No  figures  are  available  as  to  the  proportion  of  samples 
which  contain  salicylic  acid,  saltpetre,  or  the  fluorides.  Until 
lately  it  has  not  been  the  general  custom  of  analysts  to  make  a 
routine  search  for  preservatives,  and  even  when  this  is  done 
attention  is  chiefly  paid  to  boron  compounds  and  formalin. 

Milk  offers  exceptional  opportunities  for  the  repeated 
introduction  of  antiseptics  by  different  individuals  between 
the  time  of  milking  and  its  consumption,  and  it  is  therefore 
not  surprising  that  the  quantities  which  have  been  found  by 
different  observers  vary  enormously.  This  may  possibly  be 
due  to  the  difficulty  which  undoubtedly  exists  in  making  an 
accurate  quantitative  determination,  but  the  figures  show 
variations  too  wide  to  be  explained  in  this  way.  In  the  case 
of  formaldehyde  there  is  no  recognized  method  by  which 
1  Report  of  Departmental  Committee.  -  Ibid. 


102  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

the  amount  which  may  have  been  added  can  be  ascertained, 
and  the  fact  that  a  definite  compound  appears  to  be  formed 
between  this  substance  and  proteids  adds  to  the  difficulty. 

The  following  table,  taken  from  the  Keport  of  the 
Departmental  Committee,  shows  the  maximum  and  minimum 
quantities  of  boric  acid  which  have  been  found  by  different 
observers  : 


Authority 

Amount  of  boric  acid  in  grains  per  pint 

Maximum 

Minimum 

Professor  A.  W.  Blyth      . 

80-0 

— 

Dr.  W.  Williams       . 

26-2 

1-7 

Dr.  J.  E.  Kaye  . 

20-0 

— 

Mr.  W.  P.  Lowe 

20-0 

6-0 

Professor  Thorpe 

17-5 

— 

Dr.  A.  Hill 

15-7 

0-625 

Mr.  C.  E.  Cassal 

12-6 

2-4 

Dr.  E.  Walford 

9-2 

0-35 

Dr.  J.  S.  Cameron     . 

2-5 

— 

Although  these  figures  show  considerable  variations,  the 
differences  are,  with  the  exception  of  Dr.  Blyth's  case,  not  so 
much  greater  than  those  in  the  quantities  of  boron  pre- 
servatives recommended  by  the  manufacturers  of  these 
preparations.  According  to  a  list  drawn  up  by  Professor 
Thorpe  in  the  appendix  to  the  Beport  of  the  Departmental 
Committee,  these  amounts  vary  from  1'2  to  14  grains  of  boric 
acid  per  pint,  whilst  in  the  case  of  '  Burton's  Household  Milk 
and  Food  Preservative,'  which  is  described  as  'harmless  and 
effectual,'  and  appears  to  consist  solely  of  boric  acid,  it  is 
recommended  that  '  for  small  consumers  a  teaspoonful  will  be 
sufficient  for  a  quart  of  milk/ J  If  these  directions  were 
followed,  the  milk  would  contain  about  45  grains  of  boric 
acid  per  pint. 

A  large  number  of  dairymen  furnished  the  Departmental 
Committee  with  a  statement  of  the  quantities  of  boric  acid  or 
patent  preparations  which  they  were  in  the  habit  of  adding 

1  Beport  of  Departmental  Committee. 


MILK  103 

to  milk.  These  generally  varied  from  1  to  2^  ounces  in  17  or 
18  gallons,  which  is  equivalent  to  about  3  to  8  grains  per 
pint. 

According  to  Mr.  Brierley,1  the  ordinary  practice  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  borough  of  Southamption  is  to  take  a 
pound  of  boron  preparation,  dissolve  it  in  1  gallon  of  water, 
and  add  a  pint  of  the  solution  to  8  gallons  of  milk.  This 
would  be  equivalent  to  about  12|  grains  a  pint. 

The  quantity  of  formaldehyde  which  is  added  to  milk  is, 
as  has  already  been  indicated,  a  difficult  matter  to  determine, 
since  it  somewhat  rapidly  decomposes  in  the  presence  of 
organic  matter.  The  amount  recommended,  however,  by  the 
manufacturers  of  trade  preparations  varies  from  1  part  of 
formaldehyde 2  in  32,000  to  1  in  120,000. 

It  is  quite  possible  that  this  proportion  may  be  exceeded, 
and  one  dairyman,  in  reply  to  a  request  for  information,  stated 
that  he  was  in  the  habit  of  adding  1  gill  of  Schering's  formalin 
solution  to  17  imperial  gallons  of  milk,  during  the  three  or  four 
hot  months  of  the  year.  This  is  equivalent  to  1  part  of  formic 
aldehyde  in  780  of  milk.  Others  employed  a  proportion  of 
1  in  20,000. 

With  so  strong  a  solution  (formalin  contains  40  per  cent,  of 
formic  aldehyde)  a  small  error  in  the  measurement  of  the  anti- 
septic will  make  a  considerable  difference  in  the  proportion 
which  it  bears  to  the  milk. 

As  regards  saltpetre,  this  is  occasionally  added  alone  in 
about  the  proportion  of  3  grains  per  pint  of  milk,  but  it  will 
sometimes  be  present  in  smaller  amounts,  often  in  conjunction 
with  common  salt,  as  a  constituent  of  some  preparation  con- 
sisting chiefly  of  boron  compounds. 

In  order  to  arrive  at  a  conclusion  as  to  whether  or  not  the 
addition  of  chemical  preservatives  to  an  article  of  food  should 
be  permitted  or  prohibited  in  the  interests  of  the  public,  it 
is  necessary  to  consider  the  two  following  questions :  first, 
whether  the  presence  of  these  chemical  compounds,  in  the 

1  Beport  of  Departmental  Committee.  -  Ibid. 


104  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

proportions  necessary  for  preservation,  is  likely  to  be  attended 
with  injury  to  health  ;  and  secondly,  whether  the  trade  of  the 
country  can  be  carried  on  without  such  additions.  If  the  first 
question  can  be  answered  in  the  affirmative,  the  case  for  the 
total  prohibition  of  preservatives  is  clear,  whilst  if  in  the 
negative,  the  second  consideration  becomes  of  importance, 
involving,  as  will  be  shown  later,  in  the  case  of  butter  and 
dairy  products  the  interests  of  the  large  export  trade  of  various 
countries,  including  Ireland  and  the  Colonies. 

A  further  point  which  must  be  considered  is  the  possibility 
or  otherwise  of  limiting  by  legislation  the  quantity  and  kind 
of  preservative  which  may  be  permissible  in  different  species 
of  food,  supposing  total  prohibition  to  be  undesirable. 

As  regards  the  addition  of  boron  compounds  to  milk  it  will 
be  remembered  that,  according  to  various  observers,  the 
smallest  quantity  of  antiseptic  which  is  of  any  service  for  the 
preservation  of  milk  is  about  4^  grains  per  pint,  and  that  this 
proportion  delays  the  souring  process  for  only  a  few  hours 
in  hot  weather,  whilst  many  times  this  amount  has  been 
found  on  occasions.  Now  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
population  of  England,  consisting  of  hand-fed  infants,  and 
persons  suffering  from  various  illnesses,  notably  typhoid 
fever,  rheumatic  fever,  and  acute  and  sub-acute  nephritis 
(inflammation  of  the  kidneys),  lives  almost  exclusively  on 
milk,  whilst  the  same  food  enters  verj'  largely  into  the 
dietary  of  older  children,  and  those  who  are  the  subject  of 
the  different  fevers,  gastric  ulcer,  gastritis,  chronic  Bright's 
disease,  and  other  conditions  too  numerous  to  mention.  Milk 
is,  in  fact,  par  excellence,  the  food  for  infants,  children,  and 
invalids. 

The  volume  of  undiluted  milk  which  should  be  taken  per 
diem  apart  from  any  other  food  varies  from  about  5  pints  in 
the  case  of  an  adult  to  3  ounces  in  that  of  a  new-born  child. 
If  we  accept  4^  grains  as  being  the  minimum  quantity  of  boric 
acid  necessary  to  preserve  a  pint  of  milk,  the  adult  will  take  a 
little  over  20  grains,  and  the  baby  about  two-fifths  of  a  grain,  a 


MILK  105 

day ;  in  the  former  case  the  pharmacopceial  dose  will  not  be 
reached,  in  the  latter  it  would  probably  be  exceeded. 

A  child  of  four  months  takes  about  15  ounces  of  milk 
(exclusive  of  water  added  for  purposes  of  dilution),  and  this 
would  contain  a  little  over  3  grains  of  boric  acid,  the  suitable 
medicinal  dose  at  this  age  being  about  2  grains. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  in  an  exclusive  milk  diet  a  quantity 
of  boric  acid  nearly  equal  to  or  exceeding  the  full  medicinal 
dose  authorized  by  the  British  Pharmacopoeia  will  be  intro- 
duced, even  supposing  that  no  more  than  4|  grains  is  added 
per  pint,  and  that  this  administration  will  proceed  for  a  con- 
siderable period  of  time. 

Some  grounds  for  doubting  whether  this  amount  is 
sufficient  to  retard  all  the  fermentative  changes  which  take 
place  in  milk  have  been  mentioned,  and  the  analyses  quoted 
show  that  in  practice  it  is  frequently  exceeded. 

Dr.  Wiley's  investigations,  and  the  other  experiments  to 
which  we  have  referred,  indicate  the  probability  that  moderate 
quantities  of  boric  acid  may  interfere  with  the  digestive  pro- 
cesses or  the  assimilation  of  food  even  in  healthy  individuals, 
and  we  have  given  instances  showing  that  ordinary  medicinal 
doses  occasionally  produce  toxic  effects  in  such  persons  ;  but  it 
is  in  regard  to  departure  from  normal  health  that  the  subject 
assumes  the  greatest  importance.  Boric  acid  should  only  be 
administered,  if  at  all,  under  the  most  careful  supervision  to 
people  suffering  from  kidney  disease  or  digestive  troubles, 
occasions  on  which  a  milk  diet  is  especially  indicated,  and 
Dr.  Harrington's  experiments,  to  which  we  have  referred, 
should  be  remembered  in  connection  with  the  former  condition. 
Moreover,  acute  nephritis  is  not  an  uncommon  complication  of 
scarlet  fever,  and  boracized  milk  may  therefore  be  a  source  of 
danger  in  such  cases,  whilst,  as  already  mentioned  (Chapter  III.), 
boric  acid  should  only  be  administered  with  great  caution  to 
pregnant  women,  some  authorities  alleging  that  the  drug  exerts 
a  contractile  effect  on  uterine  muscle.  Again,  in  typhoid  fever, 
when  milk  usually  forms  almost  the  sole  article  of  diet  for  six 


106  PEESEKVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

or  more  weeks,  it  is  of  paramount  importance  that  the  digestive 
functions  should  not  be  interfered  with  in  the  slightest  degree, 
and  it  is  impossible  to  guarantee  that  such  shall  not  be  the 
case  when  boric  acid  or  borax  are  added  to  the  extent  which 
actually  occurs.  It  must  be  admitted,  however,  that  typhoid 
patients  are  often  treated  with  powerful  disinfectants,  which 
must  necessarily  interfere  with  the  various  processes  of  diges- 
tion, and  that  such  patients  are  said  to  be  greatly  benefited 
by  the  treatment,  but  when  this  is  the  case  the  antiseptic 
is  administered  in  known  doses  and  under  careful  super- 
vision. 

Annett's  experiments  with  kittens  certainly  suggest  strongly 
that  boric  acid  may  act  unfavourably  on  the  nutrition  of  the 
very  young,  and  though  confirmatory  evidence  is  wanting,  his 
results  have  not  yet  been  disproved. 

So  large  a  proportion  of  the  general  population  is  included 
in  the  above  category,  that  one  is  driven  to  the  conclusion  that 
boric  acid,  in  the  proportion  necessary  to  '  preserve  '  milk,  is  an 
undesirable  constituent,  and  that  its  addition  may  be  associated 
with  considerable  danger  to  health.  The  further  objection, 
common  to  all  preservatives,  that  their  use  permits  of  an 
'  unclean '  milk  being  regarded  as  '  clean,'  will  be  referred  to 
later. 

In  the  case  of  formic  aldehyde,  beyond  the  suggestive 
epidemic  at  the  Hendon  Asylum  referred  to  in  Chapter  IV.,  no 
direct  evidence  is  forthcoming  to  show  that  injury  has  been 
caused  by  its  use  as  a  preservative,  though  the  effects  ex- 
perienced by  Hehner  after  the  self-administration  of  1  in  12,500 
formaldehyde  have  already  been  quoted. 

According  to  Kideal  and  Foulerton  1  part  in  50,000  is 
sufficient  for  the  preservation  of  milk,  but  we  have  seen  that  this 
amount  is  frequently  exceeded.  By  a  reference  to  the  chapters 
dealing  systematically  with  the  chemical  preservatives,  it  will  be 
observed  that  the  digestive  ferments  are  inhibited  in  proportion 
to  the  strength  of  the  antiseptic,  and  that  a  definite  compound 
is  formed  with  the  proteid  molecule,  whereby  its  digestibility 


MILK  107 

may  be  impaired.  Hence  it  is  obvious  that  unless  it  be  possible 
strictly  to  limit  the  quantity  of  formic  aldehyde,  there  is  every 
chance  that  the  nutrition  of  those  who  have  to  depend  solely  on 
milk  as  a  food  will  be  retarded,  with  a  consequent  danger  to 
health.  Annett's  experiments  on  kittens,  and  Tunnicliffe  and 
Rosenheim's  observations  on  a  delicate  child  suggest  that  this 
may  be  the  case. 

Unfortunately  there  is  no  accurate  method  of  determining 
the  amount  of  formaldehyde  originally  added  to  milk,  and  so 
many  opportunities  arise  for  the  repeated  addition  of  a  pre- 
servative that  a  definite  limit  would  be  almost  impossible  to 
enforce, 

We  must  therefore  agree  with  the  conclusion  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Departmental  Committee,  that  formic  aldehyde 
should  not  be  used  as  a  preservative  for  milk. 

Salicylic  acid  is  seldom  employed  alone  for  the  preservation 
of  milk,  and  does  not  seem  to  be  well  adapted  for  this  purpose, 
but  is  occasionally  contained  in  small  quantities  in  mixtures 
consisting  chiefly  of  boron  compounds. 

The  same  objections  to  its  use  in  milk  hold  good  as  with 
boric  acid.  The  marked  idiosyncrasy  which  exists  amongst 
a  proportion  of  the  population  in  the  case  of  this  drug  has  been 
already  referred  to,  and  is  an  additional  reason  for  objecting  to 
its  use  in  milk. 

Saltpetre,  curiously  enough,  received  very  little  attention  at 
the  inquiry  of  the  Departmental  Committee.  The  effects  of 
this  salt  on  the  digestive  ferments,  on  the  gastro-intestinal 
mucous  membrane  and  on  the  kidneys,  have  been  mentioned, 
and  it  appears  to  us  that  it  is,  at  least,  as  undesirable  an 
addition  to  milk  as  the  boron  compounds. 

With  regard  to  salt  it  is  doubtful  if  a  quantity  short  of  that 
required  to  produce  a  saline  flavour  would  be  of  any  real  service, 
and  even  this  addition  would  probably  be  unattended  with  evil 
consequences. 

The  remaining  preservatives,  the  fluorides,  have  not 
received  much  attention  ;  such  knowledge  as  we  have  of  them 


108  PEESBBVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

is  distinctly  unfavourable,  and  unless  they  can  be  shown  to  be 
harmless,  they  too  should  be  dispensed  with. 

As  regards  sodium  bicarbonate,  we  have  already  pointed  out 
that  its  chief  function  is  to  neutralize  the  lactic  acid  pro- 
duced by  fermentation.  In  this  way  milk  which  is  under- 
going decomposition  may  be  rendered  palatable,  and  its  real 
condition  be  masked.  There  is  therefore  no  defence  for  such 
an  addition. 

It  has  been  suggested  by  some  that,  instead  of  prohibiting 
the  use  of  preservatives  entirely  in  milk,  these  should  be  limited, 
and  declaration  made  compulsory.  It  is  extremely  doubtful, 
however,  when  one  considers  the  method  in  which  milk  is 
distributed,  whether  this  would  be  possible.  Moreover  the 
average  consumer  is  unlikely  to  be  able  to  form  a  judgment 
as  to  the  desirability  or  otherwise  of  purchasing  milk  to  which 
an  antiseptic  has  been  added,  and  the  labelling  of  a  sample  as 
'  preserved '  might  lead  him  to  believe  that  it  was  a  better 
article  than  ordinary  milk. 

Before  leaving  the  subject  it  should  be  mentioned  that 
many  medical  officers  of  health  are  of  opinion  that  the  addition 
of  antiseptics  to  milk  is  one  of  the  causes  of  infantile  diarrhoea, 
and  of  the  high  mortality  amongst  infants  under  one  year  of 
age.  It  is  a  striking  fact  that  although  sanitation  has  made 
enormous  strides  in  recent  years,  with  a  consequent  progressive 
lowering  of  the  general  death  rate,  the  infantile  mortality 
(deaths  of  children  under  one  year  of  age  per  1,000  births)  has 
increased.  This  is  shown  by  the  following  figures  (for  all 
England)  taken  from  the  Begistrar-General's  reports,  and 
grouped  in  five-yearly  periods  : 


Five-yearly  period 

Number   of  deaths   of 
infants  under  1  year  of 
age  per  1,000  births 

General  death-rate  per 
1,000  living 

1878-82 

142 

20-3 

1883-87 

143 

19-4 

1888-92 

146 

19-0 

1893-97 

152 

17-8 

1898-1902 

152 

17-4 

MILK  109 

Though  suggestive,  these  figures  by  no  means  prove  the 
causal  relationship,  since  infantile  mortality  depends  on  many 
factors,  involving  among  others  the  consideration  of  the  em- 
ployment of  female  labour,  overcrowding,  hand-feeding,  &c. 
It  is  always  higher  in  towns  than  in  the  country,  and  there  is 
a  steady  tendency  towards  the  aggregation  of  the  population 
in  urban  districts,  with  its  natural  consequences. 

There  is,  however,  another  manner  in  which  the  use  of 
preservatives  in  milk  may  influence  the  infantile  mortality, 
apart  from  the  presence  of  the  antiseptics  themselves,  since  it 
is  possible  that,  by  deferring  the  souring  process,  milk  may  be 
sold  containing  not  only  deleterious  products  of  fermentation 
other  than  lactic  acid,  but  also  pathogenic  organisms  such  as 
those  of  the  B.  coli  type,  capable  of  causing  injurious  effects 
on  the  infants  consuming  it.  In  other  words,  the  milk  may 
appear  to  be  fresh  and  clean,  yet  be  stale  and  unclean,  and 
potentially  dangerous,  without  the  purchaser  being  aware  of 
the  fact. 

This  is  a  cogent  argument  against  the  use  of  preservatives, 
as,  if  their  use  is  prohibited,  it  will  be  absolutely  necessary  for 
dairy  farmers  to  maintain  a  very  much  higher  standard  of 
cleanliness  in  and  around  their  cowsheds  and  in  the  actual 
milking  processes  than  is  often  the  case.  At  present  the  farmer 
who  pays  attention  to  matters  of  sanitation  obtains  no  better 
price  for  his  milk  than  one  who,  by  the  addition  of  preservatives, 
is  able  to  partially  neutralize  the  effects  of  the  filthy  state  of 
his  byres.  The  Cowsheds,  Dairies,  and  Milkshops  Order  is 
practically  a  dead  letter  in  many  parts  of  rural  England,  but 
the  prohibition  of  the  use  of  chemical  antiseptics  in  milk  should 
go  a  long  way  towards  securing  the  improvements  which  the 
Order  has  failed  to  effect. 

From  what  has  been  said  it  will  be  gathered  that  pre- 
servatives added  to  milk  are  a  source  of  danger  to  the  health  of 
a  considerable  proportion  of  the  public,  and  we  now  propose  to 
refer  to  our  second  inquiry,  as  to  whether  the  milk  trade  of  the 
country  can  be  carried  on  without  the  use  of  preservatives. 


110  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

That  such  is  the  case  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  for  some 
years  the  Aylesbury  Dairy  Company  have  been  able  to  supply 
at  least  100,000  persons  a  day  in  London  with  milk  absolutely 
free  from  preservatives,  although  a  portion  of  their  supply  comes 
from  Wiltshire  and  even  Cheshire,  a  distance  of  200  miles.  A 
few  complaints  are  occasionally  received  as  to  the  milk  being 
sour  on  delivery  (in  1899,  out  of  5,000,000  deliveries  from  the 
head  office,  78  such  complaints  were  made),1  but  there  is  no 
doubt  that  these  could  be  prevented  by  the  provision  of  better 
means  of  straining  and  cooling  the  milk  at  the  farms  and  of 
keeping  down  the  temperature  during  transit.  Although  the 
families  supplied  by  this  company  are  largely  members  of  the 
well-to-do  classes,  a  considerable  trade  is  also  done  with  those 
who  buy  the  milk  in  quite  small  quantities.  No  doubt  the 
same  is  true  of  many  of  the  other  large  dairy  companies. 

It  will  be  gathered  also  from  the  table  showing  the  pro- 
portion of  samples  of  milk  found  to  contain  preservatives  that 
over  90  per  cent,  of  the  milk  sold  in  Birmingham,  and  nearly 
98  per  cent,  of  that  in  Liverpool,  is  free  from  such  addition. 
Of  samples  taken  in  the  former  town,  in  the  six  warmer  months, 
84  per  cent,  were  free  from  preservatives.  Mr.  T.  Carrington 
Smith 2  by  straining  and  cooling  his  milk  was  for  several  years 
able  to  consign  100  gallons  of  unpreservatized  milk  a  day  to 
London  from  his  farm  in  Mid-Staffordshire,  a  distance  of  120 
miles,  with  perfect  success.  His  only  difficulty  occurred  on 
Sundays  on  account  of  the  absence  of  a  morning  train.  It  is 
obvious,  therefore,  that  milk  can  be  sent  long  distances,  and 
yet  be  supplied  in  a  good  condition  to  the  consumers  without 
the  addition  of  any  preservative  or  the  aid  of  heat.  By  efficient 
cooling  milk  can  be  kept  from  becoming  sour  for  many  days, 
but  something  more  than  mere  cooling  is  required  for  the 
supply  of  pure,  clean  milk,  and  whether  the  milk  be  preserved 
by  cooling,  pasteurizing  or  sterilizing,  the  public  ought  to  be 
assured  that  the  original  milk  was  '  clean  ' — that  is,  that  it  was 
produced  under  cleanly  conditions,  with  access  of  the  smallest 
1  Beport  of  Departmental  Committee.  2  Ibid. 


MILK  111 

possible  number  of  microbes,  and  that  tbe  preserving  process 
took  place  before  the  bacteria  had  had  time  to  produce  any 
deleterious  products.  If  clean  milk  is  to  be  supplied  it  must 
be  clean  from  the  beginning,  and  to  secure  this,  attention  must 
be  given  to  (1)  the  cows,  to  (2)  the  cowsheds,  and  to  (3)  the 
milkers  and  the  process  of  milking. 

1.  The    Cows. — These    should    be    healthy.      The   owner 
should  exercise  continual  watchfulness,  and  at  once  separate 
from  the  herd  any  animal  found  to  be  showing  signs  of  general 
illness,  exhibiting  any  eruption  on  the  udder  or  teats,  or  any 
affection  of  the  udder,  and  no  milk  therefrom  should  be  sold 
for    human    consumption.       No    person   would   willingly   or 
knowingly  drink  milk  from  a  diseased  cow,  and  he  has  a  right 
to  insist  that  no  such  milk  should  be  supplied  to  him.     Un- 
fortunately, as  the  law  at  present  stands,  the  taking  of  this 
precaution  cannot  be  legally  enforced,  but  it  is  probable  that, 
under  the  '  Sale  of  Goods  Act,'  if  any  person  suffers  loss  or 
injury  from  the  use  of  milk  from  an  unhealthy  cow  he  could 
recover   damages   from  the   person   who   supplied   the   milk. 
When  the  provisions  of  this  Act  become  better  known  actions 
for  damages  will  be  more  frequent.     It  ought  to  be  a  penal 
offence  to  sell  milk  from  a  cow  suffering  from  any  disease  unless 
a  certificate  has  been  obtained  from  a  veterinary  surgeon  to 
the  effect  that  the  affection  is  one  which  cannot  possibly  impair 
the  quality  of  the  milk. 

2.  The  Cowsheds. — The  cows  should  be  kept  under  healthy 
conditions.    When  they  are  housed  in  cowsheds  these  should  be 
clean,  roomy,  well  ventilated,  and  well  lighted.     A  cow  can  no 
more  be  kept  in  perfect  health  in  a  dirty,  stuffy,  ill- ventilated,  and 
badly  lighted  shed  than  can  human  beings  under  corresponding 
conditions.     A  cow  should  not  be  regarded  merely  as  a  milk- 
producing   machine,  kept   for   the   purpose  of   producing  the 
maximum  amount  of  milk,  irrespective  of  its  quality,  but  as  an 
animal  for  producing  a  pure  milk  of  good  quality.     To  secure 
the  requisite  cleanliness  the  floor  of  the  cowshed  should  be  of 
hard  and  impervious  material,  and  be  properly  drained.     The 


112  PEESEKVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

ventilating  arrangements  should  admit  sufficient  fresh  air, 
without  causing  unnecessary  draughts,  and  the  lighting  should 
be  such  that  all  parts  of  the  shed  can  be  distinctly  seen,  and 
so  arranged  that  the  milkers  can  see  what  they  are  doing  and 
have  no  excuse  for  not  observing  dirt  on  the  cows'  udders  or 
flanks.  The  floors  should  be  thoroughly  cleansed  daily  and  the 
cows  groomed  regularly.  A  dirty  cowshed  not  only  affects 
the  cleanliness  of  the  cows,  but  also  the  purity  of  the  air  in  the 
cowshed,  increasing  the  number  of  bacteria  which  enter  the 
milk  in  the  process  of  milking. 

3.  The  Milkers  and  Process  of  Milking". — The  milkmen 
and  milkmaids  should  be  taught  the  necessity  for  cleanliness  : 
cleanliness  of  the  cow,  cleanliness  of  their  persons  and  especially 
of  their  hands,  and  cleanliness  of  utensils.  They  should  be 
provided  with  soap  and  water  and  clean  towels,  and  it  should 
be  someone's  duty  to  see  that  they  use  them.  Clean  overalls 
should  be  provided  for  use  when  milking,  and  the  milking- 
stool  should  be  kept  scrupulously  clean.  The  milk  pail  usually 
employed  is  a  most  unsuitable  utensil,  exposing  the  maximum 
amount  of  milk  surface  to  the  possibility  of  contamination. 
A  closed  can  with  a  small  projecting  funnel  about  6  inches  in 
diameter  is  far  preferable,  since  it  reduces  the  area  of  the 
surface  exposed  to  about  one-sixteenth.  In  many  dairies  great 
attention  is  given  to  the  scalding  of  cans,  whilst  everything 
else  is  neglected,  but  in  some  instances  even  the  cans  are  not 
carefully  cleaned.  Such  vessels  are  too  often  washed  in  water 
derived  from  brooks  and  ponds,  and  of  a  grossly  polluted 
character.  Cleanliness  cannot  be  secured  without  an  abundant 
supply  of  good  water,  and  unless  a  farm  commands  such  a 
supply  it  is  unfitted  for  dairy  purposes.  In  cleaning  utensils 
the  water  must  be  properly  used.  It  will  not  efficiently  sterilize 
the  cans,  strainers,  &c.,  unless  it  is  employed  at  boiling  tem- 
perature, and  it  will  not  remove  grease  unless  a  little  soda  is 
added  to  it.  After  washing,  a  final  '  steaming  '  is  desirable, 
after  which  the  cans  may  be  placed  upside  down  on  clean  racks 
to  cool  and  dry. 


MILK  113 

As  no  practical  precaution  can  prevent  the  access  of  hairs 
and  dust  to  the  milk,  some  kind  of  straining  is  always  neces- 
sary. The  ordinary  wire  strainer  is  of  very  little  service.  The 
milk  should  be  passed  through  two  or  more  layers  of  cloth  or 
through  some  of  the  pads  now  sold  for  the  purpose,  or  filtered 
upward  through  sterilized  sand,  &c.,  as  is  done  in  some  parts 
of  Denmark.  A  few  large  companies  adopt  a  somewhat  different 
method  of  removing  particulate  matter,  passing  the  milk 
through  a  centrifugal  machine  and  afterwards  mixing  the  milk 
and  cream  together.  It  is  surprising  to  find  what  an  amount  of 
slimy  matter  adheres  to  the  side  of  the  machine  when  a  sample 
of  ordinary  clean  milk  is  passed  through.  This  process  fails 
unless  the  machine  is  thoroughly  sterilized  before  use.  Eecently 
one  of  us  had  occasion  to  examine  a  sample  of  milk  before  and 
after  centrifugalization,  and  found  more  bacteria  in  the  finished 
product  than  in  the  original  milk. 

Milk  which  has  been  produced  under  the  conditions  and 
with  the  precautions  described  may  be  considered  to  be  '  clean/ 
and  it  now  remains  to  discuss  how  it  can  be  maintained  in  this 
condition  for  a  reasonable  length  of  time  without  the  addition 
of  preservatives.  This  may  be  done  either  by  the  application 
or  withdrawal  of  heat,  but  inasmuch  as  the  application  of  heat 
affects  to  some  extent  the  character  of  the  milk,  whilst  the 
withdrawal  of  heat,  or  cooling,  has  no  such  effect,  the  latter  is 
to  be  preferred  and  will  be  considered  first. 

Refrigeration. — From  what  was  said  with  reference  to  this 
subject  in  Chapter  I.,  it  is  obvious  that  the  bacteria  in  milk 
multiply  with  such  rapidity  at  ordinary  temperatures  that 
refrigeration,  to  be  effective,  must  be  carried  out  at  the  earliest 
possible  moment  after  withdrawal  of  the  milk  from  the  cow. 
If  the  milk  has  been  very  carefully  collected  and  is  promptly 
cooled  down  to  50°  F.  it  may  be  kept  for  forty-eight  hours 
without  the  bacteria  present  reaching  a  million  per  cubic 
centimetre,  but  if  not  collected  with  special  care  it  might 
contain  two  or  more  millions  at  the  end  of  that  period.  At 
40°  F.  a  carefully  collected  milk  will  keep  upwards  of  forty- 

8 


114 


PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 


eight  hours  and  remain  perfectly  fresh  and  free  from  any 
excessive  number  of  bacteria.  The  following  table,  compiled 
from  the  experiments  of  Parks,  shows  the  effect  of  keeping  at 
these  temperatures  of  milks  taken  (a)  with  special  precautions, 
and  (6)  with  ordinary  precautions.  It  will  be  observed  that 
the  former  (a)  after  keeping  96  hours  at  40°  F.  is  far  better 
than  the  same  milk  kept  only  48  hours  at  50°  F.,  and  nearly 
as  good  as  (b)  after  keeping  twenty-four  hours  at  50°. 


Number  of  bacteria  per  c.c. 

(a)  Milk  drawn  with 
special  precautions 

(6)  Milk  drawn  with 
ordinary  precautions 

40°  F. 

50°  F. 

40°  F. 

50°  F. 

When  freshly  drawn 
After  24  hours  . 
After  48      „      . 
After  96     „      . 

2,400 
2,500 
3,600 
218,000 

2,400 
11,600 
540,000 

30,000 
38,000 
56,000 
4,300,000 

30,000 
89,000 
1,940,000 

We  may  take  it,  therefore,  that  it  will  suffice  to  cool  the 
milk  down  to  50°  F.,  if  the  milk  can  be  kept  at  this  tem- 
perature and  supplied  to  the  consumers  in  less  than  twenty-four 
hours,  but  if  for  any  reason  it  has  to  be  stored  for  a  longer  period, 
or  cannot  be  kept  continuously  at  50°,  it  should  be  cooled  down 
to  40°  F.  in  the  first  instance. 

For  cooling  to  50°  F.  spring  or  well  water,  used  with  a 
suitable  refrigerating  apparatus,  will  usually  suffice.  Deep-well 
waters  can  rarely  be  used,  as  the  temperature  often  exceeds  50°. 
Rainwater  stored  in  large  underground  tanks  may  be  kept  suf- 
ficiently cool  for  the  purpose.  In  many  districts  sufficient  snow 
can  be  collected  during  the  winter  to  serve  for  the  summer 
months.  Certain  farmers  near  Manchester !  have  been  able  to 
do  this  for  many  years,  and  report  that  the  cost  does  not  exceed 
2s.  Qd.  to  5s.  per  ton.  The  snow  is  stacked  in  the  open,  with 
a  covering  of  peat  moss  or  sawdust  about  two  feet  thick. 

For  temperatures  below  50°  F.  a  special  cooling  plant  is 
necessary  in  summer,  unless  ice  or  snow  is  available.  There 
are  several  makes  of  machines  which  are  specially  adapted  for 

1  Beport  of  Departmental  Committee. 


MILK  115 

this  purpose.  By  one  of  the  machines  a  stock  of  brine  can  be 
cooled  to  about  20°  F.,  and  this  is  used  in  the  refrigerating 
apparatus  for  cooling  the  milk. 

If  carriage  by  rail  is  necessary  the  cooled  milk  should  be 
despatched  without  loss  of  time  in  sterilized  churns,  so  con- 
structed as  to  exclude  dust,  and  carefully  cleaned  before  use. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  a  considerable  portion  of  the  advantage 
gained  by  the  cooling  of  milk  at  the  farm  is  lost  by  exposure 
to  the  sun  before  the  churns  are  placed  in  the  train,  and  by 
the  unsuitability  of  the  wagons  used  for  the  milk  traffic  by 
many  of  the  English  railway  companies.  If  possible  special 
vans  should  be  used  for  this  purpose,  and  though  these  are 
provided  on  many  of  the  larger  lines,  there  is  still  much  room 
for  improvement  in  this  direction.  In  reply  to  inquiries  by 
the  Departmental  Committee,  it  appears  that  two  of  the 
Southern  lines  provide  no  special  trucks  for  milk,  and  that 
on  no  line  are  the  walls  or  roofs  double,  whilst  ice-wagons  are 
unknown.  Most  of  the  companies  take  no  special  precautions 
to  keep  the  wagons  in  the  shade  when  not  in  use. 

This  is  not  a  matter  in  which  the  railway  companies  are 
likely  to  make  improvements  unless  pressure  is  brought  to 
bear  upon  them,  and  this  can  only  be  done  by  the  large  dairy 
companies  into  whose  hands  the  milk  supply  of  the  towns  is 
rapidly  passing. 

On  arriving  at  its  destination,  if  the  milk  is  not  immediately 
distributed,  the  cooling  should  be  maintained,  and  scrupulous 
cleanliness  again  observed. 

As  an  example  which  might  well  be  aimed  at  in  this 
country,  the  following  extracts  from  the  account  given  of  a 
visit  paid  by  some  of  the  members  of  the  Departmental  Com- 
mittee to  the  premises  of  the  Copenhagen  Milk  Supply  Com- 
pany may  be  of  interest : 

'  The  business  premises  are  situate  at  Frederiksberg,  and 
they  have  in  all  entailed  an  outlay  of  about  15,000£.  There  are 
employed  some  170  adults  and  160  boys,  and  fifty-eight  horses  are 
in  working.  The  water  supply  is  from  a  well  in  the  yard,  taken 


116  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

from  a  depth  of  51  feet  from  the  surface.  The  water  contains 
much  iron  and  is  filtered  before  use. 

'  The  ice-house  has  double  walls,  with  intervals  of  2  feet, 
the  space  being  filled  with  sawdust,  and  beneath  the  floor  there 
are  arrangements  for  draining  off  the  water  resulting  from  the 
melted  ice. 

'  In  August  last,  thirty-five  farms  were  sending  milk  to  the 
company.  Every  farmer's  milk  is  tested,  from  100  to  120  samples 
being  chemically  analysed,  and  some  40  samples  physically 
examined,  each  day.  Cows  furnishing  the  milk  must  be  kept  in 
the  fields  till  mid-September.  The  application  of  the  tuberculin 
test  is  now  not  compulsory.  Much  of  the  milk  comes  by  rail 
in  special  ice-wagons  belonging  to  the  company.  Ice  is  intro- 
duced by  openings  in  the  roof  into  ice  receptacles  situate  at 
either  end  of  the  wagon,  the  receptacles  being  provided  with 
waste-pipes  for  the  escape  of  melted  ice.  The  ice  is  put  in  at 
the  city  premises,  in  order  that  the  wagons  may  be  sent  back 
with  the  empty  churns  in  a  cool  atmosphere.  The  air  of  one 
wagon  was  tested  and  found  to  have  a  temperature  of  14°  C. 
(57°  F.)  on  a  hot  August  night,  the  wagons  having  finished  a 
day's  travelling  to  the  farm  stations.  The  temperature  was 
17°  C.  (63°  F.)  at  7  o'clock  A.M.  after  the  doors  had  been  open 
all  night.  Each  wagon  takes  1,000  Ibs.  of  ice,  and  holds  105 
milk  cans,  each  containing  50  litres.  The  ice  comes  from 
Danish  lakes,  and  costs  2s.  per  1,000  Ibs.,  including  labour  of 
housing  it  in  the  huge  store  chambers.1  The  charging  of  a 
wagon  costs  about  2s.  Qd.  About  five  million  pounds  of  ice 
were  used  in  1889  on  the  premises. 

'  Milk  comes  a  distance  of  from  10  to  50  miles,  the  longest 
distance  occupying  three  hours  in  actual  transit,  It  leaves  the 
country  stations  from  7  to  7.30  P.M.,  and  reaches  the  premises 
in  Copenhagen  from  10  P.M.  till  midnight.  The  ice-wagons 
are  attached  to  passenger  trains.  The  milk  is  despatched  from 
farms  so  as  to  reach  stations  only  half  an  hour  before  the 
departure  of  trains. 

1  Ice  costs  16  kr.  (17s.  Wd.)  per  ton  when  imported  from  Sweden. 


MILK  117 

'  Milk  is  sent  out  for  delivery  in  the  city  only  once  daily,  so 
that  although  customers  get  their  day's  supply  in  two  rounds, 
it  is  the  same  milk,  the  carts  doing  the  circuit  twice  for  the 
convenience  of  householders.  No  complaints  have  been  re- 
ceived from  customers.  On  Sundays  only  one  delivery  is 
made.  Forty  carts  start  about  5  to  6  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
each  cart  having  its  specified  "  round."  At  the  houses  of  the 
customers  the  milk  is  emptied  from  the  churns  into  small 
"cans,"  and  from  these  into  the  domestic  receptacles  provided 
by  the  householders.  The  taps  of  the  churns  on  the  carts  are 
covered  by  metal  flaps  to  prevent  the  ingress  of  dust  and  dirt 
to  the  muzzles,  and  special  milk  in  bottles  is  placed  in  ice  in  a 
separate  covered  part  of  the  van.  Superfluous  milk  left  over 
after  the  day's  distribution  (some  5  per  cent,  as  a  rule)  is  put 
through  a  separator,  and  the  resulting  cream  made  into  butter. 

'  The  farms  furnishing  milk  have  an  average  of  150  cows 
each.  The  conditions  which  regulate  the  feeding  of  milch 
cows,  their  milking,  the  delivery  of  milk,  &c.,  are  very  strict, 
and  have  been  in  existence  for  many  years.  A  translation  by 
Mr.  A.  Stewart  Macgregor,  late  British  Vice-Consul  at  Copen- 
hagen, runs  as  follows  : 

'  EEGULATIONS  FOE  CONTRACTORS. 

'  A, — Feeding  and  Management 

'  I. — The  food  of  the  cows  must  be  of  such  a  nature  and 
quality  that  no  bad  taste  or  taint  may  be  imparted  to  the  milk 
by  it. 

'  (a.)  Brewers'  grain  and  all  similar  refuse  from  distilleries 
are  strictly  forbidden,  as  also  is  every  kind  of  fodder 
which  is  not  fresh  and  in  good  condition. 
'  (b.)  Turnips,  kohl-rabis,  and  ruta-baga  are  absolutely  for- 
bidden.    No  kind  of  turnip  leaves  may  be  used. 
'  (c.)  Carrots  and  sugar  beets  (mangolds)  are  permitted  up 
to  half  a  bushel  per  cow,  but  only  when  at  least  7  Ibs. 
corn,  bran,  and  cake  are  given  along   with  them. 


118  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

Cows  supplying  infant  milk  may  get  carrots,  but 
never  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  bushel  per  head. 
'  (d.)  Oilcake.  Rapeseed  cake  is  the  only  oilcake  which 
may  be  used  ;  1£  Ib.  is  the  furthest  limit,  along  with 
at  least  5  Ibs.  corn  and  bran.  Infant  milk  cows  must 
not  receive  any  cake. 

'  (e.)  The  proportions  in  which  the  different  kinds  of  food 
are  to  be  given  must  be  arranged  with  the  company 
before  the  contractor  commences  to  supply  milk. 
'  II.  Stall  feeding  in  summer  will  not  be  permitted  under 
any  circumstances.     The   cows   must  be  fed  in  the  open  air 
upon   clover   and  grass.     Vetches  are  forbidden.     In   case  of 
necessity  dry  food  or  cut   corn  may  be   given,  but   on   the 
field. 

'  III.  In  autumn  the  cows  must  be  clipped  on  the  udder, 
tail  and  hind  quarters,  before  being  taken  in. 

'  IV.  Calving  should  be  so  regulated  that  the  milk  sent  in 
during  the  months  of  September  and  October  is  not  less  than 
two-thirds  of  the  largest  quantity  in  any  other  month. 

'  V.  The  milk  of  cows  newly  calved  must  be  withheld  for 
twelve  days  after  calving,  and  must  not  be  less  in  quantity 
than  3  imperial  quarts  per  day. 

'  B. — Milking 

1 VI.  The  greatest  cleanliness  must  be  observed  during 
milking,  and  the  milk  must  be  strained  through  a  wire  sieve, 
covered  with  a  clean  woollen  cloth. 

'  VII.  Immediately  after  milking,  and  during  all  seasons  of 
the  year,  the  milk  must  be  cooled  down  with  ice-water  to  40° 
Fahrenheit. 

'  VIII.  Every  contractor  must  be  provided  with  a  Lawrence 
cooler,  which  he  can  obtain  on  hire  from  the  company. 

'  IX.  Thirty  pounds  of  ice,  making  due  allowance  for  waste, 
must  be  kept  in  stock  for  every  100  Ibs.  milk  produced,  which 
can  be  calculated  from  the  fortnightly  trial  milkings. 


MILK  119 

'  C. — Delivery  of  Milk 

'  X.  (a.)  The  milk  must  be  delivered  at  the  nearest  station 
once  or  twice  daily,  according  to  the  requirements 
of  the  company,  either  as  whole  milk,  or  as  '  half- 
skimmed  '  milk  and  cream. 

'  (&.)  The  milk  must  not  be  sent  from  the  farm  earlier 
than  is  absolutely  necessary  for  its  arrival  in 
proper  time  at  the  railway  station. 

'  c.  In  summer  the  van  for  conveying  the  milk  to  the  station 
must  be  provided  with  a  cover  to  protect  the  milk 
from  the  heat  of  the  sun. 

'  XI.  The  company  will  supply  the  cans  necessary  for 
transport. 

'  XII.  The  company  cleanse  the  cans  before  returning  them, 
but  they  must  be  carefully  rinsed  out  with  cold  water  as  soon 
as  they  reach  the  farm  again,  to  get  rid  of  any  dust  or  dirt 
which  may  have  adhered  to  them  during  the  return  journey. 

'  The  cans  must  be  placed  in  a  cool  airy  spot,  until  again 
required,  protected  from  all  impurities,  with  lids  off,  and  bottom 
upwards,  but  in  such  a  position  that  the  air  can  freely  get  into 
them. 

'  XIII.  The  cans  may  not  be  used  for  any  purpose  but  the 
conveyance  of  milk. 

'  D. — Further  Regulations 

'  XIV.  The  contractor  is  bound,  upon  word  of  honour,  to 
answer  any  inquiries  made  by  the  company  concerning  the 
milk  supply. 

'  XV.  The  contractor  must  allow  any  of  the  veterinary 
surgeons  of  the  company  to  inspect  his  cattle  as  often  as  the 
company  requires,  and  must  drive  the  surgeon  to  and  from  the 
station.  The  contractor  is  bound  to  follow  out  closely  the 
instructions  of  the  veterinary  surgeon. 

'  XVI.  Any  cow  declared  by  the  veterinary  officer  to  be  suffer- 
ing from  tuberculosis  must  be  instantly  and  entirely  separated 


120  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

from  the  rest  of  the  herd,  and  should  be  got  rid  of  as  soon  as 
possible. 

'  XVII.  The  contractor  must  promise  immediately  to  inform 
the  company  of  any  case  of  illness  which  may  arise  between 
two  visits  of  the  veterinary  officer.  If  necessary,  he  must 
withhold  his  milk  until  the  veterinary  officer  arrives  and 
inquires  into  the  circumstances. 

'  In  such  a  case  the  full  price  will  be  paid  for  the  milk. 

'  XVIII.  The  contractor,  to  the  best  of  his  ability,  must 
watch  over  the  health  of  all  who  reside  on  his  farm,  or  work 
upon  it ;  also  the  families  of  the  latter. 

'  Should  a  case  of  infectious  disease  arise  among  any  of  them, 
he  must  immediately  report  the  fact  to  the  company,  and  with- 
hold his  milk,  which  will  nevertheless  be  paid  for  as  usual,  if 
these  conditions  are  fully  complied  with. 

'  XIX.  Either  of  the  contracting  parties,  after  having  given 
six  months'  notice,  can  terminate  the  contract  on  the  following 
1st  of  January. 

'  XX.  Should  the  company  find  the  milk  of  inferior  quality, 
and  therefore  unfit  for  sale,  they  shall  be  entitled  to  refuse  to 
take  it,  without  giving  any  compensation  to  the  contractor. 

'  XXI.  If  owing  to  an  epidemic,  or  other  unavoidable  cause, 
the  sale  of  milk  in  Copenhagen  should  be  suspended,  the 
contractor  must  withhold  his  milk  for  a  shorter  or  longer 
period  without  compensation. 

'  The  milk  is  placed  in  ice-water  almost  immediately  after 
arrival  on  the  premises  of  the  company.  It  is  taken  from  the 
wagons  as  soon  as  they  can  draw  up  at  the  special  siding  for 
unloading,  the  cans  being  raised  to  the  level  of  the  floor  by 
a  miniature  lift.  The  temperatures  of  different  milks  taken 
haphazard  on  a  hot  night  were  13°,  13°,  13°,  16°,  16°  C.,  and 
one  was  17°  C.  It  would  be  about  6°  C.  when  it  left 
the  farm,  and  all  milk  was  again  cooled  down  to  that  degree 
(43°  F.)  Women  test  the  sweetness  of  the  contents  of  each 
milk-churn,  and  throw  aside  the  sample  tested ;  and  it  is 
stated  that  not  even  so  rarely  as  once  a  month  has  milk  to 


MILK  121 

be  rejected.  Each  churn's  milk  is  also  tested  as  to  temperature, 
and  a  register  kept.  Each  can  bears  a  seal  showing  its  source 
of  origin.  The  milk  remains  standing  in  ice-water  till  morn- 
ing, save  that  for  children,  which  stands  only  half  an  hour  for 
purposes  of  cooling. 

'  Besides  the  cooling  on  reception  by  the  company,  milk  has 
also  to  be  cooled  at  the  farms,  the  morning  milk  being  kept  in 
ice-water,  and  sent  up  with  the  evening  milk,  but  in  separate 
cans.  The  evening  milk  is  sent  whole,  but,  as  a  rule,  only  the 
cream  of  the  morning  milk. 

'  Milk  is  screened  at  the  farms  as  soon  as  practicable  after 
being  drawn.  It  is  screened  in  the  fields  in  summer,  the  milk 
of  every  two  or  three  cows  being  put  through  a  fine  wire  gauze 
covered  with  a  cloth.  Cows  are  milked  in  the  sheds  in  winter, 
the  milk  being  drawn  away  at  once  and  screened. 

'  The  milk  is  efficiently  filtered  at  the  company's  premises 
through  four  layers  of  gravel  of  varying  sized  pebbles,  and 
three  layers  of  cloth.  There  is  also  a  smaller  filter  with  two 
layers  of  gravel  and  two  of  cloth  to  be  used  only  for  any 
small  amount  of  milk  urgently  needed.  The  gravel  is  washed 
with  hydrochloric  acid,  and  also  with  soda  and  water,  and 
sterilized  at  120°  C.  (248°  F.)  after  each  time  of  using.  It  is 
then  dried  in  a  high-pressure  steam  oven.  The  process  of  filtra- 
tion is  upward,  first  through  the  lowest  layer  of  coarse  gravel, 
then  through  the  intervening  finer  layers  to  the  cloths  of  close 
texture.  Before  being  filtered,  the  milk  that  has  been  standing  to 
cool  is  intimately  mixed  with  a  perforated  crescent-shaped  metal 
disc,  and  stirred  to  obviate  any  unequal  distribution  of  cream. 

'  The  milk  can  be  kept  sweet  in  the  hottest  weather.  No 
trouble  has  been  felt  in  the  twenty-three  years  during  which  the 
company  have  been  working.  Milk  drawn  one  morning  will 
not  in  ordinary  course  be  all  of  it  used  till  the  evening  of  the 
next  day  ;  and  this  after  having  left  the  establishment  about 
6  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  day  succeeding  its  being 
drawn,  for  delivery  on  two  rounds  to  customers. 

'  Milk  for  children  comes  from  special  farms,  and  is  watered 


122  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

down  for  infants  with  water  which  has  passed  through  a 
Pasteur-Chamberland  filter,  which  is  cleansed  weekly.  All 
such  milk  is  bottled  in  £,  ^,  and  1  litre  bottles,  and  sold  at  2|d. 
per  litre.  The  filled  bottles  are  kept  in  ice,  both  on  the 
company's  premises  and  in  the  covered  carts. 

'  Great  attention  is  paid  to  the  cleansing  of  milk  and  butter 
receptacles  by  the  company.  The  workers  throughout  the 
establishment  are  all  in  white,  and  are  supplied  with  clean 
covering  aprons  twice  weekly.  The  cans  are  cleaned  by 
brushing  with  hot  water  and  soda,  and  later  washing  out  with 
hot  water  and  lime,  a  ladleful  of  soda,  about  ^  lb.,  being  used 
for  each  pail  of  water,  and  20  Ibs.  of  lime  to  900  litres  of  water. 
The  outside  is  then  washed  and  steam  injected  into  the  cans, 
which  are  left  to  drain  alike  by  the  company's  servants  and 
by  the  farmers.  The  latter  have  not  their  own  cans.  The 
apparatus  in  which  the  cans  are  washed  is  itself  subjected  to 
like  cleansing.  Bottles  are  first  washed  in  soda  and  water,  then 
placed  over  revolving  brushes,  and  then  steam-sprayed.  The 
corks,  which  are  used  only  once,  are  of  special  make,  and  are 
tied  by  hand  and  sealed.  The  butter  pots  and  lids  are  washed 
in  soda  and  water,  and  the  pots  only  in  lime  and  water  also.' 

Pasteurization  and  Sterilization. — The  former  term 
as  applied  to  milk  refers  to  the  process  of  heating  to  a 
temperature  exceeding  140°  F.,  but  less  than  212°  F.,  for  a 
period  varying  from  five  to  thirty  minutes,  whereby  all 
bacteria  except  those  which  are  spore-bearing  may  be  assumed 
to  be  destroyed.  It  is  doubtless  this  wide  range  in  time  and 
temperature  which  is  responsible  for  the  different  opinions 
expressed  with  reference  to  the  properties  of  pasteurized  milk 
(and  cream).  This  difference  extends  even  to  the  flavour,  some 
asserting  that  pasteurized  milk  has  a  different  flavour  from 
raw  milk,  others  denying  this,  or  affirming  that  no  difference 
can  be  detected  if  the  milk  is  cooled  rapidly  after  heating. 

The  process  of  sterilization  differs  from  the  one  just  de- 
scribed, inasmuch  as  the  milk  is  kept  at  a  temperature  at  or 
exceeding  212°  F.  for  a  period  sufficiently  long  to  destroy  the 


MILK  123 

spores  of  any  bacteria  which  may  be  present.  This  is  a  two- 
fold advantage,  since  the  milk  is  not  only  entirely  freed  from 
organisms,  but  will  keep  for  an  indefinite  period  if  delivered 
sealed  in  the  bottles  in  which  it  has  been  sterilized.  In  the 
homes  of  the  poor,  where  proper  storage  is  always  difficult  and 
often  impossible,  especially  in  summer,  this  advantage  is  very 
considerable,  but  unfortunately  such  milk  must  be  sold  at  an 
enhanced  price,  and  this  is  an  effectual  bar  to  the  general 
adoption  of  the  process. 

Both  sterilization  and  pasteurization  should  be  effected  as 
speedily  as  possible  after  the  milk  has  been  taken  from  the  cows, 
otherwise  the  bacteria  present  may  produce  deleterious  sub- 
stances not  capable  of  being  destroyed  by  the  subsequent  heating. 

Effect  of  Heat  upon  the  Milk  itself. — This  is  a  most 
important  subject,  and  one  which  has  received  a  good  deal  of 
attention  both  from  chemists  and  physicians  during  recent 
years.  It  is  obvious  that  if  the  digestibility  of  the  milk  is 
decreased  or  its  nutritive  value  impaired,  the  advantages  to  be 
obtained  by  the  heating  process  are  diminished.  It  then 
merely  becomes  a  question  as  to  whether  the  advantages 
outweigh  the  disadvantages,  and  this  we  shall  discuss  presently. 
Milk  undoubtedly  does  undergo  some  change  wThen  heated, 
and  although  the  nature  of  the  change  is  difficult  to  demon- 
strate, the  fact  that  there  is  a  change  can  be  showrn  by 
simple  chemical  tests,  even  when  the  heat  applied  has  not 
been  sufficiently  great  to  effect  any  alteration  perceptible  by  the 
unaided  sense  of  sight  or  taste  or  smell.  Boiling  increases  the 
opacity  of  the  milk  and  causes  the  formation  of  a  film,  changes 
obvious  to  the  unaided  senses.  When  the  heat  has  not 
been  sufficiently  great  to  produce  these  obvious  alterations 
chemical  tests  will  still  show  that  a  change  has  taken  place. 
Boiled  milk  requires  a  larger  proportion  of  mineral  acid  for 
coagulation  than  raw  milk,  and  under  the  microscope  the  fat 
globules  are  found  to  be  larger  after  boiling.  According  to 
Rotch  lactalbumin  is  coagulated  at  162°  F.,  and  the  rennin 
enzyme  rendered  inert  at  165°  F.,  hence  we  may  assume  that 


124  PEESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

both  these  changes  will  generally  have  taken  place  in  pasteurized 
milk.  The  phosphates  present  in  milk  appear  to  be  attached 
to  the  proteid  matter,  but  the  combination  is  so  easily  broken 
down  that  the  application  of  heat  results  in  the  separation  of 
insoluble  phosphates  of  calcium  and  magnesium.  Milk 
contains  according  to  Soxhlet  about  0*1  per  cent,  of  citric  acid, 
and  Dr.  Netterdrew  asserts  that  prolonged  heating  in  some 
way  diminishes  this  amount,  arguing  therefrom  that  as  citric 
acid  is  an  antiscorbutic,  its  removal  or  partial  removal  from 
milk  causes  or  predisposes  to  scurvy-rickets  amongst  young 
children  fed  on  such  altered  milk.  De  Kothschild  and 
Abramoff  believe  that  there  is  a  sort  of  auto-peptonization  of 
the  milk  during  the  first  stage  of  sterilization,  before  the 
temperature  rises  sufficiently  high  to  destroy  bacteria.  This 
peptonization  is  said  to  take  place  very  rapidly,  and  it  is 
argued  that,  as  the  subcutaneous  or  intravenous  injection  of 
peptones  in  small  quantities  is  followed  by  haemorrhages  and 
other  symptoms  of  scurvy,  the  administration  of  auto-pepton- 
ized  milk  may  give  rise  to  the  same  symptoms. 

Others  assert  that  raw  milk  possesses  distinct  germicidal 
properties  and  that  these  are  lost  after  heating  ;  moreover,  that 
this  change,  and  the  coagulation  of  the  lactalbumin,  and  the 
alteration  in  the  casein,  rendering  it  less  precipitable  by  rennet, 
all  make  the  milk  less  digestible.  After  sterilizing  by  heat  the 
slight  power  possessed  by  milk  of  acting  upon  starch  is  lost, 
and  cream  separates  more  slowly  and  in  smaller  quantity.  All 
the  above  facts  indicate  that  such  milk  differs  considerably 
from  raw  milk. 

Do  these  changes  affect  (a)  the  digestibility  of  milk,  or  (6) 
its  nutritive  value  ?  These  are  most  important  points,  and  the 
opinions  expressed  are  of  a  very  conflicting  character.  It  is 
held  by  some  that  the  pasteurized  or  sterilized  milk  is  as 
digestible  and  as  good  in  every  other  respect  as  raw  milk, 
whilst  others  contend  that  it  is  less  digestible,  and  that 
children  fed  upon  it  are  liable  to  attacks  of  infantile  scurvy 
and  rickets. 


MILK  125 

With  reference  to  the  relative  digestibility  of  raw  and 
boiled  milk,  it  seems  probable  that  individual  idiosyncrasies 
may  account  for  the  different  results  obtained  by  different 
observers.  Thus  Hutchinson  says  that  boiled  milk  clots  in 
the  stomach  exactly  in  the  same  way  as  raw  milk ;  whilst 
others  argue  that,  because  the  clot  formed  in  vitro  is  less 
dense  and  appears  more  slowly  after  the  milk  has  been  boiled, 
it  must  do  the  same  in  the  stomach.  Even  if  such  were  the 
case  this  is  no  proof  of  the  digestibility  being  decreased  or  the 
nutritive  value  impaired.  On  the  contrary,  some  assert  that 
the  use  of  boiled  milk  prevents  the  formation  of  compact  curds 
in  the  stomachs  of  children,  and  is  therefore  an  advantage. 
Many  experiments  have  been  made  by  swallowing  definite 
quantities  of  milk  and  washing  out  the  stomach  after  known 
intervals.  The  results  of  these  experiments  are  conflicting, 
some  observers  finding  that  the  raw  milk  is  more  quickly 
digested,  and  others  that  the  boiled  milk  more  rapidly 
disappears.  The  difference  in  any  case  cannot  be  very  great, 
and  may  depend  upon  the  individual.  The  more  serious 
charge  against  pasteurized  and  sterilized  milks,  that  they  tend 
to  produce  a  form  of  scurvy,  is  based  on  the  observations  of 
physicians  and  may  be  founded  on  fact. 

Dr.  Clement  Dukes  l  has  very  strong  views  on  this  subject. 
He  believes  that  the  use  of  cooked  milk  is  the  cause  not  only 
of  infantile  scurvy  but  also  of  rickets ;  he  maintains  that  the 
injury  inflicted  upon  the  children  of  the  present  generation  by 
the  use  of  cooked  milk  far  exceeds  that  caused  by  the  use  of 
raw  milk.  He  quotes  the  results  of  the  investigation  made  in 
1896  by  the  American  Psediatric  Association  on  the  nature  of 
the  food  used  by  children  suffering  from  infantile  scurvy  ;  379 
cases  were  investigated  with  the  following  results  : 

Food  No.  of  cases 

Breast  milk 10 

Breast  milk  with  other  foods          ....         2 

Eaw  cows'  milk 5 

Pasteurized  milk   .......      20 

1  Lancet,  January  31,  1903. 


126  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

Food  No.  of  cases 

Condensed  milk     .  .  .         .  '  .  .'  .      60 

Sterilized  milk       .  .  .         .  .  .  .     107 

Proprietary  foods  .  .  .  .  .  .     214 

The  total,  418,  is  due  to  the  fact  that  children  fed  on  more 
than  one  kind  of  milk  are  enumerated  under  each  appropriate 
heading;  thus  a  child  which  had  been  fed  on  sterilized  milk 
and  some  patent  food  would  be  entered  under  both.  There  is 
a  fairly  general  consensus  of  opinion  amongst  those  who  have 
studied  the  subject  and  had  the  opportunity  of  making  observa- 
tions, that  scurvy-rickets  occurs  chiefly  amongst  the  children  of 
the  better  classes,  and  especially  amongst  those  who  take  the 
precaution  of  boiling  all  milk  before  allowing  it  to  be  used,  or 
who  purchase  sterilized  milk.  Children  using  such  milk  are 
not  infrequently  found  to  show  signs  of  impaired  nutrition,  yet 
to  improve  rapidly  when  raw  milk  is  substituted  for  the 
sterilized.  Frequently,  however,  proprietary  foods  are  used 
with  the  milk,  and  many  of  these  are  well  known  to  tend  to 
cause  scurvy-rickets. 

This  subject  is  becoming  increasingly  important  on  account 
of  the  number  of  towns  in  which  the  authorities  are  establishing 
depots  for  supplying  'humanized  milk.'  This  system  was 
started  in  France,  and  in  several  towns  humanized  sterilized 
milk  has  been  supplied  by  associations  for  over  ten  years.  The 
milk  is  properly  prepared,  measured  into  bottles,  each  containing 
sufficient  for  one  meal,  and  then  sterilized,  after  which  the 
bottles  are  sealed  and  the  milk  distributed.  The  infants  using 
the  milk  are  weighed  each  week,  and  a  record  of  their  weight 
and  general  condition  is  kept.  Dr.  Variot,  who  has  made  a 
special  study  of  this  subject,  says  that  at  some  depots  150  to 
200  children  are  constantly  under  observation.  Many  of  these 
when  they  first  come  under  observation  at  the  depots  are  in  a 
wasting  condition,  some  are  in  an  advanced  stage  of  atrophy. 
'  The  tracings  of  their  growth,  without  being  as  perfect  as  in 
the  case  of  infants  nursed  by  their  mother,  are  nevertheless 
satisfactory  in  general.' l  The  proportion  of  infants  incapable 

1  Dr.  Ransom,  British  Medical  Journal,  February  22,  1902 


MILK  127 

of  assimilating  the  milk  does  not  exceed  4  per  cent,  of  the 
total  number  using  it.  He  has  never  met  with  a  case  of  rickets 
or  infantile  scurvy  which  could  in  any  way  be  attributed  to  the 
sterilized  milk.  Dr.  Eansom,  referring  to  the  results  obtained 
at  the  Nottingham  General  Hospital,  where  the  milk  is  sterilized 
by  being  kept  at  the  boiling-point  for  about  ten  minutes,  says 
that  the  improvement  which  occurs  in  the  nutrition  of  wasted 
infants  brought  into  the  hospital  is  rapid  and  striking,  and  he 
has  never  known  scurvy-rickets  or  atrophy  result  from  the 
feeding  of  infants  with  such  milk.  Dr.  Eansom  quotes  the 
experience  of  other  physicians  to  the  same  effect.  One  of  us 
has  made  inquiries  from  the  medical  officers  of  the  English 
towns  where  such  milk  depots  have  been  in  existence  two 
years  and  upwards,  and  they  are  unanimous  in  asserting  that 
no  harmful  effects  of  any  kind  result  from  the  supply  of  sterilized 
milk,  and  that  the  children  fed  thereon  thrive  lustily,  and  are 
less  liable  to  suffer  from  infantile  diarrhosa  than  those  fed  on 
raw  milk.  When  we  consider  also  that  on  the  Continent  it  is 
the  rule  to  sterilize  milk  before  use,  and  that  cases  of  infantile 
scurvy  and  scurvy-rickets  are  very  rare,  it  is  obvious  that  the 
danger  of  contracting  these  diseases  from  the  use  of  boiled  milk 
is  very  slight  indeed,  and  has  been  grossly  exaggerated.  It  is 
possible,  however,  that  even  the  infinitesimal  danger  could  be 
avoided  if  milk  were  merely  pasteurized  instead  of  being 
sterilized.  The  distribution  of  pasteurized  milk  could  only  be 
effectually  conducted  by  associations  or  public  authorities. 
This  is  done  in  Copenhagen  by  an  association  called  '  The 
Milk  Supply  Pasteur,'  and  the  following  description  of  the 
methods  of  preparing  and  distributing  the  milk  is  taken  from 
the  report  of  the  Departmental  Committee  on  the  use  of 
preservatives : 

'  This  firm,  which  has  been  in  operation  for  five  years,  and 
which  deals  in  the  main  with  bottled  milk,  was  devised  and 
projected  by  Director  Krohne,  and  with  the  scientific  co-opera- 
tion of  Professor  Faber  and  Dr.  Schierbeck  of  Copenhagen. 
The  staff  is  a  large  one,  300  workers,  including  boys,  being 


128  PEESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

employed,  and  eighty  horses  being  necessary.  There  is  an  ice- 
making  plant  on  the  premises.  About  40,000  bottles  of  milk 
are  pasteurized  daily. 

'  The  farmers  supplying  the  milk  are  under  detailed  control, 
and  every  month  ot  three  weeks  the  farms  are  visited  by  a 
veterinary  surgeon  attached  to  the  establishment.  There  are 
fixed  regulations  as  to  the  fodder  of  the  cows,  for  treatment  of 
the  milk,  and  for  the  notification  of  tuberculosis. 

'  The  institution  itself  is  situated  in  the  outskirts  of  Copen- 
hagen, and  the  railway  wagons  which  convey  the  milk  to 
Copenhagen  are  not  provided  with  ice-chambers.  The  milk 
on  reaching  the  factory  is  received  into  a  reservoir,  when  it  is 
duly  weighed  and  strained,  and  from  this  it  is  pumped  to  a 
filter  consisting  of  layers  of  gravel  and  felt,  the  whole  apparatus 
being  carefully  sterilized  daily. 

'  After  filtration  the  milk  passes  to  the  cooling  apparatus, 
and  from  this  to  a  second  reservoir,  from  which  it  is  pumped 
to  the  pasteurizing  apparatus  (which  is  also  sterilized  daily 
after  use),  where  it  is  raised  to  a  temperature  of  85°  C.,  the 
whole  process  being  so  arranged  as  to  exclude  the  admission 
of  air-borne  organisms.  The  milk  is  then  cooled  to  about 
3°  C.,  the  pasteurizing  and  cooling  occupying  altogether  about 
five  minutes.  From  the  cooler  the  milk  is  led  to  a  reservoir, 
also  guarded  against  the  entry  of  extraneous  organisms,  and 
from  there  to  the  bottle-feeding  apparatus,  a  machine  fitted 
with  tubes,  by  means  of  which  the  bottles  can  be  conveniently 
filled. 

'  The  bottles,  which  are  furnished  with  glass  stoppers,  are, 
after  being  filled,  carefully  sealed  to  prevent  their  being  tam- 
pered with. 

*  The  employees  who  are  brought  in  contact  with  the  milk 
are  all  under  medical  supervision.  In  the  event  of  their  being 
ill  they  are  refused  admission  to  the  factory,  and  the  same 
exclusion  obtains  if  infectious  disease  is  present  in  their  homes. 
They  receive  under  such  circumstances  full  pay  during  their 
absence. 


MILK  129 

'  The  bottles  which  are  used  for  small  quantities  of  milk,  as 
also  the  cans  which  are  used  for  large  institutions,  are  first 
thoroughly  cleansed  in  hot  water  to  which  soda  has  been 
added — the  interior  of  the  bottles  being  washed  out  by  means 
of  revolving  brushes — and  after  this  they  are  completely 
sterilized  in  a  large  steam  disinfector,  which  is  kept  at  a 
temperature  of  105°  C.  for  half  an  hour. 

'  The  several  processes  are  daily  under  control,  both  chemi- 
cally and  bacteriologically.  Specimens  of  pasteurized  milk 
are  tested  daily  by  Professor  Storch's  reaction  to  ascertain 
whether  or  not  pasteurization  has  been  properly  accomplished. 
Bacteriological  examinations  are  made  daily,  and  the  per- 
centage of  fat  is  also  estimated. 

'  The  advantages  claimed  by  the  process  may  be  thus 
summarized : 

'  1.  All  danger  from  the  possibility  of  infection  of  the  milk, 
either  at  the  farms  or  during  transit,  is  thereby  discounted. 

'  2.  The  distribution  of  the  milk  in  sealed  bottles  is  a  safe- 
guard against  its  infection  or  contamination  in  the  milk  shops 
or  in  the  streets. 

'  3.  The  milk  awaiting  consumption  in  the  houses  is  kept 
free  from  contamination  by  means  of  flies,  dust,  or  polluted  air. 

'  It  is  claimed  that  this  is  the  only  practicable  bottle  system 
for  milk  at  moderate  price,  and  that  the  pasteurization  of  the 
milk  places  less  onus  on  the  farmers  as  to  cooling,  &c.' 

Although  this  company  sends  the  milk  out  in  bottles 
chiefly,  there  is  no  reason  why  the  distribution  should  not 
take  place  in  the  usual  way,  if  desired. 

The  chief  objection  to  these  heating  processes  is  that  they 
are  not  necessary,  since  a  simpler  method  is  available  for 
keeping  milk  sweet  for  a  reasonable  time,  a  process  which  does 
not  reduce  its  nutritive  value  in  any  way :  we  refer  to  the 
preservation  by  '  cooling  '  of  milk  from  healthy  cows,  collected 
under  sanitary  conditions.  This  will,  of  course,  necessitate 
proper  supervision  of  the  cows,  the  proper  construction  of 
cow-sheds,  cleanly  methods  of  milking  and  of  storing  milk. 

9 


130  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

No  doubt  all  this  means  trouble  to  the  farmer,  trouble  which 
he  is  averse  to  taking  and  probably  never  will  take.  If  such 
is  the  case,  the  next  best  plan  is  to  pasteurize  the  milk,  thereby 
killing  all  the  known  disease-producing  organisms,  and  most 
of  the  other  organisms  which  enter  the  milk  from  diseased 
cows,  dirty  udders,  dirty  milkers,  unclean  utensils,  &c. 

To  sum  up  what  has  been  said  with  regard  to  milk,  we  are 
of  opinion  that  if  chemical  preservatives  are  added  the  quantity 
of  the  latter  which  will  be  consumed  by  infants  and  children 
and  invalids  is  so  considerable  that  there  is  an  appreciable 
danger  of  injury  to  health,  partly  owing  to  the  comparatively 
large  amount  of  the  antiseptic  necessary  for  efficient  preserva- 
tion, partly  to  the  opportunities  which  occur  for  repeated 
addition  of  the  preservative,  and  partly  to  the  difficulty  of 
enforcing  declaration  or  any  legal  limit.  With  the  present 
system  of  house-to-house  delivery  it  is  obviously  impossible 
for  the  presence  of  a  preservative  to  be  efficiently  declared.  The 
addition  of  preservatives  is  particularly  objectionable  in  the 
case  of  infants  and  of  persons  suffering  from  certain  diseases  in 
which  milk  is  largely  employed  as  a  food,  and  in  which  the 
preservatives  commonly  in  use  are  contra-indicated  on  account 
of  either  deficient  excretory  power  or  abnormal  conditions  of 
the  digestive  organs.  To  this  may  be  added  the  idiosyncrasy 
which  undoubtedly  exists  with  regard  to  boric  and  salicylic 
acids. 

On  the  other  hand,  due  consideration  should  be  given  to 
the  effect  of  partially  decomposed  milk,  during  the  hot  weather 
especially,  a  change  which  is  to  some  extent  checked  by  the 
introduction  of  antiseptics ;  and  there  is  no  doubt  that,  with 
the  milk  as  it  is,  this  is  a  real  danger,  and  it  must  continue  so 
until  the  traffic  is  conducted  on  more  enlightened  principles  as 
regards  cleanliness,  asepsis,  and  refrigeration. 

We  have,  however,  indicated  methods  by  which  too  rapid 
change  can  be  prevented,  and  the  milk  kept  perfectly  sweet 
and  wholesome  for  a  sufficient  length  of  time.  Of  the  two, 
refrigeration  and  pasteurization,  the  former  is  in  our  opinion 


MILK  131 

greatly  to  be  preferred,  as  it  necessitates  cleanliness  in  the 
production  of  the  niilk,  whilst  pasteurization  and  sterilization 
will  tend  to  the  negligence  of  the  precautions  necessary  for 
the  production  of  a  pure,  clean  milk.  Whichever  is  adopted, 
the  keeping  of  milk  in  the  dwellings  of  the  poor  will  always 
be  a  difficulty,  but  it  may  in  a  measure  be  overcome  by  the 
gradual  spread  of  education,  and  the  improvement  in  the 
housing  of  this  portion  of  the  community. 

Looking  at  the  subject  purely  from  the  sanitary  standpoint, 
the  case  against  the  use  of  preservatives  is  a  clear  one.  What 
the  effect  of  the  prohibition  of  their  use  would  be  on  the  small 
retail  trader  is  a  matter  for  conjecture.  It  would  probably 
result  in  his  disappearance  except  in  rural  districts ;  and 
already  this  process  is  in  progress  in  large  towns,  where  dairy 
companies  are  gradually  displacing  their  smaller  rivals.  This 
is  not  an  unmixed  evil,  if  it  can  even  be  called  an  evil,  since 
many  retailers  in  towns  carry  on  their  trade  in  premises  quite 
unsuited  for  the  business.  This  natural  disappearance  of  the 
less  fit  will  cause  less  outcry  than  the  enforcement  of  oppres- 
sive (?)  measures  by  the  local  authorities. 

These  views  are  to  a  large  extent  borne  out  by  the  evidence 
given  before  the  Departmental  Committee,  by  many  witnesses 
connected  with  the  dairying  industry.  Whilst  some  of  them 
considered  that  the  prohibition  of  the  use  of  preservatives 
would  result  in  the  monopolization  of  the  milk  trade  by  large 
companies,  others  admitted  that  every  town  could  be  supplied 
with  good  milk  free  from  preservatives,  and  were  ready  to 
welcome  the  prohibition  of  their  use.  In  fact  the  Dairy 
Produce  Association  of  the  Central  Chamber  of  Agriculture 
forwarded  to  the  Departmental  Committee  the  following 
resolution  : 

'  That  this  meeting  is  opposed  to  the  employment  of 
preservatives  (and  colouring  matter)  in  articles  of  dairy 
produce,  whether  British  or  imported,  and  that  it  be  an 
instruction  to  the  witnesses  appointed  by  this  Chamber  to 
give  evidence  before  the  Departmental  Committee  to  urge 


132  PEESEBVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

that,  as  preservatives  (and  colouring  matter)  are  believed  to- 
be  deleterious  to  the  health  of  invalids  and  children,  their  use 
should  be  prohibited.' 

In  this  country  we  are  far  behind  others  in  appreciating 
the  dangers  arising  from  the  use  of  unclean  milk,  and  in  the 
steps  taken  to  prevent  the  injury  arising  therefrom.  We 
have  already  referred  to  what  is  being  done  in  Copenhagen,, 
and  the  action  now  being  taken  by  the  city  of  New  York 
is  well  worth  consideration,  as  it  will  probably  be  of  greater 
advantage  than  the  mere  establishment  of  depots  from  the 
sale  of  humanized  milk  for  children  only.  Dr.  Chapin  ia 
the  originator  of  the  scheme  for  providing  a  pure  milk  supply 
by  the  simple  method  of  cleanliness  and  cooling.  Through 
his  efforts  a  Committee  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  County 
of  New  York  held  consultations  with  the  milk  dealers,  with 
the  result  that  a  series  of  rules  were  drawn  up,  and  the 
milk  dealers  complying  with  them  were  authorized  to  use 
caps  on  their  milk  cans  stamped  '  Certified  by  the  Commission 
of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  County  of  New  York,'  or 
'  Inspected  Milk  Commission  Medical  Society,  County  of  New 
York.' 

A  full  account  of  the  rules  is  given  in  the  '  British  Medical; 
Journal,'  April  18,  1903.  In  view  of  the  general  opinion 
of  English  farmers,  one  of  the  most  interesting  regulations 
for  the  '  inspected  '  milk  is  to  the  effect  that  it  must  '  average 
4  per  cent,  of  butter  fat.'  The  cooling  of  the  milk  must 
commence  within  thirty  minutes  from  the  time  of  milking, 
and  the  temperature  of  the  milk  must  be  reduced  to  55°  F, 
within  two  hours,  and  to  50°  F.  within  three  hours,  and  be 
kept  at  this  latter  temperature  until  delivered  to  the  con^ 
sumer.  When  delivered  it  must  not  average  over  100,000 
bacteria  per  cubic  centimetre  from  May  1  to  September  30, 
and  not  over  60,000  from  October  1  to  April  30. 

The  provision  of  pure  milk,  without  resorting  to  pasteuriza-. 
tion  or  sterilization  is,  however,  now  receiving  increased 
attention  in  this  country,  and  there  are  grounds  for  hoping 


MILK  133 

that  improved   methods  will  gradually  become   more  widely 
adopted. 

Among  other  instances  may  be  mentioned  the  model  farm 
at  Sudbury,  Middlesex,  and  a  private  farm  near  York  managed 
by  Mr.  Sorensen.  Mr.  Sorensen  is  of  opinion  that  clean 
bottled  milk  could  be  retailed  at  the  same  price  as  is  at 
present  obtained  for  ordinary  milk,  if  customers  would 
be  content  with  a  single  daily  delivery,  as  in  many  towns 
abroad.  In  Leeds  the  City  Council  had  for  some  time  con- 
sidered the  question  of  providing  a  depot  for  the  distribution 
of  bottled  milk  chiefly  for  the  poor,  and,  after  making  many 
inquiries  into  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  sterilization 
and  pasteurization,  it  was  decided  in  the  first  instance  to  rely 
upon  cleanliness,  straining,  and  refrigeration  alone.  Owing  to 
certain  legal  difficulties  of  a  financial  character,  the  Council 
were  unable  to  undertake  the  entire  management,  but  a  depot 
has  been  started  by  means  of  private  subscriptions  which 
promises  to  give  favourable  results,  and  this  will  no  doubt  be 
continued  by  the  Council  when  the  necessary  powers  have 
been  obtained.  A  contract  has  been  made  with  a  farmer, 
whose  farm  premises  are  of  a  satisfactory  nature,  for  the 
supply  of  milk  under  conditions  of  strict  cleanliness.  The 
milkers  are  provided  with  clean  overalls,  and  are  required 
to  keep  their  hands  in  a  cleanly  condition.  The  cows  are 
examined  at  frequent  intervals  by  a  veterinary  surgeon,  and 
their  udders  and  flanks  are  cleaned  prior  to  milking.  The 
process  of  milking  is  periodically  supervised.  All  the  vessels 
employed  are  thoroughly  scalded  after  use.  The  cows  are 
milked  in  their  byre,  but  it  is  probable  that  in  course  of 
time  a  special  shed  will  be  found  to  be  desirable  for  this 
purpose.  The  milk  is  at  once  removed  to  a  building  only  a 
few  minutes'  distance  from  the  farm,  where  it  is  strained 
through  a  filter,  passed  over  a  cooler  supplied  with  ice-water, 
and  at  once  bottled  into  sterilized  stoppered  bottles,  which  are 
then  placed  in  ice.  The  morning's  milk  is  ready  for  distribu- 
tion by  about  10  A.M.,  and  the  afternoon's  by  about  6  P.M.  ; 


134  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

the  latter  is,  however,  usually  kept  in  ice  until  the  following 
morning. 

Too  short  a  time  has  elapsed  to  form  a  complete  opinion  as 
to  the  success  of  the  scheme,  but  the  results  of  repeated 
bacteriological  examinations  are  encouraging,  both  as  regards 
the  total  number  of  organisms  present,  and  the  presence  or 
absence  of  organisms  of  the  B.  coli  group.  It  is  the  exception 
for  the  latter  to  be  absent  in  -^  to  -joW  c-c-  °^  ordinary  milk, 
whereas  they  have  only  been  found  on  very  rare  occasions  in 
similar  quantities  of  the  bottled  milk.  The  afternoon  milk, 
as  sold  the  following  morning,  frequently  contains  less  than 
10,000  organisms  per  cubic  centimetre.  The  bacterial  con- 
tents of  the  morning  milk  are  usually  higher,  the  difference 
probably  being  due  to  the  cleanlier  conditions  of  the  byre  in 
the  afternoon.  It  will  probably  be  necessary  to  have  a 
special  shed  for  the  milking  process,  as  time  does  not  allow  for 
a  thorough  cleansing  of  the  byre  before  the  morning  milking 
takes  place. 

In  concluding  this  section  certain  recent  introductions, 
which  may  have  some  effect  on  our  milk  supply,  may  receive 
brief  reference.  The  first  is  the  preservation  of  milk,  after 
pasteurizing  at  a  rather  low  temperature,  by  the  introduction 
of  a  mixture  of  carbon  dioxide  and  oxygen.  The  company 
which  owns  this  patent  claims  that  milk  so  treated  will  remain 
sweet  for  several  months.  The  process  is  somewhat  as  follows. 
The  milk  is  first  heated  to  150°  F.,  and  then  forced  in  a  fine  jet 
against  an  agate  piston  to  break  up  the  fat  globules.  It  is 
then  cooled  to  40°  F.,  and  charged  in  bottles  with  a  mixture  of 
3  parts  of  oxygen  and  1  part  of  carbonic  acid  at  a  pressure  of 
50  Ibs.  to  the  square  inch.  The  bottled  milk  is  heated  to  150°  F., 
then  cooled,  and  the  process  is  again  repeated,  after  which 
the  milk  is  ready  for  sale.  The  milk  is  said  to  be  chemically 
unchanged,  and  to  be  as  palatable  as,  or  more  palatable  than, 
raw  milk.  The  trouble  and  expense  involved  in  this  process 
will  probably  prevent  its  ever  being  widely  adopted.  In  a 
previous  section  reference  has  been  made  to  the  use  of  peroxide 


MILK  135 

of  hydrogen  as  a  preservative  for  milk.  In  Denmark  large 
companies  have  already  adopted  Budde's  process  in  lieu  of 
pasteurization,  and  it  is  alleged  that  the  product  keeps  better 
and  retains  all  the  virtues  of  the  raw  milk  which  pasteurized 
milk  admittedly  does  not.  An  attempt  is  being  made  to  intro- 
duce the  process  into  this  country,  and  '  Buddeized  '  milk  will 
probably  soon  be  found  upon  the  market.  It  can  be  delivered 
in  the  ordinary  way,  or  in  sealed  bottles.  In  the  latter  case 
sufficient  milk  can  be  purchased  at  one  time  to  last  one  or  two 
weeks  or  more.  If  experience  shows  that  the  nutritive  effects 
of  the  milk  are  not  impaired  there  is  no  doubt  a  great  future 
for  this  process,  but  it  is  sincerely  to  be  hoped,  that  the  fact 
that  the  milk  will  ultimately  be  sterilized  will  not  lead  to 
further  carelessness  on  the  part  of  the  milk  producers  and 
dairymen.  So  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  '  Buddeized  '  milk  is 
superior  to  pasteurized  milk,  and  if  it  can  be  sold  at  the  same 
price  as  ordinary  milk,  as  is  alleged,  it  must  command  a  large 
sale.  Dr.  Hewlett ]  says  that  15  c.c.  of  a  3  per  cent,  hydrogen 
peroxide  solution  is  required  to  sterilize  one  litre  of  milk,  so 
that  the  quantity  of  water  added  to  the  milk  amounts  to  1'5 
per  cent.  The  cost  of  the  chemical  is  insignificant,  as  dilute 
solutions  are  obtainable  at  about  2s.  per  gallon.  The  cost  of 
the  chemical  would  therefore  be  about  one  halfpenny  per 
gallon  of  milk  treated.  The  cost  of  the  plant  necessary  is  not 
great,  but  is  probably  more  than  the  small  farmers  will  care  to 
lay  out,  in  which  case  the  milk  supply  will  the  more  rapidly  pass 
into  the  hands  of  the  large  companies,  especially  in  towns.  A  third 
innovation  is  the  introduction  of  '  dried  milk.'  This  is  a  flaky 
preparation,  made  by  the  rapid  evaporation  of  the  milk  at  a 
temperature  of  from  220°  F.  to  230°  F.  The  product  is  flaked, 
or  converted  into  a  fine  powder,  or  compressed  into  tablets. 
One  pound  of  the  powder  is  about  equivalent  to  1  gallon  of 
milk,  and  the  solution  in  water  has  somewhat  the  appearance 
of  milk  and  the  flavour  is  apparently  unaltered.  Provided  that 
good  clean  milk  is  used  in  the  manufacture  of  the  dried  article, 

1  The  Lancet,  January  27,  1906. 


136  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

and  that  the  desiccation  is  carried  out  immediately  after  milking, 
the  product  from  the  chemical  and  bacteriological  point  should 
be  excellent.  The  powder  will  probably  be  in  great  demand, 
but  at  present  it  is  impossible  to  form  an  opinion  upon  its 
dietetic  value,  or  to  say  whether  its  use  will  be  liable  to  produce 
infantile  scurvy  or  rickets.  When  dissolved  in  water  the 
product  differs  little  from  the  original  milk,  but  the  percentage 
of  butter  fat  seems  to  be  slightly  lowered,  and  there  is  some 
change  in  the  casein,  which  results,  however,  in  its  forming 
with  gastric  juice  a  fairly  granular  clot  comparable  with  that 
from  human  milk.  Medical  men  who  have  used  it  in  in- 
stitutions and  in  private  practice  regard  the  results  as  being 
satisfactory. 


CHAPTER  X 


CREAM,  BUTTER,  MARGARINE 

Cream. — The  principal  chemical  substances  used  for  preserv- 
ing cream  are  the  same  as  those  employed  for  milk :  namely, 
boron  compounds,  and  formic  aldehyde ;  the  former  is  frequently 
combined  with  salicylic  acid,  salt,  saltpetre,  saccharin,  and 
cane-sugar,  but  occasionally  salt  and  saltpetre  are  used  alone. 
The  employment  of  '  saccharated  lime '  has  already  been 
referred  to. 

A  much  greater  proportion  of  samples  of  cream  contain 
these  preservatives  than  occurs  in  the  case  of  milk,  owing, 
probably,  to  the  fact  that  the  former  is  largely  sold  by  grocers, 
which  entails  storage  for  a  considerable  time. 

This  substance,  in  which  the  opportunities  for  bacterial 
pollution  are  equally  great  as  in  milk,  is  not  often  taken  for 
analysis,  but  an  idea  can  be  obtained  as  to  the  prevalence 
of  the  use  of  preservatives  when  it  is  stated  that  the  latter 
were  found  in  all  of  six  samples  analyzed  by  Mr.  Collingwood 
Williams,  in  seven  out  of  eight  samples  by  Dr.  Hill,  and  in  all 
of  eleven  samples  supplied  to  St.  George's  and  St.  Mary's 
Hospitals.1 

The  following  are  the  maximum  quantities  of  boric  acid 
which  have  been  found  by  different  observers  : 2 


Authority 

Percentage 

Grains  per  pint 

Mr.  0.  Hehner     . 

0-800 

70-0 

Government  Laboratory 

0-651 

57-0 

Dr.  A.  Hill  . 

0-600 

52-5 

Mr.  C.  E.  Cassal  . 

0-515 

45-0 

Mr.  James  Hudson 

0-450 

39-4 

Mr.  W.  C.  Williams      . 

0-434 

38-0 

Mr.  C.  W.  Sorensen     . 

0-225 

19-7 

1  Report  of  Departmental  Committee. 


Ibid. 


138  PKESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

The  amounts  of  the  trade  preparations  of  boron  recom- 
mended for  the  preservation  of  cream  vary  from  about  6 '2  to 
54-6  grains  per  pint  expressed  as  boric  acid,  and  similar 
quantities  were  stated  to  be  used  by  various  dairymen  in 
supplying  information  with  regard  to  this  point.1 

The  difficulties  which  exist  in  estimating  the  quantity  of 
formaldehyde  apply  to  cream  equally  with  milk.  One  example 
examined  in  the  Government  Laboratory  was  found  to  contain 
less  than  1  part  of  formalin  in  100,000,  though  it  is  doubtful  if 
so  small  a  quantity  would  have  any  considerable  preservative 
effect. 

Salicylic  acid  is,  as  has  been  mentioned,  generally  employed 
in  conjunction  with  boron  compounds,  and  only  small  and 
innocuous  quantities  would  therefore  be  present,  unless  the 
mixture  were  recklessly  used. 

The  same  applies  to  salt  and  saltpetre,  though  the  latter  is 
occasionally  used  alone  in  the  proportion  of  about  2^  to  3  grains 
per  pint. 

The  question  of  the  possible  danger  to  health  involved  by 
the  introduction  of  antiseptics  is  slightly  different  in  the  case 
of  cream  from  that  of  milk,  for,  although  larger  amounts  of 
these  chemicals  are  necessary,  in  view  of  the  longer  period  for 
which  storage  is  required,  the  volume  of  cream  consumed  is 
very  much  less.  Of  the  three  preservatives,  boric  acid,  formic 
aldehyde,  and  salicylic  acid,  the  first  is  the  least  likely  to  be 
harmful,  and  if  limited  to  one-quarter  per  cent,  (a  little  over 
20  grains  per  pint),  as  recommended  by  the  Departmental 
Committee,  there  is  little  probability  that  any  harm  will  result 
in  the  case  of  a  healthy  adult,  even  supposing  that  he  consumed 
as  much  as  2  ounces  of  cream  every  day,  a  somewhat  unlikely 
supposition. 

On  the  other  hand,  cream  is  frequently  administered,  partly 

as  a  substitute  for  cod-liver  oil,  to  infants,  children,  and  persons 

suffering  from  anaemia,  phthisis,  and  various  wasting  diseases. 

Even  in  this  class  of  persons  the  small  quantity  of  boric  acid 

1  Report  of  Departmental  Committee. 


CEEAM,  BUTTEE,  MAEGAEINE  139 

which  would  be  thus  taken  is  not  likely  to  cause  injury  to  health, 
unless  further  quantities  are  at  the  same  time  introduced  in 
the  various  other  common  articles  of  food  for  which  boron 
compounds  are  employed. 

Occasionally,  however,  a  mixture  of  cream  and  water  is 
used  as  a  substitute  for  milk  for  hand-fed  infants  with  whom 
the  latter  disagrees :  Biedert,  for  instance,  recommends  4 
ounces  of  cream  with  12  ounces  of  warm  water  and  half  an 
ounce  of  milk  sugar  for  a  baby  a  few  weeks  old.  This  would 
result  in  a  daily  dose  of  5  grains  of  boric  acid,  a  very  excessive 
quantity  at  such  an  age. 

For  the  protection,  therefore,  of  infants  and  invalids  it  is 
absolutely  necessary  that  the  preservative,  if  permitted,  should 
be  declared  on  the  containing  vessel,  together  with  the  quantity 
used,  so  that  the  medical  man  in  attendance  can  forbid  the  use 
of  such  cream  if  he  thinks  it  likely  to  do  harm.  Unfortunately 
the  prevalence  of  the  use  of  antiseptics  and  the  possible 
effects  of  the  amounts  used  are  not  so  widely  recognized  by  the 
medical  profession  as  they  should  be,  and  the  purchase  of  such 
articles  of  food  is  of  necessity  left  to  the  head  of  the  household, 
who  cannot  be  expected  to  recognize  the  possible  danger  of  the 
addition  of  preservatives.  There  is  no  doubt  that,  if  prohibi- 
tion were  enforced,  the  supply  of  cream  would  be  entirely 
limited  to  the  fresh  article,  or  to  that  which  had  been  subjected 
to  sterilization  ;  but  as  it  is  a  great  convenience  to  be  able  to 
purchase  cream  from  grocers  and  others  who  stock  the  article, 
possibly  the  declaration  and  limitation  of  the  amount  of  pre- 
servative used  would  prove  sufficient  protection  to  the  health 
even  of  those  who  take  considerable  quantities. 

There  is  a  further  danger  which  must  be  borne  in  mind : 
namely,  that  if  the  preservative  is  simply  powdered  on  the  top 
of  the  cream,  admixture  will  almost  certainly  not  take  place, 
and  the  top  layer  may  therefore  contain  a  very  large  quantity 
of  the  chemical.  This  has  actually  been  known  to  occur. 

That  cream  can  be  sold  without  a  preservative  is  shown  by 
the  fact  that  the  Aylesbury  Dairy  Company,  who  formerly 


140  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

added  0-2  per  cent,  of  boric  acid,  have  for  several  years  been 
able  to  supply  cream  absolutely  free  from  antiseptics,  and  the 
same  is  the  case  of  the  cream  supply  in  Copenhagen.1 

A  daily  supply,  in  conjunction  with  the  precautions  as  to 
cleanliness  and  refrigeration  mentioned  when  the  question  of 
milk  was  discussed,  are  all  that  is  necessary  for  this  purpose. 

The  use  of  formalin  is  objectionable  on  two  grounds : 
first,  that  as  there  is  at  present  no  reliable  method  of 
estimating  the  amount  originally  added,  the  enforcement  of 
a  legal  limit  is  impossible  ;  and  second,  that  it  appears  to 
be  a  far  more  potent  substance  than  boric  acid,  and  likely, 
therefore,  to  act  more  injuriously  on  the  human  economy. 

Salicylic  acid  does  not  seem  to  be  an  efficacious  antiseptic 
for  dairy  products,  whilst  its  medicinal  effects  are  more  marked 
than  those  of  boric  acid,  and  similarly  saltpetre  presents  no 
advantage  over  this  antiseptic. 

We  are  led,  therefore,  to  the  conclusion  that  so  long  as 
boric  acid  is  used,  and  is  carefully  mixed  with  the  cream  in  a 
proportion  not  exceeding  one-quarter  per  cent.,  harm  is  scarcely 
likely  to  accrue  save  under  exceptional  circumstances,  whilst  if 
the  use  of  preservatives  were  prohibited,  cream  could  only, 
under  the  present  conditions,  be  distributed  by  a  daily  supply. 
The  question  of  sterilization  with  the  subsequent  exclusion  of 
air  has  not  been  much  discussed,  though  there  is  no  obvious 
reason  why  this  method  should  not  be  employed  by  grocers 
and  others  who  wish  to  stock  cream  for  considerable  periods. 

Possibly  after  the  addition  of  preservatives  to  milk  has 
practically  ceased — a  process  which  is  almost  sure  to  occur 
either  by  statute  or  by  frequent  successful  prosecutions — 
the  introduction  of  more  cleanly  methods  of  milking,  and 
greater  facilities  for  cooling  and  cold  storage,  may  lead  to  the 
spontaneous  abolition  of  antiseptics  in  cream  also. 

In  any  case  the  declaration  of  the  amount  would  give 
medical  men  an  opportunity  of  studying  the  effects  of  small 
doses  of  boric  acid  on  the  consumer,  and  if  these  are  found  to 

1  Report  of  Departmental  Committee. 


CEEAM,  BUTTEB,  MAEGAEINE  141 

be  harmful,  the  necessary  steps  could  be  taken  to  prevent  its. 
being  employed. 

The  addition  of  alkalis,  such  as  sodium  bicarbonate  and 
lime,  to  cream  cannot  but  be  prejudicial,  as  these  substancea 
possess  little  or  no  antiseptic  properties,  and  only  tend  to  mask 
fermentative  changes,  and  so  lead  to  a  false  sense  of  security. 

The  only  other  dairy  product  in  which  preservatives  are 
frequently  found  is  butter.  They  are  apparently  not  present 
in  condensed  milk  or  in  ordinary  cheese,  since  in  the  Govern- 
ment Laboratory  196  samples  of  cheese  and  eighty-six  samples 
of  condensed  milk  were  examined  without  detecting  any  pre- 
servative. 

It  is  probable,  however,  that  had  some  of  the  many 
varieties  of  cream  cheese  been  examined,  preservatives  would 
have  been  found. 

Butter. — The  process  of   butter-making  is  an  example  of 
the  decomposition  of  some  of  the  constituents  of  cream  by 
bacterial  agency.     The  flavour  of  a  sample  of  butter  is  entirely 
due  to  these  products  of  decomposition,  and  it  has  been  con- 
clusively  proved   that   objectionable    qualities,   such   as   that 
occurring  in  '  turnipy  '  butter,  are  due  not  to  the  pasturage,  but 
to  a  special  micro-organism  which  has  found  its  way  into  the 
cream,  and  set  up  a  form  of  decomposition  leading  to  the  pro- 
duction of  a  taint.     A  very  large  amount  of  work  in  connections 
with  the  bacteria  concerned  in  the  ripening  of  butter  and  other 
dairy  products  has  been  done  in  Denmark  and  America,  and  the 
micro-organisms  concerned  in  the  production  of  the  most  appre- 
ciated flavours  have  been  isolated  in  the  laboratory,  and  they 
can  now  be  purchased  by  farmers.     They  are  technically  known 
as  '  starters.'     As  cream  taken  from  the  cow  contains  innumer- 
able species  of   micro-organisms,  some  favourable  and  others 
unfavourable  to  the  production  of  high-class  butter,  it  is  obvious, 
that  theoretically  the  best  way  of  producing  such  butter  is  to 
kill  off  all  the  organisms  present  in  the  cream,  and  then  add 
the  necessary  starter.     This  is  actually  done  in  Denmark  with 
the  most  favourable  results.     The  cream  is  first  pasteurized,. 


142  PKESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

and  then  a  certain  quantity  of  milk  in  which  the  laboratory 
starter  has  been  allowed  to  propagate  is  added,  and  the  whole 
kept  at  the  temperature  found  to  be  most  favourable  to  the 
growth  of  the  organisms.  The  best  results  are  said  to  be 
obtained  when  the  cream  has  been  pasteurized  at  about  90°  C., 
a  higher  temperature  than  that  ordinarily  employed. 

In  1891  only  about  4  per  cent,  of  the  butter  exhibited  at 
the  Danish  butter  exhibitions  was  made  from  pasteurized 
cream  with  a  pure  starter,  but  in  1895  no  less  than  86  per  cent, 
of  the  butter  had  been  so  produced,  and  obtained  the  prizes 
awarded  for  first-class  butter. 

Butter  as  made  in  the  way  usually  adopted  in  England  is 
liable  to  contain  as  abundant  a  bacterial  flora  as  milk.  In  the 
centrifugalizing  process  for  the  separation  of  the  cream  some  of 
the  bacteria  are  driven  out  with  the  milk,  and  the  remainder  are 
carried  down  with  the  cream,  whilst  chances  of  further  pollu- 
tion occur  during  the  churning  and  packing.  In  the  centre  of 
a  pat  of  butter  2,465,555  micro-organisms  have  been  found  in 
a  gramme  (15-5  grains),  and  as  many  as  47,250,000  on  the  out- 
side. Although  pure  butter  fat  is  not  so  good  a  culture  medium 
for  bacteria  as  milk,  yet  a  certain  amount  of  buttermilk  is 
usually  left  in  the  process,  and  provides  a  suitable  pabulum  for 
putrefactive  organisms. 

From  a  consideration  of  these  facts  it  will  be  gathered  that 
some  method  must  be  adopted  to  exclude  such  organisms  or 
to  inhibit  their  growth,  especially  as  butter  requires  to  be 
kept  for  some  weeks  before  it  reaches  the  consumer.  These 
methods  comprise  pasteurization,  refrigeration,  and  the  addi- 
tion of  antiseptics. 

A  considerable  proportion — according  to  some  observers  as 
much  as  half — of  the  butter  sold  in  England  comes  from 
Denmark,  and  is  free  from  preservatives  other  than  a  small 
quantity  of  common  salt.  The  remainder,  excepting  such 
as  is  produced  locally,  is  chiefly  derived  from  Ireland,  France, 
and  the  Colonies,  and  most  of  this  contains  an  antiseptic, 
almost  exclusively  consisting  of  boric  acid  or  borax,  usually 


CREAM,  BUTTER,  MARGARINE  143 

in  conjunction  with  a  small  quantity  of  salt  or  saltpetre. 
Formaldehyde  is  also  occasionally  used.  The  reason  for 
this  difference  lies  largely  in  the  fact  that,  whilst  butter- 
making  takes  place  throughout  the  year  in  Denmark,  it  is 
limited  in  other  countries  to  certain  months  of  the  year, 
chiefly  April  to  November,  on  account  of  the  expense  of 
winter  dairying.  Consequently,  whilst  Danish  butter  is  con- 
signed once  or  twice  a  week  throughout  the  year  and  is 
quickly  consumed,  that  from  other  countries  may  require 
to  be  stored  for  many  months.  A  possible  further  factor 
may  lie  in  the  fact  that  Danish  butter  is,  as  has  already 
been  stated,  made  largely  from  pasteurized  cream  with  the 
assistance  of  pure  starters,  whereby  the  entrance  of  organisms 
concerned  in  the  production  of  rancidity  and  other  deleterious 
changes  is  hindered. 

The  following  table,  taken  from  the  Eeport  of  the  Depart- 
mental Committee,  shows  the  percentage  of  samples  which 
were  found  by  different  observers  to  contain  boron  compounds  : 


Authority 

Percentage 
preservatized 

District 

Government  Laboratory 
Mr.  L.  K.  Boseley 
Dr.  Walford 
Dr.  Hill       . 
Dr.  Williams 

57-1 
50-0 
44-5 
35-0 
35-1 

Home  and  abroad 
London 
Cardiff 
Birmingham 
Glamorgan 

The  percentage  of  preservatized  butters  at  different  seasons 
is  not  liable  to  such  variations  as  occurs  in  the  case  of  milk ; 
in  fact,  since  the  local  manufacture  takes  place  chiefly  during 
the  warmer  months,  the  prevalence  of  antiseptics  is  likely 
to  be  greater  during  the  winter,  when  a  quantity  of  pre- 
servatized samples  come  into  the  market.  As  an  illustration 
of  this,  the  percentage  of  samples  of  butter  found  to  contain 
preservatives  in  Birmingham  was  thirty-one  from  October  to 
March,  as  against  twenty-three  from  April  to  September, 
during  the  period  July  1896  to  September  1899. 1 

1  Dr.  Hill,  Report  of  Departmental  Committee. 


144 


PEESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 


Whilst,  as  will  be  mentioned  later,  many  of  those  con- 
nected with  the  butter  trade  in  Ireland,  New  Zealand,  and 
elsewhere  consider  that  preservatives  are  unnecessary,  others 
who  advocate  their  use  are  generally  agreed  that  one-half  per 
cent,  of  boric  acid  (35  grains  per  pound)  is  sufficient  for  all 
practical  purposes. 

The  following  quantities  have,  however,  been  found  in 
samples  taken  for  analysis  by  different  observers : 


Maximum 

Minimum 

Authority 

Per- 

Grains         Per-      ;    Grains 

centage 

per  Ib. 

centage 

per  Ib. 

Dr.  W.  Williams 

1-600 

112 

0-014 

1-0 

Dr.  Bernard  Dyer 

1-350 

94-5 

0-030 

2-1 

Dr.  J.  H.  Jones  . 

1-300 

91-0        0-710 

49-7 

Dr.  E.  Walford  . 

1-020 

71-4 

— 

Mr.  W.  W.  Fisher       .         .       1-000 

70-0   :     0-250 

17-5 

Government  Laboratory      .       0*935 

65-5        0-477 

33-4 

Mr.  W.  C.  Williams    . 

0-885 

62-0        0-015 

1-1 

Mr.  W.  F.  Lowe 

0-714 

50-0       0-100 

7-0 

Mr.  H.  D.  Eichmond  .         .       0'705 

49-3 



The  export  butter  trade  is  largely  in  the  hands  of  com- 
panies, having  depots  fed  by  neighbouring  farms.  These 
depots  consist  either  of  '  creameries '  as  in  Denmark,  or 
'  factories  '  as  in  France.  In  Ireland  both  exist.  At  the 
creameries  the  milk  or  cream  is  received  from  farmers  and 
made  into  butter,  whilst  at  the  factories  the  butter  arrives 
as  such  from  the  farms  and  is  blended  at  the  central  depot. 
It  is  obvious  that  in  either  case  there  is  an  opportunity  for 
a  double  addition  of  antiseptic.  Usually  the  preservative 
is  added  in  weighed  quantities  during  the  making  or  blending 
respectively,  and  there  should,  therefore,  be  no  difficulty  in 
limiting  the  amount  present. 

In  some  cases,  however,  it  appears  that  French  and. 
Australian  butter  is  made  without  the  addition  of  an  anti- 
septic (other  than  salt),  and  is  covered  with  cloths  which  have 
been  wrung  out  of  boric  acid.1  A  certain  amount  of  the 

1  Mr.  Wheeler  Bennett,  Report  of  Departmental  Committee. 


CEEAM,  BUTTEE,  MABGAKINE  145 

antiseptic  is  found  in  the  interior  of  the  sample  in  such 
instances. 

As  in  the  case  of  milk  and  cream,  the  quantity  of  boric 
acid  recommended  for  use  by  the  manufacturers  of  patent 
preparations  varies  considerably.  If  the  directions  accompany- 
ing '  Kamsden's  Milk  Preserver '  are  carried  out,  the  butter 
will  contain  125  grains  of  boric  acid  per  pound.  This  prepara- 
tion is  described  as  being  '  Totally  harmless  to  the  most 
delicate  child.'  In  the  case  of  a  similar  mixture  a  quantity 
corresponding  to  114-5  grains  per  pound  (1-637  per  cent.)  of 
boric  acid  is  recommended,  whilst  1  per  cent,  is  a  usual 
proportion.1 

At  one  Irish  creamery  visited  by  members  of  the  Depart- 
mental Committee,  pure  boric  acid  is  mixed  with  common 
salt,  and  added  by  the  dairymaid  in  the  nominal  proportion 
of  three  handfuls  to  56  Ibs.  of  butter.  The  dairymaid  stated 
that  she  was  able  to  estimate  the  amount  required  in  this 
manner,  and  did  not,  therefore,  weigh  the  preservative.  On 
investigation  it  was  found  that  the  handfuls  varied  from 
1^  to  If  Ibs.,  whilst  she  was  also  not  able  to  gauge  the  amount 
of  butter  at  all  exactly. 

Formaldehyde  is  comparatively  little  used  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  butter ;  if  employed  the  sample  is  usually  allowed  to 
steep  for  half  to  one  hour  in  a  solution  of  varying  strength, 
and  the  liquid  is  then  worked  out. 

Saltpetre  is  occasionally  employed  alone,  but  more  usually 
in  conjunction  with  boron  preparations  or  common  salt. 
Larger  quantities  are  necessary  than  in  the  case  of  boric  acid, 
about  a  quarter  of  an  ounce  to  the  pound  of  butter  being 
sometimes  employed. 

Common  salt  is  not  often  used  alone  as  a  preservative,  since 
the  quantity  necessary  for  this  purpose  (10  per  cent,  or  even 
more)  would  not  now  be  tolerated.  In  most  parts  of  England 
butter  containing  a  small  proportion,  from  £  to  2  or  3  percent. 
(35  to  210  grains  per  pound),  is  preferred  to  an  entirely 

1  Report  of  Departmental  Committee. 

10 


146  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

saltless  article,  and  possibly  even  this  may  assist  in  preventing 
rancidity. 

Boron  preparations  appear  to  be  especially  well  adapted  for 
preserving  butter,  and  if  any  antiseptic  is  needed  at  all,  they  will 
probably  be  less  harmful  than  formaldehyde,  salicylic  acid,  or 
saltpetre.  One-half  per  cent,  is,  as  has  already  been  mentioned, 
sufficient  for  all  practical  purposes,  and  with  this  amount  there 
is  little  likelihood  of  evil  consequences,  especially  as  the  con- 
sideration with  regard  to  infants  and  invalids  mentioned  under 
the  sections  on  milk  and  cream  hardly  applies  to  butter,  so 
long  as  the  other  articles  of  food  consumed  are  free  or  almost 
free  from  the  same  chemical ;  but  if  this  is  also  present  in  milk, 
cream,  ham,  bacon,  fresh  meat,  and  various  other  articles  of 
common  consumption  for  which  boron  compounds  are  used, 
even  a  healthy  adult  may  obtain  an  overdose.  It  is  therefore 
of  importance  that  if  the  addition  of  preservatives  is  to  be 
allowed,  the  quantity  should  be  strictly  limited  even  in  butter. 

With  the  danger  referred  to  above,  it  is  desirable  that  the 
use  of  preservatives  should  be  reserved  chiefly  for  those  foods 
for  which  they  are  practically  indispensable,  and  in  spite  of  the 
opinions  of  many,  it  is  doubtful  if  butter  comes  under  this 
category,  since  none  of  the  butter  from  Denmark  contains 
any  preservative  (beyond  common  salt) ;  and  in  reply  to  cir- 
culars sent  out  to  a  number  of  large  butter  establishments  in 
New  Zealand,  60  per  cent,  stated  that  they  had  found  pre- 
servatives unnecessary,  20  per  cent,  were  undecided,  or  declined 
to  express  an  opinion,  whilst  the  remainder,  including,  it  is 
true,  some  of  the  largest  exporters,  considered  that  they  were 
necessary.  Moreover,  formerly  at  all  events,  two-thirds  of 
the  samples  which  left  New  Zealand  were  free  from  pre- 
servatives.1 

Preservatives  are  rare  in  Canadian  butter,2  whilst  at  one  of 
the  Cork  creameries  it  has  been  found  that  butter  made  from 
pasteurized  cream,  with  the  aid  of  a  starter,  will  keep  two  or 

1  Mr.  Carl  W.  Sorensen,  Report  of  Departmental  Committee. 
*  Mr.  James  Biley,  ibid. 


CEEAM,  BUTTER,  MARGARINE  147 

three  weeks  with  one-half  per  cent.,  and  two  to  three  months 
with  3  per  cent,  of  salt.1 

To  ensure  a  supply  of  butter  free  from  preservatives 
several  things  are  essential.  The  manufacture  must  be  con- 
ducted with  care  and  cleanliness,  the  use  of  pasteurized 
cream  and  a  starter  is  advisable,  the  process  must  be  carried 
on  throughout  the  greater  part  of  the  year,  or  failing  this 
cold  storage  must  be  provided,  and  better  means  must  be 
adopted  for  the  carriage  of  the  butter  on  railways  than  at 
present  exists. 

As  regards  the  use  of  pasteurized  cream,  many  connected 
with  the  butter  trade  consider  that  the  flavour  is  thereby  spoilt, 
but  the  reverse  opinion  is  held  by  others  equally  well  qualified 
to  judge.  From  a  theoretical  point  of  view  it  is  difficult  to 
imagine  why  the  flavour,  which  is  due  to  microbial  activity, 
should  be  inferior  when  the  proper  organisms  are  introduced 
.alone,  to  that  produced  when  they  obtain  access  in  a  haphazard 
manner,  in  company  with  innumerable  other  organisms  of 
.doubtful  influence  as  regards  their  action  on  the  cream.  There 
is  not  the  shadow  of  doubt  that  objectionable  flavours  are  due, 
not  as  has  been  erroneously  supposed  to  the  pasture,  but  to 
particular  species  of  organisms  which  can  be  excluded  by 
pasteurization,  and  in  more  than  one  instance  in  Denmark  a 
.district  with  a  reputation  for  poor  butter  has  been  able  by 
biological  means  to  improve  the  quality  ;  moreover,  the  chief 
prizes  at  the  exhibitions  have  been  obtained  by  butter  made 
from  pasteurized  cream. 

In  order  that  unpreservatized  butter  may  keep,  it  is  also 
necessary  that  as  much  as  possible  of  the  buttermilk  shall  be 
squeezed  out,  and  that  the  percentage  of  water  shall  be  kept  as 
low  as  possible.  With  reference  to  the  influence  of  butter- 
milk on  the  keeping  qualities  an  interesting  piece  of  evidence 
was  given  by  Mr.  Brierley  to  the  Departmental  Committee. 
Two  jars  of  butter  were  received  simultaneously  from  the  same 
larm.  One  of  the  jars  was  broken  during  transit,  and  it  was 
Report  of  Departmental  Committee. 


148  PEESEKVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

necessary  to  wash  the  butter  and  re-work  it,  by  which  process 
most  of  the  retained  buttermilk  was  removed.  This  butter 
remained  sweet,  whereas  the  butter  in  the  second  jar  when 
opened  was  in  such  a  state  of  decomposition  that  it  could  not 
be  used. 

Beference  was  made  in  discussing  milk  to  the  unsatisfactory 
conditions  under  which  railway  transport  takes  place  on  many 
of  the  lines,  and  the  same  is  equally  true  in  the  case  of  butter. 
Not  only  is  there  a  lack  of  special  wagons  properly  constructed 
so  as  to  keep  their  contents  as  cool  as  possible,  but  the  butter 
is  frequently  badly  handled,  exposed  to  the  sun,  or  packed  in 
dirty  vans  used  at  other  times  for  fish  or  cattle,  whilst,  owing 
to  the  heavy  freightage  charged  on  passenger  trains  by  some 
lines,  it  must  be  consigned  by  slow  goods  trains. 

Fortunately,  however,  these  conditions  are  not  universal : 
the  Great  Southern  and  Western  Kailway  Company  in  Ireland 
are  building  wagons  fitted  with  ice-receptacles,  and  provided 
with  double  sides  and  roofs,  whilst  the  floors  are  to  be  lined 
with  felt  and  contain  an  air  space.  Moreover,  a  special 
night  train  is  run  during  the  summer  to  catch  the  steamer  at 
Holyhead. 

The  Great  Central,  Great  Western,  and  London  and  North- 
Western  Companies  provide  special  vans  for  large  consign- 
ments, which  in  the  case  of  the  first-named  line  are  conveyed 
by  special  trains.  The  Great  Western  Company  provide 
wagons  with  ice-receptacles  in  some  cases.  No  special  pro- 
vision is  made  on  most  of  the  other  English  lines.1 

The  vessels  conveying  butter  from  Denmark,  and  also  some 
of  the  steamers  of  the  Cork  Steam  Packet  Company,  are  fur- 
nished with  refrigerating  chambers  for  the  carriage  of  butter.2 

Looking  at  the  whole  question  from  the  point  of  view  of 
the  sanitarian,  one  cannot  but  express  a  wish  that  the  use  of 
preservatives  in  butter  should  be  declared  illegal,  since  there  is 
no  evidence  to  show  that  the  trade  could  not  be  conducted 
without  this  addition  if  the  precautions  already  mentioned 
1  Report  of  Departmental  Committee.  *  Ibid. 


CEEAM,  BUTTEK,  MARGARINE  149 

were  adopted,  as  the  unnecessary  and  repeated  introduction  of 
a  substance  normally  foreign  to  the  body  cannot  be  deemed 
desirable  from  a  physiological  point  of  view. 

If  prohibition  were  to  entail  pasteurization  of  the  cream, 
there  would  be  a  further  gain  in  the  interests  of  the  public 
health  in  the  diminished  risk  of  the  transmission  of  infectious 
diseases,  to  say  nothing  of  the  poisons  such  as  tyro-toxicon  and 
allied  products  of  decomposition,  which  dangers  undoubtedly 
exist  at  present. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  is  a  strong  probability  that  there 
would  be  a  considerable  quantity  of  rancid  butter  in  the  market 
during  hot  weather,  until  the  necessary  organization  had  been 
perfected,  whilst  the  Irish  and  Colonial  butter  trade  would 
undoubtedly  suffer,  unless,  as  suggested  by  some  of  the  wit- 
nesses examined  by  the  Departmental  Committee,  a  period 
of  two  or  three  years  were  allowed  to  elapse  before  the  addition 
of  preservatives  was  declared  illegal.  Pasteurization  of  the 
cream  would  probably  prove  to  be  essential,  in  which  case  the 
factory  system  would  require  considerable  modification. 

By  making  the  declaration  of  the  preservative  and  of  its 
amount  compulsory,  an  opportunity  would  be  given  to  the 
householder  of  refusing  to  purchase  butter  thus  treated.  This, 
however,  was  not  among  the  recommendations  of  the  Depart- 
mental Committee. 

Failing  complete  prohibition,  as  comparatively  small  quan- 
tities of  boron  compounds  are  quite  sufficient  for  all  practical 
purposes,  there  is  no  reason  for  permitting  the  use  of  any 
substance  other  than  salt  for  flavouring. 

Margarine. — This  substance  is  even  more  frequently  pre- 
servatized  than  butter,  the  antiseptic  commonly  employed, 
apart  from  salt,  being  boric  acid  or  borax.  In  Liverpool  nearly 
all  the  samples  contained  boron  compounds,  whilst  the  per- 
centage found  to  be  thus  treated  in  Birmingham  was  84,  and 
in  samples  from  various  sources  analyzed  at  the  Government 
Laboratory  77-4. l 

1  Report  of  Departmental  Committee. 


150  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

The  reason  for  the  frequent  use  of  antiseptics  is  probably 
the  fact  that  margarine  is  usually  churned  with  milk,  whereby 
a  readily  decomposable  substance  is  introduced,  together  with 
the  organisms  capable  of  producing  such  changes.  The 
manager  of  one  of  the  large  Irish  creameries  stated  before  the 
Departmental  Committee  that,  although  he  used  no  boron 
preservatives  for  his  butter,  he  had  found  it  necessary  to  add 
one  half  per  cent,  of  boric  acid  to  all  the  margarine  manu- 
factured. 

On  the  other  hand  the  margarine  imported  from  Holland 
is  not  made  with  milk,  and  no  preservatives  are  added  ;  never- 
theless it  keeps  fresh  for  a  month. 

Expressed  as  boric  acid,  samples  of  margarine  have  been 
found  to  contain  1-1  per  cent.  (77  grains  per  Ib.)  by  Dr.  Hill, 
and  1'05  per  cent.  (73'5  grains  per  Ib.)  at  the  Government 
Laboratory.1 

As  regards  the  advisability  of  permitting  the  use  of 
preservatives,  the  same  considerations  apply  as  in  the  case  of 
butter. 

1  Keport  of  Departmental  Committee. 


CHAPTER   XI 

ALCOHOLIC    BEVERAGES 

THE  formation  of  alcohol  and  of  some  of  the  flavouring 
essences  of  alcoholic  beverages  is  dependent  on  fermentative 
changes  set  up  by  the  action  of  micro-organisms,  chiefly  yeasts. 
Usually  a  mixed  culture  of  these  yeasts  is  added  to  the  sugar, 
which  is  the  basis  of  the  alcohol  and  ethers,  whereby  micro- 
organisms are  frequently  introduced  which  are  either  useless 
or  produce  unpleasant  flavours,  giving  rise,  in  the  case  of  beer 
to  '  sick  '  beers.  Several  such  organisms,  known  in  some  cases 
as  '  wild  yeasts,'  have  been  isolated,  and  certain  brewers  there- 
fore only  employ  cultures  of  organisms  capable  of  producing 
useful  products.  These  are  analogous  to  the  '  starters '  used 
in  butter-making,  but  there  is  scope  for  much  further 
investigation  to  put  the  matter  on  a  firm  scientific  basis. 

A  pure  alcohol-producing  yeast  will  convert  sugar  into 
alcohol  and  carbonic  acid  until  the  alcoholic  strength  reaches 
about  13  to  14  per  cent.,  after  which  time  the  action  ceases. 
It  can,  of  course,  be  checked  by  pasteurization  at  any  earlier 
stage  according  to  the  strength  of  alcohol  required.  Other 
organisms  are  capable  of  oxidizing  the  alcohol  into  aldehyde 
and  acetic  acids,  the  latter  substance  giving  rise  to  sourness. 
Usually,  minute  quantities  of  aldehyde  and  esters  are  also 
produced  during  the  fermentation,  which  are  responsible  for 
the  flavour  or  bouquet  of  the  fermented  liquid. 

Beer  and  Cider.— It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  with 
beverages  of  low  alcoholic  strength  such  as  beer  and  cider  it  is 
necessary  to  check  the  fermentation  at  an  early  stage,  and  also 
to  prevent  the  growth  of  organisms  which  are  concerned  in 
producing  sourness  and  the  diseases  referred  to  above. 


152  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

If  a  '  still '  beer  or  cider  is  required,  fermentation  can  be 
stopped  by  pasteurization,  filtration,  or  the  addition  of  anti- 
septics. In  bottled  beer  and  cider  fermentation  is  allowed  to 
proceed,  whereby  the  liquid  becomes  so  charged  with  carbonic 
acid  gas  that  further  fermentation  is  prevented.  Another 
method  occasionally  employed  is  to  pasteurize  the  liquid  and 
then  charge  it  artificially  with  carbonic  acid,  but  the  resulting 
flavour  is  generally  inferior.  If  a  mixed  yeast  is  used  for 
brewing  there  should  be  a  great  preponderance  of  the  useful 
varieties,  in  order  that  the  proper  degree  of  fermentation  shall 
have  been  arrived  at  before  the  wild  yeasts  have  time  to  act. 
Theoretically,  there  is  an  obvious  advantage  in  employing  pure 
yeast  cultures,  and  this  is  frequently  done  in  the  case  of  beer, 
and,  no  doubt,  could  be  done  in  that  of  cider. 

Nevertheless,  there  seems  to  be  a  growing  tendency  to  add 
antiseptics  to  beer,  chiefly  salicylic  acid  or  the  sulphites 
(generally  in  the  form  of  bisulphites  of  lime).  Boric  acid, 
benzoic  acid,  saccharin,  and  the  fluorides  are  also  occasionally 
used. 

According  to  Dr.  Schidrowitz,  who  gave  evidence  before 
the  Beer  Materials  Committee  in  1898,  the  addition  of  these 
preservatives  has  been  largely  brought  about  by  the  increase 
of  competition  in  the  brewing  trade,  and  the  considerable  sums 
which  brewers  are  compelled  to  expend  on  tied  houses.  As  a 
result  an  increased  amount  of  beer  must  be  turned  out  by  the 
same  plant,  necessitating  a  very  considerable  reduction  in  the 
brewing  time  and  the  gravity  of  the  beer  brewed,  and  it  is 
difficult  to  produce  a  good  keeping  beer  without  the  use  of 
preservatives. 

Out  of  100  samples  of  imported  beer  examined  in  the 
Government  Laboratory  nineteen  contained  salicylic  acid  and 
twenty  sulphites,  a  percentage  of  thirty-nine.1  What  proportion 
of  beers  brewed  in  this  country  contain  preservatives  does  not 
appear  to  have  been  recorded. 

The  smallest  amount  of  salicylic  acid  which  is  sufficient  for 

1  Report  of  Departmental  Committee. 


ALCOHOLIC  BEVEEAGES  153 

keeping  beer  is  probably  about  1  in  10,000,  or  0-9  grain  per 
pint,  and  this  quantity  has  been  found  by  Mr.  Cassal  in  a 
sample  of  bottled  beer.  In  the  Government  Laboratory  some 
imported  beer  contained  3-4  grains  per  pint.1  One  part  of 
sulphite  of  lime  in  5,000  appears  to  be  necessary  for  beer  (or 
about  1  grain  of  sulphur  dioxide  per  pint).  Mr.  Chapman  and 
Dr.  Eideal  have  found  0-88  and  0'79  grain  per  pint  respectively, 
whilst  a  sample  of  imported  beer  analyzed  at  the  Government 
Laboratory  contained  1'6  grains  per  pint.2 

As  far  as  these  analyses  go,  therefore,  it  does  not  appear 
that  the  requisite  quantities  are  greatly  exceeded,  and  there  is 
not  the  same  opportunity  for  the  repeated  addition  of  pre- 
servatives that  exists  in  the  case  of  milk. 

Although  beer  is  frequently  consumed  in  far  larger  quantities 
than  milk,  there  are  not  the  same  objections  to  the  use  of 
preservatives  in  the  former  as  in  the  latter,  since  it  is  not  used 
in  quantities  by  infants,  young  children  and  invalids. 

With  anything  like  a  moderate  consumption  of  beer  there 
is  little  fear  that  a  harmful  dose  of  either  of  these  antiseptics 
will  be  taken,  and  little  objection  can  be  raised  to  their  use  so 
long  as  they  are  not  added  in  excess,  or  in  order  to  mask 
deficiencies  in  the  malting  or  brewing,  even  though  they  may 
not  be  indispensable.  Additions  are  apparently  sometimes 
made  to  disguise  inferiority  of  quality,  and  saccharin  is  sold  as 
a  '  cure  '  for  '  sick  '  beers.3 

Probably  the  sulphites  are  less  likely  to  be  harmful  than 
salicylic  acid,  as  a  certain  portion  will,  except  in  the  case  of 
bottled  beers,  be  converted  into  inert  sulphates  by  the  time 
they  reach  the  consumer. 

As  regards  salicylic  acid,  the  recommendation  of  the 
Committee  that  the  amount  should  be  limited  to  1  grain  per 

1  Report  of  Departmental  Committee.  2  Ibid. 

3  At  a  meeting  of  the  Departmental  Committee  the  following  extract  from  a 
prospectus  was  read  :  '  As  a  cure  for  sick  beers. — Even  when  such  a  dubious  lot  of 
beer  already  begins  to  show  signs  of  incipient  "  taint,"  there  may  yet  be  time  to  save 
it  by  quick  action  in  introducing,  as  may  be  needed,  from  1  to  2  ounces  of 
saccharin  per  500  gallons,  and  thereby  arresting  the  souring  process,  and  at  once 
making  the  beer  drinkable  and  marketable.' 


154  PRESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

pint,  and  its  presence  declared,  would  meet  all  possible 
objections. 

Similar  preservatives  are  used  by  many  cider-makers  to 
keep  the  cider  clear,  and  to  prevent  the  conversion  of  all  the 
sugar  into  alcohol. 

Amongst  the  trade  preparations  may  be  mentioned  '  Sugar 
of  Boron ' ;  '  Cynin,'  consisting  of  salicylic  acid,  borax  and 
glycerine  ;  '  Walter  Gregory's  Powder,'  containing  salicylic 
acid  and  red  oxide  of  iron  ;  '  Hawke's  Anti-ferment ' ;  and 
'  Cider  Pasteur.' l 

The  last  contains  calcium  sulphite,  and,  according  to  testi- 
monials,1 it  is  able  to  restore  cider  when  the  latter  is  rendered 
apparently  worthless  by  the  action  of  wild  yeasts. 

The  quantity  of  these  antiseptics  recommended  is  about 
2  to  5  grains  a  gallon,  and,  in  the  case  of  saccharin,  about  half 
a  grain  a  gallon.  Such  amounts  can  hardly  do  any  harm,  bat, 
as  in  the  case  of  beer,  their  presence  may  be  an  indication  that 
due  care  has  not  been  taken  in  the  manufacture. 

One  large  firm  of  cider-makers,2  who  turn  out  15,000  to 
20,000  gallons  a  year,  find  no  difficulty  in  dispensing  with 
preservatives.  Only  sound  fruit  is  used,  and  after  fermentation 
the  cider  is  filtered.  In  addition  to  scrupulous  cleanliness,  the 
only  precaution  which  is  found  necessary  is  to  burn  sulphur  in 
some  of  the  vessels  which  are  intended  to  receive  the  filtered 
cider,  and  even  this  is  not  always  done. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  preservatives  are  not  necessary 
either  in  beer  or  cider  if  the  liquor  is  properly  brewed  from 
sound  materials.  The  detection  of  preservatives  in  these 
beverages,  therefore,  indicates  inferiority  of  quality,  to  say  the 
least,  and  there  is  little  doubt  that  had  the  brewing  interest 
been  less  powerful  the  use  of  salicylic  acid  would  have  been 
condemned. 

Wines.  —When  either  a  considerable  quantity  of  alcohol  or 
only  a  small  amount  of  sugar  is  present  in  '  still '  wines  these 

1  Eeport  of  Departmental  Committee. 

2  Mr.  Kadcliffe-Cooke,  Eeport  of  Departmental  Committee. 


ALCOHOLIC  BEVEEAGES  155 

are  not  very  liable  to  undergo  secondary  fermentation,  since  in 
the  former  case  the  amount  of  alcohol  will  serve  to  prevent 
further  action,  and  in  the  latter  the  saccharine  solution  will  be 
too  dilute  to  undergo  this  change. 

Preservatives,  other  than  possibly  a  little  alcohol  in  the 
form  of  brandy,  are  therefore  seldom  added,  whilst  in  the  case 
of  sparkling  wines  undue  fermentation  is  kept  in  check  by  the 
carbonic  acid  produced.  Mr.  Cassal  has,  however,  detected 
salicylic  acid  in  port  to  the  extent  of  0-4  grain  per  pint,  and 
in  sherry  to  the  extent  of  0-2  grain  per  pint.1  These  small 
quantities  were  possibly  introduced  by  the  blending  of  a  rich 
and  a  poor  sample,  the  latter  containing  the  preservative. 

No  properly  made  wine  requires  the  addition  of  an  anti- 
septic, and  none,  with  the  exception  of  common  salt  up  to 
1  gramme  per  litre,  is  allowed  in  France,  the  chief  wine-pro- 
ducing country  of  the  world.2 

The  '  plastering  '  of  wine  comes  under  a  different  category, 
being  employed  chiefly  for  cleaning  purposes,  though  its  use  is 
somewhat  analogous  to  the  use  of  alkalis  in  milk  and  cider. 

Mr.  Alfred  Gilbey,  of  the  firm  of  Messrs.  W.  &  A.  Gilbey, 
the  celebrated  wine  merchants,  said  in  his  evidence  before  the 
Departmental  Committee  that  he  had  never  heard  of  an  im- 
ported wine  containing  any  preservative,  except  brandy,  or  any 
foreign  colouring  matter.  The  wines  of  low  alcoholic  strength 
are  not  shipped  to  this  country  as  they  '  would  not  stand  the 
journey.'  The  process  of  wine-making  as  described  by  him  is 
as  follows : — The  fully  ripe  grapes  are  separated  from  the 
stalk  and  placed  in  a  vat.  The  broken-up  grapes  and  juice 
speedily  commence  to  ferment  when  the  skins  and  pips  float  on 
the  top.  The  wine  is  drawn  off  in  about  ten  days  into  hogs- 
heads, where  the  fermentation  goes  on  for  another  nine  months, 
after  which  it  is  placed  in  cellars,  and  kept  there  until  three 
years  old,  when  it  is  bottled  and  sent  to  this  country,  and  sold 
at  prices  varying  from  Is.  per  bottle  upwards.  With  slight 
variations  all  light  wines  are  made  in  this  way.  He  is  of 

1  Keport  of  Departmental  Committee.  -  Ibid. 


156  PEESEEVATIYES  IN  FOOD 

opinion  that  the  light  wines  sold  at  the  above-mentioned  price 
are  as  pure  and  wholesome  as  the  most  expensive  wines,  and 
he  knows  of  no  reason  why  they  should  not  be,  the  juice  of  the 
grape  being  so  cheap  and  plentiful.  There  is  no  difficulty  in 
keeping  such  wine,  and  the  addition  of  any  preservative  is 
therefore  totally  unnecessary. 

The  case  is  very  different  as  regards  English  wines,  which 
frequently  contain  considerable  quantities  of  preservatives, 
chiefly  salicylic  acid,  benzoic  acid,  sulphites,  and  formalde- 
hyde. 

Salicylic  acid  has  been  found  in  raspberry,  ginger,  and 
black-currant  wines  in  quantities  varying  from  3'3  to  19-2 
grains  per  pint,  whilst  calcium  sulphite  appears  to  be  added  in 
varying  proportions,  the  wine  being  kept  until  all  smell  of 
sulphur  dioxide  has  disappeared.1 

Although  small  quantities  of  these  antiseptics  are  not  likely 
to  do  harm,  some  limit  should  be  fixed,  as  otherwise  inordinate 
amounts  may  be  used.  British  wines  are  of  low  alcoholic 
strength  and  usually  rich  in  sugar,  hence  they  are  very  prone 
to  ferment.  Makers  have  no  control  over  the  way  in  which 
they  are  stored  after  reaching  the  retailer,  and  they  may  be 
kept  for  long  periods  and  exposed  in  warm  stores.  Should 
fermentation  take  place  the  reputation  of  the  maker  suffers, 
hence  the  temptation  to  put  in  sufficient  preservative  to  prevent 
decomposition  under  any  condition  of  storage.  These  wines 
are  never  drunk  in  any  quantity  or  taken  systematically  for 
long  periods  like  foreign  wines  and  beers,  hence  there  is  much 
less  risk  of  harm  ensuing  from  the  use  of  reasonable  quantities 
of  preservatives. 

Mr.  A.  Gilbey  is  in  error  in  supposing  that  very  light  wines 
are  not  shipped  to  England,  as  such  wines  made  from  grape 
must  are  largely  used  as  a  basis  for  British  wines,  fruit  juices  or 
flavouring  essences  and  colouring  matter  being  added  according 
to  the  character  of  the  wine  desired.  Such  wines  are  perfectly 
wholesome,  but  do  not  correspond  with  home-made  wines,  and 

1  Beport  of  Departmental  Committee. 


ALCOHOLIC  BEVEEAGES  157 

the  terms  '  British  '  and  '  home-made  '  are  not  therefore 
synonymous. 

The  Departmental  Committee  expressed  the  following 
opinion  : — '  As  regards  wine,  whether  British  or  imported,  we 
are  of  opinion  that  wine  which  cannot  be  kept  without  the  use 
of  preservatives  had  better  not  be  offered  for  sale.'  Doubtless 
this  was  based  on  evidence  given  to  the  effect  that  such  wines 
can  be  made  to  keep  without  the  addition  of  preservatives. 
Whether  such  is  the  case  or  not,  the  fact  remains  that  most 
British  wines  do  contain  small  quantities  of  preservatives,  and 
makers  of  the  highest  repute  assert  that,  unless  some  pre- 
servative is  added,  complaints  are  constantly  received  as  to  the 
keeping  quality  of  the  wines. 

Medicated  wines  have  also  been  found  to  contain  pre- 
servatives. These  are  usually  taken  in  very  small  quantities 
and  for  limited  periods,  but,  notwithstanding,  such  addition 
appears  to  us  to  be  objectionable.  The  so-called  medicated 
wines,  sold  at  a  cheap  rate  and  containing  quinine,  or  quinine 
and  iron,  or  extract  of  meat,  are  often  of  very  inferior  quality, 
and  preserved  by  the  addition  of  salicylic  or  boric  acid.  These 
may  be  taken  by  invalids  for  considerable  periods,  hence  the 
presence  of  preservatives  therein  is  particularly  objectionable. 


THE  word  '  temperance '  rather  than  '  non-alcoholic '  is  used 
because,  in  such  beverages  as  are  of  the  sparkling  variety, 
the  dissolved  carbonic  acid  gas  is,  in  some  cases,  derived 
from  the  fermentation  of  sugar  by  a  yeast,  and  a  small 
amount  of  alcohol  is  therefore  simultaneously  formed.  Some 
specimens  of  ginger  beer,  for  instance,  may  contain  as  much 
as  3  per  cent,  of  alcohol,  whilst  in  herb  beers  the  percentage 
may  be  less  than  one-half  per  cent.,  although  it  has  been 
known  to  rise  as  high  as  10  per  cent. 

Many  of  these  beverages,  however,  are  free  from  alcohol, 
and  where  sugar  is  present  atmospheric  germs  may  gain 
access,  and  set  up  fermentative  changes.  Hence  it  is 
necessary  to  take  steps  either  to  check  excessive  fermentation 
or  to  prevent  it  entirely  as  the  case  may  be,  and  this  may  be 
done  by  sterilization,  pasteurization,  filtration,  or  the  addition 
of  antiseptics.  As  regards  the  bottled  beverages,  alcoholic 
fermentation  will  be  partly  checked  by  the  alcohol  and 
•carbonic  acid  gas  formed. 

Carbon  dioxide  or  carbonic  acid  gas  is  the  gas  used  for 
aerating  soda  water,  seltzer  water,  lemonade,  ginger  ale,  &c., 
:and  appears  to  have  marked  anti-fermentative  properties,  though 
it  is  not  usually  classed  as  an  antiseptic.  Beverages,  which 
have  been  well  aerated  with  this  gas  and  efficiently  stoppered, 
rarely,  if  ever,  ferment  or  undergo  any  change  due  to  the 
action  of  bacteria,  and  as  a  matter  of  fact  such  liquids  if 
.examined  a  few  days  after  preparation  are  usually  found 
±o  be  sterile.  No  doubt  excessive  indulgence  in  such  aerated 


TEMPEEANCE  BEVEEAGES          159 

beverages  may  cause  inconvenience  from  their  inflating  pro- 
perties, but  there  has  never  been  any  occasion  to  think  that 
the  carbonic  acid  gas  is  harmful ;  hence  there  cannot  be  the 
slightest  objection  to  its  use.  These  beverages  are  usually 
made  by  putting  into  each  bottle  or  syphon  a  definite  quantity 
of  saline  solution  or  of  syrup,  and  filling  up  with  aerated  water. 
The  syrups  and  solutions  used  are  prone  to  change ;  hence 
it  is  not  unusual  for  them  to  contain  preservative,  and  when 
such  is  the  case  the  beverages  prepared  therefrom  will  contain 
preservatives.  Imported  syrup  and  fruit  juices  frequently 
contain  salicylic  or  sulphurous  acids,  and  are  largely  used  for 
making  beverages. 

In  non-aerated  beverages  preservatives  are  frequently  found. 
They  have  to  be  prepared  in  such  a  manner  that  the  retailer 
may  store  them  an  indefinite  period,  and  expose  them  in  his 
windows  ;  and  after  sale  the  purchaser  expects  the  contents 
of  the  bottle  to  keep  fresh  and  sweet  until  all  is  consumed. 
Under  such  conditions  it  is  surprising  that  more  makers  do 
not  use  antiseptics,  and  we  are  opinion  that  such  are  used  to  a 
larger  extent  than  is  usually  supposed.  Certain  antiseptics  are 
rarely  sought  for,  and  their  presence  is  consequently  overlooked. 

Out  of  596  samples  of  temperance  drinks  examined  at  the 
Government  Laboratory,  preservatives  were  found  in  115,  or 
19'3  per  cent.  Salicylic  acid  was  detected  in  sixty-four,  boric 
acid  in  twenty-two,  sulphites  in  nineteen,  formalin  in  three,  and 
a  mixture  of  boric  acid  and  salicylic  acid  in  seven  of  the 
samples. 

Out  of  103  specimens  classified  as  '  Temperance  Wines 
and  Cordials,'  preservatives  were  found  in  no  less  than  eighty-six, 
or  83'5  per  cent.  In  fifty-three  cases  the  antiseptic  was  salicylic 
acid,  in  six  sulphites,  and  in  the  remaining  twenty-seven  a 
mixture  of  salicylic  acid  and  sulphites.1 

Sulphurous  acid  is  largely  used  for  certain  fruit  juices  and 
cordials.  Benzoic  acid  is  also  probably  used,  but  there  is 
apparently  no  record  of  its  presence  being  detected.  The 

1  Report  of  Departmental  Committee. 


160  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

amount  introduced  will  depend  upon  the  nature  of  the  beverage, 
the  length  of  time  it  may  be  in  the  hands  of  the  retailer, 
and  whether  the  whole  contents  of  a  bottle  are  likely  to  be 
consumed  at  once  or  to  last  for  several  days.  Where  the 
whole  contents  are  consumed  at  once  there  is  no  need  for  an 
antiseptic,  as,  if  the  liquid  is  sterilized  and  bottled  with  proper 
precautions,  it  should  keep  an  indefinite  period.  If,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  is  only  used  in  small  quantities  at  a  time,  it  is 
difficult  to  see  how  it  can  be  kept  sweet  without  the  addition 
of  some  preservative. 

Boric  acid  has  been  found  in  herb  beers  up  to  7'3  grains  per 
pint,  and  salicylic  acid  up  to  8-1  grains  per  pint.  In  lime  juice 
Mr.  W.  C.  Williams  has  found  13-5  and  Mr.  Cassal  847  grains 
of  salicylic  acid  per  pint.  In  temperance  wines  and  cordials 
salicylic  acid  has  been  detected  in  quantities  up  to  19  grains 
per  pint,  sulphites  up  to  4*5  grains  of  sulphur  dioxide  per  pint, 
and  formalin  to  the  extent  of  1  part  in  25,000.1 

Very  much  smaller  amounts  of  these  preservatives  have 
been  estimated  in  other  samples  which  have  kept  equally  well, 
and  as  considerable  quantities  of  some  of  these  beverages  may 
be  consumed  by  children  as  well  as  adults,  it  is  desirable  that  a 
limit  should  be  fixed  and  the  presence  of  the  preservatives 
declared. 

The  suggestion  of  the  Departmental  Committee  that  the 
amount  of  salicylic  acid  permissible  should  be  restricted  to 
1  grain  per  pint  is  not  likely  to  be  adopted.  It  may  be  a 
proper  quantity  to  fix  for  beers  and  beverages  imbibed  by 
the  pint,  but  is  too  small  to  be  of  any  service  in  syrups  and 
concentrated  essences  used  by  the  spoonful.  In  such  beverages 
a  larger  proportion  might  reasonably  be  permitted. 

The  objections  urged  against  the  use  of  antiseptics  in  milk 
do  not  apply  in  the  case  of  temperance  beverages,  since  they 
are  not  used  as  foods,  nor  are  they  articles  of  real  necessity, 
but  luxuries.  Neither  are  they  largely  used  by  invalids  or  very 
young  children,  and  if  consumed  in  considerable  quantities,. 

1  Report  of  Departmental  Committee. 


TEMPERANCE  BEVERAGES         161 

the  sugar  and  acids,  so  generally  present,  are  far  more  likely 
to  cause  derangement  of  the  digestive  functions  than  are  the 
preservatives  employed.  Considering,  however,  that  they  are 
used  most  largely  during  the  hot  weather — that  is,  at  the 
time  when  preserved  foods  are  more  abundantly  consumed,  and 
when  larger  quantities  than  usual  are  likely  to  be  found  in  dairy 
produce — it  is  obvious  that  any  danger  arising  from  the  anti- 
septics is  likely  to  be  accentuated  by  the  employment  of  such 
beverages ;  hence  the  desirability  of  reducing  the  amount  used 
to  the  minimum,  and  of  declaring  the  nature  of  the  preservative 
present.  The  declaration  cannot,  of  course,  be  hoped  for  unless 
rendered  compulsory  by  law,  as  one  maker  is  not  likely  to 
inform  the  public  that  he  uses  preservatives  when  his  rivals 
do  not.  Were  he  to  do  so  he  would  create  a  prejudice  against 
the  goods  of  his  own  manufacture,  which  might  contain  less 
preservatives  and  be  in  other  respects  more  wholesome  than 
the  products  of  his  rivals  who  make  no  declaration.  Hence 
such  declaration,  if  only  partially  adopted,  might  be  harmful 
rather  than  beneficial  to  the  general  public. 

In  aerated  beverages,  and  in  beverages  intended  to  be 
consumed  as  soon  as  the  bottles  are  opened,  there  is  no  real 
need  for  the  use  of  antiseptics,  and  these  are  the  beverages 
imbibed  in  the  largest  quantities.  In  concentrated  liquors, 
syrups,  cordials,  and  fruit  juices,  the  use  of  suitable  antiseptics 
in  proper  proportions  may  be  permitted,  as  it  is  in  the  highest 
degree  improbable  that,  in  the  dilute  condition  in  which  they 
are  used,  any  harm  will  result. 


11 


CHAPTEK  XIII 

FRUITS,   JAMS,   AND   VEGETABLES 

As  a  rule  fruits  are  very  prone  to  change,  especially  if  at  all 
damaged,  but  no  preservatives  should  be  necessary  to  keep  the 
fresh  article  a  reasonable  length  of  time.  If  the  fruit  is  in 
such  a  condition  that  it  will  not  keep  without  their  use,  it  is 
almost  certainly  unfit  for  sale.  Nevertheless  formic  aldehyde 
is  occasionally  sprayed  on  the  surface  of  fruit  to  improve  its 
keeping  properties. 

In  the  case  of  bottled  or  tinned  fruit  and  jams  some  method 
of  preservation  is  essential,  since  a  sample  must  be  capable  of 
storage  for  many  months  or  even  years.  This  can  be  effected 
by  sterilization  and  exclusion  of  air,  a  method  usually  adopted 
in  the  case  of  whole  fruits,  though  the  colour  and  taste  may 
suffer  somewhat.  Sulphurous  acid  or  sulphites  are  occasion- 
ally added  to  bottled  fruit,  two  samples  out  of  forty-eight 
examined  in  the  Government  Laboratory  being  found  to  con- 
tain sulphites.1 

Sterilization  by  heat  is  employed  for  jams  ;  the  sugar  added, 
however,  may  be  regarded  to  some  extent  as  a  preservative. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  with  proper  care  jams  can  be 
made  to  keep  for  an  indefinite  period  without  the  aid  of  pre- 
servatives. 

On  the  other  hand  a  considerable  proportion  of  jam-makers 
add  antiseptics,  chiefly  salicylic  acid,  benzoic  acid,  or  sulphites, 
and  no  doubt,  if  the  fruit  is  not  in  a  good  condition,  and  if 
cleanliness  is  not  observed,  it  is  difficult  to  ensure  the  keeping 
qualities  of  jams  without  their  use.  Mr.  Lowe  detected  their 
presence  in  half  the  samples  which  he  examined,  and  Dr.  Hill 
in  five  out  of  six.2 

1  Eeport  of  Departmental  Committee.  '2  Ibid. 


FRUITS,  JAMS,  AND  VEGETABLES  163 

It  is  claimed  by  those  who  advocate  their  use  that  the 
flavour  of  the  fruit  is  partly  lost  by  the  prolonged  boiling  which 
is  essential  if  preservatives  are  not  added,  whilst  the  jam  also 
becomes  thick  and  gluey,  the  sugar  frequently  crystallizing  at 
the  top.  A  more  practical  advantage  gained  by  using  antiseptics 
is  that  the  jam  so  made  will  keep  with  about  6  per  cent,  more 
water  in  it  than  will  an  unpreservatized  sample,  and  this 
represents  6  per  cent,  extra  profit. 

The  following  quantities  of  salicylic  acid  have  been  found 
in  samples  of  jam  by  different  observers  :  l 


Salicylic  acid 

Per  een 

Grains  per  Ib. 

i 

Government  Laboratory 
Mr.  W.  C.  Williams    . 

0-121 
0-064 

8-5 
4-5 

Mr.  W.  F.  Lowe 

0-060 

!             4-2 

Dr.  Voelcker 

0-050 

3-5 

Dr.  Bernard  Dyer 

0-007 

j             0-5 

The  usual  quantity  employed  by  jam-makers  is  half  an 
ounce  to  a  hundredweight,  or  about  2  grains  per  pound. 

If  preservatives  are  added  in  the  small  proportions  indicated 
above  no  injury  to  health  is  likely  to  occur,  but  there  seems  to 
be  no  absolute  necessity  for  their  use,  and  it  possibly  encourages 
the  employment  of  unsound  fruit.  Apricot  jam,  being  made 
from  the  imported  fruit  pulp,  is  more  difficult  to  manufacture 
without  preservatives,  since  the  pulp  may  often  contain  them, 
but  it  is  quite  possible  to  keep  fruit  pulp  in  stock  tins  or  casks 
which  have  been  fumigated  with  sulphur  dioxide,  if  the  pulp 
is  first  sterilized  by  boiling. 

Fruit  pulp  imported  from  the  Continent  is  received  in 
.casks,  which  when  opened  smell  strongly  of  sulphurous  acid. 
The  amount  of  this  preservative  in  the  pulp  appears  to  be 
very  small  and  may  be  harmless.  It  is  practically  impossible 
to  determine  in  such  pulp  what  proportion  of  the  fruit  was 
rotten  or  in  the  early  stage  of  decomposition,  though  a  micro- 

'•".•  '  Report  of  Departmental  Committee. 


164  PEESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

scopic  examination  may  give  some  indication  of  the  condition 
of  the  fruit  at  the  time  of  packing.  Many  kinds  of  fruit, 
especially  grapes  and  plums,  can  be  successfully  preserved  by 
desiccation. 

Vegetables  may  be  preserved  by  the  exclusion  of  air, 
by  desiccation,  or  by  the  addition  of  antiseptics,  salt,  saltpetre, 
or  vinegar  being  chiefly  used.  As  the  last-named  substance 
may  contain  sulphites,  formic  aldehyde,  boric  acid,  or  sulphuric 
acid,  one  of  these  may  also  be  present  in  the  pickle. 

The  addition  of  copper  to  green  vegetables  is  with  the  view 
of  preserving  the  colour  rather  than  to  prevent  fermentative 
changes,  and  this  substance  therefore  hardly  comes  under  the 
category  of  food  preservatives. 

Vinegar  has  been  found  to  contain  1*75  grain  per  pint 
of  boric  acid,  0-5  grain  per  pint  of  sulphur  dioxide,  and  2'5 
grains  per  pint  of  formalin.1  These  small  quantities  should  be 
harmless,  but  they  are  quite  unnecessary. 

Sauces  and  ketchups  occasionally  contain  antiseptics  other 
than  salt,  salicylic  acid,  sulphites,  or  benzoic  acid  being 
employed.  These  liquids  have  to  be  prepared  so  as  to  keep 
an  indefinite  period,  and  are  only  used  in  comparatively  small 
quantities  at  a  time,  so  that  no  harm  whatever  need  be 
apprehended  from  the  addition  of  reasonable  amounts  of 
preservatives  thereto. 

1  Eeport  of  Departmental  Committee. 


CHAPTEE  XIV 

MEAT,    GAME,   EGGS,   AND   FISH 

MEAT  foods  are  less  liable  to  undergo  rapid  decomposition 
than  dairy  products,  since  the  opportunities  for  bacterial 
pollution  are  usually  fewer,  and  such  organisms  as  gain  access 
are  only  able  to  act  on  the  outside  of  the  carcass  or  joint. 

Nevertheless,  during  hot  weather  steps  must  be  taken  in 
the  case  of  fresh  meat  to  prevent  decomposition  whilst  the 
meat  is  hung,  and  such  measures  are  still  more  necessary  in 
the  case  of  ham,  bacon,  &c.,  which  are  not  intended  for 
immediate  consumption. 

The  methods  adopted  for  different  kinds  of  meat  foods 
consist  in  refrigerating,  sterilizing  with  subsequent  exclusion 
of  air,  the  addition  of  chemical  preservatives,  smoking,  and 
drying,  or  combinations  of  these  processes. 

The  process  of  refrigerating  calls  for  no  comment.  Cold 
storage  is  becoming  more  and  more  common  in  the  large  towns, 
to  the  great  advantage  of  the  butcher  and  the  public.  Such  an 
establishment  should  always  be  attached  to  a  public  abattoir. 

The  exclusion  of  air  if  properly  carried  out  is  satisfactory 
when  the  food  has  first  been  completely  sterilized.  There  is, 
however,  the  risk  of  metallic  contamination  if  tins  are  em- 
ployed :  danger  from  this  source  is  discussed  elsewhere. 

Salting  and  pickling  is  carried  out  in  four  different  ways  : 

(1)  salt  is  rubbed  into  the  pieces  of  meat  in  a  dry  condition ; 

(2)  the  meat  is  soaked  in  brine ;  (3)  the  brine  is  injected  by 
means  of  a  syringe  into  the  connective  tissue  lying  between  the 
bone  and  muscle  ;  and  (4)  the  pickling  solution  may  be  pumped 
into  the  aorta,  and  so,  by  means  of  the  arterial  system,  into  the 


166  PRESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

substance  of  the  meat.  The  last  process  is  said  to  be  com- 
plete in  three  or  four  minutes. 

Salt  alone  may  be  used,  but  usually  a  proportion  of  saltpetre 
is  added.  Alum  and  boracic  acid  are  also  frequently  employed, 
and  sugar  enters  into  some  formulae  for  pickling  solutions. 
Common  salt  apparently  acts  partly  in  virtue  of  its  antiseptic 
properties  and  partly  by  the  abstraction  of  moisture.  A  5  per 
cent,  solution  is  said  to  hinder  the  growth  of  obligatory  anae- 
robes, though  not  that  of  aerobes,  whilst  the  growth  of  most 
bacilli  is  checked  by  a  10  per  cent,  solution.  On  the  other 
hand  brine  appears  to  have  little  or  no  effect  as  a  bactericide. 
Tubercle  bacilli  in  cultures  remain  virulent  after  they  have 
been  covered  with  salt  for  two  months,  and  cocci  will  thrive  in 
a  15  per  cent,  solution.  . 

The  saltpetre  is  chiefly  added  to  the  pickle  to  prevent  the 
decolourizing  effect  of  salt  on  the  muscle. 

The  process  of  soaking  meat  in  a  solution  of  brine  leads  to 
an  appreciable  loss  of  nitrogen  and  phosphorus,  certain 
albuminous  bodies  passing  from  the  flesh  into  the  pickle, 
reducing  somewhat  the  nutritive  value,  and  it  is  well  known 
that  the  process  of  pickling  renders  meat  somewhat  more 
difficult  to  digest.  Where  the  pickling  by  means  of  brine  has 
not  introduced  any  large  quantity  of  salt  into  the  meat,  it  is 
said  to  be  '  mild '  cured,  the  term  having  special  reference  to 
bacon. 

English,  Irish,  and  Danish  bacon  (using  this  term  to  include 
ham)  seldom  requires  any  further  preservation,  though  occa- 
sionally during  the  summer  a  little  boron  compound  may  be 
dusted  on  the  surface  or  introduced  into  the  '  pocket '  (cavity 
from  which  the  shoulder  blade  has  been  removed)  to  prevent 
fly-blow.  Calcium  sulphite  is  also  used  for  this  purpose. 

The  change  which  has  taken  place  during  recent  years  in 
the  public  taste  with  regard  to  mildness  has  already  been 
referred  to,  and,  in  the  case  of  ham  and  bacon  imported  from 
America,  it  has  therefore  been  found  necessary  to  pack  the 
'  green '  sides  in  boric  acid  in  order  to  prevent  tainting  and 


MEAT,  GAME,  EGGS,  AND  FISH  167 

fly-blow  during  the  voyage.  A  small  proportion  of  the  products 
from  these  countries  is  still  packed  in  common  salt,  but  absorp- 
tion continues  during  transit,  with  the  result  that  they  are  only 
saleable  to  that  class  of  people  which  prefers  to  have  such 
articles  heavily  salted. 

Although  packing  is  the  usual  method  of  employing  the 
boron  compounds,  they  are  occasionally  mixed  with  the  brine, 
and  injected  into  the  flesh  during  the  process  of  curing.  A 
recipe,  for  instance,  given  some  years  ago  in  the  '  Grocer ' 
consists  of  5  Ibs.  of  the  boron  preservative,  with  45  Ibs.  of 
common  salt,  4  Ibs.  of  sugar,  and  3  of  saltpetre,  the  whole 
being  dissolved  in  20  gallons  of  water.1  Such  a  mixture  would 
be  forced  into  the  flesh  under  a  pressure  of  about  56  Ibs.  to  the 
square  inch. 

Another  mixture  recommended  is  made  by  the  addition  to 
the  brine  of  10  to  20  per  cent,  of  a  preparation  containing  92 
per  cent,  of  boric  acid.2 

Even  when  the  hams  are  merely  packed  in  boric  acid,  a 
certain  quantity  is  absorbed  into  the  interior,  though  the  main 
portion  is  removed  by  washing  and  brushing  before  the  ham  is 
cooked  or  smoked. 

Mr.  J.  M.  Harris  3  cut  portions  of  bacon  which  had  thus 
been  treated  from  the  middle  of  each  of  three  joints  close  to  the 
bone.  In  the  samples  it  was  found  that  the  quantity  of  boric 
acid  varied  from  O'lO  to  0'13  per  cent.  There  was  no  difficulty 
in  detecting  the  presence  of  the  same  substance  in  the  fat  and 
flesh  near  the  surface. 

The  same  observer  also  sprinkled  borax  on  a  piece  of  fresh 
pork,  and,  after  the  lapse  of  a  week,  the  quantity  present  in  the 
centre  was  found  to  be  0*15  per  cent. 

The  importation  of  bacon  has  increased  enormously  during 
recent  years.  The  value  of  the  exports  of  ham  and  bacon  from 
Canada  has  risen  steadily  from  280,227  dollars  in  1889  to 
8,034,616  dollars  in  1898.  It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that 
the  percentage  of  samples  which  have  been  found  to  contain 

1  Report  of  Departmental  Committee.  2  Ibid.  *  Ibid. 


168 


PEESEBVATIVES  IN  FOOD 


boron  compounds  is  large.1  In  the  Government  Laboratory, 
out  of  130  samples,  no  less  than  120,  or  92-3  per  cent.,  had  been 
thus  treated,  corresponding  figures  found  by  Dr.  Bernard  Dyer 
and  Dr.  Hill  being  41-2  and  77'8  respectively.2 

The  following  are  the  quantities  of  boric  acid  estimated  to 
be  present  by  different  observers,  though  the  portions  of  the 
joints  from  which  the  samples  were  taken  are  not  mentioned  : 3 


Authority 

Quantity  of  boric  acid 

Per  cent. 

Grains  per  pound 

Dr.  Bernard  Dyer 
Government  Laboratory     . 
Dr.  Hill     .... 
Dr.  Williams 
Dr.  Tubb-Thomas      . 
Mr.  H.  D.  Richmond 

0-750 
0-661 
0-400 
0-340 
0-300 
0-130 

52-5 
46-3 
28-0 
23-8 
21-0 
9-1 

The  amount  found  by  Dr.  Dyer  is  probably  unnecessarily 
large,  and  suggests  that  the  boric  acid  had  been  injected 
together  with  the  brine,  and  this  quantity  is  possibly  capable 
of  exerting  some  effect  upon  health,  when  the  weight  of  ham 
and  bacon  consumed  daily  is  taken  into  consideration,  espe- 
cially as  boric  acid  may  also  be  introduced  to  an  appreciable 
extent  by  other  articles  of  food. 

When  the  bacon  is  packed  in  the  preservative  a  quantity  is 
used  varying  from  one-quarter  to  1  per  cent,  of  the  weight 
of  the  side,  and  the  smaller  proportion  is  apparently  adequate. 
The  pork  remains  in  contact  with  the  preservative  for  a  few 
weeks,  and,  according  to  one  authority,4  80  per  cent,  of  the 
latter  is  removed  when  the  side  is  washed. 

The  quantity  of  common  salt  in  mild  bacon  varies  with 
different  brands,  and  in  different  parts  of  the  same  sample  from 
under  1  to  about  8  per  cent. 

Mr.  Harold  Faber 5  estimated  the  amount  of  this  substance 
present  in  samples  from  different  sources,  and  found  that  the 

1  Keport  of  Departmental  Committee.  -  Ibid.  *  Ibid. 

4  Mr.  J.  Wheeler  Bennett,  Report  of  Departmental  Committee. 
s  Report  of  Departmental  Committee. 


MEAT,  GAME,  EGGS,  AND  FISH  169 

percentage  in  the  fat  varied  from  0'23  to  0'85,  in  the  outside 
portion  of  the  flesh  from  3'75  to  7*27,  and  in  the  flesh  near  the 
hone  from  218  to  4-03. 

If  saltpetre  is  used  alone,  the  quantities  would  presumably 
be  somewhat  the  same. 

Many  persons  connected  with  the  export  trade  consider 
that  this  would  be  ruined  if  the  use  of  boron  compounds  were 
prohibited,  and  there  appears  to  be  no  reason  why  prohibition 
should  be  insisted  on  if  preservatives  are  used  in  moderation. 
From  the  experimental  evidence  detailed  in  a  former  chapter 
saltpetre  seems  to  be  a  less  desirable  antiseptic,  bulk  for  bulk, 
than  boric  acid  or  borax,  and  if  the  sides  of  bacon  are  simply 
packed  in  the  boron  compounds,  the  amount  which  will  be 
absorbed  is  so  small  as  to  be  probably  negligible.  The 
considerations  which  applied  in  the  case  of  milk  and  cream  to 
children  and  invalids  no  longer  hold  good  when  applied  to 
ham  and  bacon,  which  are  foods  used  by  the  robust. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  is  some  reason  for  believing  that 
the  use  of  a  preservative  other  than  salt  is  not  absolutely 
essential  even  for  the  export  trade,  since  one  firm l  which 
transmits  a  very  large  amount  of  Wiltshire  bacon  to  India  and 
the  Colonies,  is  able  to  dispense  with  its  use.  They  employ  a 
little  more  salt,  and  extra  drying,  the  sides  are  then  sown  up 
in  canvas  and  packed  in  salt.  No  complaints  as  to  taint  or 
fly-blow  are  received.  If  the  sides  are  packed  in  a  green  state 
these  consequences  are  sure  to  happen. 

In  any  case  the  custom  of  injecting  the  boron  preserva- 
tive is  objectionable,  \  since  as  these  substances  are  foreign 
to  the  human  body,  they  should  only  be  introduced  in  the 
smallest  quantities  necessary  for  practical  purposes. 

The  only  alternatives  to  the  use  of  boron  preservatives  for 
imported  hams  would  seem  to  be  either  to  increase  the  amount 
of  salt  and  dry  the  unsmoked  article,  or  to  adopt  cold  storage. 
An  increase  in  the  amount  of  salt  or  saltpetre  is  undesirable, 
whilst  refrigeration  has  been  unsuccessfully  tried  by  one 

1  Mr.  J.  M.  Harris,  Eeport  of  Departmental  Committee. 


170  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

firm,1  and  would,  in  any  case,  very  likely  raise  the  price  of  the 
food. 

Benzoic  acid  has  been  used  in  Queensland  for  curing  hams, 
and  possibly  this  may  occur  elsewhere  ;  as  it  is  a  more  power- 
ful drug  than  boric  acid  there  are  greater  objections  to  its  use. 

Among  the  remaining  meat  foods  for  which  preservatives, 
other  than  salt  or  saltpetre,  are  used,  fresh  meat,  sausages,  pork 
pies,  and  meat  extracts  may  be  mentioned. 

During  the  hot  weather  butchers  sometimes  sprinkle  the 
carcasses  or  joints  of  fresh  meat  with  boron  compounds,  or 
brush  solutions  of  formic  aldehyde  or  sulphites  over  the 
surface.  Although  cold  storage  is  preferable,  these  processes 
are  not  likely  to  be  attended  with  injurious  effects  on  the 
consumer,  unless  they  are  done  to  mask  incipient  decomposi- 
tion. The  use  of  sulphites  has  been  prohibited  in  Christiania 
on  the  ground  that,  whilst  harm  may  accrue  to  the  purchaser 
from  the  presence  of  the  antiseptic,  the  latter  seems  to  have 
the  property  of  disguising  the  early  stages  of  decomposition. 
Reference  was  made  to  this  matter  when  the  sulphites  were 
being  considered.  The  boron  compounds  are  probably  the 
least  objectionable  for  this  purpose. 

Sausages  in  addition  to  salt  and  saltpetre  very  frequently 
contain  boric  acid  or  borax,  and  sometimes  benzoic  acid. 
The  two  former  were  detected  in  two  out  of  three  samples 
analyzed  by  Dr.  Hill,  and  in  half  of  those  examined  in  the 
Government  Laboratory.2 

The  quantity  found  by  the  different  observers  varied  from 
1'14  to  O45  per  cent.  (79-8  to  31*5  grains  per  pound).3  As 
sausages  are  not  often  a  regular  article  of  diet,  a  quantity  not 
exceeding  one  half  per  cent,  is  unlikely  to  cause  much  harm, 
but  with  nearly  80  grains  per  pound,  the  amount  of  boric  acid 
consumed  in  a  day  in  conjunction  with  that  present  in  other 
food  substances,  such  as  butter  and  ham,  might  easily  approach 
the  dose  necessary  to  produce  unpleasant  symptoms  in  a 
person  liable  to  be  affected  by  this  drug.  Moreover,  pork 

1  Report  of  Departmental  Committee.  *  Ibid.  3  Ibid. 


MEAT,  GAME,  EGGS,  AND  FISH  171 

should  as  far  as  possible  be  consumed  in  a  fresh  state,  and 
storage  for  any  length  of  time  is  undesirable.  There  is  no 
animal  whose  flesh  has  more  often  given  rise  to  localized 
epidemics  of  food  poisoning  than  the  pig. 

Pork  pies  have  also  been  found  to  contain  frequently  boric 
acid,  and  similar  considerations  apply. 

Boric  and  benzoic  acids  have  been  detected  in  potted 
meats.  These  should  be  unnecessary  if  they  are  properly 
prepared  and  hermetically  sealed. 

Boric  and  salicylic  acids  have  been  found  in  meat  ex- 
tracts. As  these  are  frequently  used  for  invalids  the  presence 
of  such  antiseptics  is  objectionable,  and  there  should  be  no 
necessity  for  their  use. 

The  sulphites  are  being  largely  used  in  the  preparation  of 
sausages,  and  articles  of  that  class,  and  when  present  lead  to  the 
suspicion  that  tainted  meat  has  been  used  in  their  preparation. 

Examples  of  smoking  as  a  means  of  preservation  are 
furnished  by  several  hog  products  such  as  ham,  bacon,  and 
some  kinds  of  sausages,  and  also  by  certain  forms  of  tongue. 

Drying  is  chiefly  of  use  as  furnishing  a  ready  means  of 
preserving  and  carrying  meat  under  exceptional  circumstances, 
as  in  the  case  of  '  biltong,'  and  there  is  little  doubt  that  the 
meat  loses  a  certain  amount  of  its  nutritive  value  during  the 
process,  its  digestibility  being  impaired. 

Game  and  poultry  are  subjected  to  the  same  methods  of 
preservation  as  are  adopted  for  meat,  but  game  is  usually 
kept  until  incipient  decomposition  has  set  in.  At  this  stage 
poultry  would  be  declared  unfit  for  human  consumption,  and 
it  is  questionable  whether  the  use  of  '  game  '  in  this  condition 
is  not  often  responsible  for  the  production  of  nausea  and 
diarrhoea,  or  of  disturbances  of  the  digestive  functions.  As, 
however,  the  purchaser  and  user  know  the  condition  of 
the  flesh,  they  may  be  left  to  take  the  attendant  risks. 

Eggs  are  preserved  by  immersion  in  various  solutions, 
lime,  salt,  water-glass,  sulphites  and  salicylic  acid.  These 
substances  do  not  penetrate  the  shell,  hence  they  are  in  them- 


172  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

selves  unobjectionable,  and  so  long  as  the  shell  contents  are 
sweet  the  eggs  are  usable.  Occasionally  they  are  preserved 
by  the  rubbing  of  some  kind  of  fat  into  the  shells  whilst  warm 
and  immediately  after  being  laid,  to  exclude  and  prevent  the 
action  of  air. 

Fish  is  more  liable  than  meat  to  undergo  decomposition, 
and  the  products  may  produce  most  serious  effects.  This  is 
notably  the  case  with  regard  to  shell-fish  and  mackerel.  Con- 
sequently, if  efficient  methods  of  preservation  are  not  adopted, 
such  fish  quickly  become  unfit  for  consumption. 

The  methods  in  use  for  preservation  are  practically  the 
same  as  those  employed  for  meat. 

With  regard  to  refrigeration  a  word  of  caution  is  necessary. 
Where  the  fish  is  kept  in  a  cold  chamber  the  changes  referred 
to  are  not  likely  to  occur,  but  the  common  practice  of  storing 
it  directly  in  contact  with  ice  may  introduce  the  very  micro- 
organisms necessary  to  produce  decomposition,  unless  the  ice 
comes  from  a  pure  source  and  is  kept  free  from  contamination. 
As  soon  as  the  ice  melts  the  fish  is  bathed  in  a  watery  solution, 
which  may  contain  filth  pregnant  with  putrefactive  bacteria-, 
whose  action  is  favoured  by  the  moisture. 

When  means  of  refrigeration  are  next  available  antiseptics  are 
sometimes  employed  for  fresh  fish  during  hot  weather,  the  sub- 
stances used  being  chiefly  boron  compounds  or  formic  aldehyde. 

Boric  acid  has  been  found  in  herrings,  caviare,  and  potted 
fish,  and  sulphites  in  anchovy  paste,  whilst  salt,  saltpetre,  and 
vinegar  are  commonly  employed  in  pickling  fish.  The  amount 
of  these  antiseptics  which  would  be  consumed  is  practically 
inappreciable  so  long  as  they  are  added  in  moderate  propor- 
tions. As  much,  however,  as  95  grains  per  pound  of  boric 
acid  has  been  detected  in  a  sample  of  potted  shrimps. 

In  this  connection  it  may  be  mentioned  that  apparently 
pyroligneous  acid  is  sometimes  ased  for  curing  herrings  instead 
of  smoking.  Whether  this  is  a  desirable  procedure  or  not 
admits  of  a  difference  of  opinion  ;  possibly  the  acid  is  as 
harmless  as  the  empyreumatic  products  in  the  smoke. 


PART   III 

CHAPTER  XV 

COLOUKING   MATTEES   USED   IN   FOOD   AND   DRINK 

THE  employment  of  pigments  for  the  purpose  of  colouring 
articles  of  food  dates  back  at  least  fifty  years,  and  was  the 
subject  of  many  investigations  by  the  proprietors  of  the 
'  Lancet '  in  1851  and  subsequent  years.  Cayenne  pepper 
was  found  to  contain  sulphide  of  mercury,  red  lead,  and  various 
oxides  of  iron,  no  less  than  twenty-two  out  of  twenty-eight 
samples  containing  mineral  colouring  matters;  twenty-seven 
out  of  thirty- three  samples  of  preserved  bottled  fruits  and 
vegetables  were  coloured  with  copper;  red  lead  was  found  in 
anchovies ;  whilst  various  specimens  of  confectionery  were 
shown  to  contain  chromate  of  lead,  gamboge,  red  lead,  sulphide 
of  mercury,  umber  and  sienna,  Prussian  blue,  carbonate  of 
copper,  and  arsenite  of  copper  ;  and  white  lead  was  detected  in 
ornaments  used  for  adorning  cakes.  Of  the  vegetable  matters 
turmeric  was  used  for  colouring  milk  even  in  1851. 

With  the  advent  of  the  aniline  dyes  mineral  pigments 
have  almost  entirely  ceased  to  be  employed,  with  the  exception 
of  copper  sulphate  and  oxides  of  iron,  the  former  being 
practically  the  sole  substance  used  for  preserving  the  colour 
of  green  vegetables,  none  of  the  more  recently  discovered  dyes 
being  capable  of  producing  the  desired  effect.  Annatto,  and 
turmeric  also,  are  to  some  extent  being  similarly  replaced. 

The  colouring  matters  principally  employed  may  be  classi- 
fied according  to  their  nature  into  animal,  vegetable,  and 
mineral,  the  chief  representative  of  the  first  group  being 
cochineal,  which  is  used  in  jams,  jellies,  syrups,  cordials,  and 
certain  preserved  fruits  such  as  cherries. 


174 


PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 


The  extent  to  which  artificial  colouring  matters  are  to  be 
found  in  articles  of  food  is  indicated  by  the  following  table, 
which  is  taken  from  the  Report  of  the  Departmental  Com- 
mittee : 

SUMMARY  OP  SAMPLES  OP  FOOD  (BOTH  HOME  AND  IMPORTED  PBODUCE)  AND  THE 
COLOURING  MATTERS  FOUND  THEREIN  (EXAMINED  IN  THE  GOVERNMENT  LABORATORY) 


Colouring  matters 

q  "<> 

No. 

Description 

Total 
samples 

o3  rt  *2  fe 
£aj| 

Per- 
centage 
co  cured 

Coal-tar 

1  Vege- 
table 

Animal 

Mineral 

1 

Milk    .... 

296 



3 





3 

1-0 

2 

Cream 

290 

9 

1 

— 

— 

10 

3-4 

3 

Butter 

364 

40 

87 

— 



127 

349 

4 

Margarine   . 

133 

100 

15 

—           — 

109' 

81-9 

5 

Cheese 

196 

5 

107 

—      '      — 

1112 

56-6 

6 

Condensed  milk  . 

86 

— 

— 

—           — 

— 

— 

7 

Bacon. 

210 

— 

— 

—      :      

— 

— 

8 

Ham   .... 

185 

— 

— 

—       '       — 

— 

— 

9 

Sausages     . 

226 

72 

1 

1             — 

74 

32-7 

10 

Potted  meats 

165 

27 

2 

3 

32 

19-4 

11 

Preserved  meats 

135 

— 

— 

1         — 

1 

0-7 

12 

Brawn 

56 

6 

— 

—         — 

6 

10-7 

13 

Fresh  fish    . 

43 

— 

— 

—  .         — 

—      !      

14 

Preserved  fish      . 

44 

— 

— 

1 

1          2-3 

15 

Meat  jellies 

25 

3 

— 

1         — 

4     1    16-0 

]6 

Fruit  jellies 

28 

9 

— 

4                      13        46-4 

17 

Pork  pies     . 

48 

— 

— 

—         —         —         — 

18 

Lard    .... 

52 

— 

•  —  . 

—         — 

—         — 

19 

Jam    .... 

150        10 

— 

—     '     — 

10          6-7 

20 

Preserved  fruits  . 

48         4 

— 

2 

6        12-5 

21 

Fruit  pulp  . 

10 

— 

— 

—         — 

—     i     — 

22 

Preserved  vegetables   . 

49 

— 

17 

17     !    34-7 

23 

Lime  and  lemon  juice 

78         1 

— 

—         — 

1           1-3 

24 

Cordials 

24       12 

— 

2         — 

14        58-3 

25 

Fruit  syrups 

23       12 

— 

1 

— 

13        56-5 

26 

Temperance  drinks 

769       56 

— 

1 

57           7-4 

27 

Imported  beers    . 

100       — 

— 

—    ;    — 

—         — 

28 

Wines  and  beers 

32 

— 

!            

— 

— 

29 

Vinegar 

77 

— 

— 



— 

— 

.  — 

30 

Meat  extracts 

50       — 

— 



— 

—         — 

31 

Sauces  and  ketchups  . 

10 

5 

3 



— 

8        80-0 

32 

Soups  .... 

49  !       1 

— 



— 

1          2-0 

33 

Sugars 

149       24 

— 



— 

24        16-1 

34 

Spices 

22 

— 

2 



2 

4        18-2 

35 

Miscellaneous  3    . 

29 

2 

•  — 

'  

— 

2 

6-9 

Totals 

4,251 

398 

221 

11         25 

648 

15-2 

The  principal  vegetable  dyes  are  annatto,  turmeric,  camwood, 
logwood.     To  these  may  be  added  gamboge,  saffron,  and 

1  Six  of  these  contained  both  vegetable  and  coal-tar  yellows. 

2  One  of  these  contained  both  vegetable  and  coal-tar  yellows. 

3  Invalid  foods,  &c. 


COLOUEING  MATTEES  IN  FOOD  AND  DEINK      175 

carrot  juice,  which  are  used  by  some  dairy  farmers,  and 
burnt  sugar  or  caramel,  which  is  occasionally  employed  for 
darkening  brandy. 

Annatto  is  still  the  principal  substance  used  by  dairy 
farmers,  though  it  is  to  some  extent  being  replaced  by  aniline 
dyes  such  as  methyl-orange.  It  is  sold  to  the  trade  under 
various  names,  such  as  '  cowslip  colour,'  '  butter  colour,'  and 
'  oleo-butter  colour ' ;  occasionally  it  is  mixed  with  a  coal-tar 
yellow,  such  as  tropaeolin.  It  is  used  also  for  margarine  to 
counterfeit  butter.  Annatto  is  an  extract  from  the  pulp  of 
Bixa  Orellana.  This  is  usually  sold  either  as  an  aqueous 
extract,  or  dissolved  in  cotton-seed  oil.  Of  the  commercial 
preparations  the  quantity  recommended  varies  from  a  tea- 
spoonful  in  16  to  1  in  60  gallons  of  milk,  a  proportion  of 
about  1  in  20,000  to  1  in  80,000  respectively.  According  to 
Mr.  Droop  Eichmond,  the  chemist  of  the  Aylesbury  Dairy 
Company,  the  usual  quantity  is  about  1  part  in  30,000,  which  is 
equivalent  to  1  part  in  1,500,000  of  actual  colouring  matter 
(bixin).1  For  butter  about  one  teaspoonful  is  added  to  3 
or  4  gallons  of  cream,  and  for  cheese  an  ounce  to  about 
30  Ibs.  The  necessity  for  the  addition  of  pigments  to  dairy 
products,  if  such  exists,  occurs  chiefly  during  the  winter, 
when  the  natural  colour  is  usually  paler  than  in  the  summer. 
According  to  the  evidence  of  Mr.  James  Long,  a  member  of 
the  Central  Chamber  of  Agriculture,  a  rich  colour  can  be 
maintained  throughout  the  year  by  the  addition  of  a  Jersey  or 
Guernsey  cow  to  every  ten  or  twelve  cows,  and  by  a  due 
selection  of  animals  of  the  shorthorn  breed.2  Mr.  T.  Carrington 
Smith,  Chairman  of  the  Dairy  Products  Committee  of  the 
Central  Chamber  of  Agriculture,  was  also  of  opinion  that  the 
colour  of  even  winter  butter  could  be  maintained  by  natural 
means.3 

As  regards  the  physiological  action  of  annatto,  nothing 
appears  to  be  known.  Probably  it  is  perfectly  harmless,  at 
all  events  in  the  quantities  in  which  it  is  employed. 

1  Keport  of  Departmental  Committee.  -  Ibid.  3  Ibid. 


176  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

Turmeric  is  occasionally  introduced  into  piccalilli,  and  some 
samples  of  mustard  have  been  found  to  consist  of  a  mixture  of 
mustard  and  starch  with  the  addition  of  this  colouring  matter. 
There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  in  the  quantities  employed 
any  injury  to  health  will  result. 

Of  the  other  vegetable  dyes,  logwood  is  well  known  in 
medicine  as  an  astringent  in  virtue  of  the  tannic  acid  it  con- 
tains ;  the  dose  of  the  decoction  (1  part  in  20)  is  from  1  to 
2  fluid  ounces.  Gamboge,  on  the  other  hand,  is  a  powerful 
purgative,  the  pharmacopoeial  dose  being  from  \  to  2  grains. 
Both  of  these  are  therefore  objectionable  as  colouring  matters. 
The  latter  is  now  rarely  if  ever  met  with,  its  use  having  been 
supplanted  by  the  relatively  cheaper  and  less  harmful  aniline 
dyes.  The  former  is  said  to  be  found  in  cheap  wines,  but 
there  appears  to  be  no  foundation  for  the  statement,  as  we  can 
find  no  record  of  logwood  having  been  detected  of  recent  years. 

The  mineral  dyes  or  stains  at  present  used  are  all  metallic 
compounds.  Reference  has  already  been  made  to  a  number 
of  poisonous  metallic  salts,  which  were  formerly  largely  used 
in  colouring  confectionery,  but  as  they  are  now  rarely  if  ever 
employed  they  call  for  no  further  comment.  The  two  chief 
metals  in  present  use  are  copper  in  the  form  of  the  sulphate 
for  green  vegetables  and  fruit,  and  oxide  of  iron  for  sausages, 
cocoa,  confectionery,  anchovies,  bloater  paste,  sauces  and  con- 
diments, and  other  foods  of  a  dark  red  tint.  One  of  the 
commonest  forms  in  which  an  iron  compound  is  used  is  known 
as  '  Armenian  bole,'  which  is  an  oxide  mixed  with  a  silicious 
earth.  Although  but  little  exception  can  be  taken  on  purely 
medical  grounds  to  the  employment  of  such  a  compound,  its 
addition  is  not  infrequently  made  use  of  to  disguise  adulteration. 
Thus,  Dr.  Dupre,  in  analyzing  a  sample  of  cocoa,  found  it  to 
contain  only  30  per  cent,  of  cocoa,  the  remainder  being  chiefly 
starch  and  sugar  coloured  with  iron.1 

Copper  Salts. — Copper,  being  by  no  means  an  inert  sub- 
stance, may  be  expected  to  exert  some  deleterious  effect  on 

1  Report  of  Departmental  Committee. 


COLOUEING  MATTERS  IN  FOOD  AND  DRINK      177 

the  consumer,  and  many  prosecutions  under  the  Sale  of  Food 
and  Drugs  Acts  have  been  taken,  with  varying  success,  in 
different  parts  of  the  country,  on  account  of  the  use  of  copper 
salts  in  colouring  vegetables.  The  only  evidence  which  has 
so  far  been  adduced  is  of  a  theoretical  nature,  and  unless 
special  feeding  experiments  are  instituted  the  effects  of  copper 
are  likely  to  remain  in  doubt,  since,  even  if  a  dish  of  vegetables 
coloured  by  this  means  is  suspected  of  having  caused  dyspepsia 
or  other  symptoms  after  a  mixed  meal,  it  is  obviously  difficult, 
if  not  impossible,  to  fix  the  responsibility  on  this  particular 
constituent. 

Copper  sulphate,  which  crystallizes  with  5  molecules  of 
water,  is  employed  both  externally  and  internally  in  medicine. 
It  is  a  powerful  astringent,  the  pharmaceutical  dose  being 
£  to  2  grains.  In  larger  doses  of  from  5  to  10  grains  it  acts  as 
an  emetic,  and  if  this  effect  fails,  inflammation  of  the  gastric 
mucous  membrane  is  liable  to  occur.  Lauder  Brunton  says : 
'  Small  doses  absorbed  into  the  blood  appear  to  have  a  tonic 
action  on  some  parts  of  the  nervous  system,  and  exert  an 
astringent  action  on  mucous  membranes.'  It  is  '  excreted  by 
the  mucous  membrane  of  the  intestine,  by  the  bile  sweat,  and 
kidneys.'  So  far  as  is  known  it  is  not  cumulative — i.e.  it  does 
not  tend,  like  lead,  to  accumulate  in  the  system.  In  a  weak 
solution  it  inhibits  the  digestive  ferments  when  the  observations 
are  made  in  vitro.  The  proportions  of  copper  sulphate  capable 
of  arresting  the  action  of  the  enzymes  is  as  follows :  ptyalin, 
1  part  in  7,500 ;  pepsin,  1  part  in  110  ;  pancreatin,  1  part  in 
GjGOO.1  Even  in  minute  quantities  copper  salts  are  fatal  to 
certain  fresh-water  algae,  and  even  to  pathogenic  bacteria  such 
as  the  Bacillus  typhosus.  Many  of  the  public  water  supplies 
in  the  United  States  are  subject  to  the  growth  of  algae  and 
protozoa,  such  as  anaboena  and  uroglena,  rendering  the  water 
unfit  for  consumption  at  certain  seasons.  Dr.  George  Moore, 
of  the  scientific  staff  of  the  United  States  Government,  made 
experiments  with  a  number  of  germicides,  and  found  that 

1  Keport  of  Departmental  Committee,  p.  393.    Appendix  XVI. 

12 


178  PRESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

sulphate  of  copper  in  dilutions  of  1  in  10,000,000  to  1  in 
50,000,000  was  sufficient  to  kill  the  algae.  He  further  tried 
the  effect  of  the  salt  on  a  large  scale  in  the  case  of  the  reservoir 
of  a  town  in  Kentucky  which  was  quite  overgrown  with 
anaboena.  The  reservoir  had  a  capacity  of  25,000,000  gallons, 
and  it  was  found  that  a  proportion  of  copper  sulphate  equivalent 
to  1  part  in  4,000,000  destroyed  the  growth  in  twenty-four 
hours.  In  a  similar  instance,  the  water  of  a  reservoir  was 
purified  in  five  days  by  1  part  of  copper  sulphate  in  8,500,000. 
Experimenting  with  typhoid  and  cholera  bacilli,  Dr.  Moore 
found  that  these  were  killed  in  four  or  five  hours  by  1  part  of 
copper  sulphate  in  100,000,  and  that  on  a  large  scale  this 
proportion  was  sufficient  to  sterilize  a  water  supply.  Copper 
sulphate  added  to  water  in  this  manner  seems  to  disappear  on 
standing ;  apparently  it  is  precipitated  as  a  hydrate  or  car- 
bonate, or  as  an  organic  compound  which  settles  on  sedi- 
mentation. The  salt  appears  to  have  more  effect  on  plant 
than  on  animal  life,  since  goldfish  and  minnows  are  unaffected 
by  a  strength  of  1  in  200,000^  Eideal  and  Baines  have 
repeated  Dr.  Moore's  experiments  with  different  results.  Copper 
sulphate  was  found  to  destroy  the  typhoid  bacillus  in  three 
hours  at  a  strength  of  1  in  10,000,  and  bacillus  coli  at  a  strength 
of  1  in  1,000.  One  part  of  copper  chloride  in  10,000  destroyed 
both  bacilli  in  three  hours,  but  weaker  solutions  were  in- 
effective.2 Even  when  simply  allowed  to  stand  for  twenty-four 
hours  in  a  clean  copper  vessel,  water  infected  with  the  typhoid 
bacillus  is  apparently  freed  from  this  organism.  Fleet-Surgeon 
P.  W.  Bassett-Smith  3  has  confirmed  the  germicidal  action  of 
copper  salts,  and  bright  metallic  copper  on  a  number  of  micro- 
organisms, and  has  found  in  addition  that  iron  and  zinc  exert 
a  similar  effect. 

Sulphate  of  copper  has  been  used  in  America  in  over  fifty 
cases  for  the  destruction  of  algae  in  water  reservoirs,  and  the 

1  Journal  of  State  Medicine,  vol.  xiii.  pp.  108, 364. 

2  A  paper  read  at  the  Congress  of  the  Sanitary  Institute,  Glasgow,  1904. 

3  Journal  of  State  Medicine,  vol.  xiii.  p.  388. 


•     COLOUEING  MATTERS  IN  FOOD  AND  DRINK      179 

consumption  of  the  water  afterwards  has  not  been  found  to  pro- 
duce any  ill  effects.  The  quantity  of  copper  used  is  exceedingly 
small,  and  little,  if  any,  remains  in  the  water  after  the  deposition 
of  the  algae.  In  any  case,  the  quantity  cannot  be  compared 
with  the  amount  contained  in  peas  and  other  vegetables  greened 
with  copper,  yet  as  water  is  used  in  large  quantities  and  every 
day,  the  question  as  to  whether  traces  of  copper  contained  therein 
are  likely  to  endanger  health  is  an  important  one.  Moore  and 
Kellerman,  Government  Physiologists,  in  their  report  to  the 
W.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture l  state  as  the  result  of  their 
inquiries  that,  '  There  is  no  authentic  record  of  fatal  copper 
poisoning,  and  many  of  the  best  authorities  do  not  consider 
copper  a  true  poison ;  they  hold  that  it  is  a  natural  constituent 
of  the  body,  and  in  minute  quantities  has  no  effect  upon  man.' 
Copper  is  undoubtedly  very  widely  distributed  in  nature,  and 
traces  are  found  in  many  plants  and  animals.  Dupre  and 
others  have  found  it  in  the  liver  and  kidneys  of  man  and 
domesticated  animals,  the  amount  sometimes  exceeding  1  part 
in  20,000.  It  occurs  in  wheat,  barley,  linseed,  peas,  mustard, 
cocoa  etc.  It  appears  to  be  an  invariable  constituent  of  oysters. 
The  amount  present  in  these  substances  varies,  and  somewhat 
different  results  are  obtained,  in  estimating  such  minute 
quantities  as  occur  in  these  natural  products,  according  to  the 
process  adopted.  The  following  Table  is  from  an  article  by 
Paul  and  Townley 2  on  the  '  Detection  of  Copper  in  Vegetable 
Substance.' 

Paul  and  Townley's  estimation  : 

Parts  of  metallic  copper  in  10,000 
of  the  substance 

Maximum  Minimum 

Oysters  3'03  T81 

Cocoa,  pure  '47 
Cocoa  containing  sugar  and  starch       '58  '29 

Brandy  '01  '05 

Whisky  -04 
Preserved  Peas                                      '54  1-40 

1  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry.    Bulletin  No.  76. 

2  Phann.  Jour.  June  6,  1896. 


180  PKESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

Vedrodi's  estimation : 

Parts  of  metallic  copper  in  10,000 
of  the  substance 

Maximum  Minimum 

Winter  Wheat  8.6  2-5 

Summer  Wheat  3'0  2'5 

Barley  0'9  O'l 

Linseed  1-9  1-4 

Peas  1-5  0-9 

Mustard  Seed  I'O  0'9 

Vedrodi's  method  of  estimation  probably  gives  higher  results 
than  is  obtained  by  more  modern  processes,  otherwise  many 
vegetable  substances  contain  more  copper  than  do  others  to 
which  a  salt  of  copper  has  been  added  for  improving  or 
preserving  the  colour.  The  largest  amount  found  in  the 
samples  of  preserved  peas  by  Paul  and  Townley  does  not  equal 
the  maximum  recorded  by  Vedrodi,  whose  results  were  obtained 
with  unpreserved  peas. 

When  a  soluble  salt  of  copper  is  added  to  green  vegetables 
such  as  peas,  a  portion  enters  into  combination  with  the 
chlorophyll  forming  a  body  which  has  been  called  copper 
phyllocyanate,  and  any  excess  combines  with  the  proteid 
matter  forming  what  has  been  termed  copper  leguminate. 
The  former  compound  has  in  solution  a  characteristic  spectrum ; 
it  is  easily  soluble  in  alcohol  and  chloroform  but  not  in  water. 
It  is  this  compound  which  gives  the  characteristic  green  colour 
to  preserved  vegetables.  The  leguminate  not  having  nearly 
the  same  depth  of  tint,  its  copper  compound  is  useless  for 
'  greening  '  purposes ;  hence  if  more  copper  salt  is  added  than 
is  necessary  to  combine  with  the  chlorophyll,  the  vegetable 
contains  an  unnecessary  amount  and  is  to  this  extent  objection- 
able. After  extracting  the  chlorophyll  compound  with  alcohol 
the  compound  with  legumin  can  be  dissolved  in  water  rendered 
slightly  alkaline  by  the  addition  of  caustic  soda  l ;  hence  by 
estimating  the  copper  in  the  two  solutions  an  approximate 

1  Das  Kupfer.    Dr.  A.  Tschircli,  p.  33. 


COLOUEING  MATTEES  IN  FOOD  AND  DEINK      181 

idea  can  be  obtained  of  the  relative  proportion  of  the  two 
copper  compounds,  and  if  any  appreciable  proportion  is  found 
in  the  alkaline  solution  it  is  probable  that  more  copper  has 
been  used  than  was  necessary  for  the  preserving  process. 

Lehmann,1  who  has  devoted  much  attention  to  the  action 
of  copper  salts,  says :  '  Of  demonstrable  severe  acute  poisoning 
cases  by  copper  produced  by  its  admixture  with  food,  not  a 
single  one  has  come  to  my  knowledge.  The  reports  in  literature 
refer  either  to  poisonings  by  ptomaines  or  to  quite  different 
poisons.  .  .  .  The  danger  of  chronic  poisoning  by  preserved 
vegetables  .  .  .  has,  according  to  what  has  been  said,  probably 
never  existed.'  He  quotes  experiments  made  by  Bourneville, 
Touissant  and  others  showing  that  the  system  rapidly  becomes 
habituated  to  salts  of  copper.  For  example,  Kant  'took  for 
fifty-one  days  copper  acetate,  beginning  with  5  mlgr.  and  then 
increasing  to  10,  15,  20,  25,  and  for  the  last  sixteen  days 
30  mlgr.  The  last  dose  is  almost  equivalent  to  O'l  gram 
copper  sulphate.  He  experienced  no  trace  of  indisposition.' 
Tschirch,2  whose  monograph  on '  Copper,'  published  at  Stuttgart 
in  1893,  treats  of  the  presence  of  the  metal  in  animal  and 
vegetable  foods  in  an  exhaustive  manner,  considers  it  proved 
that  the  small  quantity  of  copper  found  naturally  in  foods  or 
introduced  carefully  into  the  same  for  colour  preserving  is 
perfectly  harmless,  the  metal  being  excreted  by  the  liver  and 
kidneys  so  rapidly  that  no  accumulation  occurs.  He  admits 
that  larger  quantities  produce  ill  effects.  His  experiments 
with  men  and  animals  lead  him  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
largest  amount  which  could  be  taken  daily  without  danger  was 
0-1  gram  of  copper  for  a  man  weighing  60  kilogrammes.  The 
degree  of  solubility  of  the  copper  salt  taken  is,  he  asserts, 
without  influence,  the  quantity  and  not  the  solubility  of  the 
copper  compound  being  alone  of  importance.  Where  the  above 
quantity  is  exceeded,  symptoms  of  poisoning  may  appear,  but 

1  Methods  of  Practical  Hygiene.      Translated  by  Sir  W.   Crookes,  vol.  ii. 
pp. 377-8, 

2  Das  Kupfer,  p.  114. 


182  PEESEKVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

very  quickly  disappear,  the  system  returning  to  its  normal 
condition.  In  round  figures  Tschirch  gives  0-05  gram  copper 
oxide  per  kilogram  of  preserved  vegetables  as  being  absolutely 
harmless  even  if  a  kilo  (2£  Ib.)  be  consumed  daily.  Lehmann,1 
in  a  more  recent  study,  has  found  copper  in  a  greater  number 
of  unsophisticated  articles  of  diet  than  has  been  hitherto 
supposed,  and  computes  that  under  ordinary  circumstances 
each  individual  takes  with  his  daily  food  O02  gram  of  copper. 
He  thinks  that  harm  may  ensue  if  by  the  use  of  preserved 
vegetables  the  amount  consumed  daily  reaches  0'120  gram. 
Tschirch's  opinion  corroborates  this.  He  thinks  that  so  long 
as  the  total  quantitj^  of  copper  ingested  does  not  exceed  O'l 
gram  per  kilogramme  of  the  food  there  can  be  no  question 
of  any  injury  to  health  by  any  preserved  vegetable  of  which 
not  more  than  \  a  kilo  is  consumed  by  a  person  per  day.  '  To 
prohibit  absolutely  copper  in  food  or  drink,'  he  adds,  '  is 
equivalent  to  prohibiting  plants  to  absorb  it  from  the  soil,  and 
to  include  bread,  oysters  and  many  other  such  articles  of  food 
in  the  category  of  articles  "  injurious  to  health."  ' 1 

The  quantity  of  sulphate  of  copper  which  has  been  found  in 
preserved  vegetables  varies  considerably.  The  usual  amount 
appears  to  be  from  2  to  3  grains  per  pound  (expressed  as  the  crys- 
tallized salt),  but  as  little  as  a  £  grain  and  as  much  as  26£ 
grains  per  pound  have  been  recorded.2  There  is  no  doubt  that 
bottled  peas  soon  lose  their  green  colour  if  preserved  without 
copper,  becoming  brownish,  although  retaining  their  flavour. 
The  copper  also  appears  to  harden  the  testa  or  outer  covering 
of  the  pea,  rendering  it  less  liable  to  disintegrate.  Peas  pre- 
served without  copper  render  the  liquid  in  which  they  are  kept 
turbid  when  shaken,  and  this  has  led  to  such  peas  being  seized 
and  condemned  as  unwholesome,  although  the  prosecution 
failed  when  the  case  was  tried.  No  substitute  has  yet  been 
found  for  colouring  vegetables,  and,  according  to  some  experi- 
ments made  by  Professor  Tunnicliffe,  2  grains  per  pound  is 

1  Arch.  Hygiene,  xxiv.  quoted  in  Year  Book  of  Pharmacy,  1897,  p.  204. 

2  Report  of  Departmental  Committee. 


COLOUEING  MATTERS  IN  FOOD  AND  DRINK      183 

approximately  the  smallest  quantity  of  copper  sulphate  which 
is  efficient  in  maintaining  a  dark-green  colour,  peas  containing 
half  this  amount  being  of  a  yellowish  tinge  at  the  end  of  six 
months.  The  actual  amount  of  the  salt  which  must  be  added 
to  the  peas  in  the  process  of  preservation  is  considerably  in 
excess  of  that  which  is  permanently  retained  by  them.  Thus, 
in  one  of  his  experiments,  8  grammes  of  copper  sulphate  were 
used  by  Dr.  Tunnicliffe  for  15'9  kilos  of  peas,  which  were  found 
after  the  process  to  contain  74  mlgm.  of  copper  (about  296  mlgm. 
of  copper  sulphate)  per  kilo  after  ten  minutes'  boiling,  but  the 
quantity  taken  up  by  the  peas  appears  to  be  proportional  to 
the  strength  of  the  sulphate  in  solution,  when  the  time  of 
boiling  remains  constant.1 

When  peas  are  boiled  with  copper  sulphate  there  is  ap- 
parently a  definite  combination  between  the  metal  and  certain 
constituents  of  the  pea,  legumin  and  chlorophyll,  and  the  whole 
of  the  pea  is  impregnated.  The  metal  is  not  removed  by  plain 
water,  acids,  or  alkalis,  and  the  colour  is  not  due  to  the  natural 
tint  of  the  copper  salt.  There  is  some  conflicting  evidence  as 
to  the  extent  to  which  the  copper  is  capable  of  being  removed 
by  the  digestive  ferments.  Mr.  W.  Collingwood  Williams 
found  that  about  40  per  cent,  of  the  whole  copper  was  dissolved 
out  after  peas  had  been  subjected  to  the  action  of  either  pepsin 
and  hydrochloric  acid,  or  of  pancreatic  extract,  for  three  hours 
in  an  incubator.  Dr.  J.  Spottiswoode  Cameron,  on  the  other 
hand,  was  able  to  recover  practically  the  whole  of  the  copper 
from  a  sample  of  peas  by  the  action  both  of  pepsin  and  hydro- 
chloric acid,  and  of  an  alkaline  pancreatic  solution,  the  digestion 
being  allowed  to  proceed  at  body  temperature  for  twenty-four 
hours.2  In  the  present  state  of  knowledge  concerning  the 
action  of  small  doses  of  copper  on  the  human  subject,  the 
desirability  of  the  addition  of  this  substance  to  vegetables 
must  be  largely  a  matter  of  personal  opinion.  On  the  one 
hand  it  is  certain  that  copper  is  a  poisonous  substance  even  in 
moderate  quantities,  and  it  is  highly  probable  that  some,  if  not 

'  Ibid.,  Appendix  V.  2  Report  of  Departmental  Committee. 


184 

all  of  it,  in  preserved  vegetables  is  in  a  form  which  is  soluble  in 
the  digestive  juices.  On  the  other  hand  it  is  certain  that,  if 
the  copper  is  omitted,  the  vegetables  will  lose  their  colour,  and 
it  is  generally  held  that  the  appetizing  appearance  of  food  has 
considerable  influence  on  the  digestive  processes.  Three  out  of 
four  of  the  members  of  the  Departmental  Committee  agreed 
in  condemning  the  use  of  salts  of  copper,  whilst  Professor 
Tunnicliffe  considered  that  the  public  would  be  sufficiently 
protected  if  the  colouring  matter  were  declared,  and  if  the 
quantity  were  limited  to  half  a  grain  of  metallic  copper  per 
pound  (-07  parts  per  1,000). 

Copper  is  prohibited  in  Germany,  Austria,  and  Hungary, 
whilst  in  certain  parts  of  Switzerland  and  Italy  1  part  in  10,000 
of  metallic  copper  is  permitted.  In  the  United  States  it  is  not 
forbidden,  provided  that  the  addition  is  notified  and  the 
amount  stated.  In  France  there  was  formerly  an  order 
prohibiting  the  use  of  copper,  but  this  has  subsequently 
been  rescinded  after  a  number  of  scientific  inquiries  on  the 
subject.1 

Tin  Salts. — Chloride  of  tin  has  been  extensively  used  to  colour 
and  give  a  bloom  to  beet-sugar,  causing  it  to  resemble  Demerara 
sugar,  but  it  is  probable  that  this  custom  has  now  ceased.2  Save 
that  it  enhances  the  value  of  the  sugar  by  improving  its 
appearance,  and  thus  permits  of  a  fraudulent  substitution,  the 
addition  is  harmless. 

Coal-tar  Dyes. — The  last,  and  probably  the  largest,  class  of 
dyes  is  that  which  comprises  the  coal-tar  colours.  They  are 
practically  unlimited  in  variety,  and  are  used  for  confectionery, 
jellies,  jams,  meat — especially  sausages — dairy  products,  tem- 
perance beverages,  and  wines.  Apart  from  their  function  of 
producing  a  pleasing  appearance,  they  are  undoubtedly  used 
fraudulently,  as  in  margarine  to  make  it  resemble  butter,  in 
beet-sugar  crystals  to  resemble  Demerara  sugar,  and  in  adul- 
terated mustard  to  counterfeit  pure  mustard  ;  whilst  over  hams 
and  tongues  a  compound  that  may  consist  of  borax,  salt, 

1  Eeport  of  Departmental  Committee,  Appendix  I.         2  Ibid.,  Appendix  XVII. 


creosote,  and  a  red  coal-tar  dye,  is  sometimes  brushed  to  make 
the  meat  appear  well  smoked.1 

The  quantity  of  dye  used  is  generally  very  small,  rarely 
exceeding  1  part  in  1,000,  and  being  often  less  than  1  part  in 
100,000.  The  pigments  are  usually  of  the  '  azo '  class,  and 
generally  sulphonated  when  required  in  a  soluble  form.  In 
dairy  products,  for  instance,  the  two  commonest  coal-tar  dyes 
are  dimethyl- amido-azo-benzene  (butter-yellow)  and  certain 
tropaeolins,  which  are  sulphonated  azo  compounds. 

The  trade  names  are  sometimes  misleading ;  for  instance, 
a  dye  used  in  confectionery  and  called  '  vermilion '  is  a  pure 
aniline  colour.  Many  of  the  stains  used  in  pathological,  bacterio- 
logical, and  chemical  laboratories,  such  as  eosin,  Bismarck 
brown,  picric  acid,  fuchsin,  methylene  blue,  Hoffmann's  violet, 
methyl  orange,  and  Congo  red  are  also  employed  for  colouring 
articles  of  food  and  drink. 

Owing  to  the  very  small  quantities  of  these  dyes  which  are 
necessary  to  produce  the  desired  effect  it  is  almost  impossible 
to  form  an  opinion  as  to  whether  or  not  they  are  likely  to  be 
prejudicial  to  health.  Many  of  the  coal-tar  products  which 
are  used  in  medicine  are  liable  to  produce  toxic  effects,  and, 
on  account  of  idiosyncrasy,  even  in  ordinary  doses.  Sulphate 
of  anilin  has  been  used  medicinally  in  \  to  3  grain  doses,  but 
has  produced  cyanosis.  A  case  is  recorded  of  a  woman  who 
drank  3  ounces  of  marking  ink,  chiefly  consisting  of  aniline 
dye,  with  fatal  results ;  two  4-grain  doses  of  acetanilide 
(phenylacetamide)  have  been  known  to  cause  very  serious 
symptoms ;  a  10-grain  dose  of  phenazone  (antipyrin,  phenyl- 
dimethyl-iso-pyrazolene)  has  caused  toxic  symptoms  and  a 
rash ;  many  cases  of  poisoning  by  sulphonal  (a  dimethyl- 
methane-diethylsulphone)  have  been  recorded  ;  15  drops  of 
nitrobenzole  may  prove  fatal.  All  these  substances  appear  to 
have  similar  toxic  effects,  the  chief  clinical  symptoms  being 
cyanosis  and  faintness,  while  the  blood  gives  the  spectrum  of 
methsemoglobin,  and  the  urine  may  contain  haematoporphyrin. 
1  Dr.  Hope,  Report  of  Departmental  Committee. 


186  PEESEKVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

Mr.  Cochrane,  of  the  Pennsylvania  Station,  found  that  24 
to  32  drops  of  aniline  yellow  and  methyl  orange  produced 
headache,  loss  of  appetite,  nausea,  vomiting,  and  nervous  de- 
pression.1 

Weyl  found  that  the  following  aniline  dyes  were  poisonous : 
picric  acid,  dinitrokresol,  Martius'  yellow,  Bismarck  brown, 
Orange  II.,  and  mustard  yellow ;  and  there  is  a  case  on  record 
in  French  literature  of  a  person  who  took  3£  grammes  of 
dinitrokresol  with  fatal  results.2 

Apart  from  such  instances  of  what  may  be  termed  gross 
poisoning,  nothing  is  known  as  to  the  effects  of  small  doses  of 
the  coal-tar  products  on  the  human  system. 

In  Austria-Hungary  a  decree  of  1866  forbids  in  food  the 
use  of  any  colouring  matter  which  contains  metals  (iron 
excepted),  gamboge,  picric  acid,  or  aniline.  But  in  1895  a 
large  number  of  aniline  dye-stuffs  which  do  not  contain  arsenic 
were  permitted  to  be  used  for  sweetmeats,  liquors,  &c.,  speci- 
mens of  such  colours  to  be  submitted  yearly  to  official  exami- 
nation. Ultramarine  was  only  permitted  when  free  from 
arsenic,  and  in  such  small  quantities  that  in  a  10  per  cent, 
solution  of  water  its  presence  is  not  distinguishable. 

All  harmless  vegetable  colouring  matters  are  allowed,  and 
saffron,  chlorophyll,  and  cochineal  are  largely  employed. 

In  France,  a  decree  of  December  29,  1890,  sets  out  a 
list  of  colours  which  are  prohibited,  and  also  a  list  of  certain 
coal-tar  derivatives  which  are  permissible  in  sweetmeats, 
lozenges,  ices,  and  liquors.  No  colouring  matter  is  allowed  in 
wines  or  margarine. 

In  Germany  the  following  pigments  are  prohibited  for 
colouring  foods  :  those  containing  antimony,  arsenic,  barytes, 
lead,  cadmium,  chromium,  copper,  mercury,  uranium,  zinc, 
tin,  gamboge,  coralline,  arid  picric  acid. 

In  Italy  the  colouring  of  margarine  is  prohibited,  and 
certain  scheduled  noxious  colours  are  forbidden. 

1  Mr.  James  Long,  Eeport  of  Departmental  Committee. 

-  Professor  A.  Wynter  Blyth,  Eeport  of  Departmental  Committee. 


COLOUEING  MATTEES  IN  FOOD  AND  DEINK      187 

In  the  United  States  no  colouring  matter  is  to  be  used, 
unless  each  package  bears  testimony  as  to  the  name  and 
amount.1 

The  only  instance  of  illness  due  to  the  action  of  colouring 
matter,  which  has  come  under  our  observation,  was  that  of  a 
child  who  had  eaten  a  considerable  quantity  of  red  cachous. 
The  urine  became  of  an  intense  red  colour,  and  the  boy  feeling 
sick,  the  mother  promptly  sent  for  a  medical  man.  In  this 
case,  no  doubt,  the  child  had  consumed  an  excessive  quantity 
of  the  sweets  in  question,  and  it  is  not  improbable  that  the 
sugar  and  flavouring  matter  rather  than  the  colouring  material 
upset  his  digestive  system,  the  colouring  matter  in  the  urine 
merely  causing  alarm.  The  production  of  these  highly 
flavoured  and  coloured  sweetmeats  at  a  very  low  cost  is  not  an 
unmixed  blessing,  and  it  is  conceivable  that  they  may  be  pro- 
ductive of  harm,  especially  if  used  by  children  and  in  excessive 
quantities. 

In  the  present  state  of  knowledge  the  case  for  and  against 
colouring  matters  can  hardly  be  better  summed  up  than  in  the 
words  of  the  Departmental  Committee  : 

'  126.  In  regard  to  the  colouring  matters  of  modern  origin, 
while  we  are  of  opinion  that  articles  of  food  are  very  much 
preferable  in  their  natural  colours,  we  are  unable  to  deduce 
from  the  evidence  received  that  any  injurious  results  have 
been  traced  to  their  consumption.  Undoubtedly  some  of  the 
substances  used  to  colour  confectionery  and  sweetmeats  are 
highly  poisonous  in  themselves,  but  they  are  used  in  in- 
finitesimal proportions,  and  before  any  individual  has  taken 
enough  of  colouring  matter  to  injure  him,  his  digestion  would 
probably  have  been  seriously  disturbed  by  the  substance  which 
they  were  employed  to  adorn. 

'  127.  The  employment  of  copper  sulphate  to  colour  peas 

and  other  vegetables  has  been  carefully  considered  by  us.     It 

is   highly   undesirable  that  what   is   admittedly   a   poisonous 

substance   should  be  used,   even   to   the   smallest   extent,  in 

1  Report  of  the  Departmental  Committee,  Appendix  I. 


188  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

connection  with  such  food  as  may  be  consumed  in  consider- 
able quantity.  The  public  have  got  into  their  heads  that 
vegetables  ought  to  be  green,  and  green  they  insist  upon 
having  them.  Direct  proof  that  vegetables  containing  copper 
are  injurious  to  the  consumer  is  from  the  very  nature  of  the 
case  difficult  to  obtain,  and  we  must  admit  that  we  have  not 
succeeded  in  obtaining  it.  There  is  evidence  pointing  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  copper,  when  added  to  the  vegetables, 
forms  a  compound  which  is  not  easily  soluble  in  the  human 
economy.  There  is,  however,  evidence  of  a  contrary  character, 
and  it  is  not  clear  to  us  that  the  copper  added  becomes,  or 
remains,  insoluble  under  all  conditions.  Be  this  as  it  may, 
recent  events l  have  so  incontestably  demonstrated  the  serious 
and  widespread  mischief  which  may  result  from  the  consump- 
tion of  food  and  drink,  other  than  sweetmeats,  containing 
even  minimal  quantities  of  poisonous  metallic  substances,  that 
we  are  strongly  of  opinion  that  such  poisonous  substances 
should  be  rigorously  excluded. 

'  128.  There  is  such  a  wide  choice  of  colouring  matters 
suitable  for  the  dairy  trade,  that  no  inconvenience  would  arise 
from  restricting  it  to  the  use  of  innocuous  substances,  as  these 
may  be  defined  and  permitted  in  the  manner  hereafter  sug- 
gested. But  the  same  reason  which  we  have  given  for  the 
prohibition  of  preservatives  in  milk  offered  for  sale,  namely, 
the  large  quantity  thereof  which  may  be  consumed  by  an 
individual,  appears  to  render  it  highly  undesirable  that  any 
colouring  matter  should  be  permitted  in  milk.  There  is  this 
further  consideration,  that  milk  is  sold  as  an  absolutely  raw, 
unmanufactured  article,  of  which  the  purchaser  is  entitled  to 
be  aware  of  the  natural  colour,  and  to  draw  his  own  conclu- 
sions therefrom  as  to  quality. 

'129.  In  the  butter  trade  and  still  more  in  the  cheese  trade 
artificial  colouring  has  long  been  established.  Highly  coloured 
goods  find  favour  in  some  markets,  uncoloured  or  faintly 
coloured  goods  in  others.  We  have  not  found  that  in  the 

1  I.e.  the  epidemic  caused  by  arsenic  in  beer. 


COLOUEING  MATTEES  IN  FOOD  AND  DEINK      189 

interest  of  the  consumer  any  interference  is  necessary  with  the 
customs  of  the  trade  in  this  respect. 

'  130.  In  regard  to  margarine,  we  have  to  deal  with  a 
cheaper  and  relatively  inferior  article,  invariably  coloured  to 
resemble  a  more  costly  and  superior  article,  and  probably  the 
only  means  of  protecting  the  public  from  imposition  would  be 
to  prohibit  the  introduction  of  any  colouring  matter  into  mar- 
garine which  shall  cause  it  to  resemble  butter.  Be  the  regula- 
tions as  to  the  sale  of  margarine  under  declaration  what  they 
may,  they  cannot  protect  the  customer  who  calls  for  bread  and 
butter  at  an  hotel  or  restaurant  from  being  served  with  bread 
and  margarine,  and  paying  for  it  at  the  rate  charged  for  the 
superior  article.  But  as  the  margarine  may  be  assumed  to  be 
a  perfectly  wholesome  article  of  diet,  it  does  not  fall  within  the 
terms  of  our  reference  to  make  any  recommendation  upon  a 
practice  which  is  not  attended  with  risk  to  the  public  health.' 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  Committee  referred  to  the 
opportunities  which  the  use  of  colouring  matters  afford  for 
substituting  inferior  for  genuine  articles  in  the  case  of  margarine, 
and,  as  we  have  indicated,  other  instances  have  been  brought  to 
the  knowledge  of  public  officials :  for  example,  cocoa,  mustard, 
and  smoked  hams. 

The  recommendations  referring  to  colouring  matters  made 
by  the  Departmental  Committee  were  as  follows  : 

'  B.  That  the  use  of  any  preservative  or  colouring  matter 
whatever  in  milk  offered  for  sale  in  the  United  Kingdom  be 
constituted  an  offence  under  the  Sale  of  Food  and  Drugs 
Acts.' 

'  F.  That  the  use  of  copper  salts  in  the  so-called  greening  of 
preserved  foods  be  prohibited. 

'  G.  That  means  be  provided,  either  by  the  establishment 
of  a  separate  Court  of  Reference,  or  by  the  imposition  of  more 
direct  obligation  on  the  Local  Government  Board,  to  exercise 
supervision  over  the  use  of  preservatives  and  colouring  matters 
in  foods,  and  to  prepare  schedules  of  such  as  may  be  considered 
inimical  to  the  public  health.' 


190  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

Of  the  four  members  of  the  Committee  responsible  for  the 
report,  Professor  Tunnicliffe  alone  took  exception  to  paragraph 
127  and  recommendation  F,  referring  to  the  use  of  copper  in 
preserved  vegetables,  and  in  a  short  minority  report  he  said 
that  he  could  conceive  of  no  conditions  under  which  the  small 
quantity  of  copper  present  in  properly  preserved  peas  could  be 
injurious  to  any  consumer  to  whom  the  peas  themselves  would 
be  harmless.  As,  however,  unnecessarily  large  amounts  of 
copper  are  often  present  in  vegetables  permanently  coloured 
by  it,  he  recommended  that  the  presence  of  copper  should  in 
every  case  be  declared,  and  that  its  amount  should  be  restricted 
to  half  a  grain  of  metallic  copper  per  pound. 


CHAPTEE   XVI 

MINERAL   POISONS   WHICH   MAY   OCCUR   IN   FOOD   AND   DRINK 

Arsenic. — Arsenical  compounds  are  very  widely  diffused  in 
nature,  and  it  has  long  been  known  that  infinitesimal  traces 
can  be  discovered  in  many  materials  used  as  food,  or  in  the 
preparation  of  articles  of  food,  but  it  was  not  until  the  great 
outbreak  of  arsenical  poisoning,  which  occurred  among  beer 
drinkers  in  1900,  that  serious  attention  was  given  to  the 
subject.  In  November  of  that  year  Dr.  E.  S.  Keynolds,  of 
Manchester,  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  cases  of  peripheral 
neuritis  under  treatment  at  the  Infirmary  were  due  to  arsenical 
poisoning  ;  as  all  the  patients  were  beer  drinkers  he  suspected 
the  beer,  and  upon  examining  samples  he  discovered  the 
presence  of  dangerous  proportions  of  arsenic  in  many.  A 
Royal  Commission  was  appointed  in  February  1901  to  ascertain 
what  amount  of  recent  exceptional  sickness  and  death  was 
attributable  to  arsenic,  and  whether  such  exceptional  sickness 
had  been  due  to  arsenic  in  beer  or  to  other  food  substances. 
This  Commission,  after  collecting  a  large  mass  of  evidence, 
published  its  final  report  in  1903,  and  to  this  report  we  are 
indebted  for  much  of  the  information  contained  in  this  section. 
The  Commission  found  that  many  thousands  of  persons  had 
been  affected,  principally  in  Lancashire  and  Staffordshire,  but 
Manchester  and  the  neighbourhood  suffered  most  severely,  it 
being  estimated  that  in  Manchester  and  Salford  alone  at  least 
3,000  persons  suffered  from  arsenical  poisoning,  and  that  all 
the  persons  affected  were  addicted  to  the  use  of  beer.  The 
epidemic  was  traced  to  the  consumption  of  beer  from  certain 
breweries  using  glucose  made  by  a  single  firm.  Samples  of 


192  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

this  glucose  yielded  arsenic  varying  from  0*015  to  0'131  per 
cent.,  equivalent  to  1*05  and  9'17  grains  of  arsenious  oxide  per 
pound.  This  arsenic  was  further  traced  to  the  sulphuric  acid 
used  in  the  manufacture  of  the  sugar,  some  samples  containing 
as  much  as  2-5  per  cent,  of  arsenious  acid.  The  amount  of 
poison  present  in  beers  brewed  with  this  sugar  differed  widely. 
'  Not  only  did  the  proportion  of  these  sugars  used  in  different 
beers  vary  greatly,  but  there  is  further  material  difference  due 
to  the  stage  at  which  the  sugar  was  introduced  into  the  beer.' 
The  evidence  goes  to  show  that,  in  the  process  of  brewing,  a 
portion  of  the  arsenic  contained  in  arsenical  brewing  sugar 
added  before  fermentation  will  be  removed  by  the  action  of 
yeast,  and  possibly  also  in  other  ways ;  whereas,  if  arsenical 
sugars  are  used  as  '  priming '  after  the  beer  has  left  the 
fermenting  vessels,  the  whole  of  the  arsenic  present  in  the 
'  priming  '  solution  will  apparently  remain  in  the  beer.  The 
quantity  found  in  the  implicated  beers  varied  from  £  grain  or 
even  less  to  1^  grain  per  gallon,  but  in  one  sample  no  less 
than  3  grains  per  gallon  were  detected. 

The  examination  of  beers  from  other  makers  not  using  the 
implicated  sugars  revealed  the  fact  that  arsenic  was  frequently 
present  in  quantities  varying  from  ^-  to  ^  of  a  grain  of 
arsenious  acid  per  gallon.  In  these  cases  the  poison  has  been 
traced  through  the  malt  to  the  fuel  used  in  kiln-drying,  and 
in  a  few  instances  traces  of  arsenic  were  discovered  in  various 
chemicals  used  in  brewing.  The  compounds  of  arsenic  present 
in  the  fuel  are  oxidized  during  the  combustion,  and  a  proportion 
of  volatile  arsenious  acid  is  formed  which  condenses  on  the 
malt  and  in  the  kilns  and  flues.  As  hops  are  also  kiln-dried, 
many  samples  were  examined,  and  in  nearly  every  case  found 
to  be  free  from  arsenic,  but  in  rare  instances  traces  were 
detected. 

The  examination  of  many  other  articles  of  food  and  drink 
rarely  reveals  the  presence  of  arsenic,  or  of  traces  sufficiently 
large  to  determine,  but,  as  both  sulphuric  acid  and  hydrochloric 
acid  frequently  contain  arsenic  in  appreciable  quantities,  and 


MINEEAL  POISONS  IN  FOOD  AND  DEINK        193 

are  extensively  used  in  the  preparation  of  food  and  drinks, 
there  is  a  danger  of  the  poison  being  introduced  into  such 
preparations. 

Glucose  is  made  by  the  action  of  sulphuric  acid  or  hydro- 
chloric acid  upon  starch,  and  in  samples  other  than  that  impli- 
cated in  the  outbreak  of  1900-1  arsenic  has  been  occasionally 
found.  In  the  Government  Laboratory  500  samples  were 
examined.  In  the  majority  no  arsenic  was  detected ;  in  the 
remainder,  with  only  two  exceptions,  the  amount  present  was 
below  YFO  grain  per  pound.  Invert  sugar,  used  by  brewers  of 
beer  and  cider,  and  in  the  manufacture  of  non-alcoholic 
beverages,  is  made  by  the  action  of  acids  on  cane  or  beet 
sugar,  and  may,  therefore,  contain  arsenic..  That  made  by 
means  of  the  impure  acid  which  led  to  the  epidemic  contained 
from  1-4  to  4'3  grains  per  pound,  but  other  samples  rarely  con- 
tained as  much  as  ^io  grain  per  pound.  Glycerine  is  another 
sweet  substance  which  is  liable  to  contain  large  traces  of 
arsenic,  3  or  4  grains  per  pound  having  been  reported.  Caramel 
produced  from  glucose  has  been  found  to  contain  •{-  grain  of 
arsenic  per  pound.  Phosphoric  acid  and  phosphates,  boric 
acid  and  borates,  tartaric  acid  and  citric  acid,  acetic  acid, 
sulphurous  acid  and  sulphites,  yeast  and  yeast  foods,  and 
alkaline  carbonates,  are  all  liable  to  contain  traces  of  arsenic. 
Armenian  bole,  a  red  oxide  of  iron  used  in  colouring  sausages, 
&c.,  has  been  found  to  contain  as  much  as  0'8  grain  of 
arsenious  acid  per  pound.  Most  of  the  malt  now  prepared 
contains  less  than  -^ITO  °f  a  grain  per  pound,  but  samples  have 
been  examined  containing  -^  or  £  of  a  grain  of  arsenic  per 
pound.  The  foods,  &c.,  which  require  to  be  systematically 
examined  for  arsenic  are  '  beer,  foods  in  which  a  considerable 
proportion  of  glucose  is  used  (e.g.  table  syrups,  jams,  marma- 
lade, and  certain  forms  of  confectionery),  or  which,  like 
glucose,  are  prepared  by  the  use  of  a  relatively  large  quantity 
of  sulphuric  or  hydrochloric  acid  (e.g.  treacle,  golden  syrup, 
vinegar  made  from  converted  raw  grain),  and  foods  the  princi- 
pal basis  of  which  is  malt  or  yeast,  or  into  which  glycerine 

13 


194  PEESEKVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

enters  in  any  considerable  proportion.' l  A  trace  of  arsenic  has 
been  found  in  West  Indian  sugars  which  have  been  treated 
with  chloride  of  tin  to  give  colour  and  '  bloom,'  and  was  doubt- 
less introduced  with  the  chemical.  Traces  have  also  been 
found  with  the  following  substances  :  chocolate  (adulterated 
with  Armenian  bole),  liquorice,  sweets,  chicory  (doubtless  from 
process  of  drying),  coal-tar  colours,  and  gelatine. 

Arsenic  is  often  used  as  a  seed  dressing,  and  may  be  present 
in  superphosphate  manures,  but  there  is  no  evidence  showing 
that  the  grain  or  roots  of  crops  so  treated  contain  any  arsenic. 
This  poison  is,  it  is  alleged,  sometimes  given  to  poultry  to  aid 
in  the  fattening  process,  but  fowls,  fed  on  food  containing 
distinct  traces  of  arsenic,  when  examined  yielded  arsenic  only 
from  the  feathers.  Cooking  vessels  are  alleged  to  be  some- 
times enamelled  with  a  preparation  containing  arsenic,  but  the 
Departmental  Committee  found  no  arsenic  in  the  enamel  of 
twenty-six  specimens  which  they  caused  to  be  examined. 

The  Committee  obtained  no  evidence  of  arsenical  poisoning 
due  to  the  use  of  any  article  of  food  or  drink  other  than  beer. 
The  excessive  prevalence  of  alcoholic  neuritis  in  Manchester 
and  Liverpool  leads  to  a  suspicion  that  arsenical  poisoning  had 
been  prevalent  around  these  centres  for  some  years  before  the 
epidemic  outburst,  and  this  view  is  supported  by  the  fact  that 
such  cases  of  neuritis  have  become  less  common  in  those 
cities  since  1902.  In  that  year  a  series  of  cases  of  arsenic 
poisoning,  three  of  which  proved  fatal,  occurred  in  Halifax, 
all  the  persons  attacked  being  beer  drinkers.  In  this  instance 
the  implicated  beers  had  been  brewed  from  malt  impregnated 
with  arsenic,  and  the  samples  examined  appeared  to  contain 
about  ^  of  a  grain  of  arsenious  acid  per  gallon.  This 
quantity,  therefore,  seems  capable  of  causing  symptoms  of 
poisoning,  and  Professor  Delepine,  from  experiments  made  on 
rats,  concludes  that  the  continuous  daily  ingestion  of  j-fo  of  a 
grain  of  arsenic  along  with  beer  or  food  may  be  prejudicial  to 
the  human  subje.ct.  The  Departmental  Committee  express 

1  Report  of  the  Departmental  Committee. 


MINEEAL  POISONS  IN  FOOD  AND  DEINK        195 

the  opinion  that  any  quantity  of  arsenic,  however  small,  is  not 
to  be  regarded  as  admissible  in  any  articles  of  food,  and  they 
think  '  it  should  be  the  aim  of  food  manufacturers  to  exclude 
arsenic  altogether  from  their  products.' 

In  the  epidemic  of  1900  probably  over  6,000  persons  were 
affected,  and  a  total  of  seventy  fatal  cases  occurred  after  the 
nature  of  the  disease  was  recognized,  but  it  is  probable  that 
many  others  were  erroneously  attributed  to  'chronic  alcoholism, ' 
'  cirrhosis  of  liver,' 'Addison's  disease,'  'locomotor  ataxy,'  and 
various  forms  of  neuritis.  Dr.  Niven,  the  Medical  Officer 
of  Health  for  Manchester,  discovered  a  remarkable  fall  in  the 
birth-rate  in  Manchester  in  1901,  a  fall  which  was  most 
marked  in  those  districts  which  had  principally  suffered  during 
the  epidemic.  This,  he  is  inclined  to  attribute  to  the  effect  of 
the  arsenic.  The  symptoms  produced  by  the  arsenical  beers 
were  of  different  clinical  types,  and  are  thus  summarized  in 
the  second  report  of  the  Departmental  Committee  : 

'  There  occurred  throughout  the  epidemic  (and  particularly 
it  would  seem  towards  its  termination,  when  people  had  been 
drinking  arsenical  beer  for  many  weeks  or  months,  and  so  had 
taken  considerable  quantities  of  the  poison),  an  abundance  of 
cases  in  which,  once  the  possibility  of  arsenic  was  entertained, 
there  was  comparatively  little  difficulty  in  deciding,  on  clinical 
grounds,  that  the  illness  was  consistent  with  arsenical  poison- 
ing. Such  cases  presented  symptoms  corresponding  to  those 
described  as  characteristic  of  subacute  poisoning  by  arsenic,  or 
which  are  met  with  in  the  poisoning  which  occasionally  results 
from  long-continued  doses  of  arsenic  taken  medicinally.  They 
showed,  for  example,  inflammation  of  various  mucous  surfaces, 
leading  to  coryza,  huskiness,  lachrymation,  and  the  like,  gastro- 
intestinal disturbance  and  diarrhoaa,  peripheral  neuritis  affecting 
sensory  and  motor  nerves,  and  in  some  cases  associated  with 
herpes,  or  with  well-marked  erythromelalgia,  keratosis,  or 
recent  pigmentation  corresponding  with  that  which  not  in- 
frequently occurs  in  persons  taking  arsenic  for  long  periods. 

'  On  the  other  hand,  symptoms  of  the  above  kind  were  often 


196  PRESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

slight  or  absent  altogether,  and  one  of  the  most  instructive 
points  in  connection  with  the  outbreak  is  the  occurrence  of 
cases  in  which  the  symptoms,  if  taken  by  themselves  and  apart 
from  the  epidemic,  would  not  have  appeared  to  be  readily  or 
sufficiently  explained  by  the  suggestion  that  arsenic  was  the 
cause  of  the  illness.  Thus,  in  several  comparatively  mild 
cases,  the  sufferers  complained  merely  of  burning  hands  and 
feet,  or  they  showed  a  variety  of  skin  eruptions,  which  are 
observed  in  many  conditions  which  have  nothing  to  do  with 
arsenical  poisoning.  In  other  cases,  again,  the  main  symptoms 
were  those  resulting  from  dilated  heart,  and  special  difficulty 
arose  in  cases  showing  evidence  of  well-marked  peripheral 
neuritis  not  associated  with  symptoms  pointing  clearly  to 
arsenic,  and  which  appeared  practically  identical  with  "  alco- 
holic neuritis,"  a  disease  previously  considered  to  be  the  result, 
alike  in  drinkers  of  beer  and  spirits,  of  the  toxic  action  of 
alcohol  on  nerve  tissue.' 

It  is  probable  that  this  neuritis  is  manifested  more  fre- 
quently when  arsenic  is  taken  along  with  alcohol  than  with- 
out, a  view  which  is  confirmed  by  an  epidemic  of  arsenical 
poisoning  which  took  place  in  Hyeres  in  1887.  Numerous 
cases  of  paralysis  occurred,  and  it  wras  an  alcoholic  drink — 
wine  contaminated  with  arsenic— which  caused  the  outbreak. 
This  observation  has  led  to  the  suggestion  that  the  arsenic 
forms  some  compound  with  the  organic  matter  found  in  wines 
and  beers,  differing  in  its  effects  from  those  of  pure  arsenious 
acid.  There  is  no  chemical  evidence,  however,  of  the  existence 
of  such  a  compound.  The  cacodyl  compounds  present  some 
analogy  to  the  hypothetical  body,  but  they  are  relatively  less 
toxic  than  arsenious  oxide,  and  neither  cacodylates  nor  allied 
bodies  could  be  obtained  from  the  implicated  beers. 

Great  differences  in  individual  suceptibility  were  observed 
in  the  epidemic  mentioned.  This  is  only  what  would  have 
been  expected,  as  tolerance  of  arsenic  is  well  known  to  exist 
amongst  Styrian  peasants,  Cornish  miners,  makers  of  arsenical 
compounds,  &c.,  whilst  the  administration  of  extremely  small 


medicinal  doses  has  been  known  to  produce  serious  effects. 
Many  people  who  drank  large  quantities  of  the  arsenical 
beer  remained  apparently  unaffected,  whilst  others  who  had 
taken  comparatively  small  quantities  exhibited  symptoms  of 
poisoning. 

Arsenic  appears  to  be  eliminated  with  comparative  rapidity, 
but  under  certain  conditions  a  cumulative  action  must  be  ac- 
knowledged in  order  to  account  for  the  observed  facts.  Many 
patients,  for  example,  admitted  to  hospital  in  1900  continued 
to  show  increasing  signs  of  poisoning  for  weeks  after  beer  had 
been  discontinued,  and  an  examination  of  the  urine  in  several 
instances  indicated  that  arsenic  was  being  eliminated  three 
weeks  or  more  after  the  patient  had  been  admitted  to  hospital, 
while  in  an  exceptional  instance  Dr.  Dixon  Mann  found 
arsenic  in  the  urine  after  fifty-nine  days. 

The  arsenic  appeared  to  be  eliminated,  not  only  by  the 
urine,  but  in  the  sweat,  by  the  shed  epidermal  scales,  and  by 
the  hair.  Dr.  Dixon  Mann  showed  that  tissues  containing 
keratin  have  a  special  affinity  for  arsenic,  and  he  thinks  that 
this  may  explain  the  effect  of  arsenic  upon  nerve  tissue,  since 
the  nerve  sheaths  consist  largely  of  keratin. 

Arsenical  poisoning  has  also  occurred  from  the  use  of 
confectionery  coloured  with  arsenical  pigments,  and  from  the 
use  of  wearing  apparel  next  to  the  skin  dyed  with  colours 
containing  arsenic  or  mordanted  with  an  arseniate.  Wall- 
papers containing  arsenic  have  also  given  rise  to  symptoms  of 
poisoning,  and  fatal  results  are  believed  to  have  followed  on 
rare  occasions.  Whether  the  evil  effects  are  due  to  dust  from 
the  paper,  or  to  the  impregnation  of  the  air  of  the  room  with 
some  intensely  poisonous  organic  compound  of  arsenic,  is  not 
definitely  known,  but  the  latter  explanation  is  the  more 
probable,  since  such  volatile  arsenical  compounds  undoubtedly 
exist.  Decomposing  animal  juices  containing  arsenic  are 
intensely  poisonous,  and  boiled  potato  made  into  a  paste  with 
a  solution  of  arsenious  acid,  if  kept  in  the  dark,  gives  off  some 
volatile  matter  with  a  distinct  alliaceous  odour.  It  is  probably 


198  PKESEBVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

a  compound  of  this  kind,  derived  from  the  arsenic-stained 
paper,  which  causes  the  symptoms  of  arsenical  poisoning. 
These  products  seem  to  be  the  result  of  the  vital  processes  of 
low  forms  of  vegetable  life,  since  the  Aspergillus  glaucus  and 
Mucor  mucedo  grow  on  arsenical  pastes,  with  evolution  of  a 
garlic-like  odour.  The  Penicillium  breviculare  flourishes  so 
freely  on  paste,  containing  infinitesimal  traces  of  arsenic, 
producing  the  characteristic  odour,  that  it  has  actually  been 
suggested  as  a  delicate  test  for  the  presence  of  arsenic.  These 
moulds  grow  most  readily  in  the  presence  of  oxygen,  and  at  a 
temperature  between  60°  and  95°  F. 

Since  the  dangers  attending  the  use  of  arsenical  stains, 
paints,  and  dyes  have  been  recognized  their  use  has  practically 
been  abandoned,  but  occasionally  cases  of  illness  occur  which 
are  traceable  to  the  use  of  such  compounds. 

Antimony. — Quite  recently  Mr.  Pond,  of  Liverpool,  has 
directed  the  attention  of  the  medical  profession1  to  the  fact 
that  antimony  is  a  constituent  of  the  rubber  rings  forming  a 
portion  of  the  patent  stoppers  so  largely  used  for  mineral 
water,  ale,  and  other  bottled  drinks,  and  that  these  rings  are 
liable  to  crumble  or  wear,  particles  of  the  rubber  getting  into 
the  liquid,  to  the  possible  detriment  of  the  health  of  the 
consumers.  His  attention  was  first  directed  to  this  matter  by  a 
patient  who  was  suffering  from  depression,  with  cold  clammy 
hands,  and  had  immediately  afterwards  to  be  operated  upon 
for  acute  appendicitis.  She  was  accustomed  to  drink  daily 
about  half  a  dozen  bottles  of  non-intoxicating  drinks  sealed 
with  these  stoppers.  Upon  examining  liquids  bottled  in  this 
way  he  found  in  several  cases  particles  of  the  red  rubber 
which  had  evidently  been  derived  from  the  ring  on  the  stopper, 
and  many  of  the  •  stoppers  were  considerably  worn.  In  one 
instance  the  ring  had  lost  about  9  grains  in  weight,  of  which 
one-third  would  be  antimony  sulphide.  Mr.  Pond  thinks 
these  rubber  particles,  containing  as  they  do  about  30  per  cent, 
of  antimony  sulphide,  when  introduced  into  the  stomach,  by 
1  The  Lancet,  June  10,  1905,  p.  1,610. 


MINEEAL  POISONS  IN  FOOD  AND  DEINK        199 

cumulative  action  produce  antimonial  poisoning,  which  may  be 
a  cause  of  appendicitis,  probably  also  of  dilated  stomach, 
gastric  ulcer,  chronic  constipation,  &c.  The  ingestion  of 
antimony  may,  in  his  opinion,  lead  to  :  (a)  '  weakening  of  the 
muscular  coat  of  the  caecum  and  vermiform  appendix,  and  the 
resulting  appendicitis ;  (b)  weakening  of  the  muscular  coat  of 
the  stomach  and  dilatation  of  the  stomach  ;  (c)  irritation  of  the 
mucous  membrane  of  the  stomach  and  intestines,  and  thereby 
some  cases  of  gastric  and  intestinal  ulcers  ;  and  (d)  weakening 
of  the  muscular  coat  of  the  intestine,  and  some  cases  of  chroma 
constipation.' 

These  rubber  rings  are  said  to  contain  approximately  : 

Eubber 54  per  cent. 

Antimony  sulphide  .  .  .  32  ,, 
Eed  oxide  of  zinc  ...  13  „ 
Free  sulphur  ....  0*35  ,, 
Lime ......  0'65  „ 

It  is  obvious,  therefore,  that  the  particles  of  rubber  getting  into 
any  beverage  introduce  an  appreciable  amount  of  antimony, 
and  it  is  possible  that  the  continued  use  of  such  beverages 
may  cause  ill  health.  According  to  Allbutt,1  '  Towards  anti- 
mony people  exhibit  a  peculiar  idiosyncrasy.  Some  are  easily 
affected  by  the  minutest  dose,  others  are  extremely  tolerant  of 
it.'  Exceedingly  small  doses  frequently  administered  cause  a 
metallic  taste  in  the  mouth,  with  frequent  vomiting,  great 
prostration,  clammy  sweats  and  feeble  pulse.  In  some  cases 
vomiting  maybe  absent.  Lehmann2  states  that  1  to  10  mlgm. 
of  tartar  emetic  taken  daily  may  cause  chronic  illness.  Anti- 
mony like  arsenic  tends  to  accumulate  in  the  nervous  tissues, 
but  no  records  appear  to  exist  of  its  having  produced  any 
symptoms  of  peripheral  neuritis  such  as  is  caused  by  arsenic. 
It  is  excreted  with  the  urine,  and  it  is  probable  that  in  any 
case  of  suspected  poisoning  antimony  would  be  found  in  this 
fluid  if  the  metal  were  the  cause  of  the  symptoms. 

1  System  of  Medicine,  vol.  ii.  p.  942. 

2  Lehmann,  Practical  Hygiene,  vol.  xi.  p.  382. 


200  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

The  subject  is  one  of  considerable  interest  and  importance, 
and  doubtless  attention  will  be  given  to  it,  until  Mr.  Pond's 
theories  are  proved  or  disproved. 

A  series  of  experiments  made  by  one  of  us  shows  that  no 
antimony  enters  into  solution  in  soda  water,  lemonade,  ginger 
beer,  ale,  stout,  and  wines  from  the  rubber  used  with  the 
stoppers,  but  that  fine  particles  of  such  rubber  are  frequently 
found  in  the  liquids,  especially  if  the  rings  are  old  and 
becoming  brittle.  Thus,  in  six  bottles  of  liquids  with  com- 
paratively new  rings,  traces  of  the  rubber  were  only  found  in 
one,  whereas  in  five  bottles  with  old  rings  particles  of  rubber 
were  found  in  three.  The  amount  was  very  small,  but  doubt- 
less on  occasions  it  may  be  appreciable.  When  a  number  of 
the  rings  were  boiled  in  soda  water  for  half  an  hour  the 
antimony  actually  dissolved  was  too  small  to  estimate,  but  in 
the  residue  left  on  the  filter  the  antimony  present  averaged 
1  mlgm.  per  ring  used.  Boiled  with  a  dilute  solution  of  tartaric 
acid  similar  results  were  obtained,  but  the  antimony  was  a 
little  under  1  mlgm.  per  ring.  All  the  rings  had  a  red  colour, 
and  contained  roughly  from  15  to  25  per  cent,  of  antimony. 
In  opening  some  bottled  fruits  it  was  found  that  occasionally 
comparatively  large  pieces  of  the  rubber  rings  broke  off,  but 
such  pieces  would  be  removed  before  the  fruit  was  poured 
from  the  bottle.  Our  present  knowledge  will  not  permit  of 
our  asserting  that  there  is  any  danger  of  poisoning  from  this 
cause,  but  it  is  obviously  desirable  that  poisonous  substances, 
especially  if  known  to  have  a  cumulative  action,  should  not  be 
allowed  to  come  in  contact  with  articles  used  for  food  or 
drink. 

Lead. — Although  cases  of  lead  poisoning  are  far  from  un- 
common, the  metal  is  rarely  introduced  into  the  system  with 
the  food  or  with  beverages,  other  than  water.  Epidemics  of. 
lead  poisoning  have  occurred  from  the  use  of  moorland  waters 
stored  in  leaden  cisterns  or  passing  through  lead  pipes,  and  it 
is  from  the  study  of  these  outbreaks  that  we  have  learnt  that 
infinitesimal  amounts  of  lead  administered  over  a  lengthened 


MINEEAL  POISONS  IN  FOOD  AND  DEINK        201 

period  are  capable  of  producing  serious  effects,  and  even  death. 
Water  containing  y^-g-  of  a  grain  of  lead  per  gallon  is  stated 
to  have  caused  symptoms  of  poisoning,  but  this  is  doubtful, 
since  waters  acting  on  lead  will  at  one  time  contain  even  less 
than  j-j^  of  a  grain  per  gallon,  and  at  others  possibly  as 
much  as  1  grain,  the  amount  depending  upon  the  length  of 
time  the  water  has  been  in  contact  with  the  metal  of  the  pipe 
or  cistern,  the  temperature  and  other  factors.  There  is  a 
.general  consensus  of  opinion  that  a  water  containing  an 
average  of  T\j-  of  a  grain  per  gallon  is  dangerous.  Assuming 
that  a  person  imbibes  3  pints  of  such  water  daily  he  would  take 
.into  the  system  a  little  over  1  grain  of  the  metal  per  month. 
Very  small  quantities  of  lead,  therefore,  in  a  substance  likely 
to  be  consumed  in  any  quantity,  or  for  considerable  periods, 
should  be  sufficient  to  condemn  it  as  dangerous  to  health.1 

Aerated  wraters  not  infrequently  contain  traces  of  lead 
derived  from  the  '  tin  '  lining  of  the  copper  cylinders  in  which 
the  water  is  impregnated  with  gas,  the  tin  used  for  tinning 
copper  vessels  almost  invariably  containing  a  certain  percent- 
age of  lead.  Tin-lined  lead  pipes  also  are  not  free  from 
danger,  as  in  some  w7ay  a  small  quantity  of  lead  becomes 
diffused  throughout  the  tin,  and  the  lining  is  apt  to  give 
way  at  the  bends.  Lead  has  also  been  found  in  cider  and 
ale,  in  the  latter  case  derived  from  the  pipes  leading  from  the 
casks  to  the  pumps  at  the  counter.  Naturally  the  ale  which 
has  been  standing  in  the  pipes  all  night  will  contain  an 
appreciable  amount  of  lead,  especially  if  the  ale  has  an  acid 

1  In  one  large  northern  town,  supplied  with  upland  water,  cases  of  undoubted 
lead  poisoning  occur  occasionally  which  are  attributed,  rightly  or  wrongly,  to  the 
water  supply.  The  plumbo-solvent  action  of  the  water  is  very  slight,  so  much  so 
that  it  gives  negative  results  when  tested  after  the  manner  recommended  by 
Houston.  Eepeated  examinations  show  that  the  water  which  has  been  standing 
over  night  in  the  pipes  contains  between  -^  and  ^5  grain  of  lead  per  gallon,  whilst 
during  the  day  the  amount  falls  to  -^  or  yJ^  grain  per  gallon.  The  patients  are 
usually  women,  and  although  it  is  impossible  to  remove  suspicion  from  the  water, 
inquiries  in  connection  with  other  articles  of  food  giving  negative  results,  it  must 
be  remembered  that  pills  containing  lead  are  occasionally  surreptitiously  employed 
by  women  to  procure  abortion,  and  these  may  be  the  cause  of  the  symptoms 
observed. 


202  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

reaction.  Fruits  and  vegetables  preserved  in  tinned  iron  cans 
take  up  traces  of  both  lead  and  tin,  the  amount  varying  with 
the  acidity  of  the  fruit,  and  to  a  certain  extent  with  the  time 
the  fruit,  &c.,  has  been  in  the  tins.  In  such  cases  the  lining 
of  the  can  usually  shows  signs  of  the  effect  of  the  acid,  varying 
from  a  mere  discoloration  to  distinct  evidences  of  corrosion. 
The  amount  of  lead  dissolved  in  this  way  is  small  compared 
with  the  amount  of  tin.  Experiments  made  in  the  laboratories 
of  the  Massachusetts  State  Board  of  Health  with  various 
kinds  of  tinned  fruits,  broths,  soups,  salmon,  and  lobster, 
showed  that  the  total  amount  of  lead  dissolved  and  contained 
in  the  whole  tin  (0*5  to  1  kilo)  rarely  exceeded  1  mlgm.,  whilst 
the  quantity  of  tin  was  frequently  100  times  as  much.  If  the 
acid  liquid  can  come  in  contact  with  the  solder,  or  if  pieces  of 
solder  are  found  in  the  tin,  the  amount  of  lead  dissolved  may 
possibly  be  increased.  Many  articles  of  food  and  drink  are 
preserved  in  vessels  closed  with  a  capsule  of  soft  metal  con- 
taining lead,  or  in  bottles  in  which  a  ring  of  soft  metal  is 
placed  between  the  stopper  and  neck.  In  such  cases  traces 
of  lead  may  be  dissolved.  Citric  acid,  tartaric  acid,  and  cream 
of  tartar  not  infrequently  contain  lead,  taken  up  from  the 
pans  in  which  the  chemicals  have  been  prepared,  and  occa- 
sionally minute  particles  of  lead  have  been  found  in  these 
articles,  apparently  due  to  the  scraping  of  the  leaden  pan  in 
order  to  separate  the  crystals  which  had  adhered  to  the  side 
during  evaporation.  These  chemicals  are  largely  employed 
for  making  beverages,  hence  the  presence  of  any  appreciable 
quantity  of  lead  should  be  sufficient  to  condemn  them  as 
being  dangerous.  There  need  be  no  hesitation  in  condemning 
such  samples,  as  the  chemicals  can  be  prepared,  at  little  if  any 
additional  expense,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  prevent  contami- 
nation with  lead.  Tea  which  has  been  in  contact  with  the  lead 
foil  of  the  packing  case  has  been  found  to  contain  traces  of 
the  metal. 

Certain  enamels  used  for  glazing  earthenware  and  for  coat- 
ing iron  cooking   vessels,  and  the  tinning  on  copper  vessels, 


MINEEAL  POISONS  IN  FOOD  AND  DEINK        203 

generally  contain  lead,  and  may  give  up  traces  of  the  metal 
to  the  food  prepared  therein. 

Lead  poisoning  has  also  been  produced  by  the  efficacious 
but  dangerous  method  of  cleaning  out  decanters  by  means  of 
shot. 

It  is  obvious,  therefore,  that  lead  may  be  derived  from 
very  many  sources,  and  though  the  quantity  may  be  small, 
the  metal  may  continue  to  accumulate  in  the  system  until 
capable  of  causing  injury  to  health.  There  is  certainly  also 
a  great  difference  between  individuals  in  their  susceptibility 
to  the  action  of  lead,  a  peculiar  idiosyncrasy  rendering  some 
persons  much  more  liable  than  others.  There  is  also  an 
hereditary  disposition,  and  young  women  seem  especially 
likely  to  be  affected.  There  can  be  no  doubt  also  that 
sufferers  from  kidney  disease  are  very  liable  to  injury,  the 
limited  powers  of  elimination  being  still  further  decreased. 

According  to  Oliver  l  lead  poisoning  occurs  in  four  forms. 
'  In  the  first  colic  is  the  most  important  symptom ;  in  the 
second  the  central  nervous  system  is  profoundly  affected,  the 
patient  being  the  subject  of  epileptiform  seizures,  called  "  lead 
encephalopathy "  ;  the  third  is  the  neuro-muscular  form  in 
which  "  wrist-drop  "  is  the  most  marked  symptom ;  and  in  the 
fourth  are '  included  all  those  cases  of  chronic  plumbism 
characterized  by  profound  cachexia,  early  decrepitude  and 
albuminuria.' 

In  the  chronic  form,  resulting  from  the  long-continued  use 
of  water  and  other  beverages  or  articles  of  food  containing  small 
quantities  of  lead,  a  peculiar  angemic  condition  is  usually  first 
observed,  and  when  the  mouth  is  examined  a  blue  line  is  noted 
round  the  margin  of  the  gums  where  they  are  in  contact  with 
the  teeth.  This  blue  line  is  not  absolutely  pathognomonic, 
since  other  metals  have  been  known  to  produce  it,  but  in 
the  latter  instances  it  speedily  disappears,  whereas  if  due  to 
lead  it  is  very  persistent.  It  is  absent  where  teeth 
have  been  drawn,  and  frequently  where  the  tooth-brush  is 
1  Allbutt's  System  of  Medicine,  vol.  ii.  p.  969. 


204  PEESEEVAT1VES  IN  FOOD 

adequately  employed.  The  anaemic  condition  results  in  a 
general  condition  of  malnutrition,  especially  affecting  women, 
causing  menstrual  troubles  and  a  great  tendency,  when 
pregnant,  to  abort.  Attacks  of  colic  are  frequent,  '  wrist- 
drop  '  may  be  observed,  or  the  joints  may  be  gouty,  or  show 
signs  of  rheumatism.  Sight  may  be  affected  from  neuro- 
retinitis,  and  loss  of  vision  may  result.  The  functional 
activity  of  the  liver  and  kidneys  becomes  deranged,  and 
chronic  interstitial  nephritis  may  be  found  post-mortem. 
Death  usually  occurs  from  some  intercurrent  disease,  the 
natural  resistance  of  the  constitution  being  so  reduced  as  to 
make  the  sufferer  an  easy  prey.  When  the  action  of  lead  is 
suspected  the  history  of  the  case,  together  with  the  detection 
of  traces  of  lead  in  the  urine,  may  be  regarded  as  conclusive 
evidence. 

Tin. — Prior  to  the  discovery  of  ptomaines,  toxins,  and 
other  poisons  produced  in  decomposing  animal  matter,  the  ill 
effects  caused  by  foods  preserved  in  tinned  receptacles  were 
usually  attributed  to  the  presence  of  tin,  dissolved  by  the 
juices  of  the  food.  At  the  present  time  no  one  seriously 
contends  that  the  amount  of  tin  in  solution  in  these  foods  has 
any  effect  upon  the  system.  As  a  rule  the  quantity  is  very 
small,  rarely  amounting  to  one  grain  per  pound  of  food 
substance.  Very  acid  fruits  may  dissolve  more  than  this 
quantity,  and  should  be  preserved  in  vessels  of  glass,  but  as  it 
would  be  practically  impossible  to  prove  injury,  or  serious 
danger,  to  health  from  the  use  of  such  fruit,  the  subject  is  one 
to  which  no  further  reference  need  be  made. 

Copper. — The  compounds  of  copper  are  rarely  found  in 
appreciable  quantity  in  articles  of  food  save  such  green 
vegetables  as  have  had  their  colour  preserved  by  the  addition 
of  a  salt  of  copper,  and  this  subject  is  referred  to  at  length  in 
the  section  relating  to  colouring  matters. 


PART   IV 

CHAPTER  XVII 

FOOD  INSPECTION:  LAWS  RELATING  THERETO 

THE  statutory  powers  governing  the  seizure  and  condemnation 
of  unsound  food  in  the  provinces  are  contained  in  sections 
116,  117,  118,  and  119  of  the  Public  Health  Act,  1875,  extended 
by  section  28  of  the  Public  Health  Acts  Amendment  Act,  1890, 
and  for  London  in  section  47  of  the  Public  Health  (London) 
Act,  1891. 

By  virtue  of  section  116  of  the  Public  Health  Act,  1875,  a 
medical  officer  of  health  or  inspector  of  nuisances  is  enabled  to 
inspect  and  examine,  at  all  reasonable  times,  any  animal, 
carcass,  meat,  poultry,  game,  flesh,  fish,  fruit,  vegetables, 
corn,  bread,  flour  or  milk  exposed  for  sale,  or  deposited  in 
any  place  for  the  purpose  of  sale,  or  of  preparation  for  sale, 
and  intended  for  the  food  of  man.  The  onus  of  proving  that 
the  food  was  not  exposed  or  deposited  for  any  such  purpose, 
or  was  not  intended  for  the  food  of  man,  rests  with  the  party 
charged.  If  the  article  of  food  appears  to  the  medical  officer 
or  inspector  to  be  diseased,  or  unsound,  or  unwholesome,  or 
unfit  for  the  food  of  man,  he  may  seize  and  carry  away  the 
same  himself  or  by  an  assistant,  in  order  to  have  the  same 
dealt  with  by  a  justice. 

Under  section  117  the  justice,  if  it  appears  to  him  that  the 
article  of  food  seized  is  diseased,  or  unsound,  or  unwholesome, 
or  unfit  for  the  food  of  man,  must  condemn  the  same,  and 
order  it  to  be  destroyed  or  so  disposed  of  as  to  prevent  it  from 
being  exposed  or  used  for  the  food  of  man. 


206  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

Further,  the  person  to  whom  the  same  belongs,  or  did 
belong  at  the  time  of  exposure  for  sale,  or  in  whose  possession 
or  on  whose  premises  the  same  was  found,  is  liable  to  a  penalty 
not  exceeding  twenty  pounds  for  every  animal,  carcass,  or  fish, 
or  piece  of  meat,  flesh  or  fish,  or  any  poultry  or  game,  or  for 
the  parcel  of  fruit,  vegetables,  corn,  bread,  or  flour,  or  for  the 
milk  so  condemned,  or,  at  the  discretion  of  the  justice,  without 
the  infliction  of  a  fine,  to  imprisonment  for  a  term  of  not  more 
than  three  months. 

There  are  therefore  two  steps  necessary  in  dealing  with 
unsound  food.  In  the  first  place  it  must  be  seized  personally 
either  by  the  medical  officer  of  health  or  inspector  of  nuisances, 
and  submitted  to  a  magistrate  for  condemnation  ;  and,  secondly, 
further  proceedings  may  be  taken,  if  the  food  seized  is 
condemned,  for  the  enforcement  of  the  penalty.  A  second 
information  is  required  for  this  purpose,  the  hearing  usually 
being  fixed  for  a  date  subsequent  to  that  on  which  the  food  is 
condemned. 

Section  117  further  provides  that  the  justice  empowered  to 
inflict  the  penalty  need  not  necessarily  be  the  magistrate  who 
ordered  the  food  to  be  disposed  of  or  destroyed — an  obvious 
convenience.  It  will  be  seen,  however,  that  the  food  must  not 
be  destroyed  without  a  magistrate's  order,  otherwise  the  local 
authority  are  liable  to  damages  (Ormerod  v.  Mayor  of 
Bochdale,  62  J.P.  153).  In  the  proceedings  for  the  con- 
demnation of  the  food  it  is  unnecessary  to  summon  the  owner 
to  attend,  but  the  magistrate  may  hear  evidence  as  to  the 
condition  of  the  food,  and  if  he  declines  to  condemn  it  the 
owner  can  obtain  full  compensation,  including  the  costs 
incurred  in  opposing  the  condemnation  (In  re  Bater  and 
Williamson  and  Mayor,  &c.,  of  Birkenhead,  L.E.  1893,  2  Q.B. 
77).  Under  section  116  live  animals  have  been  seized. 

In  districts  where  Part  III.  of  the  Public  Health  Acts 
Amendment  Act,  1890,  has  been  adopted,  the  list  of  articles 
of  food  which  can  be  seized  and  dealt  with  is  made,  by 
virtue  of  section  28  subsection  (1),  to  include  all  articles 


FOOD  INSPECTION:   LAWS  KELATING  THERETO    207 

intended  for  the  food  of  man,  and  moreover  if  the  food  has 
been  sold,  provided  it  has  been  properly  seized,  the  person  in 
whose  possession  it  was  found,  or  to  whom  the  food  belonged 
at  the  time  of  exposure  for  sale,  is  liable  to  the  penalties 
authorised  by  section  117  of  the  Public  Health  Act,  1875. 

Under  section  28  subsection  (2)  of  the  1890  Act,  a 
magistrate  may  condemn  any  such  article  of  food  and  order  it 
to  be  destroyed  or  disposed  of,  as  mentioned  in  section  117  of 
the  Public  Health  Act,  1875,  if  satisfied  on  complaint  being 
made  to  him  that  such  article  is  diseased,  unsound,  unwhole- 
some, or  unfit  for  the  food  of  man,  although  the  same  has  not 
been  seized  as  mentioned  in  section  116  of  the  1875  Act. 
Apparently  under  such  circumstances  no  penalty  follows 
beyond  the  destruction  of  the  article,  and,  judging  from  Firth 
v.  McPhail  (J.P.  69,  p.  205),  proceedings  other  than  seizure 
will  fail  unless  there  has  been  an  exposure  for  sale  by  the 
defendant,  and  not  merely  a  deposit  for  the  purpose  of  sale. 
This  difficulty  does  not  exist  in  London. 

Section  118  of  the  1875  Act  provides  a  penalty  if  any 
person  prevents  the  medical  officer  of  health  or  inspector  of 
nuisances  from  entering  any  premises  for  the  purpose  of 
inspecting  the  articles  of  food  specified  in  section  116,  or  if 
he  obstructs  or  impedes  the  medical  officer,  or  inspector,  or  his 
assistant,  when  carrying  into  execution  the  provisions  of  the  Act. 

Section  119  provides  for  the  obtaining  of  a  search  warrant 
on  complaint  made  on  oath  by  a  medical  officer  of  health,  or 
by  an  inspector  of  nuisances,  or  other  officer  of  a  local 
authority,  before  a  magistrate,  for  entry  of  any  building,  or  part 
of  a  building,  in  which  such  officer  has  reason  for  believing 
that  there  is  kept  or  concealed  any  of  the  articles  detailed  in 
section  116.  There  is  also  a  penalty  against  any  person 
obstructing  such  officer  in  the  performance  of  his  duty  under 
such  warrant. 

The  extension  of  powers  conferred  by  section  28  subsection 
(1)  of  the  1890  Act,  also  embraces  the  provisions  of  sections 
118  and  119  of  the  1875  Act. 


208  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

The  provisions  as  to  the  sale  of  unsound  food  in  the  Public 
Health  (London)  Act  are  on  similar  lines  to  those  in  the  two 
provincial  Acts,  the  penalties  being,  however,  increased  to  fifty 
pounds,  or  six  months'  imprisonment  with  or  without  hard 
labour. 

.  Under  section  15.  of  the  Markets  and  Fairs  Clauses  Act, 
which  is  incorporated  with  the  Public  Health  Act,  any  person 
exposing  for  sale  any  unsound  food  in  a  market  under  the 
control  of  the  sanitary  authority  is  liable  to  a  penalty,  but  the 
procedure  differs  materially  from  that  under  the  Public  Health 
Act,  since  the  justice  must  order  the  food  seized  to  be  further 
examined  by  competent  persons  before  making  any  order  for 
its  destruction  or  otherwise.  This  important  safeguard  to  the 
seller  is  not  included  in  the  Public  Health  Act.  Under  the 
Fairs  Clauses  Act,  bye-laws  may  be  made  for  preventing  the 
sale,  exposure  for  sale,  &c.,  of  unwholesome  provisions. 

Under  Section  31  of  the  Public  Health  Acts  Amendment 
Act  the  occupier  of  any  slaughter-house  may  have  his  license 
revoked  if  he  is  convicted  of  having  in  his  possession  or  on  his 
premises  the  carcass  of  any  animal,  or  any  piece  of  meat  or 
flesh,  which  is  unfit  for  human  food. 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  a  medical  officer  of  health 
should  be  acquainted  with  the  appearances  commonly  met 
with  in  food  which  will  justify  him  in  asking  a  magistrate  to 
condemn  a  specimen  as  being  '  diseased  or  unsound,  or  un- 
wholesome, or  unfit  for  the  food  of  man,'  and  it  is  by  no  means 
always  easy  to  steer  a  clear  course  between  making  seizures 
which  cannot  readily  be  justified,  and  allowing  articles  of  food 
to  be  sold  which  theoretically  might  be  expected  to  be  capable 
of  causing  illness.  Our  knowledge  of  the  effects  of  many 
abnormal  conditions  of  food  on  the  human  economy  is  by  no 
means  an  exact  one,  though  it  is  becoming  clearer  with  the 
advance  of  bacteriological  and  chemical  research.  To  take  a 
concrete  example,  it  is  usual  to  condemn  as  unfit  for  food  the 
carcass  of  a  cow  which  has  died  in  parturition,  though,  as  far 
as  we  are  aware,  there  is  no  evidence  that  such  meat  is 


FOOD  INSPECTION:   LAWS  KELATING  THERETO    209 

prejudicial  to  health.  Theoretically  one  would  suppose  that 
the  tissues  are  filled  with  abnormal  metabolic  products  derived 
from  the  muscular  contractions  in  the  course  of  labour  which 
would  render  it  unwholesome,  and  as  a  rule  butchers  acquiesce 
in  the  condemnation  of  such  a  carcass.  Again,  in  the  condition 
known  as  '  braxy  '  in  sheep  the  general  practice  is  to  condemn 
the  carcass,  although  it  is  apparently  regarded  as  a  delicacy  by 
some  Scotch  shepherds. 

The  increasing  consumption  of  bananas  recently  led  to 
some  conflicting  evidence  in  a  North  of  England  police  court. 
A  quantity  of  this  fruit  was  seized  by  the  medical  officer  of 
health  as  being  over-ripe  and  so  unfit  for  the  food  of  man,  but 
the  owner  produced  a  number  of  witnesses  connected  with 
the  trade,  whose  evidence  was  to  the  effect  that  bananas  are  not 
at  their  best  until  they  begin  to  soften,  and  that  in  this 
condition  they  most  nearly  resemble  the  state  in  which  they 
are  eaten  in  their  native  land.  The  fruit  was  destroyed  by  the 
order  of  the  court,  though  it  is  by  no  means  certain  that  the 
opinion  of  the  medical  officer  of  health  was  the  correct  one. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  acts  of  injustice  have  frequently  been 
perpetrated  by  the  destruction  of  an  article  of  food  before  the 
owner  has  had  the  opportunity  of  having  it  examined  by  an 
expert,  or  without  his  having  time  to  communicate  with  the 
merchants  from  whom  it  was  purchased.  It  is  very  difficult 
sometimes  to  decide  whether  an  article  is  unfit  for  food  or  not, 
and  although  from  the  sanitary  point  of  view  it  may  be  the 
better  course  to  seize  it  and  get  it  condemned,  it  must  not  be 
forgotten  that  such  action  may  most  seriously  affect  the 
reputation  and  business  of  a  perfectly  innocent  person. 

The  most  essential  qualification  of  a  food  inspector  is  an 
intimate  knowledge  of  the  characters  of  articles  of  food  of  all 
kinds,  and  of  the  various  changes  to  which  they  are  prone 
when  kept  under  different  conditions.  Without  this  intimate 
knowledge  it  will  be  impossible  for  him  to  decide  whether  any 
condition  is  abnormal  or  not,  or  whether  the  condition  is  such 
as  to  justify  the  seizure  of  the  article  of  food  as  being  unsound 

14 


210  PRESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

or  not.  Even  with  this  knowledge  it  is  impossible  in  many 
cases  to  arrive  at  a  conclusion  which  may  not  be  challenged. 
A  piece  of  fresh  beef  admittedly  wholesome  becomes  by  keeping 
decidedly  putrid  and  admittedly  unwholesome.  The  change  is 
a  gradual  one,  and  •  it  is  impossible  for  anyone  to  say  at  what 
moment  the  wholesome  meat  becomes  so  changed  as  to  be 
unwholesome.  Not  only  may  opinions  differ,  but  customs 
differ.  A  piece  of  meat  kept  until  it  is  tainted  wrould  be 
condemned,  yet  the  stage  of  decomposition  attained  may  not 
be  so  advanced  as  that  reached  by  game  when  '  high '  and 
in  perfect  condition.  Cheese  is  not  condemned  because  it  is 
affected  by  moulds  or  infected  by  mites,  whilst  most  other 
articles  of  food  so  affected  would  be  unhesitatingly  condemned. 
Physical,  chemical,  and  sometimes  bacteriological  tests  need  on 
occasions  to  be  applied,  but  unless  these  can  be  done  quickly, 
they  are  of  no  practical  utility.  For  example,  a  batch  of  oysters 
or  a  can  of  milk  cannot  be  seized  and  kept  until  the  results 
of  a  bacteriological  examination  are  known ;  if  there  is  not 
anything  obviously  abnormal,  there  must  be  some  other  ground 
for  seizure,  but  a  subsequent  bacteriological  examination  may 
be  made  to  justify  the  seizure. 


CHAPTEK   XVIII 

UNSOUND   FOOD.      MEAT 

IN  America,  Germany,  and  other  countries,  far  greater  super- 
vision is  exercised  over  the  food  supply  than  in  Great  Britain. 
In  the  numerous  public  abattoirs  animals  are  carefully 
examined  before  slaughter,  and  the  carcasses  and  organs 
are  inspected  during  the  process  of  dressing.  This  control  is 
doubtless  of  great  importance,  but  the  amount  of  disease 
produced  in  this  country,  at  least,  from  the  consumption  of 
unwholesome  food,  and  especially  by  butchers'  meat,  is  either 
very  small  indeed,  or  it  escapes  observation,  and  this  notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  as  a  nation  we  are  great  flesh  consumers. 
Outbreaks  of  food  poisoning  from  time  to  time  occur,  but  these 
have  usually  been  attributed  to  cooked  meats,  the  change  which 
rendered  them  deleterious  having  occurred  subsequent  to  the 
cooking,  and  not  being  antecedent  thereto.  The  correctness  of 
these  views  will  be  considered  later.  The  chief  dangers  to  be 
apprehended  from  the  use  of  unsound  meat  are  the  dissemination 
of  tape-worms,  echinococcus  disease,  trichinosis,  tuberculosis, 
and  'ptomaine  poisoning,'  and  systematic  meat  inspection  may 
not  only  prevent  these  infections  in  man,  but  also  prevent  the 
infection  of  animals  which  are  allowed  to  eat  infected  offal. 
The  latter  point  is  too  frequently  overlooked,  but  is  an  im- 
portant one  to  the  farmer  and  cattle  breeder.  Of  secondary 
but  still  of  considerable  importance  is  the  detection  of  fraud, 
by  the  palming  off  upon  the  unsuspecting  public  of  the  meat  of 
immature  and  diseased  animals  at  the  price  of  sound  and 
wholesome  meat.  The  consumer  himself  will,  as  a  rule,  take 
care  to  avoid  eating  '  putrid  '  meat. 


212  PEESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

Domestic  animals  probably  suffer  from  as  great  a  variety  of 
diseases  as  human  beings,  and  certain  of  these  diseases  are  capable 
of  being  transmitted  from  animal  to  animal,  or  from  animals  to 
man.  The  veterinary  surgeon  examining  an  animal  during  life 
may  be  able  to  decide  whether  it  is  healthy,  or,  if  not,  whether 
it  is  suffering  from  any  disease  which  would  render  the  car- 
cass or  any  part  thereof  unfit  for  food,  but  usually  the  meat 
inspector  has  to  form  an  opinion  from  the  examination  of  the 
dressed  carcass,  or  portions  thereof,  without  knowing  any- 
thing of  the  animal  previous  to  slaughter,  and  frequently 
without  even  the  opportunity  of  examining  the  internal 
organs  or  all  the  portions  constituting  the  carcass.  This 
renders  the  process  of  meat  inspection  much  more  difficult, 
though  sometimes  the  examination  of  even  a  portion  of  a 
carcass  may  enable  the  inspector  to  decide  that  the  animal 
was  suffering  from  some  disease,  and  possibly  even  to  specify 
the  disease.  Fortunately,  the  diseases  most  readily  trans- 
missible to  man  can  be  discovered  by  inspection,  if  the  carcass 
or  any  portion  thereof  is  so  infected  as  to  be  dangerous  to  the 
health  of  the  consumer,  and  in  other  cases,  although  the 
particular  disease  from  which  the  animal  suffered  may  not  be 
known,  an  opinion  can  be  formed  as  to  whether  the  flesh  is 
wholesome  or  not.  In  addition  to  the  inspection  of  the  fat  and 
muscular  tissue,  the  examination  of  the  viscera  and  lymphatic 
glands  is  always  a  great  aid  in  arriving  at  a  correct  conclusion, 
and  should  be  adopted  as  a  matter  of  routine  wherever  possible ; 
but  it  is  obviously  impossible  in  the  case  of  imported  carcasses 
and  of  meat  exposed  for  sale  in  shops. 

In  good  meat  the  muscle  should  be  firm  and  elastic.  The 
colour  will  depend  largely  on  the  age  of  the  animal.  The  cut 
section  should  be  of  uniform  appearance — that  is,  the  interior  of 
the  joint  should  not  differ  from  the  exterior,  and  the  consistency 
should  be  uniform.  The  section  should  have  a  marbled 
appearance  from  the  presence  of  interstitial  fat,  and  there 
should  be  an  absence  of  gelatinous  or  purulent  fluid  in  the 
septa  between  the  muscles.  The  intermuscular  tissue  should 


UNSOUND  FOOD.     MEAT  213 

not  be  soft  or  tear  easily,  and  when  a  piece  of  red  litmus-paper 
is  applied  to  it,  it  should  not  be  turned  blue.  The  fluid  which 
oozes  from  it  should  be  thin,  red,  neutral,  or  slightly  acid  in 
reaction,  and  without  offensive  odour. 

If  the  colour  is  a  deep  purple  it  suggests  that  the  animal 
has  not  been  properly  slaughtered  and  bled,  and,  therefore,  that 
it  was  killed  on  account  of  some  accident  or  disease.  If  the 
colour  is  pale  and  the  flesh  '  watery,'  the  animal  had  probably 
been  suffering  from  some  disease  causing  dropsy.  Commencing 
decomposition  is  indicated  by  the  colour  becoming  paler,  the 
flesh  softer,  and  the  juice  alkaline,  and  by  the  distinctive  smell 
of  fresh  meat  being  superseded  by  that  of  putrefaction.  It  is 
not  until  decomposition  has  advanced  that  the  colour  becomes 
greenish.  Any  evidence  of  decomposition  should  lead  to  the 
condemnation  of  the  meat.  Abnormal  odours  may  be  due  to 
some  physic  administered  to  the  animal  before  death,  and  such 
odours  are  rendered  more  evident  if  a  little  of  the  meat  is 
chopped  fine  and  drenched  with  hot  water. 

By  thrusting  a  knife  into  the  joint  the  consistency  as  well 
as  the  smell  of  the  interior  can  be  tested.  The  resistance  to 
the  passage  of  the  knife  should  be  uniform,  and  the  knife  blade 
when  removed  should  not  have  any  objectionable  odour.  The 
meat  of  a  healthy  animal  should  '  set '  within  twenty-four 
hours,  and  this  property  is  often  made  use  of  as  a  criterion  in 
doubtful  cases.  Kigor  mortis  is  hastened  by  very  strong 
muscular  contractions  before  death,  as  in  hunted  animals,  or  in 
cases  of  tetanus,  or  of  strychnine  poisoning.  In  such  a  carcass 
rigor  mortis  may  commence  within  a  few  minutes  of  death.  It 
is  frequently  delayed  in  diseases  such  as  septicaemia  and  dropsy. 

The  fat  varies  in  colour  in  different  species  of  animals, 
being  white  in  young  cattle,  sheep,  goats,  and  hogs,  and  yellow 
in  old  cattle.  In  calves  it  is  often  at  first  a  reddish  yellow- 
white.  In  any  case  it  should  be  firm  and  free  from  haemorrhages. 

Animals  which  have  been  subjected  to  so-called  'emergency 
slaughter'  should  be  looked  upon  with  great  suspicion,  and  the 
meat  should  only  be  passed  after  a  very  careful  examination  of 


214  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

all  the  cavities  and  organs,  as  well  as  of  the  flesh  itself.  Apart 
from  the  question  of  the  flesh  being  unwholesome  on  account 
of  the  cause  which  has  led  to  the  necessity  for  slaughter,  the 
bleeding  is  in  such  animals  not  infrequently  defective,  and  the 
keeping  qualities  are  thereby  impaired.  If  the  history  of  the 
illness  is  not  sufficient  to  enable  a  decision  to  be  arrived  at, 
special  attention  should  be  paid  to  the  serous  membranes,  the 
thoracic  and  abdominal  organs,  and  the  lymphatic  glands,  for 
evidence  of  tubercle,  and  to  the  spleen  for  anthrax.  In  ad- 
dition to  the  routine  examination  of  the  chief  organs,  the 
following  should  not  be  forgotten  :  abnormal  conditions  of  the 
sexual  passages  connected  with  parturition,  parenchymatous 
inflammation  of  the  udder,  gastro-enteritis,  peritonitis,  and 
pleurisy.  As  regards  the  flesh  in  such  cases,  '  If  the  meat  of 
animals  slaughtered  on  account  of  disease  shows  an  alkaline 
reaction  within  twenty-four  hours  after  death,  the  meat  is  to 
be  considered,  in  doubtful  cases,  as  unqualifiedly  foul,  and 
therefore  unfit  for  food.  Likewise,  in  doubtful  cases,  the 
unfitness  for  food  of  the  meat  of  animals  slaughtered  on 
account  of  disease  is  unquestionable  if,  within  forty-eight 
hours  after  death,  the  muscle  fibres  show  under  the  micro- 
scope a  loss  of  their  characteristic  cross-striation,  a  granular 
cloudiness,  and  a  disintegration  into  fragments.' 1 

In  any  case  of  doubt  a  decision  should  be  deferred  for  at 
least  twenty-four  hours  in  summer  and  forty-eight  in  winter. 
In  septicaemic  conditions  there  will  probably  be  sufficient 
alteration  in  the  appearance  and  odour  of  the  meat  after  these 
periods  to  afford  reliable  criteria  for  further  action.  In  the 
section  dealing  with  epidemics  of  meat  poisoning,  stress  is  laid 
on  the  fact  that  in  certain  infections  bacteria  may  be 
circulating  in  the  system  before  death,  but  may  escape 
detection  in  the  flesh  immediately  after  slaughter,  and  that 
rapid  multiplication  takes  place  after  death,  rendering  the 
carcass  a  most  dangerous  article  of  food,  although  normal  in 
appearance  and  smell. 

1  Handbook  of  Meat  Inspection,  Ostertag,  translated  by  Wilcox,  1904,  p.  736. 


UNSOUND  FOOD.      MEAT  215 

A  detailed  bacteriological  examination  of  doubtful  meat 
will  probably  require  too  many  days  to  be  of  any  practical 
value,  though  the  fact  that  in  healthy  flesh,  examined  soon  after 
slaughter,  the  interior  is  sterile  has  occasionally  been  of  service. 

When  an  animal  is  slaughtered  on  account  of  an  accident 
the  meat  is  usually  passed  as  sound,  if  on  examination  no 
abnormal  conditions  are  to  be  found.  The  same  is  also  true 
when  the  slaughtering  is  effected  on  account  of  insuperable 
obstacles  to  parturition. 

In  instances  of  '  natural  death  '  each  case  must  be  judged 
on  its  merits.  It  is  generally  infectious  diseases  and  septic- 
aemia which  are  responsible  for  sudden  deaths,  and,  in 
addition  to  the  danger  to  the  health  of  the  consumers  on  this 
account,  the  absence  of  proper  bleeding,  and  the  retention  of 
the  thoracic  and  abdominal  viscera  favour  rapid  decom- 
position. Such  carcasses  as  a  rule  should  be  condemned. 

The  meat  of  immature  animals  is  not  apparently  unwhole- 
some, but  it  is  not  usually  considered  marketable.  During  the 
first  eight  to  fourteen  days  after  birth  the  muscles  are  poorly 
developed,  flabby,  and  watery.  They  may  be  soft  enough  to 
give  way  before  the  finger.  There  are,  moreover,  wThat  may 
be  termed  aesthetic  reasons  for  rejecting  such  meat.  In  many 
countries  local  regulations  exist  as  to  the  minimum  age  at 
which  animals  may  be  slaughtered  for  food,  and  as  a  rule  eight 
days  may  be  considered  as  the  lowest  reasonable  limit.  The 
meat  of  foetuses  is  universally  held  to  be  unmarketable, 
although  among  certain  gourmands,  notably  the  ancient 
Romans,  such  food  was  considered  a  delicacy. 

Of  the  non-infectious  and  parasitic  disorders  which  lead  to 
the  condemnation  of  the  whole  or  portions  of  the  carcass,  the 
commonest  are  cedema  from  heart,  kidney,  or  liver  disease,  and 
tumours,  the  latter  of  which  may  be  benign  or  malignant.  In 
forming  an  opinion  as  to  how  much  of  the  carcass  should  be  con- 
demned, each  case  would  require  to  be  considered  on  its  merits. 

The  subjoined  brief  description  of  a  few  of  the  diseases  of 
animals,  which  are  of  importance  from  the  inspector's  point  of 


216  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

view,  may  be  useful  in  showing  the  degree  of  risk  incurred  by 
consuming  the  flesh  of  animals  suffering  therefrom,  and  the 
parts  of  animals  most  likely  to  be  affected,  and,  therefore, 
requiring  particular  examination.  Unfortunately  there  is 
nothing  in  this  country  analogous  to  the  methods  adopted 
in  some  parts  of  the  Continent,  where  meat  from  diseased 
animals,  if  not  absolutely  condemned,  may  be  stamped  as 
inferior  or  diseased  and  so  sold,  the  purchaser  knowing 
exactly  what  he  is  buying  and  how  to  avoid  any  risk ;  or 
where  certain  meats  are  first  treated  by  boiling  or  steaming  so 
as  to  destroy  all  parasites  and  dangerous  organisms,  and  the 
meat  is  then  sold  at  a  cheap  rate  to  the  poor.  Here,  we  must 
either  pass  the  meat  as  wholesome,  or  seize  it  and  get  it 
condemned  as  unsound,  a  method  which  no  doubt  on  occasions 
results  in  the  destruction  of  food  which  by  appropriate  treat- 
ment would  have  been  quite  wholesome  and  of  full  nutritive 
value. 

Tubercular  Diseases.— From  the  time  of  Koch's  discovery 
of  the  tubercle  bacillus  until  1901,  there  was  a  general 
consensus  of  opinion  that  human  and  bovine  tuberculosis  were 
due  to  one  and  the  same  organism,  although  it  was  admitted 
that,  whilst  it  was  comparatively  easy  to  infect  cattle,  pigs, 
sheep,  horses,  and  other  animals  with  tuberculosis  by  the  use 
of  bacilli  of  bovine  origin,  it  was  very  difficult  to  infect  cattle 
with  bacilli  of  human  origin.  In  1901  Koch  announced  his 
opinion  that  human  tuberculosis  differs  from  bovine  and  could 
not  be  transmitted  to  cattle,  basing  it  upon  experiments  con- 
ducted under  his  own  observation,  and  alleging  confirmation 
from  the  fact  that  a  primary  lesion  of  the  intestine  is  rarely 
met  with  in  man,  as  would  be  the  case  if  the  disease  were 
communicable  by  the  consumption  of  meat  or  milk  infested 
with  tubercle.  This  has  such  an  important  bearing  upon 
public  health  that  a  Royal  Commission  was  soon  after  ap- 
pointed by  the  English  Government  to  investigate  the  relations 
between  tubercle  in  man  and  animals.  Up  to  the  present  the 
Commissioners  have  only  issued  a  brief  interim  report  (1904), 


UNSOUND  FOOD.     MEAT  217 

in  which  they  stated  that  they  had  inoculated  bovine  animals 
with   more  than   twenty   different   strains   of  tubercle   bacilli 
from  human  subjects,  and  that  seven  of  these  strains  had  proved 
capable  of  giving  rise  at  once  to  acute  tuberculosis  in  cattle. 
Most  of  the  other  strains  produced  more  or  less  local  lesions, 
but  five  of  these,  after  being  passed  from  one  bovine  to  another, 
or  through  guinea-pigs,  ultimately  proved  capable  of  producing 
general    tuberculosis.      The    Commissioners,    therefore,    con- 
cluded that  tubercle  of  human  origin  can  give  rise  to  bovine 
tuberculosis,    the   inference  being  that  tuberculosis  of  cattle 
and   man    are  practically  identical  in  origin.     Still  more  re- 
cently the  Imperial  (German)  Board  of  Health  has  issued  a 
report   based   upon   researches   carried   out    by   Drs.    Weber, 
Kossel,  and  Heuss,  in  which  the  opinion  of  Koch  is  confirmed. 
The  reporters  affirm  that  the  bacillus  tuberculosis   humanus 
differs  from  the  bacillus  tuberculosis  bovinus  in  its  morpho- 
logical, cultural,  and  pathogenic  properties.     Cattle  inoculated 
with  the  bovine  type  at  once  contracted  general  tuberculosis, 
whilst   those   inoculated  with  the   human   type   remained   in 
good  general  health,   and  suffered  temporarily  only  from  the 
localized  effect  of  the  introduction  of  the  bacilli.     Animals  fed  on 
food   infected  with   the   bovine   type   were   speedily   affected, 
whilst  those  fed   on   similar   food   infected  with   the   human 
type  remained  quite  healthy.     Similar  results  were  obtained 
by    inhalation   experiments.     It   is   probable,    therefore,    that 
two  types  really  exist,  and  that  the  seven  strains,  which  the 
British  Commission  found  capable  of  producing  bovine  tuber- 
culosis, were  of  the  bovine  type.     The  German  Commission 
found  this  bovine  type  in  six  cases  out  of  fifty-six  of  human 
tuberculosis,  and  all  six  cases  were  primary  tuberculosis  of 
the  intestines  and  mesenteric  glands  occurring  in  children.     The 
results  obtained  by  Hamilton  and  Young,  and  published  in 
the  '  Transactions  '  of  the  Highland  Agricultural  Society   of 
Scotland  (1903), l  appear  to  be  diametrically  opposed  to  those 
obtained   by   the   German   pathologists,   since   they   had    no 

1  Eeprinted  in  Public  Health,  September  1903. 


218  PEESEKVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

difficulty  in  infecting  calves,  by  feeding,  inoculation,  and  by 
spraying.     Their  conclusions  are  summarized  as  under  : 

1.  That,    although    human   tubercle    is    probably  not   as 
virulent  for  the  calf  as  that  derived  from  bovines,  yet  it  can  be 
readily  inoculated  upon  that  animal. 

2.  That  this  holds  good  whether  the  tubercle  inoculated  be 
derived  from  tubercular  lymph  glands,  tubercular  lungs,  tuber- 
cular sputum,  or  tubercular  urine. 

3.  That    it   produces   this    positive   result   irrespective  of 
whether   it   be   introduced   by  feeding   the   animal  with  the 
tubercular    material,    by   subcutaneous    inoculation    upon    a 
peripheral    part,   by   respiration   of   a   spray   containing    the 
bacillus,  or  by  injection  into  the  venous  system. 

4.  That  the  organs  most  affected  are  those  in  immediate 
connection  with  the  part  operated  upon. 

5.  That  the  lymphatic  system  is  constantly  involved  in  the 
resulting  tuberculosis. 

6.  That    when    administered    by   the    mouth    tubercular 
sputum  induces  an  abdominal  lymph  gland  tuberculosis,  with- 
out necessarily  the  intestine  being  in  any  way  involved. 

7.  That  when  tuberculosis  from  a  human  source  has  been 
ingrafted   upon  a  calf,   it    gains  enormously  in   virulence  by 
being  reinoculated  upon  a  second  calf. 

8.  That  the  morphological  characters  of  the  bacillus  may 
vary   according   to   circumstances,    and   are   no   guide  to  the 
source  of  the  organism  under  observation.. 

9.  That   the  above  facts  go  to  favour  the  view  that  the 
human  bacillus  and  that  of  bovines  are  identical,  but  modi- 
fied somewhat  by  their  environment. 

10.  That  these  results  are  a  direct  contradiction  of  those 
alleged  to  have  been  obtained  by  Koch  and  Schutz. 

With  such  conflicting  reports  it  is  difficult  to  arrive  at  any 
definite  conclusion,  but  it  may  be  taken  as  proved  that  in  a 
certain,  but  possibly  small,  proportion  of  cases  tubercle  bacilli 
of  the  bovine  type  are  found  in  persons  suffering  from  tuber- 
culosis, and  that  the  persons  from  whom  such  bacilli  are 


UNSOUND  FOOD.      MEAT  219 

obtained  had  suffered  from  tuberculosis  of  the  intestine  and 
mesenteric  glands,  and  that  they  had  almost  certainly  been 
infected  by  tuberculous  milk  or  meat.  There  is,  therefore, 
some  danger  of  infection  from  the  consumption  of  the  flesh  of  an 
animal  suffering  from  tuberculosis,  though  possibly  the  danger 
is  very  small,  much  less  indeed  than  has  hitherto  been 
supposed. 

Since  the  infectivity  of  tuberculous  meat  is  still  probable, 
in  dealing  with  tuberculosis  the  recommendations  made  by  the 
Royal  Commission  of  1898  should  be  strictly  carried  out — the 
entire  carcass  and  all  the  organs  should  be  condemned  : 

(a.)  When  there  is  miliary  tuberculosis  of  both  lungs. 

(b.)  When  tuberculous  lesions  are  present  in  the  pleura  and 
peritoneum. 

(c.)  When  tuberculous  lesions  exist  in  the  muscular  system, 
or  in  the  lymphatic  glands  embedded  in  or  between  the 
muscles. 

(d.)  When  tuberculous  lesions  exist  in  any  part  of  an 
emaciated  carcass. 

The  carcass  if  otherwise  healthy  should  not  be  condemned, 
but  every  part  of  it  containing  tuberculous  lesions  should  be 
seized  : 

(a.)  When  the  lesions  are  confined  to  the  lungs  and  the 
thoracic  lymph  glands. 

(b.)  When  the  lesions  are  confined  to  the  liver. 

(c.)  When  the  lesions  are  confined  to  any  combination  of 
the  foregoing,  but  are  collectively  small  in  extent. 

As  regards  pigs  the  Commissioners  recommended  that  the 
presence  of  tubercular  deposit  in  any  degree  should  lead  to  the 
condemnation  of  the  whole  carcass  and  all  the  organs.  They 
further  recommended  that  seizures  shall  ensue  in  any  case 
in  which  the  pleura  of  foreign  dead  meat  shall  have  been 
stripped. 

Although  the  post-mortem  recognition  of  tuberculous 
deposits  in  animals  usually  presents  no  difficulties  to  those 
who  are  acquainted  with  similar  processes  in  man,  there  are 


220  PEESEKVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

certain  differences  in  appearance  between  human  and  bovine 
tuberculosis  which  should  be  borne  in  mind.  Speaking  gene- 
rally, it  is  unusual  to  find  any  large  cavities  in  the  lungs  of 
animals  suffering  from  tubercle,  the  commonest  condition  being 
a  wide-spread  tuberculous  broncho-pneumonia,  the  amount  of 
caseation  which  has  occurred  depending  on  the  length  of  time 
that  the  disease  has  existed.  The  serous  tuberculosis  of  cattle 
(grapes  or  perlsucht)  has  no  counterpart  in  man.  The  tubercles 
on  the  pleura  and  peritoneum  may  be  of  any  size,  from  miliary 
deposits  up  to  large  tumours  8  inches  or  more  in  thickness. 
In  the  kidneys  of  cattle  the  deposits  may  also  be  of  a  large 
size  without  breaking  down,  and  may  resemble  new  growths 
in  consequence.  The  chief  other  pathological  conditions  with 
which  tuberculosis  is  likely  to  be  confounded,  are  actino- 
mycotic  deposits,  caseous  echinococci  and  cysticerci,  caseated 
pentastomes,  and  strongylus  nodules  in  the  lungs  of  sheep.  A 
microscopical  examination  may  be  necessary  in  doubtful  cases, 
the  presence  of  the  characteristic  mycelia  indicating  actinomy- 
cosis,  the  striated  or  lamellated  condition  of  the  wall  denoting 
echinococci,  whilst  in  the  case  of  pentastomes  and  strongylidaB 
the  claws  or  booklets  and  the  worms  respectively  will  be 
found.  The  corresponding  glands  will,  in  addition,  probably 
not  be  tuberculous. 

The  presence  of  coccidia  in  the  liver  of  the  rabbit  gives 
rise  to  an  appearance  somewhat  resembling  tuberculosis.  A 
microscopical  examination  will  readily  differentiate  the  two 
conditions  (see  Coccidia). 

If  tubercle  is  suspected,  and  if  the  thoracic  and  abdominal 
serous  membranes  and  viscera  are  not  available  for  examina- 
tion, special  attention  should  be  paid  to  the  lymphatic  glands. 
The  most  important  group  from  this  point  of  view  is  the  set 
of  glands  which  lie  in  the  interchondral  spaces  on  each  side  of 
the  sternum.  They  are  situated  about  an  inch  in  front  of  the 
costochondral  articulations,  and  beneath  the  fascia  next  the 
pleura  ;  generally  they  are  partially  covered  by  a  layer  of 
muscular  tissue. 


UNSOUND  FOOD.      MEAT  221 

Another  group  affected  early  in  tuberculosis  is  the  set  of 
glands  situated  on  each  side  of  the  dorsal  and  lumbar  verte- 
brae ;  they  are  embedded  in  fat,  and  may  be  removed  by  the 
butcher  along  with  the  viscera.  Similarly  the  deep  inguinal 
glands,  embedded  in  fat  and  situated  on  the  anterior  lip  of  the 
pelvis,  should  be  examined. 

The  popliteal  glands  are  generally  only  affected  in  severe 
generalized  cases  of  tuberculosis.  The  pharyngeal  group  is 
very  seldom  left  in  a  carcass  that  has  been  dressed,  but  is 
usually  attacked  at  an  early  stage  of  the  disease. 

Anthrax. — This  disease  affects  man  as  well  as  animals,  but 
it  is  very  doubtful  whether  the  disease  is  ever  conveyed  to  man 
through  the  medium  of  meat.  Butchers  frequently  become 
infected  when  cutting  up  an  animal  suffering  from  the  disease, 
whilst  those  who  eat  the  flesh  remain  entirely  unaffected.  In 
consequence  of  the  frequency  of  such  infection  the  Board  of 
Agriculture  and  Fisheries  has  recently  issued  the  following 
circular  : 

NOTICE  TO  BUTCHERS,  SLAUGHTERERS,  KNACKERS,  and  other  persons 
engaged  in  Great  Britain  in  slaughtering  Animals,  or  in  dress- 
ing or  otherwise  handling  Carcasses  of  Animals. 

ANTHKAX. 

Cases  come  under  the  notice  of  the  Board  of  Agriculture  and 
Fisheries  from  time  to  time  of  persons  having  contracted  Anthrax 
whilst  engaged  in  slaughtering  Animals,  or  in  dressing  or  otherwise 
handling  the  Carcasses  of  Animals.  In  connection  with  inquiries 
made  under  the  Diseases  of  Animals  Acts,  1894  to  1903,  into  out- 
breaks of  Anthrax,  it  appears  from  the  reports  of  the  Board's  Inspec- 
tors as  regards  the  outbreaks  which  occurred  in  Great  Britain  during 
the  period  from  the  beginning  of  July  to  the  end  of  December  of  last 
year,  that  as  many  as  twelve  person?  are  known  to  have  contracted 
the  disease  whilst  so  employed,  and  that  six  of  these  persons  died, 
whilst  in  one  case  amputation  of  the  arm  became  necessary. 

The  Board  therefore  think  it  desirable  to  warn  persons  against 
shedding  the  blood  of  an  animal  which  appears  to  be  ill  from  some 
unknown  cause,  and  also  against  cutting  or  handling  the  carcass  or 
skin  of  any  animal  which  has  died  suddenly,  until  careful  inquiries 


222  PRESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

have  been  made  with  a  view  to  see  whether  or  not  any  symptoms ' 
of  Anthrax  had  been  exhibited  during  life.  Should  there  appear  to 
be  any  reason  to  suspect  the  presence  of  Anthrax,  it  is  very  desirable 
that  the  slaughter  of  the  animal  or  the  dressing  of  the  carcass  should 
not  be  commenced  until  steps  have  been  taken  to  investigate  the 
cause  of  illness  or  death,  and  that  the  owner  should  be  warned  of 
the  grave  risk  to  human  life  which  might  without  such  investigation 
be  incurred. 

If  the  course  above  indicated  be  followed  in  suspicious  or  doubtful 
instances,  material  assistance  would  thus  be  rendered  to  the  respective 
Authorities  concerned  in  dealing  with  this  very  dangerous  disease  in 
man  and  in  animals. 

T.  H.  ELLIOT, 

Secretary. 
Board  of  Agriculture  and  Fisheries, 

4  Whitehall  Place,  London,  S.W. 
October  10,  190-5. 

Sheep  are  most  susceptible  to  anthrax,  but  cattle  are 
frequently  infected,  and  occasionally  pigs.  Animals  suffering 
from  anthrax,  or  suspected  to  be  so  suffering,  should  be  dealt 
with  under  the  Anthrax  Order  of  the  Local  Government 
Board.  They  are  to  be  killed  and  buried  unopened  at  a  depth 
of  not  less  than  6  feet,  the  carcass  being  covered  with  lime. 
It  is  obvious  that,  if  the  requirements  of  the  law  be  complied 
with,  the  body  of  an  animal  suffering  from  anthrax  would 
never  be  exposed  for  sale.  There  can  be  no  hesitation,  there- 
fore, in  condemning  the  carcass  of  an  infected  animal.  The 
detection  of  the  disease  may  be  difficult  if  the  spleen  cannot  be 
examined,  as  this  organ  is  most  markedly  affected,  becoming 

1  The  symptoms  of  Anthrax  may  be  summarized  as  follows  : — The  disease 
shows  itself  suddenly.  It  is  very  fatal,  usually  within  forty-eight  hours.  It  does 
not  often  in  the  United  Kingdom  spread  with  rapidity  from  animal  to  animal,  but 
it  may  affect  a  number  of  swine  at  the  same  time  if  they  have  been  fed  on  anthrax 
flesh  or  organs.  A  beast  which  a  short  time  before  appeared  to  be  well  is  found 
dead  or  in  a  dying  condition.  Frequently  blood  oozes  from  the  nostrils  and  the 
anus.  In  cattle  there  are  no  typical  symptoms,  but  in  horses  and  pigs  the  region 
of  the  throat  is  often  found  to  be  swollen. 

After  death  the  carcass  is  swollen.  Blood  is  found  around  the  nostrils  and 
anus.  The  muscles  are  often  infiltrated  with  blood  at  certain  points.  The  lungs 
and  glands  are  congested.  The  spleen  is  very  much  enlarged ;  it  is  softer  and 
darker  than  normal,  and  its  substance  usually  resembles  tar. 


UNSOUND  FOOD.      MEAT  223 

greatly  enlarged,  and  more  or  less  diffluent,  and  the  contents 
are  of  a  tarry  colour  and  consistency.  Extensive  haemor- 
rhages occur  in  all  the  organs,  and  especially  under  the  epicar- 
dium.  In  pigs  the  spleen  may  be  but  little  affected,  the  dis- 
ease in  this  animal  being  chiefly  characterized  by  oedema  of  the 
neck.  The  bacillus  of  anthrax  is  recognized  with  comparative 
ease  and  may  be  obtained  from  the  spleen,  or,  if  this  is  not 
available,  from  the  hsemorrhagic  infiltrations  or  the  blood. 
Ostertag  directs  attention  to  the  necessity  for  distinguishing 
between  this  bacillus  and  that  of  certain  cadaver  bacilli.  The 
latter  form  spores  in  the  carcass  which  the  former  never  do, 
and  are  decolourized  by  Gram's  method,  whilst  the  anthrax 
bacilli  retain  the  stain.  An  instance  of  human  anthrax, 
apparently  due  to  infected  meat,  is  recorded  in  '  The  Lancet,' 
1905,  i.  p.  875. 

Black-leg*  or  Quarter-ill  is  an  anthracoid  disease  affecting 
cattle,  in  which  haemorrhagic  effusion  takes  place  into  the 
subcutaneous  tissues  of  the  hind  or  fore  quarters.  Extra- 
vasations are  found  in  the  internal  organs,  and  in  the  blood  the 
characteristic  bacillus  can  be  demonstrated.  Malignant  oedema 
is  an  analogous  condition  due  to  a  specific  organism.  Both  of 
them  are  probably  communicable  to  man,  and  render  the  flesh 
of  the  animal  unsound. 

Braxy. — This  is  a  disease  of  sheep  which  is  endemic  in 
certain  localities.  In  Scotland  it  occasions  annually  the  loss 
of  some  100,000  or  more  sheep.  It  is  probably  of  bacillary 
origin  and  has  been  confounded  with  anthrax.  Infected  sheep 
often  die  very  suddenly.  The  animal  begins  to  stagger,  falls 
down,  becomes  comatose,  and  dies.  The  stomachs  are  found 
greatly  inflamed,  with  ecchymoses  especially  in  the  fourth 
stomach.  The  flesh  rapidly  suffers  decomposition,  writh  the 
production  of  a  very  offensive  odour.  It  is  said  to  be  eaten  by 
Scotch  shepherds.  It  is  very  doubtful  whether  the  carcass  of 
an  infected  animal  is  ever  dressed  for  market.  The  term 
'  braxy  '  probably  embraces  more  than  one  disease  causing 
sudden  death  among  sheep. 


224  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

Swine-fever. — This  is  an  exceedingly  infectious  disease, 
the  occurrence  of  which  has  to  be  notified,  and  the  local 
authority  may  cause  not  only  the  infected  animal,  but  also  all 
contacts  to  be  slaughtered,  and  pay  the  owner  compensation. 
It  is  due  to  a  bacillus,  and  runs  a  course  not  unlike  typhoid 
fever  in  man.  If  the  animal  is  killed  in  the  early  stage  and  the 
internal  organs  removed,  there  may  only  be  a  redness  of  the 
skin  and  subcutaneous  fat  to  indicate  that  the  animal  has 
suffered  from  any  disease.  If  the  alimentary  canal  can  be 
examined,  the  large  intestines  will  be  found  ulcerated,  and 
diphtheritic  deposits  may  be  found  in  various  parts  of  the 
alimentary  canal  from  the  mouth  to  the  anus.  In  severe  cases 
or  in  a  later  stage  of  the  disease  the  flesh  wastes,  and  may  be 
pale  or  dropsical,  and  have  a  disagreeable  odour.  In  Germany  the 
flesh  may  be  sold  in  a  cooked  condition.  If  the  carcass  shows  any 
signs  of  being  affected  by  the  disease  it  should  be  condemned. 
There  is  no  evidence,  however,  of  the  flesh  of  an  infected 
animal  being  injurious  to  man,  but  the  bacillus  is  apparently 
related  to  the  colon  group  (B.  coli,  B.  enteritidis,  B.  typhosus, 
and  the  paratyphoid  bacillus),  and  also  to  the  B.  psittacosis, 
all  of  which  are  pathogenic  to  man. 

Swine  Erysipelas  is  said  by  Loeffler  to  be  due  to  a  bacillus, 
and  is  usually  a  rapidly  fatal  disease.  There  is  no  pronounced 
rigor  mortis,  and  the  flesh  rapidly  decomposes,  hence  carcasses 
rarely,  if  ever,  reach  the  market.  There  is  no  evidence,  however, 
of  the  unwholesomeness  of  the  flesh ;  on  the  contrary,  it 
appears  to  be  eaten  with  entire  impunity.  The  skin  is  of  a 
dark-red  hue,  as  is  also  the  subcutaneous  fat.  Haemorrhages 
under  the  serous  membranes  are  common,  the  spleen  is  en- 
larged, the  kidneys,  liver,  and  heart  show  signs  of  degenera- 
tion, and  the  bacilli  may  be  demonstrated  in  the  blood  or 
spleen  pulp.  The  skin  eruption  affecting  swine  and  known 
as  '  diamonds  '  is  not  improbably  related  to  this  disease.  The 
flesh  of  an  animal  suffering  from  swine  erysipelas  must  be 
considered  as  unfit  for  food,  unless  it  were  slaughtered  at  the 
very  onset. 


UNSOUND  FOOD.      MEAT  225 

Diphtheria,  so  called,  in  calves  is  apparently  caused  by  a 
streptothrix,  and  is  of  an  entirely  different  nature  from  human 
diphtheria.  If  the  disease  is  local  and  the  flesh  normal  in 
appearance  the  meat  need  not  be  condemned. 

Septicaemia,  Pysemia,  and  Sapraemia  may  arise  in  con- 
nection with  wounds,  injury  to  the  freshly  torn  navel 
cord,  parturition,  osteomyelitis,  and  sometimes  apparently 
idiopathically.  It  is  unnecessary  to  describe  in  detail  the 
pathological  distinctions  of  the  three  conditions,  which  are 
strictly  comparable  to  those  occurring  in  man.  Apart  from  the 
symptoms  during  life,  the  commonest  post-mortem  appearances 
are  petechiae  under  the  serous  and  mucous  membranes  and  in 
the  lymphatic  glands,  cloudy  swelling  of  the  liver,  heart,  and 
kidneys,  and  enlargement  of  many  of  the  lymphatic  glands. 
In  pysemia,  metastatic  abscesses  may  be  present.  Possibly  a 
bacteriological  examination  of  the  flesh  would  prove  of  service 
in  doubtful  cases.  As  a  general  rule  the  flesh  of  such  animals 
is  to  be  condemned,  though  possibly  in  slight  cases  of  sapraemia, 
where  the  meat,  when  kept  under  observation  as  indicated 
previously,  appears  to  be  normal,  the  flesh  may  not  necessarily 
be  prejudicial  to  health. 

Rinderpest. — This  terribly  infectious  disease  occurs  in 
epidemics.  Cattle  suspected  of  infection  are  immediately 
slaughtered,  and  buried  or  otherwise  destroyed.  Should  an 
infected  carcass  reach  the  market,  it  is  consoling  to  know  that 
its  consumption  would  do  no  harm.  Troops  have  been  fed  on 
animals  suffering  from  the  disease  in  nearly  all  stages,  and 
without  ill  effects. 

Pleuro-pneumonia  is  another  very  infectious  disease  of  cattle 
which  necessitates  the  slaughter  of  the  animal.  So  far  as  is 
known  the  disease  is  not  communicable  to  man,  and  if  the 
flesh  is  not  deteriorated,  being  in  all  respects  normal,  it  is  quite 
unobjectionable  and  may  be  passed  as  wholesome,  the  lungs 
only  being  destroyed.  It  is  difficult  to  recognize  the  disease  in 
its  early  stage,  when  the  animal  merely  refuses  food  and  is 
feverish.  Later,  when  the  symptoms  of  pneumonia  and 

15 


226  PKESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

pleurisy  are  well  marked,  the  diagnosis  is  easy.  The  lungs 
and  pleura  exhibit  the  usual  post-mortem  appearances.  The 
characteristic  features  are  the  '  extensive  affection  of  the  inter- 
lobular  connective  tissue,  and  the  presence  of  inflammatory 
foci  of  different  ages  in  the  pulmonary  parenchyma  between 
the  diseased  interlobular  connective  tissue  strands.' l 

Tetanus  being  a  localized  infection,  the  carcass  of  an 
animal  which  has  been  killed  while  suffering  from  the  disease 
is  not  likely  to  infect  man.  Bleeding  is,  however,  generally 
defective,  and  the  meat  of  poor  keeping  quality. 

Cow-pox  and  Vaccinated  Animals. — Cow-pox  is  a  trivial 
affection,  never  leading  to  the  slaughter  of  the  animal,  and  not 
affecting  the  value  of  the  flesh  for  food.  The  sale  of  the  flesh 
of  calves  which  have  been  used  for  the  production  of  lymph 
has  given  rise  to  much  discussion,  sentimental  objections  being 
raised  against  the  use  of  such  flesh  as  food.  If  in  a  healthy 
condition  when  slaughtered,  the  flesh  is  perfectly  wholesome. 
In  Germany  '  the  meat  of  vaccine  calves  and  bulls  in  most 
abattoirs  is  admitted  to  the  market  after  the  removal  of  the 
cedematous  infiltrated  subcutis  under  the  point  of  inoculation. 
No  harm  from  eating  such  meat  has  ever  been  observed.' 2 

The  flesh  of  cows  and  sheep  suffering  from  pox  may  possibly 
be  inferior  if  there  has  been  much  constitutional  disturbance,, 
but  there  are  no  grounds  for  condemning  the  carcass  except 
in  the  rare  cases  of  '  cadaveric  '  or  '  gangrenous '  sheep-pox. 

Rabies  is  extremely  rare,  and  considerable  risk  of  infection 
would  be  run  in  dressing  such  carcasses.  The  flesh  of  an 
animal  known  to  have  been  rabid  should  be  condemned. 

Glanders  is  almost  confined  to  horses,  cats,  dogs,  and  goats, 
but  is,  of  course,  transmissible  to  man.  Sheep  appear  to  be 
slightly  susceptible.  The  carcass-  of  any  food  animal  suffering 
from  this  disease  should  be  destroyed  without  skinning. 

Foot-and-Mouth  Disease. — Cattle  (and  occasionally  pigs) 
suffer  from  this  disease,  which  generally  appears  in  epidemics. 
It  is  characterized  by  the  appearance  of  vesicles  around  tha 
1  Ostertag,  Meat  Inspection.  *  Ibid. 


UNSOUND  FOOD.     MEAT  227 

margin  of  the  tongue,  the  gums,  mucous  membrane  of  the 
cheeks  and  the  nasal  septum,  and  also  on  the  border  and  cleft 
of  the  hoofs.  The  disease  often  runs  a  fatal  course,  and  it  is 
transmissible  to  man  by  direct  contact.  There  is  no  evidence, 
however,  leading  us  to  suspect  that  the  disease  may  be  com- 
municated by  the  eating  of  the  flesh  of  an  infected  animal.  It 
suffices,  therefore,  to  destroy  the  obviously  affected  parts,  but 
to  pass  the  remainder  of  the  carcass  provided  the  disease  has 
not  caused  any  deterioration  of  the  flesh. 

Actinomycosis  (Plate  I.) . — One  other  disease  due  to  infection 
with  an  organism  belonging  to  the  vegetable  kingdom,  viz.  ac- 
tinomycosis,  remains  for  special  reference.  Although  this  dis- 
ease can  be,  by  inoculation,  transmitted  from  man  to  animals 
and  from  animal  to  animal,  no  case  of  direct  transmission  by  food 
has  been  recorded,  and  there  is  no  proof  that  the  consumption 
of  the  flesh  of  an  infected  animal  has  communicated  the  disease 
to  man.  The  ray-fungus  is  by  some  considered  to  be  a  mould, 
but  is  probably  a  streptothrix.  It  has  no  sheath,  and  forms 
long  and  short  rods,  simple  and  branched  threads,  spiral  threads 
and  coccus-like  bodies.  In  the  animal  tissues  it  is  characterized 
by  the  rosette-like  arrangement  of  the  threads,  and  their  club- 
like  swellings.  It  is  probably  introduced  into  the  system,  both 
in  man  and  animals,  by  the  sharp  awns  of  barley  and  other 
cereals  which  pierce  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  alimentary 
or  respiratory  tract. 

It  affects  cattle  and  pigs  chiefly,  but  occasionally  sheep  and 
other  animals  are  attacked.  The  tongue  is  the  most  frequent 
seat  of  this  disease  ('  wooden  tongue,'  '  cancer'),  the  lower  jaw 
coming  next  in  order  of  frequency,  then  the  upper  jaw  ;  when 
the  skin  and  subcutaneous  tissue  are  affected,  large  tumours 
('  wens  ')  may  be  formed.  The  lips,  pharynx,  larynx,  and  other 
parts  of  the  head  are  not  uncommonly  attacked,  but  the  stomach, 
lungs,  liver,  and  other  organs  may  also  be  affected,  and  occa- 
sionally the  disease  becomes  generalized.  According  to  Ostertag 
actinomycosis  does  not  produce  suppuration  in  domesticated 
animals,  but  '  simply  an  extensive  infiltration  of  round  cells, 


228  PEESEKVATIVES  IN   FOOD 

and,  in  the  neighbouring  tissue,  giant  cells  of  a  more  irregular 
shape  than  in  tuberculosis.'  Where  suppuration  occurs  in  such 
animals  he  attributes  it  to  a  mixed  infection  with  pyogenic 
organisms.  The  growth  becomes  surrounded  by  a  thick  layer 
of  connective  tissue,  but  ulceration  may  occur.  The  lymphatic 
glands  become  affected,  but  do  not  suppurate  or  caseate.  The 
disease  may  be  confounded  with  non-malignant  tumours  and 
with  tuberculosis,  but  the  microscopic  examination,  revealing 
the  presence  of  the  fungus,  enables  a  correct  diagnosis  to  be 
made.  In  man  the  '  clubs  '  are  absent,  the  growth  consisting 
of  threads  and  the  coccus  form.  Pus  formation  is  the  rule, 
and  the  abscesses  are  apt  to  burrow  in  various  directions.  The 
lungs  and  abdominal  viscera  may  be  invaded,  and  in  such 
cases  the  diagnosis  may  be  obscure  until  the  pus  can  be 
examined  microscopically. 

In  cases  of  actinomycosis  the  general  feeling  in  England  is 
in  favour  of  condemning  the  whole  carcass,  but  such  an  extreme 
measure  is  perhaps  hardly  justifiable  in  early  and  strictly 
localized  cases,  if  the  affected  portions  are  carefully  removed. 
In  the  rare  instances  in  which  the  disease  is  generalized  the 
whole  carcass  should  certainly  be  destroyed.  On  the  Continent 
it  is  customary  to  remove  only  the  affected  portion,  and  to  pass 
the  remainder  of  the  carcass.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind, 
however,  that  secondary  deposits  are  not  always  easy  to 
determine  by  the  naked  eye. 

Poultry  and  Game. — The  length  of  time  which  should  elapse 
between  slaughter  and  consumption  in  the  case  of  poultry  and 
game  varies  very  largely  with  the  different  species,  fowls  and 
rabbits  especially  being  liable  to  cause  gastro-intestinal  dis- 
turbance if  decomposition  has  set  in,  whilst  in  the  case  of 
pheasants  and  other  game  no  evil  results  usually  follow  in  the 
early  stages.  There  are  only  two  important  infective  diseases 
to  which  poultry  are  liable  :  fowl  cholera,  and  fowl  diphtheria. 
The  former  occurs  in  chickens,  geese,  ducks,  pigeons,  turkeys, 
and  pheasants ;  it  is  usually  fatal  in  a  few  days,  or  even  hours. 
Hsemorrhagic  inflammation  of  the  small  intestine  is  found, 


UNSOUND  FOOD.     MEAT  229 

and  occasionally  haemorrhage  under  the  pericardium,  and 
inflammation  in  the  lung  tissue.  When  the  intestines  have 
been  removed,  the  cause  of  death  may  sometimes  be  ascertained 
by  the  presence  of  dark-blue  patches  at  the  lower  part  of  the 
abdomen  and  on  the  internal  surface  of  the  thighs.  If  a 
pigeon  is  inoculated  in  the  breast  muscles  with  the  blood  of 
the  suspected  bird,  it  will  probably  die  within  forty-eight 
hours.  If  the  disease  is  at  all  advanced  it  renders  the  flesh 
unfit  for  food,  but  it  is  apparently  not  transmissible  to  man. 
Fowl  diphtheria  attacks  chickens  and  pigeons,  with  the 
formation  of  an  inflammatory  membrane  in  the  mouth, 
pharynx,  respiratory  passages,  or  alimentary  tract,  and  occa- 
sionally on  the  surface  of  the  eyes.  Haemorrhages  under  the 
pericardium  may  be  present,  and  the  flesh  should  be  considered 
unfit  for  food.  The  disease  is,  however,  quite  distinct  from 
human  diphtheria. 


CHAPTEE  XIX 

UNSOUND  FOOD  (continued).    ANIMAL  PARASITES 

THE  number  of  animal  parasites  infecting  animals  used  for 
human  food  is  very  considerable,  but  fortunately  few  of  these 
are  capable  of  also  infecting  man.  The  others  are  of  no 
importance,  provided  care  is  taken  not  to  confound  them  with 
parasites  capable  of  directly  infecting  man,  or  of  indirectly 
affecting  him  after  a  change  of  host.  In  the  following  pages 
a  description  is  given  of  all  the  parasites  capable  of  infecting 
human  beings  directly  or  indirectly,  so  far  as  our  present 
knowledge  extends,  and  where  a  harmless  parasite  is  likely  to 
be  confounded  with  a  dangerous  one,  the  points  requiring 
attention  to  effect  a  differential  diagnosis  are  recorded. 

Trichinosis. — This  disease  is  believed  to  have  been  intro- 
duced into  Europe  by  the  grey  rat,  which  came  from  Asia 
about  1770,  and  which  is  peculiarly  liable  to  infection  by  the 
Trichina  spiralis,  as  many  as  100  per  cent,  in  certain  localities 
being  found  to  be  attacked.  Others  believe  that  the  worm  was 
introduced  earlier  in  the  eighteenth  century  by  pigs  imported 
from  China.  It  was  not,  however,  until  1860  that  it  became 
known  that  the  disease  was  communicable  to  man,  though  in 
1835  Sir  James  Paget  had  recognized  the  worm  in  the  cadaver 
of  an  Italian ;  but  it  is  probable  that  many  cases  of  trichinosis 
had  previously  occurred,  the  patients  being  considered  to  be 
suffering  from  rheumatism,  rheumatic  fever,  or  typhoid  fever. 
The  cases  recorded  in  this  country  are  very  few,  but  in 
France,  Denmark,  and  Poland  localized  epidemics  have  oc- 
curred, and  in  Germany  extensive  outbreaks  have  frequently 
been  recorded,  hundreds  of  persons  being  attacked,  with  a 


UNSOUND  FOOD.     ANIMAL  PAEASITES  231 

mortality  rate  of  from  less  than  1  to  over  30  per  cent.  This 
disease  is  invariably  produced  by  the  eating  of  infected 
pork,  of  sausages,  or  of  similar  prepared  foods  containing 
pork. 

The  cause  of  trichinosis  is  a  nematode  worm,  the  adult 
male  of  which  is  from  1-2  to  1-5  mm.  long,  and  the  adult 
female  about  3'5  mm.  They  are  ovo-viviparous,  and  develop 
in  the  stomach  or  intestine  when  the  envelope  of  the  embryo 
has  been  dissolved  by  the  gastric  juice.  In  the  intestine 
further  development  takes  place,  the  sexual  organs  appearing. 
After  copulation  the  male  disappears,  being  digested  or  ejected, 
and  the  young  trichinae  are  born  about  the  seventh  day  after 
infection.  These  next  make  their  appearance  in  the  voluntary 
muscles  (Plates  I.  and  II.)  and  certain  other  tissues,  but  how 
they  get  there  is  a  disputed  question.  Some  affirm  that  they 
penetrate  the  walls  of  the  intestines  and  travel  along  the  con- 
nective tissue  and  spaces,  but  this  seems  very  improbable,  as 
the  embryos  at  first  possess  no  boring  apparatus,  and  are  said 
never  to  be  found  in  the  intestinal  contents.  Graham  found 
that  the  adult  trichinae  make  their  way  into  the  interior  of  the 
Lieberkuhn's  gland,  and  that  the  embryos  discharged  there 
find  their  way  into  the  chyle  vessels,  and  are  thence  carried 
into  the  blood,  and  by  the  blood  to  the  muscles.  The  evidence 
which  he  adduces  appears  to  prove  conclusively  that  the  old 
migration  theory  is  quite  incorrect.  The  female  parent,  having 
produced  her  thousands  of  embryos,  ultimately  dies  and  is 
apparently  voided.  About  the  end  of  the  third  week  after  the 
reception  of  the  worms  into  the  stomach  the  invasion  of  the 
muscles  is  complete.  The  embryos  lie  within  the  sheath  of 
sarcolemma,  and  cause  a  certain  amount  of  irritation  leading 
to  an  increase  of  connective  tissue,  and  the  formation  of  a 
capsulated  cyst.  The  embryo  assumes  the  larval  stage,  coils 
itself  up,  and  becomes  quiescent.  Fat  cells  may  develop 
around  the  cyst,  and  at  a  later  stage  the  cyst  itself  may 
become  calcified.  The  encysted  trichinae  survive  a  temperature 
much  below  freezing  point,  and  after  an  infected  ham  has  been 


232  PEESEKVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

pickled  or  smoked  they  retain  their  vitality  for  many  months, 
and  may  infect  any  susceptible  animal  into  which  they  are 
introduced.  The  temperature  necessary  for  their  destruction 
is  unknown.  It  has  been  stated  by  some  observers  that  a 
temperature  of  50°  C.  maintained  for  a  few  minutes  is  sufficient 
to  kill  them,  whilst  others  affirirrthat  they  resist  a  temperature 
of  80°  C.  Many  outbreaks  have  followed  the  use  of  boiled 
infected  pork,  hence  it  is  evident  that  very  thorough  cooking 
is  necessary  to  destroy  those  in  the  centre  of  a  joint.  It  is 
very  probable  that  it  is  to  the  more  careful  and  thorough 
cooking  of  pork  practised  in  this  country  that  our  practical 
immunity  from  this  disease  is  due. 

The  symptoms  of  trichinosis  in  man  vary  at  different 
stages  of  the  infection.  Within  a  few  hours  of  the  ingestion 
of  the  infected  material  there  is  more  or  less  intestinal 
irritation,  often  resulting  in  vomiting  and  diarrhoea.  About 
the  end  of  the  third  week,  fever  ensues  with  severe  muscular 
pain,  oedema  of  the  eyelids,  &c.  At  a  later  date,  as  the  larvae 
become  encapsuled,  the  symptoms  subside.  When  death  occurs, 
it  is  usually  from  the  intense  infection  of  the  diaphragm  and 
intercostal  muscles.  The  disease  may  be  confounded  with 
typhoid  fever,  rheumatism,  cholera,  and  beri-beri. 

The  principal  muscles  infected,  and  which  ought  therefore 
to  be  examined  for  this  parasite,  are  the  diaphragm,  the 
muscles  of  the  larynx  and  tongue,  and  to  a  less  extent  the 
abdominal  and  intercostal  muscles.  The  cysts  lie  with  their 
long  axes  parallel  to  the  direction  of  the  fibres.  The  only 
method  of  identifying  trichinae  with  certainty  is  by  a  micro- 
scopical examination,  a  magnification  of  40  diameters  being 
ample.  The  addition  of  dilute  acetic  acid  to  the  muscle 
renders  the  cyst  and  worm  coiled  up  therein  clearer,  or  the 
sections  may  be  immersed  for  a  few  minutes  in  liquor  potassae 
to  make  the  muscle  fibres  translucent.  The  pig  is  the  only 
animal  used  for  food  in  which  trichinae  have  been  found,  and 
any  carcass  infected  is  unfit  for  food  and  should  be  un- 
hesitatingly condemned. 


UNSOUND  FOOD.      ANIMAL  PAEASITES  233 

Tapeworms. — These  animals  belong  to  the  natural  order 
Cestoda,  and  inhabit  the  intestinal  canal  of  vertebrate  animals. 
Twelve  species  are  known  which  infest  man,  but  most  of  them 
so  rarely  that  only  four  need  consideration.  They  are  the 
Taenia  mediocanellata,  Tsenia  solium,  Taenia  echinococcus,  and 
Bothriocephalus  latus. 

Taenia  mediocanellata  (Plate  III.). — This  is  one  of  the 
commonest  and  largest  tapeworms  infesting  man,  and  is  very 
widely  distributed.  In  countries  where  cattle  are  badly  tended, 
and  where  the  inhabitants  consume  imperfectly  cooked  beef, 
infection  is  very  common.  It  is  alleged  that  practically  every 
native  in  Abyssinia  is  infected,  and  that  in  North-west  India 
a  large  proportion  of  the  natives  suffer  from  the  presence  of 
this  tapeworm.  In  more  civilized  communities  it  is  far  less 
common,  and  in  this  country  it  is  but  rarely  seen,  though 
when  a  tapeworm  is  met  with  in  England,  it  is  usually  of  this 
variety.  The  worm,  when  fully  developed,  is  from  4  to 
8  metres  (13  to  26  feet)  in  length,  and  possesses  over 
1,200  proglottides.  The  head  is  pear-shaped,  and  about  1-5 
to  2  mm.  broad  at  the  widest  part.  It  has  neither  rostellum 
nor  booklets,  but  it  possesses  four  suckers.  The  eggs  are  very 
minute  (0'03  mm.),  and  each  contains  an  embryo  armed  with 
six  booklets  ;  the  shells  are  thick  and  striated.  Alter  entering 
the  host,  usually  a  bovine  animal,  the  covering  of  the  egg  is 
digested,  and  the  embryos  find  their  way  into  the  voluntary 
muscles,  where  small  oval  cysts  about  1  to  2  mm.  up  to  1  cm. 
in  length  are  developed  (fig.  2).  Occasionally  these  are  also 
found  in  the  lungs,  liver,  and  brain.  A  capsule  is  formed 
round  the  cyst  (cysticercus),  and  within  the  latter  is  developed 
the  immature  cestode,  which  consists  of  a  caudal  bladder  in 
which  the  head  is  invaginated.  This  head  is  unarmed,  but 
possesses  four  sucking  discs.  These  cysticerci  have  not  been 
found  in  man. 

About  sixty  days  after  the  consumption  of  infected  beef, 
proglottides  of  the  tapeworm  may  be  found  in  the  stools. 

The  Cysticercus  bovis  is  said  by  Perronicito  to  be  killed  at 


234  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

a  temperature  of  45°  C.,  but  probably  a  temperature  of  65° 
would  be  required  to  ensure  safety.  Thorough  cooking, 
roasting  or  boiling  would  therefore  destroy  the  parasite.  If 
infected  beef  is  cut  up  and  placed  in  brine,  or  if  brine  is 
injected,  the  cysticerci  perish  in  less  than  fourteen  days.  The 
time,  however,  depends  upon  the  mass  of  the  meat,  and  on  the 
strength  of  the  pickling  solution.  It  is  more  important  to 
note  that  experiments  conducted  in  Berlin,  Dresden,  and  else- 
where l  prove  that  the  cysticerci  perish  if  the  meat  is  kept  in  a 
cold  store  for  three  weeks.  The  cold  is  merely  to  preserve  the 
meat  from  decomposition,  since  the  cysticerci  die  at  ordinary 
temperatures  within  the  period  named.  Cold,  however,  is  not 
without  effect,  as  by  cooling  to  —8°  or  —10°  C.  the  worm  is  killed 
in  about  four  days.  The  Cysticercus  bovis,  or  beef  bladder 
worm,  must  be  sought  for  in  the  masticatory  muscles,  the  heart, 
the  tongue,  the  cervical  muscles,  the  muscular  portions  of  the 
diaphragm,  and  the  intercostal  and  the  thoracic  muscles,  the 
actual  situation  of  the  cysts  being  the  connective  tissue 
between  the  muscle  fibres.  They  vary  in  size,  from  a  pin's 
head  to  that  of  a  pea,  and  are  frequently  surrounded  by  in- 
flammatory tissue.  The  inflammatory  process  may  be  suffi- 
cient to  cause  the  death  of  the  parasite,  and  may  end  in 
caseation,  calcification,  or  suppuration.  The  cysts  should  be 
distinguished  from  those  of  the  harmless  Cysticercus  tenui- 
collis.  The  latter  are  frequently  found  in  sheep,  pigs,  and 
cattle,  and  are  the  larval  form  of  Taenia  marginata  of  the  dog. 
The  cysts  vary  from  the  size  of  a  pea  to  that  of  a  man's  fist, 
and  occur  most  commonly  immediately  under  the  peritoneum 
and  pleura,  being  situated  in  the  underlying  viscera,  the 
omentum,  mesentery,  and  occasionally  the  abdominal  muscles 
and  diaphragm.  The  head  of  the  larval  worm  is  armed  with 
suckers  and  a  double  row  of  booklets,  whilst  that  of  Cysti- 
cercus bovis  has  no  booklets,  but  possesses  four  suckers.  In 
both  kinds  of  cyst  the  head  is  normally  invaginated. 

It  is  customary  in  this  country  to  condemn  a  carcass  of 

1  Ostertag,  Meat  Inspection. 


UNSOUND  FOOD.     ANIMAL  PAEASITES  235 

'  measly  beef,'  and  this  is  no  doubt  the  safest  procedure. 
Apart  from  the  presence  of  the  parasite,  however,  the  muscles 
often  assume  a  watery  character  when  the  invasion  is  extensive, 
rendering  the  meat  quite  unfit  for  food. 

Tsenia  solium. — The  adult  worm  as  found  in  the  human 
intestines  is  from  8  to  12  feet  or  more  in  length.  The  head 
is  very  small,  however,  only  about  1  mm.  in  diameter,  but 
bears  a  double  circle  of  booklets,  twenty-six  or  twenty-eight  in 
number,  surrounding  the  rostellum,  and  four  prominent  suckers. 
The  fertile  proglottides  when  ripe  are  discharged,  usually  with 
the  faeces,  and  the  ova,  which  are  spherical,  about  O03  mm. 
in  diameter,  and  surrounded  by  a  thick  brownish  shell  with  a 
striated  appearance,  are  transferred  to  the  stomach  of  a  suit- 
able host,  especially  the  pig  (possibly  also  man).  The  shell  is 
dissolved  in  the  stomach,  and  the  embryo,  armed  with  six 
booklets,  migrates  in  some  way  into  the  tissues  of  its  host,  and 
more  especially  into  the  connective  tissue  between  the  muscle 
fibres.  Here,  in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks,  it  forms  a  deli- 
cate, transparent,  elliptical  cyst,  containing  a  single,  spirally 
coiled,  invaginated  head  (Plate  III.)  The  head  possesses 
twenty-six  to  twenty-eight  booklets,  suckers,  and  rostellum, 
thus  resembling  that  of  the  adult  worm.  The  pig  is  far  more 
commonly  infected  than  any  other  animal,  and  these  small 
cysts  or  cysticerci  are  known  as  Cysticercus  cellulosaa,  or 
hog  bladder  worms.  They  are  from  8  to  10  mm.  in  length, 
and  the  width  is  about  half  the  length.  Pork  infected  with 
this  bladder  worm  is  spoken  of  as  'measly.'  The  consumption 
of  such  meat  in  an  imperfectly  cooked  condition  results  in  the 
development  of  the  Taenia  solium  in  the  intestines.  The  cysti- 
cercus  is  killed  at  a  temperature  of  49°  C.,  and  by  prolonged 
pickling  in  brine.  It  is  more  resistant  than  the  '  beef  cysti- 
cercus,'  since  after  cold  storage,  even  for  a  period  of  six  weeks, 
the  meat  may  retain  its  infective  properties.  Thorough  cooking, 
however,  renders  it  harmless.  Infection  with  Taenia  solium  is 
not  nearly  so  common  in  Great  Britain  as  in  Germany,  and  in 
the  latter  country  it  is  chiefly  in  the  north,  where  more 


236  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

partially  cooked  or  uncooked  meat  is  eaten,  that  the  infection 
is  prevalent.  The  presence  of  this  tapeworm  rarely  gives  rise 
to  any  serious  disturbance,  but  the  general  nutrition  may  be 
impaired  and  an  semi  a  supervene.  There  is,  however,  a  further 
danger,  since  man  is  also  liable  to  infection  by  the  cysticercus 
through  swallowing  the  eggs  of  the  tsenia,  or  possibly  from 
some  form  of  auto-infection.  The  cysticercus  develops  in  the 
brain  (cortex  or  covering),  the  eye,  the  heart,  and  other  organs, 
rarely  in  the  liver,  and  only  occasionally  under  the  cutis.  The 
symptoms  produced  vary  with  the  part  or  parts  affected.  If 
the  eye,  blindness  may  result ;  if  the  heart,  functional  dis- 
turbance or  even  valvular  disease;  if  the  lungs,  asthmatic 
symptoms  ;  if  the  brain,  paralytic  or  epileptic  conditions  ;  and 
so  on  according  to  the  organ  invaded. 

Cysticercus  cellulosse,  or  the  hog  bladder  worm,  resembles 
the  beef  bladder  worm  in  size ;  the  cysts  are  usually  located 
in  the  abdominal  and  lumbar  muscles,  the  muscular  portions 
of  the  diaphragm,  the  tongue,  the  heart,  the  muscles  of 
mastication,  the  intercostal  and  cervical  muscles,  and  the 
gracilis  and  sternal  musculature.  They  are  also  to  be  found 
in  the  brain  and  eye,  the  lymphatic  glands,  and  the  panniculus 
adiposus.  It  is  only  in  very  extreme  cases  that  the  cysts 
occur  in  the  lungs,  liver,  and  spleen.  The  disease  can  some- 
times be  diagnosed  during  life  by  a  careful  examination  and 
palpation  of  the  tongue.  The  cysts  may  undergo  similar 
degenerative  changes  to  those  of  the  beef  worm,  and  they 
have  been  found  occasionally  in  sheep,  dogs,  and  deer.  In 
cases  of  extensive  invasion  the  muscles  become  greyish-red 
and  watery.  The  head  resembles  the  scolex  of  the  harmless 
Cysticercus  tenuicollis,  to  which  reference  has  already  been 
made ;  the  cysts  of  the  latter,  however,  occur  only  under 
the  serous  coverings  of  the  thoracic  and  abdominal  viscera,  the 
abdominal  muscles,  and  the  diaphragm,  and  the  booklets  are 
more  numerous,  varying  from  thirty-two  to  forty  in  number. 

Measly  pork  being  more  dangerous  than  measly  beef,  it  is 
the  rule  to  condemn  infected  carcasses.  In  Prussia,  however, 


UNSOUND  FOOD.     ANIMAL  PAEASITES  237 

the  fat  obtained  by  rendering  or  cooking  may  be  utilized 
unconditionally,  and  the  lean  meat  may  be  consumed  in  the 
butcher's  own  family,  after  having  been  cut  up  and  boiled 
under  supervision. 

Bothriocephalus  latus. — This  tapeworm  is  of  enormous 
length,  6  to  16  metres  (20  to  50  feet),  and  may  possess  3,000  to 
4,000  proglottides  (Plate  III.).  The  eggs  are  extruded  before 
the  embryo  is  formed,  and  have  to  lie  in  water  for  some  time 
until  the  six-hooked  embryo  is  developed.  In  shape  they  are 
oval  (0'05  by  0'035  mm.),  and  are  provided  with  an  oper- 
culum.  The  embrj'o  is  ciliated,  and  when  set  free  swims  about 
in  the  water,  till  it  gains  access  to  fish,  and  finally  becomes 
encysted  in  the  viscera  and  muscles.  The  larva  (fig.  8), 
when  fully  developed,  is  1  to  2-5  cm.  in  length  and  2  to  3  mm. 
broad,  and  has  the  head  and  tail  usually  invaginated.  These 
larvae,  which  are  not  enveloped  in  any  definite  capsule,  have 
been  found  in  pike,  eels,  trout,  grayling,  salmon,  and  other 
fish.  When  the  raw,  smoked,  or  imperfectly  cooked  infected 
fish  is  eaten  by  man,  or  by  dogs,  cats,  and  certain  other 
animals,  the  tapeworm  rapidly  develops.  The  chief  centres  of 
infection  in  Europe  are  the  provinces  bordering  on  the  Baltic 
and  the  districts  surrounding  the  Swiss  lakes.  In  Japan, 
where  fish  is  largely  consumed,  it  is  exceedingly  prevalent. 
In  this  country  very  few  cases  occur,  and  doubtless  the  patients 
become  infected  abroad.  The  symptoms  caused  by  the  pre- 
sence of  this  tapeworm  in  the  human  intestine  resemble  those 
described  under  Taenia  solium.  Any  fish  in  which  the  larvae 
are  found  should  certainly  be  seized  and  destroyed.  Human 
infection  by  the  larva  does  not  appear  to  have  been  recognized. 

Echinococcus  or  Hydatid  Disease  is  very  widely  distributed, 
but  it  is  only  in  Iceland  that  any  considerable  proportion  of 
the  population  is  infected.  This  is  no  doubt  due  to  the  large- 
number  of  dogs  which  are  kept  in  proximity  to  the  huts  of  the 
Esquimaux.  In  England  comparatively  few  cases  occur,  and 
it  is  believed  that  in  Scotland  the  disease  is  even  rarer.  It  is 
not  uncommon  in  the  Australian  bush. 


238  PEESEKVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

Kuchenmeister  in  1851  first  proved  that  the  bladder  worms- 
of  certain  animals  were  the  larval  stage  of  tapeworms,  and  Von 
Siebold  demonstrated  that  the  Taenia  echinococcus  (Plate  III.) 
of    the  dog   was   developed   from   the   echinococcus   c}rsts   of 
domestic   animals.      A  dog  infested  with  this  tapeworm  dis- 
charges ripe  terminal  proglottides  with  the  faeces.     These  soon 
decay,  and    the   ova   being   liberated   may   gain   access   to   a 
susceptible  animal,  such  as  the  pig,  or  to  man,  by  becoming 
attached  to  garden  produce,  or  by  finding  their  way  into  the 
water  supply.     The  envelope  of  the  ova  being  dissolved  by  the 
digestive  juices,  the  embryos  are  set  free,  and  in  some  way  gain 
access  to  the  liver  and  other  organs,  and  come  to  rest.     Here 
they  develop  slowly.     According  to  Verco  and  Stirling,1  they  at 
first  form  '  solid  spherical  bodies  measuring  0'25  to  O35  mm.  in 
diameter,  and  bear  a  striking  resemblance  to  a  mammalian  egg : 
that  is  to  say,  a  thick,  homogeneous,  transparent,  and  elastic 
cuticle  or  capsule  (ectocyst,  Huxley)  encloses  coarsely  granular 
contents,  as  the  zone  pellucida  encloses  the  granules  of  the 
yolk.     In  the  course  of  subsequent  development  the  proscolex 
increases   in   size,  the   external   envelope   becomes   distinctly 
laminated  and  the  contents  more  transparent,  owing  to  a  partial 
liquefaction.     Fluid  has,  in  fact,  begun  to  accumulate  in  the 
interior,  and  the  solid  mass  has  become  a  vesicle  with  a  gradually 
increasing   quantity   of   liquid.      With    comparatively    slight 
increase  in  the  size  of  the  vesicle,  an  internal  lining  membrane 
appears  upon  the  inner  surface  of  the  cuticle.     This  constitutes 
the  germinal  or  parenchymatous  layer  (endocyst,  Huxley).  .    » 
The  lamination  of  the  cuticle  becomes  more  marked,  and  remains 
always  a  conspicuous  and  characteristic  feature  ;  its  thickness 
increases  with  age.     Meanwhile,  even  at  this  early  stage,  the 
presence  of  the  growing  organism,  like  other  foreign  bodies, 
excites  changes  in  the  tissues  which  harbour  it ;  thus  ...  an 
enveloping   capsule  of  connective  tissue  is  formed,  bounding 
the  parasite  externally.  .  .  Compared  with  other  forms  in  the 
bladder  stage,  that  of  Taenia  echinococcus  undergoes  relatively 

1  Allbutt's  System  of  Medicine,  vol.  ii. 


UNSOUND  FOOD.     ANIMAL  PAEASITES  239 

slow  growth ;  but  even  when  no  more  than  15  to  20  mm.  in 
diameter  (Leuckart),  or  sometimes  in  our  experience  consider- 
ably less,  an  important  development  may  be  already  in  progress, 
which  still  further  distinguishes  this  proscolex  from  other 
varieties  of  bladder  worm :  this  is  the  formation  of  numerous 
heads  or  scolices.' 

Two  forms  of  echinococcus  cyst  are  found  in  food  animals,, 
probably  derived  from  distinct  though  similar  species  of  Taenia 
echinococcus.  The  commonest  cyst  is  the  Echinococcus  poly- 
morphus  or  unilocularis  (Plates  III.  and  IV.).  In  this  form 
there  are  one  or  more  spherical  single-celled  cysts,  surrounded 
by  connective  tissue,  which  may  be  sterile,  or  may  contain  a 
number  of  '  daughter  '  and  '  granddaughter '  cysts  or  brood 
capsules,  developed  from  the  parenchymatous  layer  lining  the 
mother  cyst.  In  food  animals  the  cyst  is  usually  non-fertile, 
though  in  sheep  it  is  not  uncommon  to  meet  with  a  number 
of  brood  capsules  in  the  interior.  Echinococcus  cysts  of  this 
unilocular  character  are  to  be  found  in  sheep,  cattle,  and  hogs, 
and  occasionally  in  goats.  The  liver,  lungs,  and  spleen  are 
the  usual  sites,  but  the  cysts  also  occur  in  the  heart,  kidneys,, 
peritoneum,  marrow  cavities  of  the  bone,  lymphatic  glands,, 
udders  and  muscles.  They  may  within  limits  be  of  almost 
any  size,  and  not  infrequently  undergo  inflammation,  caseation,. 
and  even  calcification.  They  are  usually  surrounded  by  an 
adventitious  capsule  of  inflammatory  origin. 

The  other  kind  of  echinococcus  cyst  is  the  multilocular  or 
alveolar  form :  in  this  species  daughter  cysts  are  formed 
outside  the  mother  cysts  by  constriction,  and  these  in  turn  are 
furnished  with  similar  reproductive  powers.  The  daughter 
vesicles  become  separated  from  the  primary  cyst  by  connective 
tissue,  and,  in  consequence,  the  individual  vesicles  are  of  no 
great  size,  but  the  whole  growth  is  capable  of  almost  unlimited 
peripheral  expansion,  and  has  some  resemblance  to  an  acinous 
gland ;  it  is  from  this  appearance  that  it  derives  its  name,. 
Echinococcus  alveolaris.  This  species  is  comparatively  un- 
common, and  chiefly  aft'ects  the  liver  of  bovines,  though  it. 


240  PKESBEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

has  been  found  in  sheep  and  hogs.  In  the  liver  it  resembles 
actinomycotic  granulations,  the  central  portion  being  usually 
caseous  and  even  calcareous,  whilst,  when  it  affects  the 
structures  beneath  the  pleura,  it  is  almost  indistinguishable  to 
the  naked  eye  from  perlsucht.  On  microscopical  examination, 
however,  the  cysts  at  the  periphery  of  the  growth  will  be 
found  to  be  echinococcal  in  nature. 

Unless  a  cyst  is  sterile  or  has  undergone  secondary  changes, 
the  fluid  when  examined  under  the  low  power  of  a  microscope 
will  show  a  large  number  of  scolices.  They  should  be  looked 
for  in  the  liver,  lung,  and  spleen,  kidneys,  and  lymphatic 
glands.  The  smallest  cysts  will  easily  be  visible  to  the  naked 
eye,  but  their  character  may  not  be  immediately  recognizable. 
The  larger  ones  present  no  difficulty,  but  the  smaller  may 
resemble  those  of  Cysticercus  bovis  or  cellulosae.  In  the  latter, 
however,  each  cyst  contains  only  a  single  cestode  head,  instead 
of  the  numerous  scolices  attached  to  an  echinococcus  cyst,  and 
the  situation  and  character  of  the  contents  should  be  sufficient 
to  make  the  distinction  easy.  Even  when  caseation  has 
occurred  the  cysts  are  distinguished  from  tubercle  by  the 
lamellar  arrangement  of  the  wall,  and  the  freedom  from 
infection  of  the  lymphatic  glands. 

Any  organ  containing  echinococcus  cysts  should  be  care- 
fully destroyed,  to  avoid  the  danger  of  infecting  dogs.  The 
flesh  of  the  infected  animal,  if  normal,  may  be  passed  as  being 
wholesome. 

The  Echinococcus  veterinorum  (Plate  IV.)  sometimes  found 
in  the  encysted  form  in  the  liver  of  the  ox  is  harmless  to 
man,  nevertheless  such  an  infected  organ  is  better  destroyed. 

Very  many  other  tapeworms  infesting  animals  are  known,  but 
with  very  rare  exceptions  the  above  are  the  only  ones  affecting 
man,  and  therefore  requiring  special  consideration.  Animals 
infested  with  other  forms  may  be  considered  as  not  endanger- 
ing the  health  of  those  consuming  the  flesh,  but  few  people 
would  care  to  eat  the  flesh  of  animals  containing  the  larvae  of 
any  kind  of  tapeworm.  Cysticerci  are  often  found  also  in 


UNSOUND  FOOD.      ANIMAL  PAEASITES  241 

rabbits,  hares,  &c.  (Plate  IV.),  but  as  they  are  apparently 
quite  harmless  to  man  they  are  rarely  sought  for,  and  if 
observed  the  animals  could  not  legally  be  seized. 

Other  parasites  which,  whilst  not  necessarily  infecting  man, 
may  cause  the  flesh  or  organs  of  an  animal  to  be  unfit  for 
human  food,  are  Distoma  (liver-flukes),  various  round  worms, 
Pentastomum  tsenioides,  and  various  forms  of  protozoa. 

Distoma. — The  flukes  are  trematode  worms,  and  two  of 
them,  Distoma  hepaticum  and  Distoma  lanceolatum  (Plate  V.), 
are  important  on  account  of  their  frequent  occurrence  in 
cattle  and  sheep.  Occasionally  they  are  found  in  pigs,  and  in 
rare  instances  they  have  been  found  in  man.  The  ovum  gives 
rise  to  an  embryo,  which,  when  deposited  on  a  suitable  pasture, 
is  believed  to  attach  itself  to  a  water-snail,  within  the  body 
of  which  it  undergoes  a  number  of  developmental  changes 
(sporocyst,  redia,  cercaria),  the  final  form  passing  out  of  its 
intermediate  host  and  becoming  encysted  on  a  blade  of  grass, 
until  it  enters  the  stomach  of  a  sheep,  when  the  fluke 
develops. 

The  Distoma  hepaticum  is  a  flat,  obovate  worm,  from  15  to 
40  mm.  long  and  4  to  12  mm.  wide.  It  has  an  oral  sucker 
and  buccal  orifice.  Behind  the  latter  is  the  ventral  sucker  and 
the  genital  aperture.  The  surface  is  covered  with  fine  scale- 
like  spines  projecting  backwards.  Flukes  are  chiefly  found  in 
the  bile  ducts,  but  may  migrate  in  numbers  into  the  lungs. 
In  sheep  they  give  rise  to  the  disease  known  as  '  sheep  rot,'  the 
symptoms  of  which  are  emaciation,  dropsy,  and  enlargement 
of  the  liver.  The  disease  is  often  fatal,  and  chiefly  attacks 
flocks  pastured  on  marsh  land  where  water-snails  abound. 

Distoma  lanceolatum  is  smaller  than  the  D.  hepaticum, 
and,  as  its  name  indicates,  it  is  lanceolate  in  outline.  In 
sheep  it,  as  a  rule,  gives  rise  to  no  serious  illness.  Any  organ 
at  all  extensively  affected  by  the  parasites  of  this  group  is 
usually  destroyed,  and  in  the  case  of  advanced  invasion  by  liver- 
flukes  it  may  be  necessary  to  condemn  the  whole  carcass  owing 
to  the  oedematous  condition  of  the  flesh  which  ensues.  There 

16 


242  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

is  usually  no  difficulty  in  recognizing  their  presence  ;  they  lie 
in  the  bile  ducts,  which  become  enlarged,  the  walls  being 
thickened  and  their  lining  membranes  '  gritty '  to  the  touch. 
The  thickening  of  the  bile  ducts  is  often  apparent  on  the 
surface  of  the  liver,  giving  rise  to  streaks  and  lines. 

The  flukes  may  occasionally  be  found  in  the  lungs. 

Many  other  distomes  have  been  found  in  animals,  but  they 
rarely  occur  in  this  country.  A  fluke  has  been  detected  in  the 
muscle  of  the  pig,  but  on  a  few  occasions  only. 

Round  Worms. — The  Echinorynchus  gigas,  a  round  worm 
of  enormous  length  which  infects  the  pig,  may  cause  inflam- 
mation of  the  bowels  or  even  peritonitis.  The  ascaridae  are 
often  found'  in  abundance  in  the  intestines  and  may  cause 
emaciation.  Occasionally  they  penetrate  into  the  bile  duct, 
and  may  then  give  rise  to  jaundice.  Strongylus  contortus,  or 
the  palisade  worm,  lives  in  the  fourth  stomach  of  the  sheep 
(and  goat),  deriving  its  support  from  the  blood  of  its  host ; 
hence  young  animals  may  become  emaciated  from  the  presence 
of  an  abnormal  number  of  these  worms.  Other  species  of 
strongylus  infect  sheep  and  cattle,  some  being  located  in  the 
stomach,  other  varieties  selecting  the  lungs.  Strongylus 
paradoxus  is  very  common  in  the  lungs  of  pigs,  the  invasion 
usually  being  restricted  to  the  bases,1  causing  bronchitis  and 
bronchiectasis.  The  inflammatory  reaction  caused  by  the 
presence  of  strongylidse  in  the  lungs  may  give  rise  to  an 
appearance  resembling  tuberculosis.  The  glands,  however, 
will  be  free  from  tubercle,  and  a  microscopical  examination 
will  make  the  diagnosis  clear. 

Pentastomes  (N.O.  Arachnoidea)  are  only  of  interest  on 
account  of  the  larvae,  which,  after  becoming  encysted,  may 
caseate  and  resemble  tubercle,  especially  when  the  lymphatic 
glands  are  affected.  They  are  found  in  the  viscera  of  cattle, 
sheep,  pigs  and  other  animals,  and  are  flat,  white,  translucent 
bodies  about  4  to  5  mm.  long  and  1'2  mm.  broad,  having 
about  80  segments,  each  furnished  with  numerous  fine 
1  Ostertag,  op.  cit.,  p.  414. 


UNSOUND  FOOD.     ANIMAL  PAEASITES  243 

bristles.  At  each  side  of  the  oral  aperture  are  two  other 
apertures,  from  which  minute  claws  protrude.  The  larva  may 
become  surrounded  with  pus  cells,  or  caseate,  or  calcify.  In 
the  liver  and  spleen  the  larvae  are  encapsuled,  but  apparently 
not  so  in  the  lymphatic  glands.  Butchers'  dogs  are  chiefly 
infested  with  this  larval  pentastome,  the  sexually  mature  form 
of  which  is  8  to  20  mm.  long,  and  occurs  in  the  nasal  cavities 
of  the  dog,  horse,  and  other  animals.  The  larval  form  has 
frequently  been  found  in  man,  doubtless  derived  from  eggs 
deposited  in  the  faeces  of  dogs.  Apparently  its  presence 
produces  no  recognizable  symptoms. 

The  larvae  of  the  Pentastoma  denticulatum  (Plate  V.)  may 
be  sought  for  in  the  mesenteric  glands  of  cattle,  sheep,  and 
pigs,  where  they  form  yellowish  green  or  grey  nodules,  varying 
in  size  from  a  millet  seed  to  a,  pea.  A  low  power  of  the  micro- 
scope is  necessary  for  identification.  Even  when  the  foci  have 
become  caseous  the  claws  may  be  discovered  ;  though  some- 
what resembling  the  booklets  of  cysticerci,  they  are  easily 
distinguished  therefrom.  If  found  in  the  mesenteric  glands, 
the  liver  and  lungs  should  be  examined,  or,  preferably,  the 
whole  of  the  viscera  should  be  carefully  destroyed.  The  flesh 
of  the  animal  is  not  affected. 

Protozoa.  —  Coccidia,  myxosporidia,  sarcosporidia  and 
hematosporidia  are  protozoa,  certain  species  of  which  infest 
animals.  Coccidia  are  unicellular  organisms  chiefly  affecting 
epithelium.  The  C.  oviforme  (Plate  V.)  is  frequently  found  in 
the  lining  of  the  bile  ducts  of  rabbits,  and  has  been  detected  in 
the  liver  of  man.  This  or  an  allied  form  also  attacks  the  liver 
of  pigs.  To  the  naked  eye  the  appearance  resembles  tubercle, 
but  by  squeezing  some  of  the  fluid  from  the  organ  infected 
upon  a  slide,  or  by  cutting  sections,  the  coccidia  can  readily 
be  distinguished  under  the  microscope.  Each  organism  is 
surrounded  by  a  capsule  oval  in  shape,  and  with  a  double 
contour ;  the  length  varies  from  30-40/A  and  the  breadth 
from  15-20//,.  C.  perforans  appears  to  attack  the  mucous 
membrane  of  the  intestines  of  sheep  and  calves.  Another 


244  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

species  is  believed  to  be  the  cause  of  red  dysentery,  a  disease 
which  invades  young  cattle  in  certain  parts  of  Switzerland. 
Chicken-pox  of  fowls,  a  disease  of  the  mucous  membrane  and 
general  integument  of  the  head  and  neck,  leading  to  wart-like 
growths  and  diphtheroid  membranous  formations,  is  probably 
caused  by  coccidia.  Myxosporidia  give  rise  to  tumours  on  the 
bodies  of  fish,  the  spores  becoming  surrounded  by  fibrous  cysts. 
The  so-called  Miescher's  sacs  (Plate  V.),  which  consist  of 
small  membranous  sacs  containing  round  or  oval  cells,  and 
often  found  within  the  striated  fibres  of  the  skeletal  muscles  of 
the  pig,  sheep,  and  other  animals,  are  regarded  as  sarcosporidia. 
The  sacs  vary  from  O04  to  0'5  mm.  in  length  and  from  O006 
to  0*4  mm.  in  breadth,  and  are  often  found  calcified.  They 
are  exceedingly  common  in  the  pig,  and  are  chiefly  of  interest 
on  account  of  the  ease  with  which  they  may  be  confounded 
with  trichinae.  So  far  as  is  known  their  presence  has  no 
significance,  and  does  not  render  the  flesh  unwholesome.  The 
organs  of  animals  infested  by  coccidia  or  myxosporidia  should 
be  destroyed.  Hematosporidia  are  microscopic  protozoa  found 
in  the  red  blood  corpuscles  of  the  animals  suffering  from  Texas 
fever.  They  are  introduced  into  the  blood  by  means  of  ticks. 
The  flesh  of  an  animal  suffering  from  this  disease  would 
probably  be  quite  unfit  for  human  consumption. 

Tpypanosomata  are  flagellate  infusoria.  In  the  case  of 
Nagana,  so  common  in  South  Africa,  the  parasite  is  introduced 
into  the  blood  by  the  bite  of  the  tsetse  fly.  They  are  two  or 
three  times  as  long  as  a  red  blood  corpuscle,  fish-like  in  form, 
and  actively  motile.  Infected  animals  either  quickly  succumb, 
or  die  after  some  months  in  an  emaciated  condition.  Such 
animals  are  often  slaughtered  and  appear  to  be  eaten  with 
impunity.  Other  examples  of  trypanosomiasis  are  furnished 
by  Surra  disease  and  piroplasmosis. 

In  the  accounts  given  of  the  various  diseases  which  may 
render  the  flesh  of  animals  unfit  for  human  consumption,  the 
parts  most  likely  to  be  affected  and  more  especially  requiring 
examination  have  been  indicated.  Particles  selected  for 


UNSOUND  FOOD.     ANIMAL  PAEASITES  245 

microscopical  examination  should  be  dissected  out,  placed  in 
glycerine  and  examined  under  a  magnifying  power  of  about 
100  diameters.  If  this  fails  to  show  the  structure  when  gently 
pressed  between  the  slide  and  cover  slip,  the  particles  may  be 
treated  with  warm  5  per  cent,  solution  of  caustic  potash,  or 
with  glacial  acetic  acid.  Where  there  is  much  fat  a  preliminary 
treatment  with  ether  is  desirable.  After  treatment  the  particles 
can  be  mounted  in  glycerine.  When  sausage  or  potted  meat  is 
being  examined  very  thin  slices  should  be  taken  from  different 
parts,  cleared  with  ether,  alkali  or  acetic  acid,  and  mounted  in 
glycerine. 


CHAPTEK  XX 

UNSOUND  FOOD  (continued).    FISH 

CASES  of  food  poisoning  due  to  fish,  or  of  disease  of  any  kind 
communicated  by  fish,  are  comparatively  rare  in  this  country. 
During  recent  years,  however,  many  cases  of  typhoid  fever 
have  been  traced  to  the  consumption  of  shell-fish  taken  from 
polluted  sources,  and  it  has  been  suggested  that  other  fish  may 
be  specifically  infected,  and  if  imperfectly  cleansed  and  cooked, 
be  capable  of  causing  typhoid  fever.  On  two  occasions  within 
recent  years  limited  outbreaks  of  this  fever  have  been  attri- 
buted to  the  consumption  of  fried  fish,  but  on  neither  occasion 
was  it  possible  to  say  how  the  fish  became  infected. 

As  already  mentioned,  the  larval  form  of  Bothriocephalus 
latus  is  parasitic  in  certain  fish,  and  is  capable  of  giving  rise  to 
the  adult  tapeworm  in  man.  Fortunately  such  cases  in  this 
country  are  rare. 

The  chief  class  of  disease,  however,  caused  by  the  consump- 
.  tion  of  fish  is  that  generally  known  as  ptomaine  poisoning. 
Brieger  has  separated  trimethylamine,  dirnethylamine,  methyl- 
amine,  and  the  alkaloidal  bodies  neuridine,  cadaverine,  and 
putrescine  from  decomposing  fish,  all  of  which  are  poisonous 
in  varying  degree,  and  possibly  to  the  formation  of  some  of 
these  bodies  may  be  ascribed  the  toxic  symptoms  produced 
by  fish  which  is  not  perfectly  fresh ;  but  the  subject  of  poison- 
ing by  such  products  of  decomposition  will  be  dealt  with  in  a 
separate  chapter.  It  will  suffice  to  say  here  that  the  symptoms 
produced  by  decomposing  fish  are  similar  to  those  induced  by 
flesh  under  similar  circumstances,  but  are  more  frequently 
associated  with  a  rash,  generally  urticarial  in  character,  and 


UNSOUND  FOOD.     FISH  247 

frequently  accompanied  by  intense  irritation.  The  rash  may 
subsequently  be  followed  by  desquamation,  or  desquamation 
may  occur  without  any  rash  being  noticed.1 

Stale  fish  is  notoriously  liable  to  cause  nausea,  vomiting,  and 
diarrhosa,  but  fortunately  the  odour  of  fish  which  is  becoming 
'  stale '  is  usually  so  pronounced  that  the  condition  is  easily  recog- 
nizable. The  early  signs  of  decomposition,  besides  alteration  in 
smell,  are  loss  of  brilliancy  in  colour,  excessive  drooping  of  the 
tail  when  the  fish  is  held  in  the  hand,  loss  of  sheen  in  the  eyes, 
cloudiness  of  the  cornea,  pallor  of  the  gills  (these  may  occa- 
sionally be  painted  with  blood  by  an  unscrupulous  vendor), 
softness  of  the  muscles  which  pit  on  pressure,  and  looseness  of 
the  scales.  In  stale  fish  the  appearance  of  the  eyes  may  be 
fraudulently  improved  by  the  introduction,  behind  the  eye-ball, 
of  a  pointed  piece  of  wood.  This  increases  the  tension  of  the 
eye-ball  and  pushes  it  forward.  Fresh  fish  will  sink  in  water, 
but  when  decomposition  has  set  in  they  will  float.  During  the 
spawning  season  fish  are  said  to  be  naturally  flabby  and  to  be 
unfit  for  human  food  ;  and,  according  to  Andrews,  the  livers  of 
otherwise  wholesome  fish  have  been  known  to  give  rise,  when 
eaten,  to  severe  gastro-intestinal  disturbance,  followed  shortly 
by  a  red  rash,  and  later  on  by  desquamation. 

The  odour  of  decomposition  can  best  be  detected  in  the 
gills,  and  if  this  odour  is  pronounced  the  fish  cannot  be  said  to 
be  fit  for  human  consumption. 

It  is  not  so  easy  to  tell  by  external  appearance  when  shell- 
.fish  begin  to  be  unfit  for  food.  In  the  case  of  lobsters  and 
crayfish  the  tail  remains  curled  beneath  the  body  so  long  as  the 
fish  is  fresh,  and  when  sliced,  the  fish  should  have  its  character- 
istic odour.  Crabs  must  be  opened  so  that  the  odour  of  the 
contents  of  the  carapace  may  be  ascertained,  and  unless 
perfectly  sweet  they  should  be  condemned. 

Cockles,  mussels,  and  oysters  should  have  their  shells  firmly 
closed  when  taken  out  of  water,  and  if  in  water  the  open  shell 
should  close  when  touched.  When  a  marked  proportion  of  the 
1  Lancet,  1904,  i.  p.  1,653. 


248  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

shells  show  a  tendency  to  gape,  and  the  shells  of  others  are  easily 
separated,  the  batch  should  be  considered  as  unsound  and  unfit 
for  food.  In  such  cases  the  bodies  of  the  fish  will  be  found  to  be 
unusually  soft,  and  to  have  acquired  an  odour  different  from 
that  of  a  fresh  fish. 

When  in  a  fresh  and  healthy  condition  the  winkle  is  not 
readily  detached  from  its  shell.  If  easily  detachable,  and 
having  an  unpleasant  odour,  the  batch  is  probably  unfit  for  food 
and  should  not  be  exposed  for  sale. 

Occasionally  oysters  are  exhibited  for  sale  the  branchia  and 
labial  palps  of  which  have  a  green  colour.  Oysters  from 
diverse  sources  develop  this  colour  under  certain  unknown 
conditions,  whilst  in  some  localities  the  oysters  are  almost 
invariably  thus  coloured.  They  are  usually  spoken  of  as  green- 
bearded,  and  regarded  as  unfit  for  food,  but  this  opinion  is 
probably  erroneous,  as  on  parts  of  the  French  coast  the  oysters 
are  not  considered  fit  for  the  market  until  they  have  become 
green.  It  is  not  at  all  certain  that  this  '  greening '  is  always 
due  to  the  same  cause.  In  some  cases  it  is  apparently  derived 
from  a  pigment  allied  to  chlorophyll,  whilst  in  others  it  may 
be  due  to  copper.  Thorpe  has  certainly  shown  that  the  green 
oysters  of  Cornwall  contain  more  of  this  metal  than  the 
colourless  ones.  It  may,  however,  be  that  a  trace  of  copper  in 
the  water  over  the  layings  helps  to  fix  the  green  colouring  of 
the  algae  upon  which  the  mollusc  feeds.  The  green  Falmouth 
oysters  were  found  by  Thorpe  to  contain  O023  grain  of  copper 
each,  whilst  the  white  variety  only  contained  0*0062  grain. 
Whatever  the  cause  of  the  greening,  there  is  no  reason  for 
regarding  such  oysters  as  unwholesome. 

Until  recently  neither  oysters  nor  cockles  had  received 
much  attention  as  possible  causes  of  ill-health  amongst  those 
who  consumed  them,  whilst  mussels  appear  to  have  been 
looked  upon  as  a  dangerous  article  of  food  from  time  im- 
memorial. The  symptoms  of  mussel  poisoning  vary  so  much 
that  it  is  doubtful  whether  all  the  cases  of  illness  following  the 
eating  of  mussels  are  due  to  one  and  the  same  cause.  Possibly 


UNSOUND  FOOD.     FISH  249 

when  polluted  by  sewage,  or  when  undergoing  incipient  putre- 
faction, they  may  give  rise  to  gastro-intestinal  disturbance, 
vomiting  and  diarrhosa,  as  in  the  case  of  other  shell-fish ;  but  some 
other  cause  must  be  assigned  for  the  illness  produced  by  fresh 
mussels,  an  illness  unlike  that  caused  by  other  shell-fish,  and 
almost  consistent  with  that  of  poisoning  by  curare.  In  these 
cases,  the  diarrhosa,  vomiting,  and  epigastric  pain  are  followed 
by  an  urticarial  rash,  swelling  of  the  tongue  and  fauces,  together 
with  swelling  of  the  eyelids  and  symptoms  of  coryza.  There 
may  be  great  prostration,  tingling  of  the  lips,  dryness  of  the 
throat,  loss  of  muscular  co-ordination  or  even  complete 
paralysis.  Death  not  unfrequently  ensues,  the  mind  remaining 
clear  to  the  end.  In  some  epidemics  diarrhoaa  has  been  en- 
tirely absent,  the  abdomen  being  greatly  distended  and  tym- 
panitic.  In  a  few  instances  mussels  from  polluted  sources  are 
believed  to  have  caused  typhoid  fever,  but  the  evidence  is  not 
as  conclusive  as  in  the  case  of  oysters  and  cockles.  One  of  the 
earliest  recorded  outbreaks  of  mussel  poisoning  occurred  at 
Leith  in  1827,  when  some  thirty  persons  were  attacked,  two  of 
whom  subsequently  died.  A  dog  and  a  cat  which  had  partaken 
of  the  mussels  were  also  affected.  The  shell-fish  had  been 
detached  from  the  dock  gates,  and  Dr.  Christison  evidently 
thought  the  poisonous  effects  might  be  due  to  copper,  as  he 
examined  the  mussel  from  the  stomach  of  one  of  the  patients 
for  that  metal,  but  was  unable  to  detect  it.  In  1885  an  out- 
break occurred  at  Wilhelmshaven,  a  number  of  persons  who 
had  eaten  mussels  taken  from  the  bottom  of  two  vessels 
anchored  in  the  port  being  attacked,  four  dying.  The  illness 
commenced  nineteen  hours  after  the  mussels  were  eaten,  and 
some  animals  which  had  been  fed  on  the  same  mussels  quickly 
succumbed.  It  was  from  the  livers  of  these  mussels  that 
Brieger  isolated  a  ptomaine  which  he  named  mytilotoxine, 
from  the  name  of  the  edible  mussel,  Mytilus  edulis.  Later 
Dutestre  found  that  the  alkaloid  extracted  from  the  liver  of 
poisonous  mussels  had  properties  similar  to  those  of  curare. 
Dr.  Bulstrode,  in  his  report  on  oysters  and  other  shell-fish 


250  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

('L.G.B.  Eeport,'  1894-5),  referring  to  these  and  other  re- 
corded outbreaks,  discusses  their  possible  cause.  The  popu- 
lar impression  that  the  poison  is  contained  in  the  branchiae  or 
gills  is  disproved  by  the  fact  that  mussels,  from  which  the 
gills  have  been  removed,  have  caused  symptoms  of  poisoning. 
The  '  copper  '  theory  is  likewise  untenable,  and  there  is  no 
evidence  to  prove  that  the  poison  is  only  produced  during  the 
spawning  season.  It  seems  probable  that  mussels  are  capable 
of  causing  two  distinct  forms  of  poisoning,  one  due  to  the 
development  within  the  animal,  possibly  by  bacteria,  of  a 
ptomaine,  mytilotoxine,  the  other  due  to  the  presence  of 
bacteria  derived  from  sewage-polluted  water,  exactly  as  with 
sewage-polluted  oysters  and  cockles. 

The  first  outbreak  of  disease  attributed  to  oysters  of  which 
we  can  find  any  record  is  one  which  occurred  in  France  as  far 
back  as  1816.  Cases  of  illness  occurred  in  several  towns 
following  upon  the  consumption  of  oysters  taken  from  a  laying 
exposed  to  gross  pollution.  In  1880  Sir  C.  Cameron  attributed 
some  cases  of  typhoid  fever  to  the  eating  of  sewage-polluted 
oysters,  and  in  1893  Dr.  Bulstrode  expressed  his  conviction 
that  the  distribution  of  shell-fish  from  Cleethorpes  and  Grimsby 
had  been  concerned  in  the  diffusion  of  scattered  cases  of  cholera 
over  a  somewhat  wide  area  of  England,  and  that  these  shell-fish 
were  so  deposited  and  stored  as  to  be  almost  necessarily  bathed 
each  tide  with  the  sewage  from  different  sewers  at  that  time  re- 
ceiving cholera  discharges.  In  1894  Dr.  Newsholme  described 
some  cases  of  typhoid  fever  which  he  attributed  to  sewage- 
polluted  oysters.  Attention  thus  being  called  to  the  subject 
in  England,  cases  were  frequently  reported  of  illness  following 
the  consumption  of  oysters,  cockles,  and  occasionally  other 
shell-fish.  Many  such  cases  happened  in  Essex,  and  invariably 
the  oysters  or  cockles  were  traced  to  sources  which  were 
notoriously  liable  to  sewage  pollution.  In  1894  occurred  the 
serious  outbreak  of  typhoid  fever  at  the  Wesleyan  University, 
Connecticut,  U.S.A.,  during  which  twenty-six  persons  who 
had  attended  a  certain  fraternity  supper  were  attacked.  The 


UNSOUND  FOOD.     FISH  251 

only  article  of  food  which  had  been  partaken  of  by  all  was 
oysters,  and  these  were  found  to  have  been  derived  from  a 
creek  receiving  sewage  from  the  outlet  of  a  drain  within  300 
feet  of  the  layings.  At  the  house  connected  with  this  drain 
were  two  cases  of  typhoid  fever,  so  that  the  sewage  at  that 
time  was  specifically  infected.  In  1896  Dr.  Chantemesse  re- 
ported an  outbreak  in  the  town  of  Saint  Andre-de-Sangonis. 
A  barrel  of  oysters  was  consumed  by  fourteen  persons  and  all 
were  taken  ill,  other  members  of  the  same  household  not  being 
affected.  All  appear  to  have  been  attacked  with  vomiting  and 
diarrhoea,  and  two  suffered  from  a  severe  type  of  typhoid  fever. 
It  was  afterwards  found  that  these  oysters  had  been  stored  in 
grossly  polluted  water.  In  1902  occurred  a  series  of  cases  of 
typhoid  fever  following  the  Mayors'  banquets  at  Winchester 
and  Southampton,  which  were  investigated  by  Dr.  Bulstrode 
for  the  Local  Government  Board.  Out  of  134  guests  at  the 
Winchester  banquet  sixty-two  were  attacked  with  illness  of  some 
kind  or  other,  and  at  Southampton  out  of  132  guests  fifty-four 
were  taken  ill,  and  nine  of  the  former,  and  ten  of  the  latter 
suffered  from  typhoid  fever.1  Dr.  Bulstrode  summarizes  the 
results  of  his  observations  as  follows  : 

1.  Two  mayoral  banquets  occur  on  the  same  day  in  separate 
towns  several  miles  apart. 

2.  In  connection  with  each  banquet  there  occurs  illness  of 
analogous  nature,  attacking,  approximately  speaking,  the  same 
percentage  of  guests  and  at  corresponding  intervals. 

3.  At  both  banquets  not  every  guest  partook  of  oysters,  but 
all  those  guests  who  suffered  from  enteric  fever,  and  approxi- 
mately all  those  who  suffered  from  other  illness,  did  partake  of 
oysters.     The  exceptions  to  this  rule  appear  insignificant  when 
all  the  facts  are  marshalled. 

4.  Oysters  derived  directly  from  the  same  source   consti- 
tuted the  only  article  of  food  which  was  common  to  the  guests 
attacked. 

5.  Oysters  from  this  source  were  at  the  same  time  and  in 

'  Local  Government  Board,  Report  of  Medical  Officer.  1902-3. 


252  PKESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

other  places  proving  themselves  competent  causes  of  enteric 
fever. 

The  presumption  that  the  oysters  were  the  cause  of   the 
illness  amounts,  therefore,  to  a  practical  certainty.     In  1895 
Dr.  Bulstrode  had  pointed  out  the  dangerous  proximity  of  the 
layings,  from  which  these  oysters  were  taken  at  Emsworth,  to 
the   sewer   outfalls,  and   previous   to   the   outbreak   cases    of 
typhoid    fever  had  occurred  at  Emsworth.     Considering  that 
this  disease  had  been  prevalent  nearly  every  year  in  the  town, 
it  is  difficult  to  explain  why  similar  outbreaks  had  not  previously 
occurred ;  but  our  inability  to  explain  this  does  not  in  any  way 
weaken  the  evidence  against  the  oysters  ;  it  merely  reveals  our 
ignorance  of   all  the  concomitant    conditions  necessary  to  so 
infect  an  oyster  as  to  render  it  capable  of  causing  typhoid  fever, 
or  illness  of  an  allied  nature.     In  1902  one  of  us  investigated 
an  outbreak,  including  four  cases  of  typhoid  fever  and  twenty- 
one  other  cases  of  illness,  which  occurred  in  August  of  that 
year  at  Mistley,  Essex.     The  oysters  implicated  were  what  are 
known  as  'Portuguese,'  and  were  sold  from  a  fishing  smack 
at  various  places.     In  a  few  instances   only  did  the  sickness 
and  diarrhoea  supervene  within  a  few  hours.     In  most  cases 
the  illness  commenced  from  twenty-four  to  forty-eight  hours 
after   eating   the  oysters,  suggesting   infection   by  some  such 
organism  as  the  B.  enteritidis  of  Gartner.     The  illness  varied 
from   a   feeling    of    nausea    and    distressing   weakness   to   a 
fatal  attack  of  enteric  fever.     Only  a  certain  portion  of   the 
oysters  sold  appears  to  have  been  capable  of  causing  illness, 
all  the  cases  occurring  amongst  those  who  purchased  oysters 
from  the  smack  whilst  it  was  anchored  at  a  certain  place  near 
a  sewer  outfall.     Those  which  were  sold  at  other  places  where 
the   smack  put  in  apparently   produced   no  ill  effects.     We 
afterwards  examined  the  layings  from  which  the  oysters  were 
obtained  but  could  detect  no  source  of  pollution.     The  smack 
owner  denied  having  used  any  of  the  sewage-polluted  water  at 
Mistley   for  refreshing   the   oysters.      The   oyster  merchants 
accounted   for   the   illness   by  saying   that   the   oysters   were 


UNSOUND  FOOD.     FISH  253 

probably  sick,  and  one  or  two  persons  who  suffered  said  that 
the  oysters  looked  yellow  or  had  an  unusual  taste.  The  true 
native  oyster  (Ostrea  edulis)  is  hermaphrodite,  and  spats  from 
May  to  September.  It  is  illegal  to  remove  them  for  the  purpose 
of  sale  from  May  14  to  August  4.  The  Portuguese  oyster 
(Ostrea  angulata),  on  the  other  hand,  is  unisexual  and  is  said 
never  to  show  the  signs  of  '  sickness '  observed  in  the  native 
oyster  during  the  close  season.  Even  the  assumption  that  a 
'  sick '  or  spawning  oyster  is  unwholesome  does  not  explain 
why  a  certain  few  sold  at  a  certain  time  and  in  a  certain  place 
should  cause  diarrhoaa,  sickness,  and  typhoid  fever.  At  present, 
therefore,  the  cause  of  the  unwholesomeness  of  the  oysters 
remains  undiscovered. 

In  nearly  all  the  carefully  recorded  cases  where  shell-fish 
has  caused  typhoid  fever  other  persons  have  suffered  from 
diarrho3a,  sickness,  &c.,  and  in  our  experience  of  Essex  cases, 
those  who  are  earliest  attacked  with  diarrhoea  are  most  likely 
to  escape  an  attack  of  typhoid  fever,  and  vice  versa. 

The  case  against  cockles  is  perhaps  not  quite  so  conclusive 
as  that  against  oysters,  since  this  humble  bivalve  does  not 
appear  on  the  menu  at  mayoral  banquets,  being  consumed 
entirely  by  persons  of  the  poorer  class.  Moreover,  they  are 
usually  cooked  before  eating,  but  though  the  process  of  par- 
boiling to  which  they  are  subjected  in  the  homes  of  the  poor 
may  possibly  sterilize  the  outside  of  the  animal,  it  certainly  has 
little  if  any  effect  upon  the  stomach  contents.1  At  Leigh-on- 
Sea,  the  chief  centre  of  the  cockle  industry  in  the  south  of 
England,  the  cockles  are  now  submitted  to  steam  under  pressure 
for  a  certain  length  of  time,  but  since  this  process  has  been 
introduced  cases  of  typhoid  fever  have  to  our  knowledge  been 
attributed  to  cooked  cockles  purchased  there.  One  of  us  has 
investigated  several  outbreaks  of  typhoid  fever  in  Essex,  in 
which  the  disease  was  limited  to  persons  who  had  partaken  of 
certain  cockles  picked  from  polluted  foreshores.  In  1889  an 
outbreak  occurred  at  Exeter  amongst  children  who  had  visited 

1  See  also  Report  of  Medical  Officer  to  the  Local  Government  Board,  1900-1. 


254  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

Exmouth  in  connection  with  school  treats,  and  who  had  eaten 
freely  of  '  raw  '  cockles  from  sewage-polluted  mudbanks.  Many 
medical  officers  of  health  have  since  reported  cases  of  typhoid 
fever  which  they  had  reason  to  believe  were  due  to  the  eating 
of  cockles.  In  all  these  instances,  where  the  source  from  which 
the  cockles  were  taken  was  examined,  the  pollution  by  sewage 
was  more  or  less  gross  and  unmistakable.  An  examination  of 
the  bacterial  contents  of  these  bivalves  shows  that  they  almost 
invariably  contain  the  Bacillus  coli ;  we  have  searched  for  this 
organism  in  samples  taken  from  the  reputedly  safest  known 
source  round  the  coast,  and  have  had  no  difficulty  in  isolating 
it  from  the  body  pulp. 

So  far  as  we  are  aware,  the  only  occasion  on  which  the 
Bacillus  typhosus  has  been  detected  in  cockles  suspected  of 
causing  disease  was  connected  with  an  outbreak  of  enteric 
fever  which  occurred  in  Glasgow  in  1903.  The  patients  were 
Glasgow  people  who  had  been  holiday-making  at  a  neighbour- 
ing seaside  resort.  The  occurrence  was  investigated  by 
the  Scottish  Local  Government  Board  in  conjunction  with 
Dr.  Knight,  and  it  was  found  that,  in  addition  to  the  actual 
cases  of  typhoid  fever,  many  other  persons  were  attacked 
with  vomiting  and  diarrhoea,  apparently  due  to  the  same  class 
of  food.  As  already  pointed  out,  this  is  the  rule  in  epidemics 
of  typhoid  fever  due  to  shell-fish.  It  is  also  noteworthy  that 
the  gastro-intestinal  symptoms  occurred  within  a  few  hours 
of  eating  the  shell-fish,  whilst  in  many  of  the  persons 
who  contracted  typhoid  fever  no  early  symptoms  appeared. 
Samples  of  cockles  and  '  muskins  '  were  collected  from  the 
suspected  locality,  which  was  known  to  be  polluted  by 
sewage,  and  the  Bacillus  typhosus  was  isolated  by  Buchanan 
from  four  cockles  and  one  muskin,  the  Bacillus  coli  in 
these  particular  samples  being  comparatively  few  in  number. 
From  a  loopful  of  the  fluid  from  one  of  the  cockles  it  was 
estimated  that  no  less  than  7,000  colonies  of  B.  typhosus  were 
obtained.1 

1  Journ.  Royal  San.  Inst.  xxv.  part  iii.  p.  463. 


UNSOUND  FOOD.      FISH  255 

The  only  univalve  mollusc  which  is  largely  used  is  the  peri- 
winkle (Littorina  littorea).  Although,  when  sold  in  towns, 
it  is  usually  boiled  before  being  eaten,  it  is  not  uncommon 
for  excursionists  and  even  residents  near  the  coast  to  pick 
them  up  from  the  shore,  abstract  the  bodies  from  the  shells, 
and  eat  them  '  raw.'  Considering  the  localities  from  which 
some  of  the  winkles  are  gathered,  it  is  certainly  curious  that  no 
illness  appears  to  have  been  recorded  as  arising  from  eating 
them. 

In  a  recent  report  to  the  Fishmongers'  Company  Dr.  Klein 
gives  an  account  of  some  interesting  experiments  made  by  him 
with  reference  to  the  vitality  of  the  bacillus  of  typhoid  fever 
and  of  sewage  microbes  in  oysters  and  other  shell-fish.  He 
found  that  native  oysters,  whether  from  a  polluted  or  unpolluted 
source,  after  being  placed  in  sea-water  infected  with  very  large 
numbers  of  the  Bacillus  typhosus,  freed  themselves  from  the 
presence  of  this  bacillus  in  from  six  to  nine  days  if  transferred 
to  clean  sea-water.  When  placed  in  sewage-polluted  water  and 
similarly  transferred  he  found  the  Bacillus  coli  disappeared 
with  equal  rapidity.  This  we  have  had  occasion  to  confirm. 

On  the  other  hand,  cockles  did  not  exhibit  this  tendency, 
the  bacilli  actually  multiplying  in  the  body  of  the  animal  for  a 
time.  In  mussels  the  bacilli  did  decrease  in  number,  but  were 
still  very  plentiful  after  seven  days'  immersion  in  clean  sea- 
water.  It  is  fortunate,  therefore,  that  these  latter  shell-fish  are 
so  rarely  eaten  without  being  cooked,  and  the  necessity  for 
thorough  cooking  is  emphasized. 

Caviare  consists  of  the  roe  of  certain  fish,  usually  the 
sturgeon,  which  has  been  specially  treated  to  suit  the  market 
for  which  it  is  intended.  It  is  generally  imported  in  casks,  and 
is  then  packed  in  small  sealed  bottles,  jars,  or  tins,  for  sale. 
No  one  but  an  expert  would  venture  to  give  an  opinion  upon 
the  quality  or  condition  of  this  substance.  It  varies  greatly  in 
colour,  in  consistency,  and  in  odour,  the  latter  being  to  many 
people  at  all  times  offensive.  Cheese  may  be  kept  until  it 
acquires  a  very  strong  odour,  and  in  this  condition  be  esteemed 


256  PEESEKVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

by  some  as  a  great  delicacy,  whereas  by  others  it  would 
be  considered  as  rotten  and  unfit  for  food.  In  the  same  way 
differences  of  opinion  may  arise  with  reference  to  caviare.  It 
may,  however,  become  rancid,  or  acquire  a  mouldy  taste,  in 
either  of  which  conditions  it  would  be  unsaleable  and  possibly 
unfit  for  food.  If  preserved  in  hermetically  sealed  vessels,  these 
when  opened  under  .water  should  not  give  off  bubbles  of  gas 
with  a  distinctly  offensive  odour.  Some  caviare  which  had 
been  sent  to  South  Africa,  and  returned  after  the  war,  was 
examined  by  one  of  us.  Nearly  all  the  tins  (each  of  which 
contained  4  ounces)  were  blown,  and  when  pricked  under 
water  gave  off  from  2  or  3  to  20  c.c.  of  an  inflammable  gas  with 
an  offensive  odour,  and  the  contents  were  found  to  have  become 
softer  than  usual,  tending  to  become  pasty.  The  caviare  was 
regarded  as  being  unfit  for  food. 


CHAPTEK   XXI 

BACTERIOLOGICAL    EXAMINATION    OF    SHELL-FISH, 
OYSTEES,    COCKLES,    ETC. 

THE  unenviable  notoriety  which  oysters  (and  cockles)  have 
attained  during  recent  years  has  led  to  many  attempts  being 
made  to  discover  some  method  of  examination  which  would 
reveal  whether  the  shell-fish  exhibited  signs  of  sewage  con- 
tamination. Shell-fish  have  been  seized  in  the  City  of  London 
upon  the  results  of  bacteriological  examination,  but  un- 
fortunately no  case  has  been  contested  in  the  Courts,  and  the 
legality  of  this  procedure,  based  merely  upon  the  results  of 
such  an  examination,  has  not  been  decided."  The  Royal 
Commission  on  '  Disposal  of  Sewage '  express  the  opinion  that 
section  116  of  the  Public  Health  Act  is  useless  for  preventing 
the  sale  of  contaminated  shell-fish.  '  There  is  nothing,'  they 
say,  '  in  their  appearance  to  distinguish  shell-fish  which  have 
been  exposed  to  sewage  contamination  from  those  which  have 
not  been  so  exposed,  and  ...  in  the  present  state  of  knowledge 
it  would  be  impracticable  to  make  the  distinction  by  the  aid  of 
a  bacteriological  examination  as  a  routine  measure.'  Dr.  Klein 
had  expressed  the  view  that  the  normal  oyster  does  not  harbour 
within  its  shell  or  within  its  body  Bacillus  coli  communis  or 
other  organisms  closely  allied  to  it,  and  that  the  presence  of 
these  organisms  '  in  considerable  numbers  of  oysters  in  a  series 
of  samples  from  a  particular  locality  may  be  taken  to  indicate 
sewage  pollution.'  On  the  other  hand,  one  of  us  pointed  out 
to  the  Commissioners  that  the  Bacillus  coli  was  commonly 
present  in  cockles  and  oysters  taken  from  layings  remote  from 

17 


258  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

the  possibility  of   sewage  contamination.      Dr.  Houston  was 
therefore   instructed   to   examine  a  large   number   of   oysters 
from    (a)  the   purest  waters   in  which   oysters   are  grown  or 
fattened  in  this  country,  and  (b)  from  layings  obviously  liable 
to  pollution.     The  results  showed  that  nearly  all  the  oysters 
examined  (over  1,000),  from  whatever  layings  they  were  taken, 
contained  Bacillus  coli  communis  or  other  bacilli  closely  allied 
to   it.     Moreover,  he   found — and   this   has   been    repeatedly 
confirmed  by  one  of  us — that  the  number  of  organisms  belong- 
ing to  the   coli   group    obtainable    from   the  contents  of   the 
stomach  of  the  oyster  was  greater  than  that  from  the  liquid 
contained  in  the  shell.     Observers  who   have   confined   their 
attention  to  the  liquid  only  have  failed  repeatedly  to   isolate 
the  Bacillus  coli  from  oysters  taken  from  admittedly  polluted 
layings.     The  mere  presence  of  the  Bacillus  coli  in  an  oyster 
is  therefore  no  proof  of  its  being  derived  from  a  polluted  source, 
and  the  same  applies  to  the  presence  of  the  Bacillus  enteritidis 
sporogenes  and  streptococci.    The  reason  for  this  is  not  difficult 
of  explanation,  and  it  is  surprising  that  no  reference  is  made 
to  it  in  the  Report  of  the  Royal  Commission.     All  the  noted 
oyster  layings  in  this  country  are  situated  near  extensive  tracts 
of  marshes,  from  which  the  ditches  pour  out  on  the  foreshore 
vast  volumes  of  water  charged  with  organic  matter  in  solution, 
and  swarming  with  low  forms  of  vegetable  and  animal  life. 
It  is  probably  this  condition  which  renders  such  localities  so 
eminently  suited  for  breeding  and  fattening  oysters.     These 
waters  contain  an  abundance  of  organisms  of  the  coli  group, 
and  also  of  the  Bacillus  enteritidis  sporogenes.     The  marshes 
are  practically  uninhabited,  but  large  numbers  of  cattle  may 
be  fed  upon  them.     In  a  tidal  river  recently  examined  by  one 
of  us,  the  most  careful  examination  failed  to  reveal  any  trace 
of  sewage  entering  the  stream,  yet  the  Bacillus  coli  was  found 
both  in   the  river-water   and   in  the  oysters  taken  from  the 
layings,  and,  in  the  latter,  in  rather  large  relative  abundance. 
Finally  it  was  found  that  water  was  entering  from  a  marsh 
ditch  near  the  layings,  a  ditch  which  received  no  sewage,  but 


BACTEEIOLOGICAL  EXAMINATION  OF  SHELL-FISH    259 

merely  water  draining  from  the  marshes  and  containing  an 
abundance  of  the  Bacillus  coli.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
organisms  of  this  type  form  no  essential  part  of  the  bacterial 
flora  of  deep-sea  water,  but  they  appear  to  be  an  essential  part 
of  the  flora  of  waters  suitable  for  fattening  oysters. 

Whilst  directing  attention  to  the  danger  of  attaching  too 
much  importance  to  any  standard,  Dr.  Houston  suggests 
tentatively  two  standards,  one  '  stringent  '  and  the  other 
'  lenient,'  based  on  the  collective  examination  of  ten  oysters 
made  on  the  lines  suggested  in  his  report. 

Oysters  containing  less  than  100  coli-like  microbes  per 
oyster,  and  less  than  ten  spores  of  the  Bacillus  enteritidis 
sporogenes,  would  pass  the  '  stringent '  standard,  but  if  con- 
taining above  this  number,  but  less  than  1,000  coli-like  microbes, 
and  100  spores  of  the  Bacillus  enteritidis  sporogenes,  they 
would  pass  the  '  lenient  '  standard.  Oysters  containing 
organisms  in  excess  of  the  '  lenient '  standard  he  regards  as 
'  outside  the  pale  of  recognition.'  A  coli-like  microbe  he 
defines  as  one  which  produces  acid  and  gas  in  litmus-glucose- 
taurocholate  broth,  grows  on  gelatine  with  the  characteristic 
appearance  of  the  Bacillus  coli,  and  gives  three  out  of  four  of 
the  following  reactions :  fluorescence  in  neutral-red  broth, 
acid  and  gas  in  lactose-peptone  solution,  indol  in  peptone 
solution,  and  acid-clotting  of  milk.  He  finds  that  about 
85  per  cent,  of  the  coli-like  organisms  give  the  whole  of  the 
four  reactions.  It  follows  from  what  has  been  above  stated 
that  he  would  be  a  bold  man  who  would  dare  to  condemn 
oysters  (and  therefore  the  layings  from  which  they  were  taken) 
from  a  mere  bacteriological  examination.  The  examination 
of  sources  from  which  oysters  producing  disease  have  been 
taken,  and  a  study  of  the  description  of  other  such  sources, 
leads  us  to  the  conclusion  that,  in  all  the  cases  in  which  oysters 
have  caused  typhoid  fever,  the  layings  from  which  they  were 
taken  were  grossly  and  obviously  polluted  by  human  sewage, 
and  when  oysters  are  known  to  be  derived  from  such  a  source 
probably  their  seizure  would  be  justifiable. 


260  PEESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

From  what  has  been  said  it  is  obvious  that  great  care  must 
be  exercised  in  arriving  at  a  conclusion  as  to  whether  shell  fish 
are  dangerously  sewage  polluted  from  a  mere  bacteriological 
examination.  This  applies  more  especially  to  oysters  which 
are  fattened  and  bred  on  the  foreshores  of  estuaries.  The 
mere  fact  that  certain  bacteria  are  present  in  the  liquid  within 
the  shell  or  in  the  body  of  the  fish  is  no  proof  of  sewage  con- 
tamination, but  if  they  are  present  in  large  numbers  there  is 
presumptive  evidence  of  such  pollution.  Two  methods  of 
examination  have  been  adopted.  In  one  a  number  of  separate 
oysters  (or  cockles)  are  examined  individually,  the  liquid  in 
the  shell  of  each  being  examined  for  the  presence  of  the  two 
bacteria  above-mentioned,  and  the  liquid  which  exudes  when 
the  body  of  the  fish  has  been  cut  nearly  through  being  similarly 
examined.  If  in  a  considerable  proportion  of  these,  say  30  to 
50  per  cent.,  the  two  bacteria  are  found,  the  shell-fish  are  con- 
sidered as  being  derived  from  an  unsafe  source.  The  experience 
of  one  of  us  with  this  process  is  that  it  is  less  reliable  than  the 
alternative  process,  which  consists  in  cutting  up  the  bodies  of 
say  ten  of  the  oysters  or  cockles,  forming  these  into  an  emulsion 
with  the  liquid  from  the  shells,  diluting  with  water  and  exam- 
ining the  mixture,  taking  portions  of  the  liquid  corresponding 
to  an  aliquot  part,  or  the  whole,  of  the  contents  of  one  pair 
of  shells. 

The  shells  must  be  thoroughly  scrubbed  in  running  water 
with  a  nail-brush  (the  use  of  a  little  soap  is  recommended  by 
Houston),  and  then  well  rinsed  with  sterile  water,  and  laid  out 
on  a  sterile  plate  with  the  flat  shell  upmost.  The  hands  of 
the  operator  should  then  be  sterilized  by  any  ordinary  process, 
and  rinsed  with  sterile  water.  Each  oyster  grasped  in  a  sterile 
towel  is  then  opened  with  a  knife,  and  a  little  experience  is 
required  in  order  to  do  this  expeditiously  and  without  losing 
any  of  the  liquid  out  of  the  shell.  The  liquid  is  poured  into  a 
litre  cylinder,  and  the  oyster  taken  up  by  means  of  forceps  and 
cut  up  with  scissors,  the  fragments  being  allowed  to  fall  into 
the  cylinder.  When  ten  oysters  have  been  thus  treated,  they 


BACTERIOLOGICAL  EXAMINATION  OF  SHELL-FISH    261 

are  well  mashed  up  with  a  glass  rod  expanded  at  the  end. 
The  rod,  scissors,  &c.,  should  all  have  been  recently  sterilized. 
Sterile  water  is  then  added  to  1  litre  and  the  whole  well  mixed. 
One  hundred  c.c.  equal  the  contents  of  one  oyster,  10  c.c. 
-j1^-  of  an  oyster,  1  c.c.  y^,  of  an  oyster,  and  dilutions  should 
be  made  so  that  1  c.c.  corresponds  to  ToVo~»  ToiroD>  ar|d 
i  o  <A>  oir  respectively,  of  an  oyster.  These  solutions  are  then 
used  for  the  tests  for  the  Bacillus  coli  and  Bacillus  enteritidis 
sporogenes.  Houston  recommends  that  three  primary  cultures 
should  be  made  with  each,  and  the  result  considered  negative 
unless  the  characteristic  reaction  is  obtained  with  at  least  two 
out  of  the  three. 

For  detecting  the  Bacillus  coli  communis  use  bile-salt- 
lactose-litmus  broth  for  the  primary  cultures.  From  the  tubes 
in  which  fermentation  is  set  up,  inoculate  bile-salt-lactose- 
neutral-red-agar  plates,  and  from  the  colonies  surrounded  with 
haze,  if  any,  inoculate  milk  (for  acid  and  curd),  peptone  solution 
(for  indol),  and  gelatine  tubes  (for  non-production  of  liquefac- 
tion). Examine  also  in  a  hanging  drop,  and  stain  the  bacilli  by 
Gram's  method.  If  positive  results  are  obtained  throughout, 
the  presence  of  the  true  Bacillus  coli  may  be  considered  to  be 
demonstrated.  If  either  the  milk  is  not  curdled  or  indol 
produced  an  allied  organism  may  be  present  of  the  coli  group, 
but  the  presence  of  the  Bacillus  coli  communis  cannot  be 
asserted.  If  the  organism  liquefies  the  gelatine  it  is  probably 
a  proteus,  it  is  certainly  not  one  of  the  coli  group  (vide  Thresh, 
'  Examination  of  Water,'  p.  352). 

For  detecting  the  Bacillus  enteritidis  sporogenes,  a  series 
of  tubes  of  recently  boiled  and  cooled  milk  are  used,  and  each 
mixture  incubated  anaerobically  (op.  cit.,  p.  356).  The  charac- 
teristic '  enteritidis  change,'  if  found  in  two  out  of  three  of 
each  series  from  the  same  dilution,  may  be  assumed  to  indicate 
the  presence  of  the  spores  of  this  bacillus  in  the  amount  of  the 
liquid  used. 

When  both  the  true  Bacillus  coli  and  the  spores  of  the  B. 
enteritidis  sporogenes  can  be  found  in  y^-  of  an  oyster  by  this 


262  PRESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

method,  it  is  probable  that  the  batch  comes  from  a  contaminated 
source,  as  we  have  never  found  oysters  from  a  source  which 
upon  examination  could  be  considered  satisfactory  to  give  such 
high  results,  but  oysters  taken  from  the  best  layings  round  the 
coast  have  been  repeatedly  found  by  one  of  to  us  contain 
both  organisms  in  -^  of  the  shell  contents,  but  never  in  ^^ 
Houston's  suggested  tentative  standards  based  on  the  average 
number  of  coli-like  organisms  and  of  spores  of  the  Bacillus 
enteritidis  sporogenes  in  each  oyster,  which  differ  slightly  from 
the  above,  have  already  been  given.  His  views  will  be  found 
at  length  in  vol.  iii.  of  the  '  Fourth  Report  of  the  Commission 
on  the  Disposal  of  Sewage,'  pp.  169-72. 

Cockles,  mussels,  and  other  shell-fish  may  be  examined  in  a 
similar  manner,  but  there  are  no  records  which  enable  us  to 
suggest  even  a  provisional  standard.  One  of  us  has  failed  to 
obtain  from  any  source  cockles  which  did  not  contain  the 
Bacillus  coli.  The  question,  however,  is  one  of  comparatively 
little  importance,  since  cockles  and  mussels,  unlike  oysters,  are 
only  consumed  after  being  cooked.  Although  this  process,  as 
ordinarily  conducted,  does  not  sterilize  the  interior  of  the 
bodies,  it  must  considerably  reduce  the  risk  to  those  who  con- 
sume them. 

The  method  adopted  by  Klein  *  in  examining  oysters  (and 
other  shell-fish)  gives  results  which  differ  considerably  from 
those  obtained  by  Houston's,  though  why  this  should  be  so  is 
difficult  to  explain.  Klein  relies  entirely  upon  the  examination 
of  individual  oysters  to  ascertain  the  proportion  in  which  the 
Bacillus  coli  is  contained,  and  upon  the  approximate  estimation 
of  the  number  found  in  each.  For  this  purpose  he  strongly 
recommends  the  use  of  the  Drigalski-Conradi  medium  (nutrose- 
litmus-lactose-crystal-violet  agar),  which  not  only  permits  of 
the  Bacillus  coli  being  readily  isolated,  but  also  gives  typical 
colonies  of  the  Bacillus  typhosus,  and  the  Bacillus  enteritidis  of 

1  Experiments  and  Observations  on  the  Vitality  of  the  Bacillus  of  Typhoid 
Fever  and  of  -Sewage  Microbes  in  Oysters  and  other  Shell-fish,  by  E.  Klein,  M.D., 
F.R.S.  The  Worshipful  Company  of  Fishmongers,  August  1905. 


BACTEBIOLOGICAL  EXAMINATION  OF  SHELL-FISH   263 

Gartner  when  these  are  present.  The  following  account  of 
the  method  followed  by  him  in  his  recent  investigations  for 
the  Fishmongers'  Company  is  taken  from  his  interesting  and 
valuable  report : 

'  The  oyster,  after  the  outside  of  the  shell  had  been 
thoroughly  washed  and  brushed  under  the  tap,  was  opened 
with  a  sterile  knife,  the  liquor  was  drained  off  as  completely  as 
possible,  the  body  of  the  fish,  with  its  mantle  and  branchiae, 
was  then  transferred  to  a  sterile  glass  dish,  and  herein  cut  up 
(minced)  with  sterile  scissors  as  finely  as  possible  ;  after 
thoroughly  mixing  the  minced  material,  the  fluid  (thick, 
turbid)  is  removed  with  a  sterile  glass  pipette  and  measured. 
From  this  fluid  a  definite  amount,  in  no  case  more  than  Ol  or 
0*15  c.c.  was  .  .  .  directly  transferred  to  a  Drigalski  plate.  .  .  . 
After  having  by  means  of  the  sterile  bent  glass  rod  carefully, 
thoroughly,  and  uniformly  rubbed  the  material  over  the  surface 
of  the  dry  medium  (all  previous  moisture  having  been  previously 
removed  by  allowing  the  plates  to  evaporate  it  spontaneously 
for  two  to  three  hours  in  the  incubator),  the  plates  are  trans- 
ferred to  the  incubator  at  37°  C.' 

Two  or  more  plates  may  be  made  from  each  oyster  if  so 
desired.  On  the  Drigalski  medium  at  37°  C.,  the  B.  coli  of 
faecal  matter,  after  twenty-four  to  thirty-six  hours,  gives 
colonies  several  millimetres  in  diameter,  distinctly  red,  with 
distinct  red  halo  when  viewed  in  transmitted  light.  Such 
colonies  are  picked  out  for  further  examination  and  are  not 
regarded  by  Klein  to  be  the  true  B.  coli  unless  they  correspond 
to  all  the  following  tests  : 

1.  Give  numerous  gas  bubbles  in  nutrient  gelatine  shake- 
culture  in  twenty-four  hours  at  20°  C. 

2.  Give  on  a  gelatine  slope,  from  a  streak,  at  20°  C.  a  rapidly 
spreading  dry  band  with  irregular  margin ;  no  liquefaction  of 
gelatine  at  any  time. 

3.  Give  a  greenish  fluorescence  in  neutral-red  broth  at  37°  C. 
in  twenty-four  to  thirty-six  hours. 

4.  Give  acid  and  gas  in  MacConkey's  fluid. 


264  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

5.  Make  phenol  broth  (-05  per  cent.)  turbid  in  twenty-four 
hours,  with  copious  gas  formation.     Temperature,  37°  C. 

6.  Produce  indol  in  nutrient  broth  at  37°  C.  in  three  to  five 
days. 

7.  Produce  acid  and  gas  in  lactose-peptone-litmus  broth  in 
twenty-four  to  thirty -six  hours. 

8.  Produce  acid  in  litmus  milk  at  37°  C.  within  twenty-four 
hours,  and  clot  the  milk  in  one  to  three  days. 

9.  The  flagellate  bacillus  is  not  stained  by  Gram. 

Klein  remarks  on  the  necessity  of  distinguishing  the  true 
Bacillus  coli  from  so-called  coli-like  microbes,  and  quotes  an 
instance  in  which  out  of  fifty -eight  coli-like  growths,  only  twelve 
were  found  to  be  the  B.  coli  communis. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  where  these  tests  are  applied, 
and  no  bacillus  regarded  as  the  B.  coli  communis  which  does 
not  respond  to  every  one,  very  few  shell-fish  from  clean 
sources  are  found  to  contain  this  organism ;  hence  if  any  con- 
siderable percentage  show  the  presence  of  this  bacillus  there  is 
strong  presumptive  evidence  of  their  being  derived  from  a  pol- 
luted source. 

In  four  instances  Klein  has  found  the  B.  typhosus  in  shell- 
fish. The  method  adopted  appears  to  be  the  same  as  for  the 
B.  coli,  using  the  Drigalski  plate.  On  this  medium  the 
typhoid  colonies  may  be  recognized  as  isolated,  translucent, 
blue  dots  in  twenty-four  hours,  and  in  seventy-two  hours  the 
colonies  are  several  millimetres  in  width.  The  colonies  have  : 
(1)  a  conical  shape  ;  (2)  a  prominent  centre ;  (3)  a  flat  thin 
margin,  violet  when  viewed  in  reflected  light  on  black  ground ; 
(4)  have  a  violet  blue  centre,  and  a  finely  granular,  and  moist 
or  glistening  aspect.  The  individual  bacilli  are  short,  cylin- 
drical in  shape  (not  filamentous  and  not  in  chains),  motile, 
and  quickly  clumping  with  typhoid  serum.  Subcultures  should 
also  be  made  on  gelatine,  in  litmus-milk,  and  in  MacConkey's 
solution  and  in  broth. 

The  B.  enteritidis  of  Gartner  may  also  be  detected  if 
present  in  the  growth  on  the  Drigalski  medium.  According  to 


BACTERIOLOGICAL  EXAMINATION  OF  SHELL-FISH    265 

Klein,  it  forms  blue-violet  colonies  growing  more  slowly  than 
those  of  the  B.  typhosus.  The  bacillus  when  examined  is 
found  to  be  shorter  than  the  B.  typhosus,  it  causes  fluorescence 
in  neutral  red  broth,  turns  litmus  milk  at  first  slightly  acid, 
but  after  two  or  three  days  slightly  alkaline,  and  it  produces 
acid  and  gas  in  MacConkey's  fluid.  It  does  not  agglutinate 
with  typhoid  serum  in  anything  like  the  high  dilution  that 
B.  typhosus  does,  and  it  is  highly  virulent  to  rodents  after 
subcutaneous  injection. 

Care  must  be  taken  to  apply  all  the  confirmatory  tests  to 
the  growth  on  the  Drigalski  medium,  as  other  organisms  occur 
in  sewage  which  in  their  growth  bear  a  more  or  less  close 
resemblance  to  those  produced  by  the  three  specific  organisms, 
but  which  can  be  differentiated  by  the  subsequent  tests. 

The  bacillus  of  Gartner  should  always  be  sought  for  in 
cases  of  poisoning,  whether  due  to  shell-fish  or  any  other 
article  of  food,  especially  where  diarrhoea  is  a  prominent 
symptom. 


CHAPTEE   XXII 

UNSOUND  FOOD  (continued).    MILK  AND  DAIRY  PRODUCE 

DAIRY  products  which  have  caused  disease  have  usually 
presented  no  abnormal  appearance  to  the  consumer.  Very 
rarely  can  unsoundness  be  detected  by  mere  inspection ;  hence 
seizures  under  the  '  unsound  food  '  sections  of  the  Public 
Health  Acts  are  rarely  made.  Milk  especially  is  frequently  so 
contaminated  as  to  cause  disease,  although  to  all  appearance 
good  and  wholesome.  Such  milk  was  obviously  unsound  and 
unwholesome  at  the  time  of  sale,  although  its  dangerous 
character  could  not  be  detected  by  inspection.  The  chief 
specific  diseases  which  have  been  ascribed  to  milk  are  tubercu- 
losis, scarlet  fever,  diphtheria,  epidemic  dermatitis,  enteric 
fever,  and  cholera.  A  large  proportion  of  the  cases  of  '  summer 
diarrhoea  '  (zymotic  enteritis)  among  children  is  probably  due 
to  milk,  and  from  time  to  time  outbreaks  of  illness  characterized 
chiefly  by  sore  throat  and  general  depression  have  been  traced 
to  this  food.  Thrush  is  also  probably  occasioned  sometimes 
by  impure  milk  containing  Oidium  albicans,  and  foot-and- 
mouth  disease,  or  at  all  events  a  septic  condition  of  the  mouth 
and  throat,  may  also  be  similarly  conveyed. 

The  identity  of  the  bacilli  of  human  and  bovine  tubercu- 
losis was  considered  in  connection  with  meat,  and  the  import- 
ance of  establishing  the  true  relationship  is  indicated  by  the 
fact  that  a  very  considerable  proportion,  probably  20  per  cent, 
or  more,  of  milch  cows  in  England  have  sufficient  deposits  of 
tubercle  within  their  bodies  to  react  to  tuberculin.  Fortu- 
nately the  bacilli  apparently  reach  the  milk  solely  when  the 
mammary  glands  are  affected,  and  this  is  said  to  occur  in  only 
3  to  4  per  cent,  of  tubercular  cows. 


UNSOUND  FOOD.     MILK  AND  DAIEY  PEODUCE    267 

As,  however,  the  milk  sent  out  from  a  farm  is  mixed,  a 
single  cow  with  tuberculous  udders  is  capable  of  inoculating  a 
large  amount  of  milk.  Klein  and  Houston  l  found  that  out  of 
ninety-eight  samples  from  different  farms,  7  per  cent,  contained 
virulent  tubercle  bacilli.  In  Liverpool  in  1897,  2'8  per  cent,  of 
the  milk  produced  within  the  city  and  29' 1  per  cent,  of  that 
produced  outside  the  city  was  tuberculous.  In  1898  the 
figures  were  8-3  and  17'8  per  cent,  respectively.  Kanthack 
and  Sladen  found  56 '3  per  cent,  of  samples  of  milk  from 
Cambridgeshire  dairies  to  be  tuberculous.  In  London  dairies 
it  is  estimated  that  25  per  cent,  of  the  cattle  are  suffering  from 
tuberculosis,  and  Delepine  finds  that  25  per  cent,  of  the 
samples  of  milk  sold  in  Manchester  are  infected  with  tubercle. 
Similar  figures  have  been  given  by  Continental  observers. 

That  tubercular  diseases  are  caused  by  the  consumption  of 
infected  milk  few  people  will  deny,  although  absolute  proof  is 
practically  impossible.  Assuming  that  Koch  is  correct  in 
asserting  that  the  bacilli  of  human  and  of  bovine  origin  differ 
in  certain  respects,  it  does  not  follow  that  the  bovine  form  is 
harmless  to  man.  On  the  contrary,  the  followers  of  Koch 
admit  that  they  have  found  the  '  typus  bovinus  '  in  the  glands 
of  children  suffering  from  primary  intestinal  tuberculosis. 
Dr.  Nathan  Raw,2  who  has  had  exceptional  opportunities  for 
studying  tuberculosis  in  children  and  adults,  adopts  Koch's 
view  that  there  are  two  distinct  varieties  of  tubercle,  the 
'typus  humanus,'  chiefly  conveyed  by  infection  from  one 
person  to  another,  and  the  '  typus  bovinus,'  chiefly  received 
into  the  body  by  infected  meat  and  milk  ;  but  he  is  of  opinion 
that  bovine  bacilli  are  very  virulent  for  children,  and  are 
accountable  for  tabes  mesenterica  and  other  forms  of  abdominal 
tubercle.  He  further  expresses  the  view  that  the  bovine 
variety  is  more  virulent  for  children  than  the  human  type,  and 
he  bases  his  conclusions  upon  the  study  of  nearly  401  cases 
of  tabes  mesenterica  observed  during  the  last  twelve  years. 

1  Report  of  Medical  Officer,  Local  Government  Board,  1900-1,  p.  330. 
*  British  Medical  Journal,  October  21,  1905,  p.  1,018. 


268  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

With  the  exception  of  two  children  of  consumptive  mothers 
he  has  not  known  a  single  case  to  occur  in  a  child  fed  entirely  on 
breast-milk ;  the  whole  of  them  (with  the  above  two  exceptions) 
were  reared  for  some  considerable  time  on  cows'  milk.  He 
further  points  out  that  when  pigs  are  fed  on  tuberculous  milk 
they  develop  '  scrofula,'  and  he  has  repeatedly  seen  children, 
and  in  some  cases  adults,  suffering  from  enlarged  neck  glands, 
who  had  been  consuming  milk  from  cows  suffering  from  tuber- 
cular disease  of  the  udder.  Out  of  123  cases  of  meningitis 
in  children  under  four  years  of  age,  he  found  that  all  without 
exception  had  been  fed  on  cows'  milk. 

His  experience  in  Liverpool,  where  much  attention  has 
been  paid  to  the  subject  of  tubercular  milk,  is  most  interesting. 
He  has  '  noticed  a  diminution  in  abdominal  tuberculosis  and 
enlarged  glands  during  the  last  two  or  three  years,  due  in  a 
great  measure  to  the  rigorous  inspection  of  all  dairies,'  and  the 
supply  by  the  city  of  sterilized  milk  for  the  poor.  As  the 
result  of  his  extended  experience  and  careful  investigations  he 
has  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that,  when  tubercle  is  stamped 
out  from  cattle,  surgical  tuberculosis  in  children  will  to  a 
great  extent  disappear  with  it. 

The  majority  of  the  members  of  the  medical  profession 
who  have  given  attention  to  this  subject  are  agreed  that  there 
is  some  connection  between  tuberculosis  in  milch  cows  and 
tuberculosis  in  children.  It  is  exceedingly  significant  that  the 
death-rate  from  abdominal  tuberculosis  amongst  children, 
taking  the  country  as  a  whole,  and  tuberculosis  amongst 
dairy  cattle  show  no  sign  of  decrease,  if  they  are  not  actually 
increasing.  In  many  of  our  largest  towns  the  milk  supplies 
are  from  time  to  time  examined  for  the  presence  of  tubercle 
bacilli,  and  when  evidence  of  their  presence  is  obtained  the 
milk  is  traced  to  its  source  and  the  cows  examined.  Almost 
invariably  an  infected  animal  is  found.  This  is  eliminated 
from  the  herd,  but  there  is  reason  to  fear  that  such  cattle  are 
not  always  destroyed,  but  are  sold  to  the  owner  of  other  dairy 
farms. 


UNSOUND  FOOD.     MILK  AND  DAIEY  PEODUCE    269 

Milk  outbreaks  of  scarlet  fever  and  diphtheria  are  by  no 
means  uncommon.  Nearly  every  year  such  outbreaks  are 
recorded,  some  of  them  of  a  very  extensive  character.  The 
infection  is  nearly  always,  if  not  invariably,  derived  from  a 
human  source,  and  the  possibility  of  cows  being  susceptible 
to  either  of  these  diseases  has  never  been  satisfactorily 
established.  The  classical  Hendon  outbreak  of  1885  was 
considered  by  Klein  and  others  to  be  due  to  bovine  scarlet 
fever,  but  Sir  George  Brown,  the  head  of  the  Agricultural 
Department,  held  that  the  disease  from  which  the  cows 
suffered  was  cow-pox,  and  that  the  scarlet  fever  was  derived 
from  human  sources. 

Similarly  it  is  extremely  doubtful  if  cows  suffer  from  a  disease 
capable  of  transmitting  diphtheria  through  their  milk.  In  1891 
Sir  Kichard  Thome  Thorne,  in  reviewing  the  chief  epidemics 
of  milk  diphtheria,  referred  to  the  almost  invariable  association 
of  such  epidemics  with  lesions  of  the  udders  of  the  cows  in 
the  affected  dairy,  and  Klein  made  some  inoculation  experi- 
ments wThich  appeared  to  indicate  that  cattle  wTere  susceptible 
to  the  diphtheria  bacillus,  and  that  the  illness  was  usually 
accompanied  by  an  eruption  on  the  udders  from  which  the 
diphtheria  bacilli  could  be  recovered  ;  but  his  experiments  have 
been  repeated  with  contrary  results  by  Loeffler  and  Abbott. 
Dean  and  Todd  L  investigated  a  small  outbreak  of  diphtheria 
directly  connected  with  the  milk  from  two  cows.  Both  the 
cows  were  suffering  from  papules  and  ulcers  on  the  udders  and 
teats,  and  virulent  diphtheria  bacilli  were  isolated  both  from 
the  lesions  and  from  the  milk.  The  eruption  was  of  a 
contagious  nature,  and  was  experimentally  communicated  to 
the  teats  and  udder  of  a  healthy  cow,  but  no  diphtheria  bacilli 
were  to  be  found  in  the  lesions  so  produced.  Similarly  the 
crusts  were  inoculated  on  the  abdominal  skin  of  two  calves, 
one  of  which  had  previously  received  10,000  units  of  diphtheria 
antitoxin ;  in  both  cases  ulcers  resulted,  but  in  neither  case 

1  Journal  of  Hygiene,  vol.  ii.  p.  194. 


270  PEESERVATIVES  IN   FOOD 

could  diphtheria  bacilli  be  isolated  from  the  lesions.  The 
investigators  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  cows,  whose 
milk  was  associated  with  the  diphtheria  outbreak,  were  not 
themselves  suffering  from  diphtheria,  but  that  the  lesions  on 
the  teats  and  udders  were  of  a  non-diphtheritic  character, 
and  that  the  specific  organisms  had  probably  been  introduced 
by  the  hands  of  milkers,  and  had  multiplied  in  the  ulcers. 

The  typhoid  bacillus  inay  be  introduced  into  milk  in  several 
ways,  probably  the  commonest  being  through  water,  used 
either  for  washing  the  utensils  or  for  diluting  the  milk.  The 
Clifton  outbreak  in  1897  ]  is  an  example  of  the  former,  and 
the  Moseley  outbreak  in  18732  of  the  latter.  Similarly  a 
milk-borne  epidemic  of  typhoid  fever  occurred  in  Springfield, 
Mass.,  and  was  due  to  the  milk  cans  being  immersed  in  a 
polluted  well  to  cool.3  Personal  contact  was  probably  the 
means  of  introducing  infection  in  the  Penrith  epidemic  of 
1857,4  the  mother  of  a  girl  suffering  from  a  mild  attack  of 
typhoid  fever  both  acting  as  nurse  and  taking  part  in  the 
milking.  Contaminated  cloths  used  for  wiping  the  utensils 
appeared  to  be  responsible  for  an  epidemic  in  Barrowford, 
Lanes.,  in  1876,  whilst  to  the  introduction  of  particulate  infec- 
tive material  from  dried  excreta  in  a  defective  drain  was  ascribed 
an  outbreak  at  Millbrook  in  Cornwall  (1880)  .5  A  small  out- 
break in  Leeds  during  the  spring  of  1900  appeared  to  be  due 
to  the  infection  of  the  milk  during  the  emptying  of  a  privy 
at  a  farm,  the  primary  attacks  suddenly  occurring  within  a 
few  days  of  each  other  and  as  suddenly  ceasing.  The  privy 
under  suspicion  had  been  emptied  about  a  fortnight  before  the 
first  case  of  typhoid  fever  began. 

The  possibility  that  flies  may  convey  infection  from  a  privy, 
or  from  fields  fertilized  with  human  excreta,  &c.,  should  also 
not  be  lost  sight  of. 

1  Trans.  Epidem.  Society,  vol.  xvii. 

2  Local  Government  Board  Report,  1874. 

3  Boston  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal,  1893,  ii.  p.  485. 

4  Edinburgh  Medical  Journal,  1858. 

5  British  Medical  Journal,  vol.  i.,  1881. 


UNSOUND  FOOD.     MILK  AND  DAIEY  PEODUCE    271 

In  an  epidemic  described  in  the  '  British  Medical  Journal," 
1880,  vol.  i.  p.  89,  is  raised  the  suspicion  that  cows  may  them- 
selves suffer  from  an  invasion  of  the  typhoid  bacilli,  and  be 
capable  of  transmitting  the  infection  to  man  through  their 
milk ;  if  this  be  the  case  it  is  probable  that  the  bacilli  reach 
the  milk  from  the  alvine  discharges.  The  possibility  of  this 
happening  is  emphasized  by  an  epidemic  at  Eagley  and  Bolton 
in  1876,  investigated  by  Power.1 

Cholera  has  also  been  spread  by  means  of  milk  through  the 
use  of  polluted  water,  but  inasmuch  as  the  comma  bacillus 
does  not  thrive  in  an  acid  medium,  milk  is  not  so  favourable 
a  culture  fluid  as  it  is  for  other  pathogenic  germs.  In  this 
connection  reference  may  be  made  to  Klein's  investigations  on 
the  behaviour  of  certain  bacilli  in  milk.2  Tubercle  bacilli  were 
found  to  flourish  in  milk  at  37°  C.,  and  in  some  instances  even 
to  increase  in  virulency.  The  bacilli  also  grew  in  sterilized 
cream  and  upon  sterilized  cheese.  The  typhoid  bacillus  multi- 
plied in  milk  at  20°  and  at  37°  C.,  and  in  cream  at  20°  C. 
Cheese  was  apparently  unfavourable.  Diphtheria  bacilli  grew 
in  milk  at  20°,  but  not  at  37°  C.,  whilst  cream  and  cheese 
appeared  to  be  unsuitable  media.  The  Streptococcus  con- 
glomeratus  flourished  in  milk  at  both  temperatures,  and  to  a 
limited  extent  in  cream  and  on  cheese  at  20°  C.,  but  not  at 
37°  C. 

The  germ  or  germs  actually  responsible  for  zymotic  enteritis 
has  been  the  subject  of  considerable  speculation  and  investiga- 
tion. Delepine,3  after  discussing  the  literature  and  bacteriology 
in  connection  therewith,  gives  good  reasons  for  believing  that 
the  majority  of  cases  of  milk-borne  diarrhoea  are  due  to  infec- 
tion by  the  B.  enteritidis  (Gartner)  or  other  species  of  the 
'  colon  group.'  He  holds  that  the  infection  takes  place  at  the 
farm,  though  this  is  disputed  by  Newsholme  and  others.  On 
the  occasion  of  a  milk-borne  epidemic  of  diarrhoea  in  Manchester 

1  Hamer,  Manual  of  Hygiene,  p.  1^8. 

2  Local  Government  Board  Report,  1899-lHOO. 

3  Journal  of  Hygiene,  iii.  68. 


272  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

(1894),  affecting  at  least  180  families,  Delepine  isolated  a 
bacillus  of  the  Gartner  group  from  a  sample  of  the  implicated 
milk,  which  bacillus  was  pathogenic  for  guinea-pigs,  and  caused 
peritonitis,  intense  hypersemia  of  the  small  intestines,  and  con- 
gestion of  the  lungs. 

Outbreaks  of  sore  throat  due  to  milk  have  been  reported  by 
many  observers.  In  1875  an  epidemic  occurred  in  South 
Kensington,  and  was  investigated  by  Sir  B.  Buchanan.1  In 
1881  a  similar  outbreak  at  Rugby  School  was  apparently  due 
to  the  milk  of  a  cow  suffering  from  mastitis.2  In  1899  Dr. 
J.  King  Warry  reported  on  an  epidemic  conveyed  by  milk,3 
the  illness  being  characterized  by  sore  throat  of  a  septic 
character.  An  outbreak  of  illness  not  entirely  distinguishable 
from  scarlet  fever  occurred  at  Brighton  in  1900,  and  was 
attributed  to  milk  that  had  apparently  been  infected  from 
human  sources.4  Dr.  Pierce,  Medical  Officer  of  Health  for 
Guildford  and  Woking,  traced  an  extensive  epidemic  occurring 
in  his  districts  in  1903  to  milk  from  a  special  farm.  The 
chief  symptoms  recorded  were  an  affection  of  the  throat, 
either  quinsy,  follicular  tonsillitis,  or  ulcerated  sore  throat ; 
great  constitutional  disturbance  ;  and  in  some  instances 
abscesses  in  connection  with  the  lymph  glands,  and  facial 
erysipelas,  whilst  in  one  patient  a  fatal  attack  of  ulcerative 
colitis  occurred.  The  chief  organisms  present  in  the  throats 
examined  were  streptococci  and  staphylococci.  Out  of  twenty 
cows  examined  at  the  farm  four  gave  impure  milk,  and  from 
two  of  them  the  liquid  consisted  largely  of  pus.  From  the 
pus,  cocci,  similar  to  those  present  in  the  throats  of  the 
patients,  were  isolated.  Possibly,  if  the  milk  had  been  seen 
before  it  was  mixed  and  delivered,  it  might  have  furnished  one 
of  the  rare  instances  in  which  milk  could  be  seized  under  the 
Public  Health  Act. 

An  outbreak  of  disease  mainly  characterized  by  sore  throat 

1  Local  Government  Board  Report,  1876. 

2  British  Medical  Journal,  1881,  vols.  i.  and  ii. 

3  Annual  Report,  Borough  of  Hackney,  1900. 

4  Newsholme,  Journal  of  Hygiene,  vol.  ii.  p.  150. 


UNSOUND  FOOD.      MILK  AND  DAIEY  PEODUCE  273 

occurred  in  Colchester  during  the  month  of  April  1905,  and 
was  investigated  by  Dr.  Savage,  the  Medical  Officer  of  Health. 
It  commenced  on  the  17th  and  ended  on  the  29th,  and  it  is 
believed  that  between  500  and  600  people  were  attacked.  It 
was  confined  to  a  limited  area,  the  best  part  of  the  town,  and  to 
the  users  of  milk  from  a  particular  farm.  Of  the  twenty  cows 
kept  at  this  farm  nineteen  were  healthy,  but  the  twentieth  had  a 
diseased  udder,  and  the  milk  drawn  from  one  quarter  was  quite 
brown  and  consisted  of  dilute  pus.  Pus  and  the  organisms 
associated  therewith  were  found  in  the  implicated  milk. 

In  1904  an  equally  extensive  epidemic  occurred  in  Finchley 
and  the  neighbourhood,  upwards  of  500  persons  being  affected. 
Dr.  Kenwood  considered  that  the  milk  was  infected  through 
two  cows  that  had  suffered  from  indefinite  symptoms.1 

A  milk-borne  epidemic  of  somewhat  doubtful  character 
occurred  in  Lincoln  in  1902,  and  was  investigated  by  Dr.  Darra 
Mair.2  Some  200  persons  were  affected,  and  in  many  cases 
the  medical  attendants  regarded  the  illness  as  scarlet  fever, 
though  the  bacteriological  examination  of  the  throats  did  not 
bear  out  this  view.  It  was  suggested  that  the  illness  may  have 
been  due  to  a  fungus  of  the  nature  of  '  rust  '  which  had 
affected  the  field  frequented  by  the  implicated  cows.  In 
America  '  tyrotoxicon  '  has  been  found  in  milk  which  had 
given  rise  to  poisonous  symptoms  in  those  consuming  it,  but 
no  similar  cases  appear  to  have  been  recorded  in  this  country. 

Several  outbreaks  of  epidemic  skin  disease  have  been  re- 
ported by  the  Medical  Officers  of  the  Local  Government  Board 
as  having  occurred  in  workhouse  infirmaries.  Most  of  these 
were  attributed  to  the  milk  supplied,  and  in  the  most  recent 
outbreak,  referred  to  in  a  previous  chapter,  the  implicated  milk 
was  found  to  contain  formalin.  It  is  also  suggested  that  this 
chemical  may  have  been  the  actual  cause  of  the  disease.  Un- 
fortunately in  the  previous  outbreaks  this  preservative  was  not 
sought  for.  This  particular  form  of  skin  disease  was  first 

1  British  Medical  Journal,  1904,  i.  602. 

2  Local  Government  Board  Report,  1902-3. 

18 


274  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

described  in  this  country  in  1891  by  Dr.  Savill,  then  Medical 
Superintendent  of  the  Paddington  Infirmary,  in  which  163  cases 
occurred.  In  1893  an  outbreak  (eighty-six  cases)  occurred  at 
the  Bethnal  Green  Workhouse  Infirmary,  and  similar  outbreaks 
of  lesser  magnitude  in  other  infirmaries.  The  disease  bears 
some  likeness  to  pityriasis  rubra  and  to  acute  general  eczema, 
and  the  presence  or  absence  of  certain  characters  gives  rise 
to  two  more  or  less  distinct  types,  the  '  dry  '  and  the  '  moist.' 
The  fatality  ranged  from  5  to  12  per  cent,  of  the  attacks.  The 
evidence l  with  regard  to  the  milk  bearing  some  causal  relation- 
ship to  the  disease  was  in  most  cases  conclusive.  In  several 
instances  the  outbreaks  occurred  in  different  infirmaries  which 
were  being  supplied  with  milk  by  the  same  contractor,  and  this 
milk  was  of  a  decidedly  inferior  character. 

The  food  upon  which  cows  are  kept  rarely,  if  ever,  affects 
the  appearance  of  the  milk,  but  on  occasions  has  affected  the 
taste,  and  when  such  milk  has  caused  gastric  disturbance  this 
has  been  attributed  to  the  food  supplied  to  the  cows.  This  is 
possibly  erroneous,  but  if  true  it  is  only  an  additional  reason 
for  giving  careful  attention  to  the  character  of  the  food. 
Where  cows  have  eaten  of  the  leaves  of  the  sumach  (Rhus 
toxicodendrori) — often  found  in  shrubberies — it  is  alleged  that 
the  milk  has  been  affected,  and  has  caused  disturbance  of  the 
digestive  system  of  those  who  consumed  it. 

From  time  to  time  milk  becomes  infected  with  organisms 
which  affect  its  appearance,  but  such  milk  is  never  offered  for 
sale  ;  if  offered  it  should  certainly  be  seized  as  unsound.  The 
Bacillus  cyanogenes  causes  milk  to  become  blue,  the  Bacillus 
synxanthus  imparts  a  yellow  tint,  the  Bacillus  prodigiosus,  the 
B.  lactis  erythrogenes,  Sarcina  rosea,  and  possibly  other  organ- 
isms, produce  a  red  colour,  whilst  the  Bacillus  lactis  viscosus  and 
the  Bacillus  actinobacter  are  said  to  be  the  cause  of  the  ropy 
character  often  found  when  cows  are  suffering  from  *  garget,' 
but  sometimes  occurring  in  warm  weather  in  the  milk  from 
apparently  healthy  cows.  It  is  doubtful,  however,  whether 
1  Report  of  the  Medical  Officer  of  tlie  Local  Government  Board,  1893-4,  p.  xix. 


UNSOUND  FOOD.     MILK  AND  DAIRY  PRODUCE    275 

any  of  the  above-mentioned  organisms  possess  pathogenic 
properties.  Milk  absorbs  odorous  substances  with  wonderful 
avidity.  A  short  time  ago  one  of  us  had  occasion  to  investigate 
the  cause  of  a  disagreeable  odour  of  the  milk  supplied  by  a 
certain  dealer.  It  was  found  that  the  milkman  had  a  wound 
in  his  hand  which  was  covered  with  an  iodoform  dressing. 
When  another  person  milked  the  cows  the  milk  had  no  longer 
an  objectionable  odour. 

Milk  occasionally  acquires  a  bitter  taste  which  affects  the 
cream  and  butter  made  therefrom.  This  is  no  doubt  due  to 
some  organism  not  yet  recognized.  Some  time  ago  one  of  us 
had  to  advise  a  cow-keeper  and  dairyman  as  his  milk  was 
persistently  bitter,  if  kept,  and  the  cream  and  butter  made 
therefrom  had  a  similar  taste.  The  dairy  and  cowsheds  were 
thoroughly  cleansed,  hot-limewashed,  and  all  the  atensils  dis- 
infected with  formalin.  There  have  been  no  complaints  since. 
The  milk  did  not  apparently  produce  any  ill  effects  on  the 
consumers.  Very  rarely  milk  has  been  observed  to  be  '  soapy,' 
having  the  taste  of  soap,  and  frothing  much  on  agitation. 
The  cause  of  this  change  is  unknown,  but  it  is  probably  due 
to  the  action  of  bacteria.  The  souring  of  milk  from  the 
production  of  lactic  and  butyric  acids  is  a  change  so  well 
known  as  not  to  require  more  than  mention. 

Condensed  milk  is  not  unfrequently  found  to  be  unsound, 
and  in  consequence  seized  and  condemned.  Usually  the  only 
evidence  of  unsoundness  is  the  generation  of  gas  within  the 
tins,  and  the  consequent  bulging  of  the  ends.  There  are  ap- 
parently no  records  of  such  milk  being  used  and  causing  any 
injury  to  health.  It  is  often,  after  seizure,  allowed  to  be  sold 
for  pig  feeding,  and  when  so  used  we  have  been  unable  to 
hear  of  any  ill  effects  following.  A  sample  of  such  a  batch  of 
tins  was  recently  examined  by  one  of  us.  The  tins  were 
'blown.'  The  milk  was  normal  in  appearance  and  odour,  but 
the  taste  was  suggestive  of  something  abnormal.  Young  pigs 
ate  it  with  avidity,  and  certainly  were  not  affected  by  it.  It  is 
a  well-known  fact  that  certain  bakers  purchase  such  condensed 


276  PEESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

milk,  and  use  it  in  making  bread  and  pastry.  No  case  of 
illness  has  come  to  our  knowledge  which  has  been  attributed 
to  this  practice.  Notwithstanding  this,  milk  which  is  obviously 
undergoing  decomposition  with  the  evolution  of  gas  cannot 
be  considered  fit  for  the  food  of  human  beings,  and  should  be 
regarded  as  unsound. 

Milk  has  usually  been  looked  upon  as  a  food  which  could 
not  be  dealt  with  by  seizure  under  the  sections  relating  to 
unsound  food,  but  obviously  cases  occur  in  which  the  milk 
may  be  so  seized  and  taken  before  a  magistrate  for  condemna- 
tion. The  first,  and  as  yet  the  only,  recorded  case  occurred 
in  St.  Pancras  in  April  1905,  and  is  of  sufficient  novelty 
and  importance  to  warrant  us  in  including  an  account  of 
it,  since  it  gives  in  detail  the  reasons  assigned  for  seizing 
the  milk,  and  the  subsequent  examination  made  to  confirm 
the  opinion  that  it  was  so  polluted  as  to  be  unfit  for  human 
consumption. 

It  is  very  probable  that,  if  churns  of  milk  were  occasionally 
'  strained  '  by  the  inspector,  sufficient  evidence  of  the  presence 
of  filth  would  be  found  to  justify  seizure.  A  few  prosecutions 
of  this  kind  would  tend  to  make  the  dairy  farmer  much  more 
careful  in  the  process  of  milking,  and  to  insist  upon  greater 
cleanliness  of  his  cows,  and  of  his  milkers. 

'  DIRTY  AND  CONTAMINATED  MILK  DEALT  WITH  AS 
UNSOUND  FOOD.' — At  Marylebone  Police  Court,  on  April  14, 
John  Roberts,  a  farmer  in  Northamptonshire,  appeared  in 
answer  to  two  summonses,  taken  out  by  the  St.  Pancras 
Borough  Council,  charging  him,  as  owner  of  a  churn  of  milk 
sold  to  the  Dairy  Supply  Company  (Limited),  which  was 
unwholesome  and  unfit  for  food,  with  depositing  the  milk  at 
Euston  Station  for  sale.  Mr.  Clarke  Hall,  barrister,  prosecuted, 
and  Mr.  Freke  Palmer,  solicitor,  defended.  Mr.  Clarke  Hall 
said  that  the  proceedings  were  taken  under  section  47  of 
the  Public  Health  (London)  Act,  1891.  This  was  the  first 
case  of  the  kind  in  regard  to  milk.  The  defendant  had  been 
1  Public  Health,  June  1905. 


UNSOUND  FOOD.     MILK  AND  DAIEY  PEODUCE   277 

under  contract  with  the  Dairy  Supply  Company  since 
March  25,  1904,  to  supply  them  with  pure  new  milk.  On 
February  20  the  churn  of  milk  was  sent  to  London,  and  was 
seen  at  Euston  Station  by  a  sanitary  inspector  in  the  employ 
of  the  Council,  who  found  on  the  top,  dirt,  consisting  of  cow 
dung,  straw,  and  hair.  Dr.  Sykes,  the  Medical  Officer  of 
Health,  pronounced  the  milk  unfit  for  food.  It  was  brought 
to  that  Court,  and  Mr.  Paul  Taylor  condemned  it.  Three 
samples,  two  from  the  top  and  one  from  the  bottom,  were 
submitted  for  analysis  to  Dr.  Eyre,  bacteriologist  at  Guy's 
Hospital.  The  result  showed  the  presence  of  a  brownish 
deposit  amounting  to  at  least  4  per  cent,  in  the  samples  taken 
from  the  top,  and  8  per  cent,  in  the  sample  from  the  bottom, 
consisting  almost  entirely  of  faecal  matter  and  pus  cells. 
Experiments  were  made  with  this  stuff  on  a  healthy  guinea- 
pig,  and  it  was  shown  that  the  offensive  matter  contained 
tubercle  bacilli,  the  post-mortem  examination  of  the  animal 
showing  clearly  that  it  was  affected  with  tuberculosis.  He 
submitted  that  it  was  milk  of  this  kind  that  was  responsible 
for  the  large  mortality  among  children,  and  as  it  was  a  real 
danger  to  the  public  health  the  Council  had  determined  to  take 
action.  Evidence  was  then  called  in  support  of  the  statement. 
For  the  defence,  Mr.  Freke  Palmer  said  that  the  difficulty  he 
had  to  contend  with  was  that,  unlike  cases  under  the  Food 
and  Drugs  Act,  defendant  was  not  made  aware  that  the 
samples  had  been  taken  until  some  time  afterwards,  and  was 
therefore  unable  to  make  any  inquiries  as  to  how  the  milk 
came  to  be  in  the  state  in  which  it  was  found.  The  milk  was 
sent  off  in  a  clean,  pure,  and  wholesome  condition,  and  he 
suggested  that  the  presence  of  the  filth  in  it  on  its  arrival  was 
due  to  the  carelessness,  spite,  or  the  interference  of  some  one 
while  it  was  in  transit.  He  submitted  that  the  Public  Health 
Act  did  not  apply  to  such  a  case  as  this.  The  defendant  was 
called,  and  stated  that  all  his  cows  were  in  a  healthy  condition, 
and  this  was  supported  by  a  local  sanitary  inspector  and  a 
veterinary  surgeon.  Mr.  Chapman  adjourned  the  case  to  the 


278  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

Tower  Bridge  Police  Court,  where  the  hearing  was  continued 
on  May  12.  John  Elliott,  employed  by  the  defendant  to  milk 
the  cows,  gave  evidence  for  the  defence  as  to  the  straining  of 
the  milk,  and  the  care  taken  to  prevent  any  impurities  from 
getting  into  it.  In  reply,  several  railway  officials  were  called 
to  prove  that  the  milk  had  not  been  tampered  with  on  the 
railway.  Charles  Gill,  station-master  at  Castle  Ashby,  said 
that  on  several  occasions  he  had  seen  filth  on  the  defendant's 
milk.  Mr.  Chapman  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  filth  on 
the  milk  came  from  the  defendant's  farm.  The  defendant 
shared  his  responsibility  with  others,  but  the  law  made  him 
responsible  for  the  acts  of  his  servants.  The  defendant  was 
fined  25Z.  and  five  guineas  costs.' 

The  milk  from  cows  suffering  from  disease  is  frequently 
quite  normal  in  appearance,  but  it  may  show  some  abnormality 
when  submitted  to  careful  chemical  analysis.  Frequently  the 
proportion  of  salts  is  increased,  or  the  presence  of  cholesterin 
may  be  detected,  but  no  such  tests  afford  any  indication  of  the 
wholesomeness  or  otherwise  of  the  milk.  Where  a  cow  is 
suffering  from  foot-and-mouth  disease,  pleuro-pneumonia,  cattle 
plague,  or  tuberculosis  of  the  udder  it  is  illegal  to  supply  the 
milk  for  human  consumption,  but  it  may  be  used  for  feeding  pigs 
after  being  boiled.  Milk  from  cows  suffering  from  foot-and- 
mouth  disease  has  on  occasions  proved  fatal  to  calves  and  pigs, 
but  possibly  in  such  cases  the  milk  had  not  been  boiled. 
Unsound  milk  is  most  readily  detected  by  microscopic  examin- 
ation, search  being  made  for  pus  cells,  blood  corpuscles,  and 
certain  specific  organisms.  Pus  cells  are  said  to  be  frequently 
met  with  in  milk,  but  this  is  contrary  to  the  experience  of  the 
authors  (vide  Chap.  XVIII.).  Eastes  found  them  in  30  per 
cent,  of  the  samples  of  milk  examined,  whilst  Stokes  and 
Wegefarth,  in  Baltimore,  apparently  found  them  in  all  milks, 
even  from  cows  which  had  been  submitted  to  careful  veterinary 
examination  and  pronounced  quite  healthy.1  An  inflammatory 
condition  of  the  teats  and  udder  of  the  cow  ('  garget ')  is  very 

1  Journal  of  State  Medicine,  vol.  v.  p.  439. 


UNSOUND  FOOD.     MILK  AND  DAIEY  PEODUCE    279 

common,  and  sometimes  appears  to  be  epidemic.  The  attack 
may  be  so  mild  as  to  escape  observation,  and  pus  cells  be 
abundant  in  the  milk.  Stokes  and  Wegefarth  refer  to  several 
outbreaks  of  disease  (chiefly  a  form  of  gastro- enteritis)  apparently 
attributable  to  the  use  of  milk  from  cows  with  inflamed  udders, 
and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  milk  containing  pus  is  not 
adapted  for  human  consumption.  Although  they  would  not 
condemn  a  milk  because  it  contained  a  few  pus  cells,  they  suggest 
that  where  '  the  microscopical  examination  of  the  centrifugalized 
sediment  of  the  milk  from  a  herd  of  cows  contains  an  excessive 
amount  of  pus '  a  careful  inspection  of  the  herd  should  be 
made.  It  is  noteworthy,  however,  that  these  observers  found 
far  fewer  pus  cells  in  the  milk  from  well-fed  and  well-housed 
cows  than  in  that  from  cows  kept  under  insanitary  conditions. 
It  is  a  grave  question,  however,  whether  any  milk  containing 
purulent  matter  should  be  permitted  to  be  sold. 

Unfortunately  every  sample  of  milk  examined  is  found  to 
contain  traces  of  filth,  almost  innumerable  bacteria,  staphylo- 
cocci,  and  bacilli,  with  a  few  streptococci,  spores  of  moulds, 
epithelial  scales,  and  small  cells  easily  confounded  with  pus 
cells,  but  staining  differently  with  Ehrlich's  triacid  stain. 
If  a  cow  is  suffering  from  mastitis,  pus  cells  will  be  very 
abundant,  and  be  associated  with  streptococci.  Leucocytes 
and  occasionally  blood  corpuscles  may  be  found  in  milk  from 
apparently  healthy  cows.  It  is  only,  therefore,  when  these 
cells,  &c.,  are  found  in  excessive  amount  that  objection 
can  be  taken  to  the  milk.  Milk  which  has  undergone  a 
change  making  it  'ropy,'  discoloured,  or  imparting  to  it 
an  odour,  is  certainly  unfit  for  human  consumption,  and  milk 
which  contains  particles  of  hair,  straw,  hay,  faecal  matter, 
and  pus  corpuscles  should  be  condemned,  especially  if  pyogenic 
organisms  can  also  be  detected.  Most  of  these  constituents, 
if  present  in  dangerous  amount,  can  be  isolated  for  micro- 
scopical examination  in  a  few  minutes  by  means  of  a  centrifuge. 
If  suspected  milks  were  promptly  dealt  with  they  could 
in  many  cases  be  examined  and  seized  before  reaching  the 


280  PEESEBVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

consumer,  and  now  that  an  example  has  been  set  by  the  St. 
Pancras  Borough  Council  we  may  hope  that  other  authorities 
will  take  similar  action.  A  few  prosecutions  of  this  kind 
would  probably  effect  a  greater  change  for  the  better  than 
all  the  bylaws  which  can  be  devised. 

Cream,  as  distinguished  from  milk,  has  not  often  been  held 
responsible  for  cases  of  illness,  though  no  doubt  it  is  fre- 
quently capable  of  causing  toxic  symptoms.  An  outbreak  of 
typhoid  fever  occurring  among  some  guests  at  a  certain  dinner 
party  held  in  South  Kensington  in  1875  was,  however,  ascribed 
to  this  article.1 

Ice-creams  have  frequently  given  rise  to  gastro-intestinal 
disturbance  among  the  consumers ;  not  only  are  they  likely 
to  contain  such  organisms  and  their  products  as  may  have 
been  present  in  the  original  milk  (though  as  a  rule  some 
degree  of  pasteurization  or  sterilization  is  adopted  in  their 
manufacture),  but  during  their  preparation  and  storage  they 
are  liable  to  be  exposed  to  the  most  gross  pollution  at  the 
hands  of  the  street  retailers,  whose  premises  are  frequently 
totally  unsuited  for  the  purpose.  Dr.  George  Turner  has 
described  an  epidemic  of  typhoid  fever,  occurring  at  Deptford 
in  1891,  which  was  apparently  caused  by  ice-cream,  and 
several  other  outbreaks  have  since  occurred  attributable  to  the 
same  cause.  Bacteriological  examinations  frequently  show 
that  the  ice-creams  as  sold  by  itinerant  vendors  swarm  with 
bacteria,  and  are  quite  unfit  for  food. 

The  following  brief  account  of  an  outbreak  of  poisoning 
due  to  ice-creams  is  typical  of  many  others  recorded.  It 
occurred  in  Birmingham  during  the  summer  of  1905,  and  was 
investigated  by  Dr.  Eobertson,  the  City  Medical  Officer  of 
Health.  Out  of  250  consumers  served,  fifty-two  cases  of  illness 
occurred,  four  only  of  the  patients  being  over  fourteen  years  of 
age.  The  interval  which  elapsed  between  the  eating  of  the 
ice-cream  and  the  onset  of  the  illness  varied  from  half  an  hour 

1  Paper  by  Ernest  Hart  on  Typhoid  Fever,  1881. 


UNSOUND  FOOD.     MILK  AND  DAIKY  PEODUCE    281 

to  eight  and  a  half  hours.  All  the  persons  suffered  from 
diarrhoea  and  collapse.  No  irritant  poison  was  discoverable 
by  chemical  analysis.  Professor  Leith  examined  the  ice-cream 
bacteriologically  and  found  therein  a  bacillus  of  the  colon 
group,  capable  of  causing  the  death  of  guinea-pigs.  From  an 
examination  of  the  premises  in  which  the  ice-cream  was 
manufactured,  it  appeared  probable  that  it  had  become  con- 
taminated whilst  standing  in  the  cooling  shed  after  boiling  and 
before  freezing.  Opposite  this  shed  there  were  three  water- 
closets  in  an  extremely  filthy  condition,  and  possibly  organisms 
of  excremental  origin  had  fallen  upon  one  of  the  buckets  of  the 
cream  while  it  was  in  a  warm  condition.  These  would  rapidly 
multiply,  and  may  have  produced  toxins  or  ptomaines.  Neither 
the  bacilli  nor  their  poisonous  products  would  be  affected  by 
the  subsequent  freezing. 

In  London,  and  in  several  provincial  towns,  it  is  made 
illegal  for  an  ice-cream  maker  or  dealer  to  make,  sell,  or  store 
ice-cream  in  any  room  used  as  a  living  or  sleeping  room, 
or  to  expose  the  ice-cream  to  any  source  of  infection  or  con- 
tamination. Every  itinerant  vendor  must  exhibit  on  his  barrow 
his  name  and  address,  or  the  name  and  address  of  the  person 
from  whom  he  obtains  the  ice-cream.  This  has  been  followed 
by  the  registration  of  all  ice-cream  makers  and  the  frequent 
examination  of  their  premises,  and  great  improvements  have 
been  as  a  consequence  effected. 

Butter,  being  produced  by  fermentative  changes,  is  pre- 
sumably liable  to  contain  many  substances,  which  may  be 
prejudicial  to  health,  derived  from  the  life-processes  of  the 
extensive  bacterial  flora  usually  present  in  cream,  though, 
when  the  butter  is  made  on  scientific  lines  from  pasteurized 
cream,  there  is  little  risk  of  such  deleterious  organic  substances 
being  present.  Instances  of  poisoning  are,  however,  uncommon 
or  seldom  reported.  Accounts  of  two  small  outbreaks  of 
disease  apparently  due  to  rancid  butter  are  to  be  found  in  the 
'  Journal  of  State  Medicine  '  (vol.  iv.  p.  512).  In  both  instances 
'  ptomaines  '  were  isolated  from  the  suspected  samples.  Tyro- 


282  PEESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

toxicon,  to  which  reference  will  be  made  when  cheese  is  under 
consideration,  may  occur  also  in  butter  and  in  milk. 

Klein  examined  twelve  samples  of  butter  bacteriologically,  by 
making  an  emulsion  and  injecting  portions  into  guinea-pigs  ;  two 
out  of  twenty-one  of  the  animals  developed  localized  abscesses, 
from  which  Staphylococcus  pyogenes  aureus  was  recovered. 

Butter  is  rarely  if  ever  seized  as  being  '  unsound.'  If  kept 
until  rancid,  it  would  certainly  be  unwholesome  and  seizure  be 
justifiable,  but  the  condition  would  be  so  obvious  that  no  dealer 
would  think  of  exposing  it  for  sale,  though  he  might  dispose  of 
it  to  an  unscrupulous  pastry-cook,  the  class  of  person  who  would 
purchase  '  blown  '  tins  of  condensed  milk. 

Cheese. — The  most  important  illness  associated  with  the 
consumption  of  cheese  is  that  due  to  the  presence  of  tyrotoxicon. 
This  poison,  formed  by  certain  bacteria  from  nitrogenous 
substances,  was  first  investigated  by  Professor  V.  C.  Vaughan 
in  connection  with  extensive  outbreaks,  involving  some  300 
persons,  in  Michigan,  U.S.A.,  during  the  years  1883  and  1884. l 
It  appears  to  be  an  unstable  substance,  readily  destroyed 
by  heat,  and  is  a  virulent  poison  for  many  animals  as  well 
as  man.  The  symptoms  are  mainly  vomiting,  diarrhosa,  and 
collapse. 

Dr.  Newman,2  Medical  Officer  of  Health  for  Finsbury, 
reported  on  an  outbreak  of  this  nature  occurring  in  1901. 
Seventeen  persons  were  affected,  the  symptoms  appearing  in 
from  two  to  eight  hours  after  the  cheese  was  eaten.  Epigastric 
pain,  rigors,  vomiting,  diarrhoea,  prostration,  and  some  fever 
formed  the  leading  features  of  the  illness.  Convalescence 
commenced  in  about  forty-eight  hours.  Mr.  Colwell  examined 
samples  of  the  cheese  (Dutch  cheese)  and  detected  the  presence 
of  tyrotoxicon. 

A  similar  epidemic,  involving  twenty-seven  men  with  three 
fatal  cases,  happened  at  Aldershot  in  1899,3  among  two  field 
columns.  The  symptoms  noticed  were  fever,  the  temperature 

1  Newman's  Bacteriology  and  tlie  Public  Health,  p.  251. 

2  Ibid.  3  Journal  of  State  Medicine,  vol.  viii.  p.  60. 


UNSOUND  FOOD.     MILK  AND  DAIEY  PEODUCE    283 

ranging  from  100°  to  103°  F.,  vomiting,  hsematemesis,  failing 
pulse,  cramps,  and  in  some  instances  jaundice.  Autopsies  in 
the  fatal  cases  revealed  ;  inflammation  of  the  stomach  with 
submucous  haemorrhages  and  oadema,  and  similar  but  less 
severe  inflammation  of  the  duodenum  and  jejunum.  Eight 
sheep  fed  on  remnants  of  the  cheese  sickened,  and  six  of  them 
died,  similar  post-mortem  appearances  being  present.  Portions 
of  the  cheese  from  the  sheeps'  stomachs  were  examined  by 
Luff,  and  tyrotoxicon  was  found.  Bacteriological  examinations 
were  made,  but  gave  no  clue  as  to  the  nature  of  the  illness. 

Vaughan  found  a  toxalbumin  in  some  cheese  which  had 
caused  the  illness  of  those  who  had  partaken  of  it.  Tyro- 
toxicon was  not  detected  in  this  sample. 

Mann  says  that  '  old,  decayed  cheese  yields  an  alkaline 
reaction,  and  has  frequently  given  rise  to  colic,  diarrhoea, 
dizziness,  diplopia,  precordial  pain  and  collapse.'  Doubtless  in 
these  cases  some  bacteria  had  gained  access  capable  of  producing 
a  '  toxin  '  or  a  ptomaine  with  poisonous  properties,  and  Vaughan 
thinks  this  form  of  poisoning  is  more  frequent  than  that  from 
tyrotoxicon. 

Eg'g'S. — It  is  probable  that  even  eggs  may  at  times  contain 
micro-organisms  capable  of  causing  illness.  In  the  '  Lancet,' 
1905,  vol.  i.  p.  464,  is  an  account  of  an  epidemic  of  food  poi- 
soning occurring  in  Paris,  investigated  by  MM.  Metchnikoff 
and  Girard,  the  implicated  food  being  '  cream  cakes.'  The 
'  cream '  is  made  by  slightly  warming  the  white  of  eggs  and 
adding  a  mixture  of  gelatin,  sugar,  and  milk  at  a  temperature 
of  80°  C.  This  mixture  should  prove  an  excellent  medium  for 
the  propagation  of  bacteria  and  their  toxins,  and  M.  Metchnikoff 
considered  that  the  bacteria  were  derived  from  the  eggs,  which, 
he  asserts,  occasionally  contain  micro-organisms  when  laid. 


CHAPTEK  XXIII 

EXAMINATION   OF   MILK  AND    OTHEE   DAIRY   PEODUCE 

Milk.  Examination  for  Dirt. — If  the  sample  contains  any 
visible  participate  matter,  its  character  may  possibly  be  recog- 
nized by  the  aid  of  a  hand  lens.  If  not  it  can  be  mounted  in 
water  or  dilute  glycerine,  and  examined  under  the  microscope. 
Particles  of  hair,  straw,  hay,  &c.,  may  thus  be  recognized 
(Plate  V.). 

The  quantity  of  dirt  present  can  be  determined  by  using  a 
litre  of  the  milk,  taken  after  thorough  agitation,  placing  it  in  a 
long  cylinder  and  allowing  it  to  stand  for  three  or  four  hours. 
The  supernatant  milk  is  then  syphoned  off,  leaving  about 
25  c.c.  at  the  bottom  of  the  cylinder.  To  this  about  half  a 
litre  of  filtered  water  is  added  and  the  mixture  again  allowed 
to  stand  for  a  few  hours.  This  process  is  repeated  until  the 
water  remains  clear,  when  the  deposit  is  transferred  to  a  tared 
filter,  dried  and  weighed. 

A  really  clean  milk  will  not  yield  more  than  3  to  5  mlgms. 
of  dry  residue ;  ordinary  samples  may  yield  from  10  mlgms. 
or  even  more,  according  to  the  degree  of  foulness. 

If  this  test  yields  much  more  than  10  mlgms.  of  dry 
residue,  and  the  microscopic  examination  of  the  residue 
obtained  by  aid  of  the  centrifugal  machine  shows  that  it  is  of 
an  objectionable  character,  the  milk  may  fairly  be  considered 
unsound  and  unfit  for  human  consumption. 

In  all  cases,  however,  whether  there  are  visible  particles  or 
not,  10  c.c.  or  more  of  the  milk  taken  after  agitation  should 
be  placed  in  a  pointed  tube,  and  submitted  to  centrifugaliza- 
tion  for  a  few  minutes.  The  cream  will  then  come  to  the 
top  and  the  particulate  matter  be  deposited  in  the  narrow  end 


EXAMINATION  OF  MILK  AND  DAIRY  PRODUCE  1285 

of  the  tube.  Pipette  carefully  off  the  cream  and  reserve  for 
further  examination,  and  afterwards  as  much  of  the  liquid 
as  can  be  removed  without  disturbing  the  deposit ;  fill  up  the 
tube  with  distilled  water  and  again  treat  in  the  centrifuge. 
The  sediment  then  can  be  examined,  its  amount  being 
approximately  noted.  In  a  clean  good  milk  the  quantity 
should  be  inappreciable.  Spread  the  sediment  evenly  over 
the  surface  of  one  or  more  glass  slides,  and  allow  to  dry 
at  a  very  gentle  heat  without  access  of  dust.  Pass,  in  the 
usual  manner,  three  times  through  the  flame  of  a  Bunsen 
burner  in  order  to  fix  the  film,  and  remove  the  fat  by  immers- 
ing for  a  few  minutes,  first  in  absolute  alcohol,  then  in  ether. 
When  the  excess  of  ether  has  evaporated  the  film  may  be 
stained  with  Loeffler's  blue,  or  with  Ehrlich's  triacid  stain,  or 
by  Grain's  method,  or  by  the  Ziehl-Neelsen  method,  or  different 
slides  may  be  differently  treated.  The  Ziehl-Neelsen  method 
must  be  used  if  tubercle  bacilli  are  being  sought  for. 

The  preparations  can  now  be  examined,  first  with  a  ^-inch 
objective  and  afterwards  by  aid  of  the  ^-inch  oil-immer- 
sion lens. 

Examination  for  Pus  Cells. — Pus  corpuscles  may  be 
found,  and  are  of  the  greatest  significance  if  abundant,  and 
if  blood  cells  and  streptococci  are  also  present  the  milk  must 
be  considered  actually  dangerous  to  health.  The  presence  of 
blood  corpuscles  alone,  if  in  any  number,  should  suffice  to  con- 
demn the  milk  as  unwholesome. 

Stokes  and  Wegefarth,1  as  the  result  of  their  investigations 
on  the  presence  of  pus  cells  in  milk,  suggest  a  standard  for  the 
exclusion  of  cows  from  a  herd.  They  say,  '  The  standard  for 
exclusion  must  of  necessity  be  arbitrary,  but  following  the 
method  .  .  .  described,  an  average  of  more  than  five  pus  cells  to 
the  field  of  the  oil-immersion  lens  should  exclude  an  animal 
from  the  herd.'  It  does  not  follow  that  they  would  approve 
of  the  use  of  milk  from  a  herd  in  which  anything  like  the 
above  number  of  pus  cells  could  be  found.  On  the  contrary, 
1  Journal  of  State  Medicine,  vol.  v.  p.  439. 


286  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

they  would  regard  with  suspicion  any  milk  in  which  pus  cells 
were  easily  found,  and  suggest  an  immediate  examination  of 
the  herd.  The  process  adopted  by  them  and  referred  to  above 
is  thus  described:  'The  milk  (10  c.c.)  is  first  centrifugalized 
two  and  a  half  minutes  by  means  of  the  Lentz  centrifuge. 
The  supernatant  fluid  is  then  poured  off,  and  the  sediment  is 
spread  evenly  over  the  surface  of  an  ordinary  glass  slide. 
The  specimen  is  then  dried  over  the  flame  of  a  Bunsen  burner 
or  in  a  water-oven.  Ether  is  then  applied  until  all  superfluous 
fat  is  removed,  and  the  slide  is  stained  with  Loeffler'smethy- 
lene  blue.  The  examinations  are  made  with  a  one-twelfth 
inch  oil-immersion  lens.'  The  question  arises,  however,  as  to 
what  is  a  pus  cell  ?  Leucocytes  are  found  in  all  milks,  and 
these  Stokes  and  Wegefarth,  and  possibly  others,  seem  to  regard 
as  pus  cells.  Leucocytes  undergoing  degenerative  change  and 
showing  two  or  more  distinct  nuclei  when  treated  with  Ehrlich's 
triacid  stain,  or  when  stained  with  eosin  and  methylene  blue, 
may  be  regarded  as  pus  cells,  and  as  indicating  the  presence 
of  purulent  matter.  When  present  these  will  be  found  in  the 
centrifugalized  deposit  associated  with  streptococci,  and  often 
also  with  red  blood  corpuscles. 

Examination  for  Streptococci. — If  not  found  during  the 
examination  of  the  deposit,  a  little  of  this  may  be  diffused 
through  1  or  2  c.c.  of  normal  saline  solution,  and  brushed 
over  the  surface  of  agar  plates.  Incubate  at  37°  C.,  and 
examine  with  a  lens  the  colonies  as  they  appear,  and  pick 
out  those  which  resemble  streptococci.  When  found,  the 
character  of  the  particular  organism  isolated  may  be  worked 
out  if  deemed  desirable.1  A  portion  of  the  culture  injected 
into  the  groin  of  a  guinea-pig  will  set  up  active  inflammation 
with  the  formation  of  pus,  in  which  the  streptococci  will 
abound. 

Examination  for  Tubercle  Bacilli.— The  Ziehl-Neelsen 
stain  may  reveal  the  presence  of  bacilli  resembling  those  of 

1  Vide  Gordon  on  the  '  Differentiation  of  Streptococci,'  Lancet,  Nov.  11,  1905, 
p.  1,400. 


EXAMINATION  OF  MILK  AND  DAIRY  PRODUCE    287 

tubercle  in  the  deposit,  but  they  are  much  more  likely  to  be 
found  in  the  cream.  The  result,  however,  is  of  little  value, 
since  the  presence  of  tubercle  bacilli  can  only  be  affirmed  after 
an  experiment  on  guinea-pigs.  The  deposit  obtained  from 
100  c.c.  or  more  of  the  milk  by  aid  of  the  centrifuge  should  be 
injected  into  the  subcutaneous  tissue  of  the  groin  of  the  animal 
and  the  effects  noted.  The  rapidity  of  infection  will  depend  upon 
the  virulency  of  the  milk.  The  inguinal  and  popliteal  glands 
may  show  signs  of  enlargement  in  ten  days,  or  not  even  until 
the  end  of  a  month.  When  killed,  these  glands  and  the  spleen 
are  examined  for  the  detection  of  the  specific  bacilli. 

Examination  for  Diphtheria  Bacilli. — The  diphtheria  ba- 
cillus has  rarely,  if  ever,  been  isolated  directly  from  milk.  If 
present,  its  detection  may  be  attempted  by  injecting  the  deposit 
from  10  to  50  c.c.  of  the  milk  into  the  subcutaneous  tissue  of 
a  guinea-pig,  and  examining  the  fluid  from  the  consequent 
cedematous  tissue.  Portions  of  this  fluid  must  be  used  for 
inoculating  several  tubes  of  blood  serum,  and  the  growths 
examined  in  the  usual  way. 

Examination  for  Organisms  of  Intestinal  Origin.— If  milk 
is  contaminated  with  an  appreciable  trace  of  faecal  matter, 
there  should  be  no  difficulty  in  detecting  both  the  Bacillus  coli 
communis  and  the  Bacillus  enteritidis  sporogenes.  The  former 
is  occasionally  found  when  the  latter  cannot  be  detected,  in 
which  case  the  organism  may  not  actually  have  been  intro- 
duced with  a  mass  of  fsecal  matter,  but  with  dust  from  the 
byre. 

To  detect  the  Bacillus  coli,  dilute  1  c.c.  of  the  milk  with 
9  c.c.  of  sterile  water,  and  make  a  further  dilution  with  1  c.c. 
of  the  mixture  and  9  c.c.  of  sterile  water.  To  a  tube  of  bile- 
salt-lactose-litmus  broth  add  1  c.c.  of  undiluted  milk,  to  a  second 
1  c.c.  of  the  first  dilution,  and  to  a  third  1  c.c.  of  the  second 
dilution.  Place  in  the  incubator  at  37°  C.  (preferably  42°  C.) 
for  twenty-four  hours,  and  if  fermentation  takes  place  proceed 
as  described  on  p.  252.  Should  the  Bacillus  coli  be  found  in 
the  highest  dilution,  it  is  obvious  that  the  milk  contains  more 


288  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

than  100  per  c.c.,  a  number  which  would  never  be  found  in 
a  clean  milk. 

The  Bacillus  enteritidis  sporogenes  may  be  detected  and 
roughly  estimated  in  the  following  manner.  In  a  sterile  tube 
place  10  c.c.  of  the  milk  to  be  examined,  and  into  two  tubes, 
each  containing  10  c.c.  of  sterilized  and  recently  boiled  and 
cooled  milk,  add  respectively  1  c.c.  of  the  milk  and  1  c.c.  of 
a  1  in  10  dilution.  Place  all  the  tubes  in  a  water-bath 
at  80°  C.,  and  pour  over  the  surface  of  the  milk  in  each 
sufficient  sterile  melted  vaseline  to  form  a  column  about  half 
an  inch  in  depth.  At  the  end  of  fifteen  minutes  remove  from 
the  water-bath,  cool,  and  place  in  the  incubator  at  37°  C.  for 
three  or  four  days.  In  the  presence  of  the  Bacillus  enteritidis 
sporogenes  the  milk  will  form  a  ragged  clot,  with  a  pink  tint 
at  the  surface,  the  serum  will  be  comparatively  clear,  and  the 
vaseline  plug  will  have  been  forced  to  the  mouth  of  the  tube 
by  the  gas  generated.  The  liquid  will  have  a  strong  odour  of 
butyric  acid,  and  the  serum  will  be  found  to  swarm  with  bacilli, 
not  bearing  spores.  In  a  clean  milk  the  spores  of  the  Bacillus 
enteritidis  sporogenes  should  not  be  found  in  10  c.c. ;  the  more 
polluted  the  milk,  the  smaller  is  the  quantity  in  which  they 
can  be  detected. 

Oidium  Lactis. — The  oidiurn  lactis  may  be  found  in  sour 
milk,  and  is  possibly  identical  with  the  oidium  albicans.  It  is 
more  probable,  however,  that  they  are  distinct  species,  otherwise 
'  thrush/  which  is  due  to  the  latter,  would  be  far  more  common. 
A  number  of  cases  occurred  some  time  ago  in  a  small  com- 
munity, children  and  adults  being  affected,  which  one  of  us 
thought  were  possibly  due  to  infected  milk.  If  present,  the 
hyphae  and  spores  would  be  detected  by  the  microscope  in 
the  deposit  from  the  milk  (Plate  V.).  If  very  abundant,  the 
milk  should  be  regarded  as  unsound. 

Enumeration  of  the  Bacteria  present. — To  ascertain  the 
number  of  bacteria  capable  of  growing  on  gelatine  present  in  a 
sample  of  milk  a  series  of  dilutions  must  be  made  with  sterile 
water. 


EXAMINATION  OF  MILK  AND  DAIRY  PRODUCE    289 


(a.)  1  c.c.  of  milk  to  1  litre  of  water         .         .  1 

(b.)  1  c.c.  of  (a)  to  9  of  water  ....  1 

(c.)  1  c.c.  of  (b)  to  9  of  water  ....  1 

(d.)  1  c.c.  of  (c)  to  9  of  water  ....  1 


1,000 
10,000 
100,000 
1,000,000 


One  c.c.  of  each  dilution  is  used  for  making  a  gelatine  plate, 
and  the  colonies  counted  from  day  to  day  by  aid  of  a  pocket 
lens.  The  actual  number  should  be  taken  from  those  plates 
which  are  not  liquefied,  and  upon  which  the  colonies  are 
countable  at  the  end  of  the  fourth  day.  The  results,  when 
two  or  more  plates  are  counted,  are  not  always  concordant,  as 
some  of  the  bacteria  in  the  milk  occur  in  minute  masses 
which  may  or  may  not  become  diffused  during  the  dilution. 
The  average  of  the  numbers  may  be  taken,  bat,  if  the  above 
supposition  is  correct,  the  highest  count  may  most  nearly 
approximate  to  the  truth. 

The  substitution  of  boiled  or  pasteurized  milk  for  fresh 
milk  may  be  ascertained  by  the  following  tests : 

1.  To  about  10  c.c.  of  the  milk  in  a  test-tube  add  a  few 
drops  of  tincture  of  guaiacum ;  if  the  milk  turns  blue  it  has  not 
been  boiled.     If  no  blue  tint  appears,  the  milk  has  possibly 
been  heated  to  or  nearly  to  the  boiling  point ;  but  in  our  hands 
this  test  appears  to  be  far  from  reliable.     The  following  give 
much  more  satisfactory  results  : 

2.  To  a  similar  quantity  of  the  milk  add  a  few  drops  of  a 
1   per    cent,    solution   of    hydroquinone    (para-dioxybenzine), 
agitate  and  add,  drop  by  drop,  solution  of  hydrogen  peroxide. 
A  rose  colouration  develops  in  raw  milk,  but  not  in  milk  which 
has  been  heated  to  80°  C.  or  upwards. 

3.  To   another   test-tube   containing   the   milk    apply   the 
same  test  as  (2),  substituting  for  the  hydroquinone  a  1  per 
cent,  solution  of  ortho-methyl-aminophenol.     Again  raw  milk 
becomes   rapidly  rose   coloured,  whilst  milk  which  has  been 
heated  to  80°  C.  or  upwards  for  a  short  time  remains  uncoloured. 
If  the  milk  has  been  kept  at  75°  C.  for  half  an  hour  it  does  not 
acquire  a  rose  tint. 

4.  In   this   test   metol  is  substituted  for  hydroquinone  in 

19 


290  PEESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

(2).  Upon  the  addition  of  a  drop  or  two  of  the  20  per  cent, 
hydrogen  peroxide  solution  unboiled  milk  rapidly  assumes  a 
dirty  mauve  colour,  whilst  boiled  milk  is  not  affected. 

Milk  has  probably  never  been  seized  merely  on  account  of 
its  having  become  sour.  When  the  lactic  acid  produced  by  the 
fermentation  of  the  lactose  reaches  a  certain  stage  the  casein  is 
curdled  and  the  milk  is  unsaleable,  but  long  before  this  stage 
is  reached  the  milk  is  unfit  for  food,  especially  for  infants. 
Probably  the  odour  alone  would  be  sufficient  to  decide  when 
this  stage  had  been  reached,  a  milk  with  a  decidedly  sour 
odour  being  regarded  as  unsound.  Milk  containing  0-25  per 
cent,  of  free  acid,  estimated  as  lactic  acid,  will  curdle  when 
heated  to  100°  C.,  and  100  c.c.  of  such  a  milk  would  require 
28  c.c.  y^-  soda  for  neutralization.  A  milk,  100  c.c.  of  which 
requires  20  c.c.  of  ^  soda  to  neutralize  its  acidity,  is  decidedly 
sour  and  more  or  less  unwholesome.  Phenol-phthalein  is 
usually  employed  as  the  indicator  in  milk  titration. 

Condensed  Milk. — Condensed  milk  is  rarely  seized  as  being 
unwholesome  unless  the  tins  containing  it  are  '  blown.'  It  is 
usually  assumed  that  this  is  due  to  the  formation  of  gas  by  the 
decomposition  of  the  milk  by  means  of  bacteria,  but  this  is 
certainly  not  always  the  case,  since  in  some  cases  the  milk 
from  such  tins  is  found  to  be  absolutely  sterile,  and  in  other 
cases  in  which  the  tins  are  not  '  blown  '  the  milk  may  not  prove 
to  be  sterile.  Dodge  examined  a  number  of  blown  tins 
containing  sterile  milk,  and  attributed  the  formation  of  the  gas 
to  electrolytic  action  between  the  metals  of  which  the  cans 
were  composed  and  the  acids  generated  by  the  growth  of 
bacteria  in  the  milk  before  the  latter  was  condensed.  It  is  a 
question,  therefore,  whether  the  presence  of  a  small  number  of 
'  blown  '  tins  justifies  the  condemnation  of  the  whole  batch  of 
which  they  form  a  part. 

Cream  and  Ice-Cream  may  be  examined  in  the  same  way  as 
milk,  after  dilution  with  two  or  three  volumes  of  filtered  water. 

Butter  may  be  examined  by  adding  1  gram  to  50  c.c.  of 
filtered  water,  warming  to  35  or  40°  C.,  and  agitating  until  an 


EXAMINATION   OF  MILK  AND  DAIRY  PRODUCE    291 

emulsion  is  formed.  The  mixture  can  then  be  centrifugalized 
and  the  deposit  examined.  Portions  of  the  emulsion  may  also 
be  taken  for  making  gelatine  plates,  and  for  the  detection  of 
certain  organisms.  In  selecting  the  samples  of  butter  the 
outside  of  the  piece  should  be  avoided,  a  portion  being  taken 
from  the  interior. 

Cheese  must  be  judged  by  its  physical  characters,  but  it 
should  be  remembered  that  a  condition  which  would  condemn 
one  variety  may  represent  the  state  of  perfection  in  another. 
Excessive  mouldiness,  associated  with  a  fusty  odour,  and 
worms  and  mites  penetrating  the  mass  would  justify  seizure. 
The  '  mite '  so  common  in  cheese  is  the  Acarus  domesticus, 
whilst  the  so-called  '  worms '  are  the  larvae  of  a  fly,  the 
Piophila  casei.  On  rare  occasions  cheese  has  caused  ill  effects, 
but  when  this  has  been  the  case  there  has  usually  been  nothing 
in  its  appearance,  odour,  or  flavour  to  warn  the  consumers ;  in 
some  recorded  instances,  however,  the  taste  wras  bitter  or  at 
least  unnatural.  A  cheese  with  a  bitter,  rancid,  or  unnatural 
flavour  should,  therefore,  be  regarded  with  grave  suspicion.  If 
the  odour  is  decidedly  putrid  the  cheese  must  be  unwholesome, 
but  care  must  be  taken  not  to  confound  putridity  with  the 
peculiar  change  some  cheeses  undergo  in  the  process  of  ripen- 
ing. This  change,  which  renders  certain  kinds  of  cheese 
disgusting  to  some  persons,  causes  others  to  regard  them  as 
being  in  the  perfection  of  condition,  and  as  a  great  delicacy. 
The  method  for  detecting  tyrotoxicon  in  milk  and  cheese  will  be 
found  in  the  section  relating  to  the  examination  for  ptomaines 
and  toxins. 

NOTE. — Whilst  these  pages  have  been  passing  through  the  press  the  Medical 
Officer  of  Health  to  the  London  County  Council  has  presented  a  report,  prepared 
by  Dr.  Houston,  on  '  The  Bacteriological  Examination  of  Milk,'  in  which  he 
describes  the  processes  adopted  in  examining  about  100  samples  of  milk  from 
different  sources,  and  makes  certain  tentative  suggestions  as  to  standards.  The 
report  also  contains  diagrams  of  the  apparatus  used. 


CHAPTEE  XXIV 

UNSOUND  FOOD.   FEUIT,  VEGETABLES,  AND  COBN 

Ripe  fruits  usually  begin  to  suffer  change,  chiefly  of  a  fermenta- 
tive character,  soon  after  being  gathered,  especially  if  of  a 
pulpy  nature,  or  if  bruised,  and  readily  become  affected  by 
moulds.  If  markedly  mouldy  or  if  the  fermentative  processes 
are  advanced  the  fruit  should  be  considered  '  unsound.'  The 
conditions  under  which  a  large  proportion  of  fruit  is  gathered 
during  the  season  render  it  surprising  that  more  cases  of 
specific  disease  have  not  been  reported  as  due  to  the  fruit 
having  become  infected.  Probably  fruit  does  not  form  a 
favourable  culture  medium  for  pathogenic  germs.  The 
ordinary  fermentative  changes  which  are  observed  in  fruits 
apparently  do  not  give  rise  to  deleterious  substances,  or  not 
until  decomposition  is  so  far  advanced  that  the  fruit  is  unsale- 
able. Toxins  may  undoubtedly  be  formed  bycatabolic  changes 
in  the  proteid  constituents  of  fruit,  but,  as  far  as  we  are  aware, 
no  investigations  have  been  made  on  the  subject. 

As  mentioned  elsewhere,  preservatives  are  frequently  added 
to  fruit  and  fruit  products  to  prevent  fermentation  and  the 
growth  of  moulds.  It  is  scarcely  conceivable  that  the  spores 
either  of  moulds  or  of  bacteria  could  withstand  the  boiling 
which  the  fruit  undergoes  in  jam-making,  but  in  transferring 
from  the  pans  to  jars,  and  in  the  process  of  covering,  &c., 
yeasts,  moulds,  or  bacteria  may  gain  access,  and  in  the  absence 
of  antiseptics  set  up  fermentative  or  other  changes. 

Vegetables. — In  connection  with  vegetables  eaten  in  an 
uncooked  condition,  such  as  water-cress,  lettuce,  and  celery,  two 
classes  of  disease  have  been  reported :  namely,  typhoid  fever 


UNSOUND  FOOD.  FBUIT,  VEGETABLES,  AND  COEN  293 

and  hydatid  disease.  Many  water-cress  beds  are  liable  to  sewage 
pollution,  and  an  epidemic  of  typhoid  fever  appears  to  have 
arisen  from  water-cress  grown  in  certain  beds  in  Essex.  In 
1903  Dr.  J.  King  Warry,1  Medical  Officer  of  Health  for  Hackney, 
reported  that  110  cases  of  typhoid  fever  arose  during  the 
months  of  June,  July,  and  August,  a  considerable  proportion  of 
the  patients  having  partaken  of  water-cress  from  certain  beds. 
Two  waves  of  disease  occurred ;  in  the  first,  there  were  forty-eight 
cases  within  a  radius  of  one-third  of  a  mile  of  a  certain  centre, 
64'4  per  cent,  having  eaten  water-cress  at  a  period  fitting  in  with 
the  usual  incubation  period  of  the  disease.  The  second  wave 
involved  some  sixty-two  persons  within  a  radius  of  half  a  mile 
of  another  centre,  and  of  these  55g3  per  cent,  had  eaten  water- 
cress. It  will  be  noticed  that  the  months  (June  to  August)  are 
not  those  in  which  typhoid  fever  is  most  common,  and  some 
especial  cause  was,  therefore,  indicated.  Seventeen  different 
samples  of  water-cress  were  submitted  to  bacteriological 
examination  (six  of  them  being  derived  from  West  Ham),  and 
all  of  them  were  found  to  be  polluted  by  sewage  organisms.  A 
sample  of  water  from  one  of  the  West  Ham  beds  contained  no 
less  than  fifty  specimens  of  B.  coli  communis  per  c.c. 

Hydatid  disease,  due  to  the  cystic  form  of  Taenia 
echinococcus,  has  already  been  described.  Though  not  very 
common  in  England,  patients  so  suffering  are  admitted  from 
time  to  time  to  the  hospitals  for  operations.  It  is  obviously 
impossible  to  trace  the  exact  sources  of  infection,  but  from  the 
known  history  of  the  parasite  there  is  little  doubt  that  the  ova 
have  been  conveyed  to  some  vegetable  articles  of  food  usually 
eaten  in  a  raw  state,  such  as  water- cress  and  celery,  by  the 
faeces  of  dogs  or  other  animals,  which  act  as  hosts  to  the  tape- 
worm. 

Mushrooms  are,  in  the  autumn,  a  very  favourite  article  of 
food,  and  rarely  a  season  passes  without  cases  of  mushroom 
poisoning  being  recorded.  These  cases  differ  very  much  in 
character,  and  it  is  impossible  to  say  whether  they  arise  from 

1  Lancet,  1903,  ii.  p.  1,671. 


294  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

the  accidental  admixture  of  poisonous  fungi  with  the  true 
mushrooms  or  from  some  abnormal  quality  of  the  mushrooms 
themselves.  In  any  case  mushrooms  admixed  with  other 
fungi  of  unknown  character  should  not  be  sold,  and  mush- 
rooms presenting  decided  signs  of  decomposition  or  any  other 
abnormal  character  should  not  be  used  for  human  food.  The 
edible  mushroom,  Agaricus  campestris,  and  its  varieties,  may 
be  recognized  from  the  following  description,  and  any  fungi 
not  corresponding  thereto  should  not  be  permitted  to  be  sold  as 
mushrooms.  It  has  a  characteristic  pleasant  odour,  the  cap 
is  fleshy  and  fairly  thick  compared  with  the  gills,  and  its  upper 
white  surface  is  speckled  with  grey.  It  '  peels  '  ver)r  easily. 
The  stalk  grows  from  the  centre  of  the  cap,  and  does  not 
produce  any  milky  juice.  Upon  keeping  the  head  does  not 
become  soft  and  wet.  The  gills  vary  in  colour  from  a  pale 
yellow-brown  to  a  blackish-brown,  and  they  are  free  from  the 
stalk. 

Many  fungi  are  undoubtedly  poisonous.  Thus  the  Amanita 
muscaria,  or  fly  fungus,  contains  the  toxic  alkaloid  muscarine, 
which  is  allied  to  the  ptomaines  (vide  p.  309).  The  Amanita 
phalloides  contains  a  poisonous  principle  closely  related  to 
the  toxins.  Most  fungi  contain  a  rather  large  proportion 
of  proteid  matter,  that  in  the  edible  mushroom  averaging 
about  17  per  cent.  Possibly  in  some  cases  this  may  under- 
go a  change  with  the  production  of  ptomaines  or  toxins,  and 
as  this  change  may  not  have  occurred  in  all  alike,  certain 
mushrooms  may  be  poisonous  and  others  not.  This  would 
explain  those  cases  in  which  in  a  family  partaking  of  the 
fungus  some  members  have  afterwards  exhibited  symptoms  of 
poisoning  and  others  have  not.  Personal  idiosyncrasy  may  in 
some  instances  be  a  possible  explanation. 

In  many  cases  vomiting  and  diarrhosa  supervene  soon  after 
the  mushrooms  are  eaten,  and  the  poison  is  eliminated. 
Usually,  however,  the  symptoms  do  not  appear  for  some  hours, 
or  not  until  the  day  following.  These  symptoms  may  be  of 
the  gastro-enteric  or  neurotic  type,  or  possibly  both  may  be 


UNSOUND  FOOD.  FEUIT,  VEGETABLES,  AND  COEN  295 

present  in  the  same  patient.  Dixon  Mann  l  gives  the  follow- 
ing description  of  these  symptoms  : 

'  Gastn>enteric  symptoms  may  not  appear  for  six  or  ten 
hours  after  the  fungi  are  eaten,  and  not  unfrequently  they  are 
still  further  delayed.  A  feeling  of  uneasiness  in  the  stomach 
gradually  develops  into  pain,  with  a  hard,  tender  condition  of 
the  abdomen,  nausea  is  experienced,  and  then  vomiting,  which 
is  followed  by  diarrhoaa.  The  vomiting  and  diarrhosa  are 
not  solely  due  to  the  immediate  presence  of  the  irritant,  but  to 
the  condition  set  up  by  it  in  the  gastro-intestinal  mucous 
membrane ;  therefore  they  do  not  at  once  subside  when  all  the 
fragments  of  fungi  are  discharged.  The  enteric  derangement  is 
further  shown  by  the  character  of  the  evacuations,  which  are 
serous,  like  rice-water,  and  contain  flakes  of  lymph,  and 
sometimes  blood ;  notwithstanding  treatment,  the  diarrhosa 
and  vomiting  may  persist  for  several  days.  Great  thirst, 
prostration,  shrinking  of  the  tissues,  livid  countenance,  cold 
surface,  small  pulse,  and  laboured  respiration  are  the  natural 
results  of  the  excessive  drain  on  the  blood ;  exceptionally 
jaundice  may  occur. 

'  These  symptoms  may  directly  lead  to  death,  with  or  with- 
out the  appearance  of  any  special  nerve  complications,  or  they 
may  subside,  and  recovery  may  take  place. 

'  Neurotic  symptoms  comprise  muscular  twitchings,  general 
convulsions  or  tetanic  spasms,  delirium,  disorders  of  the 
special  senses  especially  of  vision,  with  dilatation  of  the  pupils, 
and  stupor,  or  profound  coma.  In  some  cases  the  symptoms 
are  solely  neurotic  :  such  cases  present  all  the  appearances  of 
certain  forms  of  alkaloidal  poisoning.' 

Possibly  mushrooms  may  cause  a  train  of  symptoms  of  an 
entirely  different  character,  to  which  attention  has  recently 
been  directed  by  Mr.  Jonathan  Hutchinson  in  a  letter  to  the 
'  British  Medical  Journal.'  He  says,  '  It  is,  I  believe,  generally 
supposed  that  if  a  fungus  disagrees  it  does  so  by  causing 
stomach  and  bowel  symptoms,  and  that  the  onset  of  these  is 

1  Forensic  Medicine  and  Toxicology,  p.  645. 


296  PRESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

speedy.  Neither  of  these  statements  is  true.  The  symptoms 
of  fungus  poisoning  vary  exceedingly  in  character  (as  probably 
do  the  poisons  which  excite  them),  and  it  is  a  most  peculiar 
feature  in  some  of  them  that  their  incidence  may  be  delayed 
for  very  considerable  periods.  This  latter  circumstance  ha 
no  doubt  led  to  the  non-recognition  of  the  true  cause  of  many 
attacks  of  illness  which  were  really  due  to  meals  which  had 
been  taken  several  days  previously.'  He  then  asks,  '  Putting 
aside  all  cases  of  mere  stomach  and  bowel  disturbance,  which 
are  common  enough  and  easily  assigned  to  their  causes,  have 
cases  been  met  with  frequently  during  the  last  few  months  in 
which  the  principal  symptom  has  been  severe  pain,  referred 
chiefly  to  the  walls  of  the  chest  and  abdomen,  without  sickness 
or  diarrhosa  ?  The  pain  in  the  cases  to  which  I  refer  is  very 
severe  and  peculiar,  and  is  never  described  as  griping,  and  it  is 
such  as  to  suggest  to  the  surgeon  the  passage  of  a  gall  stone, 
and  it  is  sometimes  followed  by  slight  jaundice  and  bile  in  the 
urine,  which  may  seem  to  confirm  that  suspicion.  There  is 
never,  however,  any  special  tenderness  over  the  gall  bladder, 
and  sickness  may  be  wholly  absent.  I  have  good  reason  to 
believe  that  the  whole  group  may  be  caused  by  sound  mush- 
rooms, and  that  there  may  have  been  an  interval  of  forty-eight 
hours  or  more  between  the  meal  and  the  first  occurrence  of 
pain,  during  which  time  the  unsuspecting  victim  may  have  felt 
in  perfect  health.' 

Dr.  Plo wright  believes  that  practically  all  the  deaths  which 
occur  in  this  country  from  the  eating  of  fungi  are  caused  by  the 
consumption  of  one  species,  and  one  species  only,  and  that 
they  result  from  the  mistaking  of  this  particular  species  for 
the  common  mushroom,  which  it  to  a  certain  extent  resembles. 
This  is  the  Amanita  phalloides,  already  referred  to  as  contain- 
ing a  powerful  toxin,  to  which  the  name  phallin  has  been 
given.  The  following  description  of  this  very  poisonous  fungus 
is  by  Dr.  Plowright.1  'A  phalloides  is  never  anything  else 
but  white  under  the  cap,  where  everybody  knows  the  mushroom 
1  British  Medical  Journal,  September  9,  1905. 


UNSOUND  FOOD.  FEUIT,  VEGETABLES,  AND  COEN  297 

is  pink,  purplish  brown,  or  almost  black.  On  the  top  phalloides 
is  frequently  nearly  white,  but  one  can  always  see  traces  of 
yellowish  green,  especially  about  the  margin.  The  stem  of 
the  mushroom  is  nearly  cylindrical — that  is,  nearly  as  thick 
above  as  it  is  below — but  the  stem  of  phalloides  is  always 
bulbous,  and  springs  out  of  a  cup  made  by  the  upper  part  of 
the  bulb,  the  so-called  "poison  cup."  It  peels  almost  as  well 
as  the  common  mushroom.' 

Eighteen  deaths  have  been  recorded  from  the  use  of  this 
fungus  since  1900  in  France  alone. 

Cereals. — The  parasites  which  may  affect  wheat  and  wheaten 
flour,  rendering  it  unfit  for  food,  are  of  two  classes,  animal  and 
vegetable.  Of  the  former  the  corn  weevil  (Calandra  granaria), 
the  meal  mite  (Acarus  farinas),  and  the  ear  cockle  (Vibrio 
or  Tilletia  tritici)  (Plate  VI.)  are  the  commonest.  The 
weevil  attacks  the  shell  of  the  grains  and  abstracts  the  flour 
while  the  corn  is  standing.  The  ear  cockle  likewise  affects  the 
standing  corn ;  the  grains  become  misshapen,  greenish,  and 
subsequently  black  ;  they  are  filled  with  a  white  cotton-like 
substance,  which,  when  moistened  and  examined  under  a 
microscope,  is  found  to  consist  of  the  larval  form  of  the  worm 
in  a  state  of  activity.  The  Acarus  farinae,  which  bears  a 
superficial  resemblance  to  the  Acarus  scabiei,  is  found  in  damp 
flour,  which  should  then  be  regarded  with  suspicion  as  possibly 
unwholesome. 

The  vegetable  parasites  (Plates  VI.  VII.  and  VIII.)  include 
Penicillium  glaucum,  Aspergillus  giaucus,  Mucor  mucedo, 
Puccinia  grarninis  (rust),  Ustilago  segetum  (smut),  Tilletia 
caries  (bunt),  and  Claviceps  purpurea  (ergot).  The  first  three 
common  moulds  occur  in  damp  grain,  indicating  that  it  is 
unfit  for  food.  Bust  attacks  many  varieties  of  corn.  A  spore 
attaches  itself  to  the  grain,  sending  filaments  into  the  interior 
from  which  is  developed  a  dense  mycelium,  and  as  the  result 
of  its  growth  the  cuticle  ruptures,  and  the  spores  are  found 
on  the  surface  as  'rust.'  Smut  and  bunt  attack  growing 
corn  in  a  similar  manner,  replacing  the  starch  grains  by 


298  PEESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

mycelia  and  spores.  Smut  chiefly  affects  barley  and  oats, 
and  bunt  affects  wheat.  Claviceps  purpurea,  which  attacks 
rye,  is  a  more  important  parasite  from  the  medical  point  of 
view,  as  if  present  in  any  quantity  it  is  capable  of  giving 
rise  to  ergotism.  The  ascospores  of  this  parasite  are  carried 
to  the  rye  flowers  by  the  wind,  and  form  a  mycelium 
of  delicate  hyphae  in  the  ovaries.  As  the  grain  ripens  the 
hyphae  invade  and  absorb  the  whole  of  the  starch,  until  the 
mycelial  growth  bursts  through  the  pericarp  and  appears  like 
a  spur,  two  or  three  times  the  size  of  the  rye  grain,  projecting 
from  the  spike.  It  finally  becomes  dissociated  from  the  grain 
and  falls  to  the  ground.  The  ergot  grains  are  purple  externally, 
whilst  the  interior  is  of  a  cream  colour,  consisting  of  a  dense 
network  of  hyphae.  Two  varieties  of  ergotism  are  generally 
distinguished,  the  spasmodic  or  convulsive,  and  the  gangrenous, 
according  to  the  symptoms  which  predominate.  The  first 
variety,  which  is  more  common  in  children,  is  acute  in 
character,  the  initial  vomiting  being  followed  by  colic,  purging, 
and  convulsions,  often  quickly  ending  in  death.  In  the 
gangrenous  form,  dry  gangrene,  due  to  the  action  of  ergot  on 
the  blood-vessels,  is  the  predominating  symptom,  and  may  be 
preceded  by  an  erysipelatous  flush,  and  be  accompanied  by 
intense  pain.  Ergotism  in  its  epidemic  form  is  now  almost 
extinct,  though  it  is  by  no  means  uncommon  in  Eussia.  Pel- 
lagra, occasionally  met  with  in  North  Italy,  Eoumania,  France, 
and  North  Spain,  is  due  to  the  action  of  'verdet,'  the  spores  of 
Eeticularia  ustilago,  on  maize  (Plate  VIII.) .  The  symptoms 
consist  chiefly  of  digestive  disturbances,  and  patches  of  ery- 
thema, occurring  principally  on  surfaces  exposed  to  the  sun. 
In  severe  cases  petechiae,  bullae,  and  ulcers  may  arise,  to  be 
followed  by  paralysis  of  the  limbs.  After  recurring  attacks 
melancholia  or  mania  may  supervene,  whilst  tremors  and 
epileptiform  seizures  are  not  uncommon. 

Lathyrism  is  a  rare  disease,  occurring,  among  other 
places,  in  the  departments  of  Loire  and  Chur,  in  Abruzzi, 
and  in  Allahabad.  It  is  apparently  associated  with  certain 


UNSOUND  FOOD.  FKUIT,  VEGETABLES,  AND  COEN  299 

fermentative  changes  in  the  Chick  Pea  or  allied  pulses,  the 
chief  symptoms  being  those  of  spinal  paralysis,  principally 
affecting  the  lower  part  of  the  cord. 

Formerly  it  was  not  uncommon  to  find  seeds  of  Darnel 
grass  (Plate  VII.)  mixed  with  flour,  accidentally  or  fraudulently, 
and  as  a  result  cases  of  poisoning  have  occurred,  the  symptoms 
being  giddiness,  tremors,  vomiting,  and  convulsions.  The  starch 
granules  resemble  those  of  wheat,  but  the  testas  of  the  two 
grains  show  considerable  differences.  Pure  flour,  when  mixed 
with  alcohol,  forms  a  straw-coloured  fluid,  whilst  if  Darnel 
grass  is  present,  there  is  a  greenish  solution  possessing  a  repul- 
sive taste,  and,  on  evaporation,  a  resinous  yellow-green  extract 
is  left  (Parkes). 

Mouldy  flour  (Plate  VIII.)  is  rightly  considered  to  be  unfit 
for  food,  though  as  far  as  we  are  aware  no  cases  of  illness, 
comparable  with  those  produced  by  flesh  foods,  have  been 
definitely  traced  to  spoilt  flour,  but  it  is  extremely  probable 
that  it  is  capable  of  causing  gastro-intestinal  disturbance. 
Mouldy  bread  is  known  to  have  caused  illness,  and  deaths 
have  been  attributed  to  the  use  of  mouldy  black  bread. 

Although  illness  is  rarely  traced  to  the  use  of  cereals,  it  is 
possible  that  the  omission  is  due  more  to  defective  observation 
than  to  any  immunity  from  disease-producing  powers  possessed 
by  such  foods.  In  the  Ohio  Hospital  for  Epileptics,  Gallipolis, 
U.S.A.,  an  epidemic  characterized  by  gastro-intestinal  disturb- 
ance occurred  in  1901,  218  of  the  inmates  being  affected.  The 
cause  was  believed  to  be  a  batch  of  oatmeal  which  had  been 
contaminated  by  dust  derived  from  the  road.  A  bacteriological 
examination  of  the  flour  indicated  the  presence  of  the  B.  coli 
communis  and  of  the  Proteus  vulgaris.1 

Maize,  (Plate  VIII.),  corn,  rice,  &c.,  occasionally  arrive  in 
this  country  in  an  unsound  condition,  chiefly  damaged  by  damp. 
Such  materials  may  not  be  considered  fit  for  human  food, 
but  they  are  rarely  so  affected  as  not  to  be  usable  by  cattle, 
and  their  use  for  feeding  purposes  may  be  permitted. 
1  Public  Health,  xv.  p.  279. 


300  PRESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

Meals  and  flours  may  on  occasions  require  further  exam- 
ination. There  are  many  varieties  prepared  in  this  country  or 
imported  from  abroad,  differing  in  the  degree  of  fineness  to 
which  they  are  reduced,  and  in  the  portions  which  have  been 
removed  by  sifting.  Some  also  have  been  exposed  to  heat  so 
as  to  render  more  or  less  of  the  starch  soluble,  and  instead  of 
being  reduced  to  powder  may  merely  have  been  crushed  by 
passing  between  rollers. 

A  microscopical  examination  is  only  necessary  where  the 
odour,  taste,  or  appearance  of  the  flour  indicates  something 
abnormal.  Under  a  low  power  search  may  be  made  for  meal 
mites,  Vibrio  tritici,  &c.,  and  a  little  higher  power  used  for 
the  spores  of  moulds  and  fungi.  If  any  appreciable  number  of 
the  above  organisms  are  found,  the  meal  should  be  considered 
unsound.  The  same  would  apply  if  ergot  is  detected.  Every 
flour  must  contain  some  small  proportion  of  foreign  seeds,  the 
amount  depending  upon  the  cleansing  of  the  corn.  It  is  very 
doubtful,  however,  whether  the  seeds  of  any  poisonous  weed 
can  be  present  in  such  quantity  as  to  do  harm.  No  recent 
record  of  any  such  instance  is  discoverable. 

The  cereals  and  their  flours,  whilst  frequently  attacked  by 
moulds,  do  not  appear  to  be  favourable  for  the  propagation  of 
bacilli.  Klein  and  Houston,  for  instance,  found  that  typhoid 
and  diphtheria  bacilli  and  the  vibrio  of  cholera  soon  died  off  in 
media  composed  of  the  flours  of  wheat,  oatmeal,  and  rice.1 
The  same  observers  examined  six  samples  of  wheat,  six  of  oats, 
and  two  of  rice  obtained  from  wholesale  firms.  Spores  of  B. 
enteritidis  sporogenes  were  present  in  each  case,  whilst  bacilli 
resembling  a  typical  species  of  B.  coli  communis  were  detected 
in  many  of  the  samples  of  wheat  and  oats.2  The  source  from 
which  these  organisms,  usually  considered  to  indicate  sewage 
pollution,  is  derived  is  uncertain.  Possibly  they  were  intro- 
duced through  dust  derived  from  the  streets. 

Bread  is  only  likely  to  be  unsound  from  having  been  kept 
until  stale  and  mouldy,  and  in  this  condition  is  not  likely  to  be 

1  Local  Government  Board  Report,  1900-1.  2  Ibid.  1899-1900. 


UNSOUND  FOOD.     FEUIT,  VEGETABLES,  AND  COEN  301 

exposed  for  sale,  though  it  may  become  an  ingredient  in  such 
prepared  articles  as  sausages,  when  mould,  &c.,  if  present  would 
be  detected  by  the  microscope. 

Baking  does  not  thoroughly  sterilize  bread,  and  bacteria 
and  moulds  may  be  cultivated  from  the  central  portions  of  a 
loaf.  These,  doubtless,  are  in  most  cases  derived  from  the 
flour,  but  their  number  maybe  increased  by  insanitary  methods 
of  kneading,  baking,  &c.  Cockroaches  infest  many  bakehouses, 
and  it  is  not  an  uncommon  occurrence  to  find  portions  of  these 
animals  in  bread.  Probably  such  a  condition,  implying  care- 
lessness and  want  of  cleanliness  on  the  part  of  the  baker, 
would  justify  the  opinion  that  the  bread  was  unsound. 

Fruit  unsaleable  in  the  open  market  is  frequently  sent  to 
the  jam  factory,  and  it  is  often  difficult  to  decide  whether  it  is 
wholesome  or  not.  In  transit  the  softer  fruits  become  pulpy 
and  fermentation  commences,  but  this  alone  is  not  sufficient  in 
our  opinion  to  justify  seizure.  If  a  fair  proportion  of  the  fruit 
appears  to  be  rotten,  or  mouldy,  or  infested  with  maggots,  it  is 
certainly  unfit  for  food.  During  certain  seasons  the  raspberry 
is  infested  with  the  caterpillar  of  the  raspberry  moth  (Lampronia 
rubiella),  and  the  fruit  contains  so  many  of  them,  that  one  of 
us  has  not  hesitated  to  condemn  large  quantities  of  imported 
fruit  on  this  account.  After  being  made  into  jam  it  is  impossible 
to  detect  the  presence  of  such  foreign  matter,  but  moulds 
and  their  spores  may  often  be  recognized,  the  boiling  process 
having  failed  to  effect  complete  disintegration  (Plate  VIII.). 
Probably  by  a  microscopical  examination  the  fact  that  the  jam 
had  been  made  from  mouldy  fruit  could  be  ascertained.  A 
layer  of  mould  may  have  formed  upon  the  surface  of  the  pre- 
serve, but  if  the  contents  of  the  jar  are  otherwise  sound  this 
has  no  significance ;  it  certainly  would  not  justify  seizure. 

Tinned  fruits  and  vegetables  rarely  require  microscopical  or 
bacteriological  examination,  and  it  is  well  to  remember  that 
such  fruits,  &c.,  are  not  always  absolutely  sterile.  Probably 
spores  may  have  resisted  the  action  of  the  preserving  process, 
and  so  long  as  these  have  not  developed  in  the  food,  but  have 


302  PEESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

remained  quiescent,  their  presence  does  not  necessarily  imply 
unsoundness,  and  unless  it  can  be  shown  that  they  are  spores 
of  an  organism  likely  to  injuriously  affect  the  health  of  the 
consumer,  seizure  would  be  unwarranted. 

Articles  of  vegetable  origin  rarely  require  more  than  a 
physical  examination  ;  usually  the  appearance  alone  is  sufficient 
guide,  though  where  the  normal  appearance  is  lost  there  will 
generally  also  be  some  difference  observed  in  colour,  taste,  or 
odour,  confirming  the  fact  that  the  food  has  become  unsound. 
Fruits,  dried  or  undried,  found  in  a  damaged  condition,  may  be 
unfit  for  human  consumption ;  the  greater  the  change  from  the 
normal,  the  more  likely  is  the  food  to  be  deleterious.  The 
presence  of  moulds  or  of  fungoid  growth  indicates  a  degree  of 
change  sufficient  to  render  the  food  unwholesome.  It  is  very 
difficult  to  come  to  a  decision  when  a  portion  only  of  the  fruit 
is  unsound,  as  when  a  small  number  of  the  bananas  on  a 
bunch  are  rotten,  the  remainder  being  fully  ripe.  If  there  is 
sufficient  in  a  good  condition  to  pay  for  the  whole  being 
picked  over,  there  is  no  reason  why  this  should  not  be  per- 
mitted. To  destroy,  say,  a  whole  cargo  because  a  portion 
is  bad  is  scarcely  justifiable.  Some  articles  arrive  in  this 
country  in  an  uncleansed  condition,  and  in  such  a  state  they 
are  unfit  for  use  ;  but  the  manufacturer  has  the  material  so 
treated  as  to  remove  all  the  foreign  matters,  when  the  re- 
mainder becomes  perfectly  wholesome. 


CHAPTEK  XXV 

FOOD-POISONING 

IN  the  great  majority  of  cases  flesh  food  is  seized  on  account 
of  its  exhibiting  signs  of  incipient  decomposition,  and  it  is 
frequently  found  that  this  change  is  taking  place  more  rapidly 
than  usual  because  the  animal  from  which  the  flesh  was 
derived  was  suffering  from  some  disease,  or  prior  to  slaughter 
had  been  in  a  very  exhausted  condition.  Flesh  exhibiting 
these  early  signs  of  putrefactive  change  should  be  unhesi- 
tatingly condemned,  the  risk  of  poisoning  being  too  great  for 
us  to  depend  upon  cooking  to  render  the  food  wholesome. 

It  will  be  found,  however,  in  the  following  pages,  that  on 
many  occasions  food,  apparently  perfectly  wholesome,  has  after 
cooking  developed  poisonous  properties,  and  that  preserved 
cooked  food  frequently  gives  rise  to  cases  of  so-called  '  ptomaine  ' 
poisoning.  In  fact,  most  of  the  cases  which  have  come  to  our 
knowledge  have  been  due  to  the  eating  of  tinned  meats,  but 
as  such  outbreaks,  as  a  rule,  only  infect  members  of  one 
family,  and  rarely  prove  fatal,  they  are  not  recorded,  though 
occasionally  they  are  noticed  in  the  local  press. 

Few  of  the  larger  outbreaks  of  food-poisoning  have  been 
attributed  to  preserved  foods,  but,  as  has  been  stated,  most  of 
the  smaller"  outbreaks  have  been  due  to  the  use  of  such  foods, 
tinned  meats  and  fish  being  especially  prone  to  cause  illness. 
In  probably  all  cases  this  has  been  due  to  some  change  which 
has  taken  place  in  the  food  after  it  has  undergone  the  preserving 
process,  and  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  sufficient  supervision 
can  be  exercised  to  prevent  these  cases  occurring.  It  is 
impossible  to  ascertain  whether  the  meat  was  sufficiently 


304 

sterilized,  or  whether  the  food  was  in  a  fit  state  for  consump- 
tion before  the  containing  vessels  were  sealed,  and  unless  the 
tins  are  'blown,'  the  inspector  rarely  has  any  reason  for  seizing 
them  and  making  a  further  examination.  When  the  ends  of 
the  tins  are  convex  outwards,  and  gas  issues  from  a  prick  made 
in  the  end,  the  can  being  preferably  under  water,  there  can  be 
no  question  that  some  decomposition  has  taken  place,  and  that 
the  food  is  unsound  and  should  be  seized  and  condemned.  An 
unscrupulous  dealer  may  prick  the  blown  tins,  and  after  re- 
heating, seal  them  up  again.  Any  tin  which  has  been  twice 
soldered  should  therefore  be  regarded  with  suspicion.  Where 
illness  has  been  caused  by  the  consumption  of  such  food,  the 
inspector  would  be  justified  in  purchasing  other  tins  from  the 
same  vendor  and  examining  them,  provided  there  were 
sufficient  grounds  for  assuming  that  the  meat  had  not  been 
infected  after  removal  from  the  receptacle  in  which  it  had 
been  sold. 

After  opening  the  tins  the  surface  of  the  meat  and  the 
condition  of  the  jelly  should  be  carefully  examined.  Any 
abnormal  odour  or  taste  or  appearance,  especially  if  associated 
with  liquefaction  of  the  jelly,  would  indicate  unsoundness, 
and  therefore  that  the  food  was  dangerous  for  use  by  man. 
Many  cases  of  ptomaine-poisoning  from  tinned  meats  have 
occurred  in  which  it  has  been  declared  that  nothing  abnormal 
was  observed,  but  in  other  cases  some  peculiarity  was  noted, 
such  as  a  '  soapy '  taste,  a  sickly  odour,  discolouration  of  the 
flesh,  or  liquefaction  of  the  jelly. 

Meat  from  all  kinds  of  animals  has  given  rise  to  cases  of 
poisoning.  In  many  instances,  especially  on  the  Continent, 
the  flesh  has  been  found  to  be  derived  from  an  animal  suffering 
from  disease,  but  in  the  majority  of  cases  such  an  origin  has 
not  been  traced. 

The  flesh  of  swine  is  responsible  for  a  large  number  of  the 
serious  outbreaks  of  food-poisoning  which  have  occurred  both 
in  this  country  and  on  the  Continent.  In  Germany  the  pork 
has  usually  been  consumed  in  the  form  of  sausages,  but  as 


POOD-POISONING  305 

blood  and  the  internal  organs  of  animals  are  often  used  in  the 
manufacture  of  such  delicacies  it  is  not  always  easy  to  deter- 
mine which  constituent  is  responsible  for  the  ill  effects  pro- 
duced. Dr.  Ballard  '  investigated  fourteen  outbreaks  in  this 
country.  Ten  of  these  were  due  to  pig-meat  of  one  kind  or 
another,  one  was  due  to  veal,  one  to  beef,  one  to  butchers' 
meat  (kind  unstated),  and  one  to  tinned  salmon. 

As  early  as  1888,  the  Medical  Officer  of  the  Local  Govern- 
ment Board  said  (19th  Keport,  p.  13)  :  '  The  phenomena  which 
we  speak  of  as  "  food-poisoning,"  productive  now  of  one  and 
now  of  another  sort  of  definite  malady  among  consumers  of 
certain  foods,  are  claiming,  on  ever-growing  evidence,  to  be 
regarded  as  true  infective  diseases,  as  much  so  as  scarlatina 
or  tuberculosis.'  In  other  words,  he  regarded  these  outbreaks 
as  being  due  to  the  action  of  specific  organisms,  and  Dr. 
Ballard,  as  the  result  of  his  later  investigations,  supports  this 
view,  regarding  '  the  accession  of  the  specific  bacillus  as  what 
we  commonly  call  "accidental,"  which,'  he  says,  'means  that 
in  this  case  it  comes  from  somewhere  beyond  our  present 
knowledge.'  Below  will  be  found  a  brief  account  of  the  more 
interesting  outbreaks  described  by  Dr.  Ballard.  For  more 
complete  details  the  original  report  may  be  consulted. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  of  these  outbreaks  followed 
the  use  of  tinned  meat  and  occurred  at  Oldham.  A  shop- 
keeper opened  a  7-lb.  tin  of  American  pigs'  tongues,  and 
within  half  an  hour  effected  three  sales  of  a  quarter-pound 
each,  all  from  the  top  of  the  tin.  No  more  was  sold,  since 
the  remainder  was  seized  by  the  sanitary  authority  and  used 
for  analysis  and  experiment.  All  the  persons  who  partook  of 
the  portions  sold  were  almost  immediately  nauseated,  and 
most  of  them  suffered  from  diarrho3a  and  subsequent  collapse. 
The  collapse  was  greatest  when  the  patient  suffered  least  from 
diarrhoea,  and  the  most  severe  case  was  that  of  a  person  who 
had  no  diarrhoea.  Those  who  ate  the  first  slice  of  the  meat 
suffered  most  severely.  Dr.  Klein  fed  a  number  of  animals 

1  Report  of  Medical  Officer,  Local  Government  Board,  1890. 

20 


306  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

with  the  remainder  of  the  meat  without  injury.  Dr.  Ballard  l 
therefore  concludes,  '  either  that  the  poison  that  so  severely 
affected  persons  eating  meat  from  this  tin  had  disappeared 
from  the  material  by  keeping  a  few  days,  or  it  had  been 
originally  confined  to  that  end  of  the  tin  which  was  first 
cut  from.  It  is  noteworthy  that,  in  this  case,  there  was 
something  obviously  wrong  with  the  meat,  since  it  is  stated 
that  '  one  purchaser,  finding  the  food  bad,  threw  it  away.' 

The  Whitchurch  outbreak,  also  referred  to  by  Dr.  Ballard, 
is  interesting  from  the  fact  that  roast  leg  of  pork  was  eaten 
hot  on  Sunday  for  dinner,  and  cold  for  supper,  without  pro- 
ducing illness,  but  when  eaten  cold  on  Monday  it  made  the 
people  ill.  Two  persons  died  from  its  effects  after  thirty  hours' 
illness. 

Another  interesting  outbreak  referred  to  by  Dr.  Ballard 
occurred  at  Retford,  eighty  persons  being  attacked,  one  case 
proving  fatal.  The  pork  was  made  into  pies  and  brawn. 
With  the  exception  of  one  family,  none  who  ate  of  this  food- 
stuff on  the  first  day  after  cooking  were  taken  ill,  and  none 
who  ate  it  the  fourth  day  after  cooking. 

In  the  Portsmouth  outbreak,  due  to  cold  meat  pies,  the 
pies  when  first  received  by  Dr.  Klein  proved  poisonous  to  mice, 
but  five  days  later,  when  the  material  had  become  offensive 
from  putrefaction,  they  were  no  longer  toxic. 

The  largest  and  most  extraordinary  outbreak  recorded 
occurred  in  1888  at  Middlesbrough,  when  some  hundreds  of 
persons  were  attacked  with  pleuro-pneumonia,  and  many 
died.  Ballard,  as  the  result  of  a  most  painstaking  investiga- 
tion, came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  due  to  the  use  of 
American  bacon,  all  the  samples  collected  proving  poisonous 
to  rodents. 

Ballard  suggests  that  pigs'  meat  owes  its  unenviable  pre- 
eminence as  a  cause  of  food-poisoning  to  the  fact  that  it 
furnishes  a  large  proportion  of  gelatine,  jelly  being  a  most 
favourable  medium  for  the  growth  of  pathogenic  bacteria.  His. 
1  Local  Government  Board,  Report  of  Medical  Officer,  1890. 


FOOD-POISONING  307 

final  conclusion,  on  summing  up  the  whole  matter,  is  eminently 
practical.  He  says  :  s  "What  does  it  all  indicate  as  an  efficient 
precaution  against  food-poisoning  ?  Of  course  no  one  is  likely 
to  be  hindered  by  any  fear  of  infection  from  eating  cold  ham  or 
gelatinized  food  of  any  kind,  if  he  likes  them,  But  if  we  do 
eat  ham  or  bacon,  cold  or  warm,  it  is  a  proper  precaution  to 
avoid  them  if  not  duly  cooked  throughout.  The  people  who 
chiefly  got  pneumonia  in  Middlesbrough  were  a  class  who 
habitually  only  warmed  the  bacon  they  ate,  by  slightly  toasting 
it  before  a  fire ;  they  did  not  heat  it  sufficiently  to  kill  any 
micro-organism,  and  hotel  hams  (indeed  hams  cooked  at  home 
too)  are  rarely  thoroughly  cooked.  But  the  grand  precaution 
of  all  is  the  very  commonplace  one,  signified  by  the  word 
cleanliness.  Every  factory  where  pork  is  converted  into  brawn 
or  hams  ought  to  be  so  arranged  that  light  and  a  draught  of 
air  can  penetrate  freely  everywhere  ;  there  should  be  no  corners 
where  refuse  matter  can  lodge  and  become  a  centre  for  the 
cultivation  of  morbid  micro-organisms  in  filth,  the  rise  of 
ground  air  should  be  obviated  by  cement  under  the  pavement 
or  flooring,  the  place  should  be  kept  scrupulously  clean,  and 
free  from  incursion  of  sewer  air  or  unwholesome  emanations  of 
any  kind.  Kitchens,  and  above  all  pantries  and  places  where 
food  is  stored  in  hotels,  public  refreshment  rooms,  or  pastry- 
cooks' premises,  and  in  private  houses,  should  be  similarly 
cared  for.  It  should  be  held  to  be  part  of  the  business  of  con- 
servators of  public  health  to  see  that  these  rules  are  observed, 
as  well  as  the  business  of  every  master  or  mistress  of  a 
family.' 

The  immediate  causes  of  these  epidemics  of  '  food-poisoning  ' 
have  only  been  investigated  with  any  degree  of  completeness 
in  comparatively  recent  years,  and  until  lately  the  classification 
of  the  associated  bacteria  has  been  very  imperfect ;  but  the 
work  of  Gartner,  Van  Ermengem,  Klein,  Delepine,  Durham, 
and  others,  has  thrown  a  considerable  amount  of  light  on  this 
somewhat  obscure  subject. 

All  proteid  matter,  whether  of  animal  or  vegetable  origin, 


308  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

when  suffering  decomposition  gives  rise  to  the  formation  of 
small  quantities  of  bodies  possessing  the  chemical  properties 
of  the  alkaloids,  and  to  these  chemical  entities  of  animal  origin 
the  name  of  '  ptomaines '  was  given  by  Selmi.  Those  derived 
from  the  cadaver  were  first  discovered  by  Gautier  in  1872, 
and  a  large  number  of  them  have  since  been  isolated,  and  those 
having  very  definite  chemical  or  physiological  properties  have 
received  names.  Long  before  the  actual  isolation  of  these 
alkaloids  it  had  been  remarked  that  in  many  cases  of  poisoning 
by  decomposing  or  unwholesome  meat  the  symptoms  resembled 
those  caused  by  certain  vegetable  alkaloids.  Thus,  in  1820, 
Kerner  noticed  that  persons  who  had  been  poisoned  by  eating 
certain  sausages  presented  the  symptoms  of  poisoning  by 
belladonna,  the  active  principle  of  which  is  the  alkaloid 
atropia.  Since  the  discovery  of  the  '  ptomaines  '  the  majority 
of  cases  of  food-poisoning  has  been  accredited  to  the  action  of 
these  alkaloids,  hence  the  frequency  of  so-called  ptomaine- 
poisoning.  When  this  term  is  used,  the  inference  is  that  the 
ptomaines  already  existed  in  the  food  eaten,  produced  during 
some  change  the  food  had  undergone,  and  to  such  cases, 
strictly  speaking,  should  the  term  be  restricted.  In  many 
cases,  however,  the  poisonous  substances  are  produced  after- 
wards in  the  body,  by  the  action  of  microbes  introduced  into 
the  stomach  with  the  food.  The  patient  is  as  certainly 
poisoned  in  the  one  case  as  in  the  other,  but,  the  processes 
being  different,  they  should  have  different  names.  The  former 
is  an  'intoxication,'  the  latter  an  'infection.'  Keferring  to  the 
production  of  '  ptomaines  '  and  their  virulence,  Brunton  states 
that  '  The  alkaloid  products  formed  by  the  putrefaction  of 
albuminous  substances  vary  according  to  the  stage  of  decay  at 
which  they  are  produced.  At  first  the  poisonous  action  of  these 
products  may  be  slight.  As  decomposition  advances  the  poison 
becomes  more  virulent,  but  after  a  longer  period  they  appear 
to  become  broken  up,  and  lose  to  a  great  extent  their  poisonous 
power.'  It  must  not  be  assumed,  however,  that  poisonous 
substances  are  only  formed  when  the  decomposition  is  of  a 


FOOD-POISONING  309 

putrid  character,  as  such  is  certainly  not  the  case.  Neither  is 
the  presence  of  bacteria  absolutely  essential  for  the  production 
of  ptomaines,  as  Brieger  has  isolated  an  alkaloid  from  the 
products  formed  when  fibrin  is  digested  by  means  of  pepsin, 
and  in  many  cases  of  ptomaine-poisoning  the  food  has  exhibited 
none  of  the  usual  signs  of  incipient  putrefaction.  Almost 
certainly  also  ptomaines  and  allied  substances  are  being  con- 
tinuously formed  within  the  body,  but  health  is  maintained  so 
long  as  these  are  non-toxic  or  are  not  produced  in  quantities 
greater  than  the  system  is  capable  of  eliminating. 

The  more  poisonous  ptomaines  which  have  received  names 
are  muscarine,  neurine,  choline,  mydaleine,  and  sepsine.  Accord- 
ing to  Brunton,  muscarine,  neurine,  and  choline  have  a  similar 
action,  muscarine  being  the  most  and  choline  the  least  power- 
ful. All  produce  '  salivation,  diarrhoea,  vomiting,  dyspnoea, 
paralysis  and  death.'  Mydaleine  causes  a  rise  of  temperature, 
'  dilatation  of  the  pupil,  enormous  secretion  of  tears,  saliva, 
and  sweat,  vomiting,  diarrhoea,  paralysis,  convulsions,  twitch- 
ing, dyspnoea,  coma  and  death.'  Sepsine  causes  '  vomiting, 
diarrhoea,  and  bloody  stools.'  Other  alkaloids  resembling 
atropine  and  curare  have  been  isolated,  and  from  putrid  maize 
a  substance  can  be  obtained  with  a  narcotic  and  tetanic  action, 
but  Brunton  thinks  these  effects  may  be  due  to  two  distinct 
alkaloids. 

It  is  exceedingly  doubtful,  however,  whether  the  ptomaines 
ever  occur  in  food-products  in  sufficient  quantity  to  produce 
poisonous  effects.  In  practically  all  cases,  when  a  substance  is 
being  examined  for  ptomaines,  it  is  found  that  the  liquid 
containing  them  is  far  more  poisonous  than  the  alkaloids 
isolated  therefrom,  and  many  ptomaines  which  have  been 
isolated  have  little  if  any  deleterious  effect  upon  the  system. 
It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  many  now  hold  the  opinion 
that  the  term  ptomaine-poisoning  is  a  misnomer,  and  that  the 
poisons  produced  in  food-stuffs  from  the  proteid  matter  therein 
are  not  of  the  nature  of  alkaloids.  To  these  poisons  the 
generic  term  of  '  toxins  '  has  been  applied,  and  they  appear  to 


310  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

be  more  nearly  related  to  such  active  principles  as  ricin  and 
abrin  occurring  in  certain  plants,  and  with  venin,  the  active 
principle  occurring  in  the  venom  of  various  species  of  snakes, 
the  chemical  nature  of  which  remains  as  yet  unknown. 

The  toxins  produced  by  bacteria  are  probably  not  all  of 
the  same  nature,  but  belong  to  different  groups,  some  being 
comparable  with  ferments,  and  others  with  the  albumoses, 
bodies  formed  at  an  early  stage  in  various  digestive  processes. 
Uschinsky's  researches  indicate  that  some,  if  not  all,  the  toxins 
are  synthetic  rather  than  analytic  products,  as  he  has  succeeded 
in  preparing  virulent  toxins  by  growing  bacteria  in  fluids  free 
from  proteid  matter. 

Certain  bacteria,  after  death,  are  found  to  be  extremely 
toxic,  and  in  such  cases  the  toxin  must  be  contained  within 
the  bodies  of  the  organisms.  These  are  called  '  intracellular  ' 
toxins  to  distinguish  them  from  the  toxins  found  in  the  fluids 
in  which  bacteria  are  developing. 

The  poisons  produced  in  culture  media  may  be  first  formed 
within  the  body  of  the  bacteria,  and  then  be  excreted  or  pass 
into  the  liquid  only  upon  the  death  and  disintegration  of  the 
micro-organisms  producing  them.  On  the  other  hand  the 
culture  fluid  may  become  extremely  toxic,  whilst  the  bacteria 
themselves  remain  practically  free  from  the  poison.  The 
toxins  appearing  under  such  circumstances  are  called  '  extra- 
cellular.' In  some  cases  the  toxin  contained  in  the  bodies  of 
the  bacteria  differs  in  its  properties  from  that  produced  in  the 
culture  medium,  the  organism  apparently  producing  two 
distinct  toxins,  one  intracellular  and  the  other  extracellular. 
Some  of  the  toxins — as,  for  example,  that  of  tetanus — are  in- 
comparably more  deadly  than  any  known  alkaloid.  When  in- 
troduced into  the  system  the  symptoms  of  poisoning  may  not 
occur  immediately,  in  fact  they  may  be  delayed  for  many 
hours  ;  hence  the  question  arises  whether  these  are  not  bodies 
allied  to  ferments,  possessing  little  if  any  toxic  power  in  them- 
selves, but  capable  of  the  continuous  production  of  powerful 
poisons  when  introduced  into  the  system.  At  present,  how- 


FOOD-POISONING  311 

ever,  it  is  generally  held  that  there  is  no  decisive  evidence  to 
prove  that  any  poison  is  so  produced,  and  the  delay  in  the 
production  of  symptoms  admits  of  other  explanation. 

Whatever  the  nature  of  the  poisons  it  is  evident  that  the 
pathogenic  bacteria  may  produce  them  :  (a)  in  the  food  before 
its  consumption  ;  (b)  in  the  body  after  the  food  has  been 
eaten ;  or  (c)  they  may  produce  a  certain  amount  of  poison 
in  the  food,  and  afterwards  continue  the  production  of  poison 
after  ingestion.  In  case  of  (a),  and  possibly  in  that  of  (c), 
the  poison  may  admit  of  isolation  from  the  food,  providing 
sufficient  remains  for  this  purpose,  whereas  in  (b)  no  poison 
would  be  found  in  the  food,  though  the  organism  producing 
it  might  be  detected,  and  its  ability  to  produce  ptomaines  or 
toxins  ascertained  by  experiment. 

The  symptoms  due  to  eating  food  in  a  state  of  decomposi- 
tion are  probably  caused  in  some  instances  by  the  bacterial 
products,  formed  in  the  food-material  prior  to  ingestion,  and 
therefore  are  true  '  intoxications ' ;  but  the  large  and  serious 
epidemics  of  meat-poisoning,  which  have  been  recorded  both 
in  England  and  on  the  Continent,  are  more  frequently  of 
the  nature  of  'infections.'  In  the  absence  of  a  complete 
bacteriological  and  chemical  examination  it  is  not  always 
possible  to  draw  a  distinction  between  the  two  processes,  and 
the  probability  of  both  toxins  and  organisms  being  present 
together  must  be  borne  in  mind.  The  chief  criterion  usually 
cited  for  drawing  a  distinction  between  the  two  processes  is 
the  presence  or  absence  of  an  appreciable  '  incubation  period,' 
but  this  period  in  the  case  of  certain  infections  may  not 
exceed  a  few  hours,  whilst,  in  the  presence  of  both  bacteria 
and  their  toxins,  symptoms  due  to  the  latter  may  be  noticed 
almost  immediately  to  be  subsequently  merged  into  those 
due  to  the  infection.  A  temperature  of  60°  C.  should  be 
sufficient  to  destroy  most  of  the  bacteria  known  to  be  asso- 
ciated with  meat- poisoning,  whilst  toxins  are  likely  to  be  more 
resistant,  many  of  them  retaining  their  properties  after  boiling ; 
but  it  has  frequently  been  shown  that  the  interior  of  a  pie  or 


312  PEESEEVATIVES  IN   FOOD 

other  article  of  food  may  not  reach  the  temperature  mentioned, 
even  though  the  food  has  been  subjected  to  a  process  of 
cooking,  hence  in  cooked  foods  the  ill  effects  may  be  due  to 
bacteria  which  have  escaped  the  action  of  the  heat. 

Durham  !  lays  considerable  stress  on  the  association  of  meat- 
poisoning  with  bacteria  rather  than  with  their  products ;  and 
he  points  out  that  the  dose  of  toxin  necessary  to  produce  the 
symptoms  recorded  would  require  to  be  a  large  one,  and  that  in 
nearly  every  instance  in  which  an  outbreak  has  been  investigated 
bacteriologically,  certain  special  organisms  have  been  found. 

With  reference  to  food-intoxication,  Martin 2  indicates  that 
when  putrefaction  of  meat  takes  place,  there  is  a  formation  of 
gas,  such  as  carbonic  acid,  hydrogen,  nitrogen,  sulphuretted 
hydrogen,  and  marsh  gas ;  of  acids,  such  as  formic,  acetic, 
lactic,  and  butyric  acids ;  of  ammonia,  amines,  albumoses  ; 
and  of  certain  compounds  of  the  aromatic  series,  such  as  skatol 
and  indol.  (The  so-called  ptomaines  are  alkaloidal  bodies  of 
the  amine  class.)  The  more  toxic  bodies  are  apparently  formed 
at  an  earlier  stage  than  the  substances  possessing  a  disagreeable 
odour,  and  poisons  may  therefore  be  found  in  meat  which  is 
apparently  fresh.  The  pyrexia  which  is  frequently  noticed 
Martin  regards  as  being  probably  due  to  certain  albumoses, 
which  are  also  formed  early  in  the  process  of  decomposition. 

During  recent  years  many  outbreaks  of  food-poisoning 
have  been  very  fully  investigated  bacteriologically,  and  the 
particular  bacteria  believed  to  be  responsible  for  the  pro- 
duction of  the  ptomaines  or  toxins  have  been  isolated  and  fully 
described.  The  majority  of  these  belong  to  the  group  of  which 
the  Bacillus  coli  communis  is  the  most  prominent  member. 
Unfortunately,  in  the  earlier  outbreaks,  bacteriological  know- 
ledge was  not  sufficiently  advanced  to  enable  the  bacteria 
isolated  to  be  identified. 

One  of  the  most  important  group  of  cases  is  due  to 
the  products  of  the  Bacillus  botulinus,  first  described  by 

1  British  Medical  Journal,  1898,  vol.  ii.  p.  1,797. 
-  Clifford  Allbutt,  System  of  Medicine,  vol.  ii. 


FOOD-POISONING  313 

Van  Errnengem,  which  produces  '  botulism.'  The  food  par- 
ticularly associated  with  the  disease  is  pork,  especially  in  the 
form  of  sausages.  The  bacillus  is  an  obligatory  anaerobe, 
which  forms  spores,  and  is  slightly  motile  ;  it  grows  best  in  an 
alkaline  medium,  and  at  a  temperature  between  20°  and  30°  C. 
It  ferments  glucose,  but  does  not  curdle  milk.  It  is  pathogenic 
to  monkeys,  guinea-pigs,  &c.  Its  growth  is  checked  by  common 
salt  when  present  to  the  extent  of  6  per  cent.,  and  even  the 
spores  are  said  to  be  destroyed  at  a  temperature  of  80°  C.  The 
toxin  which  it  forms,  though  extremely  virulent,  is  apparently 
rendered  inert  at  a  temperature  of  70°  C.1  The  symptoms  as 
a  rule  occur  almost  immediately  after  the  meat  is  eaten,  and 
consist  chiefly  of  malaise,  bodily  pains,  vomiting,  constipation 
and  prostration.  Diarrhosa  is  rare,  and,  if  present,  does  not 
generally  arise  till  the  second  or  third  day.  The  most  remark- 
able characteristic  is,  ho\vever,  a  more  or  less  complete  external 
or  internal  ophthalmoplegia,  leading  to  loss  of  vision,  diplopia 
or  strabismus.  Pyrexia  is  as  a  rule  absent,  and  death  may 
occur  with  symptoms  resembling  bulbar  paralysis.  The  mor- 
tality is  often  high,  sometimes  rising  to  30  or  40  per  cent.2 
Many  outbreaks  due  to  this  organism  have  been  recorded  in 
Germany,  but  it  is  probable  that  some  were  true  '  infections,' 
as  the  symptoms  often  did  not  appear  within  less  than  twelve 
hours  after  ingestion  of  the  poison  and  often  as  late  as  twenty- 
four  hours  afterwards.  It  is  noteworthy  also  that  meat  may  be 
so  affected  by  this  bacillus  as  to  be  extremely  poisonous,  without 
any  of  the  ordinary  signs  of  decomposition  being  apparent. 

In  connection  with  the  subject  of  toxins  reference  may  be 
made  to  the  views  of  Dr.  Vaughan  Harley  and  others,  that 
scurvy  is  due  to  the  consumption  of  food  which  has  undergone 
some  fermentative  change.  The  evidence  of  this  relationship 
is,  however,  by  no  means  established,  and  certain  outbreaks 
which  have  been  recorded  can  hardly  be  explained  on  these 
grounds.3 

1  Ostertag,  Handbook  of  Meat  Inspection.  J  Ibid. 

3  British  Medical  Journal,  1902,  i.  p.  10 ;  ibid.,  1905,  i.  p.  020  ;  Lancet,  1904, 
i.  p.  1,714. 


314  PRESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

The  bacilli  which  are  probably  most  frequently  associated 
with  epidemics  of  meat-poisoning  are  members  of  the  B.  coli, 
the  B.  enteritidis  (Gartner),  and  the  '  paratyphoid  '  groups. 
It  is  only  within  recent  years  that  the  characteristics  separating 
the  last  two  organisms  from  the  true  Bacillus  coli  communis 
on  the  one  hand,  and  the  Bacillus  typhosus  on  the  other,  have 
been  worked  out,  and  consequently  the  precise  class  under 
which  the  organisms,  which  have  been  isolated  in  some  of  the 
earlier  epidemics  (e.g.  Welbeck),  fall  must  remain  undecided. 
The  first  exact  bacteriological  investigation  of  meat-poisoning 
was  probably  that  made  by  Gartner  in  connection  with  an 
epidemic  at  Frankenhausen  in  1889.  Fifty-nine  persons 
became  ill  after  eating  the  meat  from  a  cow  subjected  to 
'  emergency  '  slaughter.  The  symptoms  were  severe  gastro- 
enteritis, fever  and  prostration.  The  bacillus  known  by 
Gartner's  name  was  isolated  both  from  the  meat  and  from  one 
of  the  fatal  cases.1  It  produces  a  toxin  which  is  not  destroyed 
at  the  temperature  of  boiling  water. 

An  account  of  some  of  the  bacilli  which  have  been  found 
associated  with  meat-poisoning,  together  with  their  cultural 
and  other  characteristics,  and  their  relationship  with  the 
organisms  of  psittacosis,  hog  cholera,  dysentery,  &c.,  has 
recently  been  given  in  a  paper  by  H.  de  E.  Morgan,2  and  he 
has  shown  that  bacilli  of  both  the  Gartner  and  paratyphoid 
group  can  be  isolated  from  the  excreta,  and  also  from  the 
scrapings  of  the  intestinal  mucous  membrane,  of  normal 
animals.  Bacilli  of  the  former  group  were  apparently  scanty 
but  virulent,  and  could  only  be  isolated  by  the  passage  through 
a  guinea-pig  of  a  culture  made  from  an  emulsion  of  the 
substance  under  examination,  whilst  organisms  of  the  para- 
typhoid group  were  comparatively  abundant,  and  could  be 
obtained  directly  from  cultures. 

In  addition  to  the  Frankenhausen  epidemic  already  referred 
to,  the  B.  enteritidis  has  been  proved  by  Delepine 3  to  be 

1  Ostertag,  op.  cit.  -  British  Medical  Journal,  1905,  vol.  i.  p.  1,257. 

3  Eeport  on  outbreak  of  food-poisoning  in  Derby,  1902  (Howarth  and  Delepine). 


FOOD-POISONING  315 

responsible  for  the  Derby  outbreak  of  1902,  where  pork  pies 
were  the  source  of  infection,  by  Durham l  for  the  Chadderton 
outbreak  of  1898  (veal  pies),  and  by  various  Continental 
observers  2  elsewhere. 

The  Chadderton  epidemic  may  be  taken  as  an  example  of 
this  form  of  meat-infection.  It  occurred  in  July  1898,  and 
was  in  the  first  instance  reported  on  by  Drs.  Bo  wen  and 
Ashton,3  and  subsequently  by  Dr.  Durham. 

The  number  of  cases  heard  of  in  Chadderton  was  thirty-five, 
three  of  which  were  fatal,  whilst  twelve  further  cases  with  one 
death,  occurring  in  the  neighbouring  town  of  Oldham,  were  ap- 
parently infected  from  the  same  source.  The  incubation  period 
varied  from  three  to  twenty-nine  hours,  six  to  eight  hours  being 
the  usual  period.  The  symptoms  included  vomiting,  diarrhoaa, 
griping,  thirst?,  pyrexia,  and  exhaustion.  Colitis  was  the  most 
noticeable  feature  at  the  autopsies.  The  food  implicated  con- 
sisted of  a  batch  of  veal  pies,  the  confectioner  making  in  all 
268  pies,  of  which  160  were  veal,  and  the  remainder  pork ;  the 
other  batches  were  apparently  harmless.  The  pies  were  said  to  be 
cooked  for  twenty  minutes  at  a  temperature  of  400°  to  500°  F., 
but  it  is  suggested  by  Durham  that  the  batch  concerned  was 
insufficiently  cooked,  and  that  the  interior  especially  had  failed 
to  reach  the  bacillary  thermal  death-point.  This  is  rendered 
the  more  probable  in  that  a  portion  of  the  meat  in  the  interior 
of  one  of  the  pies  examined  appeared  to  have  escaped  the 
temperature  at  which  the  albumen  should  become  coagulated. 
In  every  instance  a  period  of  about  forty-eight  hours  elapsed 
between  the  time  of  cooking  and  the  eating  of  the  pie.  Durham 
did  not  begin  his  investigations  until  too  late  a  period  to 
thoroughly  establish  the  connection  between  the  epidemic  and 
the  Bacillus  enteritidis,  but  valuable  evidence  in  this  direction 
was  obtained  from  the  fact  that  the  blood  serum  of  every  one  of 
nineteen  of  the  sufferers  examined  gave  the  specific  reaction 

1  British  Medical  Journal,  1898,  vol.  ii.  p.  1,787. 

2  '  Zur  Etiologie  der   sogenannten  Fleischvergiftungen,'    Professor  Bernhard 
Fischer,  Zeitschrift  filr  Hygiene,  vol.  xxxix.  1902 ;  Ostertag,  op.  cit. 

3  British  Medical  Journal,  1898,  vol.  ii.  p.  1,456. 


316  PEESEKVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

with  cultures  of  Gartner's  bacillus,  and  a  further  indication  that 
bacilli,  and  not  toxins,  were  responsible,  is  that  two  persons  were 
ill  after  eating  sandwiches  prepared  in  the  same  shop.  As 
Durham  points  out,  it  is  almost  inconceivable  that  sufficient 
toxin  could  be  transferred  from  the  pies  to  the  sandwiches, 
while  contamination  by  bacilli  readily  explains  the  circum- 
stance. 

Durham  also  quotes  experiments  in  which  an  ox  was 
inoculated  with  B.  enteritidis,  killed  and  partially  bled  twenty 
minutes  later.  A  few  colonies  of  the  bacillus  were  recovered 
from  the  spleen  and  liver,  but  none  could  be  detected  in  the 
flesh  nor  in  the  blood.  The  meat  was  then  kept  at  20°  C.  for 
seventy-two  hours,  after  which  the  bacilli  were  found  in  abun- 
dance, though  they  were  only  scanty  when  the  meat  was  main- 
tained at  5°  C.  Of  fifty-three  persons  who,  although  warned, 
ate  the  meat,  fifteen  became  seriously  ill. 

A  bacillus  resembling  Bacillus  coli  was  apparently 
responsible  for  an  outbreak  of  illness  in  Sheffield  in  1899. 
The  meat  implicated  was  a  6-lb.  tin  of  corned  beef :  4  Ibs. 
of  this  were  sold,  chiefly  in  quarter-pound  pieces,  and  some 
twenty-four  of  the  consumers  were  ill,  with  vomiting,  headache, 
colic,  diarrhoaa,  and  collapse.  Half  the  patients  were  children 
under  twelve,  and  one  case  proved  fatal.  The  incubation 
period  varied  from  one  to  three  and  a  half  hours.1 

Bacilli  apparently  belonging  to  the  B.  coli  group  were 
found  in  connection  with  meat  epidemics  at  Welbeck  (1880), 
Nottingham  (1881),  and  Middlesbrough  (1881),  pig  meat  being 
the  food  implicated  in  each  instance.  A  virulent  species  of 
B.  coli  was  isolated  by  Klein  in  an  outbreak  of  poisoning  at 
Mansfield  in  1896.  Potted  meat  was  the  vehicle  of  infection, 
and  265  persons  were  affected.  The  meat  was  freshly  prepared, 
not  tinned  meat,  and  was  eaten  within  a  few  days  of  cooking. 
The  incubation  period  varied  from  five  to  thirty-six  hours,  and 
the  symptoms  resembled  those  in  the  epidemics  already 
described.  A  variety  of  bacilli,  cocci,  and  yeasts  were  isolated 

1  W.  N.  Barker,  British  Medical  Journal,  1899,  vol.  ii.  p.  1,367. 


FOOD-POISONING  317 

from  the  meat,  and  of  these  two  forms — Proteus  vulgaris  and 
B.  coli — were  pathogenic  to  mice.1 

In  the  Moorseele  epidemic  (1892)  Van  Ermengem  isolated 
a  bacillus  from  the  bone  marrow  of  two  calves,  whose  flesh 
was  responsible  for  the  outbreak,  belonging  to  the  B.  enteri- 
tidis  group,  but  differing  slightly  from  Gartner's  bacillus  in  its 
staining  reactions.  It  was  pathogenic  to  calves,  apes,  dogs, 
guinea-pigs,  rabbits  and  pigeons,  and  formed  a  toxalbumen,  not 
destroyed  by  heating  to  120°  C. 

In  connection  with  an  epidemic  at  Breslau,  Flugge  obtained 
a  pathogenic  bacillus  of  theB.  coli  type  from  the  blood  of  mice 
that  had  been  fed  on  the  infected  meat.  The  bacillus  differed 
from  true  B.  coli  in  not  producing  indol,  and  in  not  coagulating 
milk.  It  was  probably  of  a  similar  nature  to  the  Moorseele 
bacillus,  and  formed  a  toxin  similarly  resistant  to  heat. 

An  allied  organism  was  isolated  by  Hoist  from  the  spleen 
and  intestinal  ulcers  of  patients  who  had  died  during  an 
epidemic  of  meat-poisoning  at  Ganstadt. 

In  a  similar  epidemic  at  Denis,  Kuborn  obtained  Staphylo- 
coccus  pyogenes  aureus,  which  he  considered  to  be  the  cause 
of  the  illness.2 

In  all  the  epidemics  we  have  mentioned,  with  the  exception 
of  that  at  Middlesbrough,  the  chief  symptoms  were  gastric  or 
intestinal  or  both.  At  Middlesbrough,  however,  the  prevailing 
lesion  was  pneumonia.  The  epidemic  was  apparently  as- 
sociated with  American  bacon,  from  specimens  of  which  Klein 
isolated  a  bacillus  capable  of  causing  pneumonia  in  rodents. 
Moreover  an  epidemic  of  pneumonia  occurred  among  monkeys, 
mice,  and  guinea-pigs,  kept  in  the  building  where  the  experi- 
mental work  was  carried  out.  The  same  bacillus  was  recovered 
from  the  organs  of  the  animals. 

It  is  a  noticeable  feature  in  the  epidemics  occurring  in 
England  that  the  history  of  the  animal  responsible  for  the 
outbreak  has  seldom  or  never  been  obtained.  This  lack  of 
information,  fostered  by  the  system  of  private  slaughter-houses, 

1  Local  Government  Board  Report,  1897,  p.  115.  -  Ostertag,  op.  cit. 


318  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

is  a  considerable  handicap  to  medical  officers  of  health,  since 
a  knowledge  of  the  kind  of  disease  likely  to  produce  these 
serious  epidemics  in  man  is  absolutely  necessary  for  the  safety 
of  the  public.  Some  light  is,  perhaps,  thrown  on  the  subject 
by  the  experiments  of  Morgan,  which  we  have  quoted,  and 
those  referred  to  by  Durham,  and  still  more  by  the  history  of 
many  of  the  Continental  outbreaks. 

In  1880  Bollinger  read  an  important  paper  before  a  medical 
society  in  Munich,  in  which  he  reviewed  all  the  principal 
cases  of  meat-poisoning  that  had  been  recorded  in  Germany 
and  adjoining  countries  up  to  that  year,  and  in  which  he 
included  the  researches  of  Siedamgrotsky  comprised  in  a 
series  of  lectures  to  veterinary  surgeons.  A  considerable 
number  of  these  instances  are  detailed  by  Ostertag,1  who 
extends  the  list  up  to  the  year  1898,  and  it  is  from  his  book 
that  the  accounts  of  the  following  outbreaks  are  derived. 

The  majority  were  due  to  the  ingestion  of  meat  from 
animals  which  had  suffered  from  septic  conditions.  In  1867 
an  epidemic  characterized  by  vomiting,  diarrhoea,  stupor, 
headache,  delirium,  and  prostration,  affected  twenty-seven 
persons  in  Fluntern,  Switzerland,  after  eating  veal  from  a  calf 
five  days  old  which  had  '  yellow  water  '  in  the  joints — probably 
a  form  of  congenital  pyaemia.  Similar  symptoms  occurred 
in  an  outbreak  in  Bregenz  in  1874,  the  meat  being  derived 
from  a  cow  that  had  been  subjected  to  emergency  slaughter 
five  days  after  parturition,  on  account  of  injuries  to  the  sexual 
organs  and  retention  of  the  placenta.  Fifty-one  persons  were 
affected,  the  liver  being  apparently  more  toxic  than  the  muscles, 
but  both  the  meat  and  broth  made  from  the  meat  were  re- 
sponsible for  many  of  the  cases.  In  Wurzen  (1877)  no  less  than 
206  persons  were  poisoned  by  the  meat  of  a  cow  which  was 
slaughtered  in  a  moribund  condition  on  account  of  mammitis 
and  paralysis  of  the  posterior  extremities.  The  meat  was 
eaten  partly  raw,  partly  cooked,  partly  as  sausages,  and  partly 
as  pickled  meat,  within  four  days  after  slaughter.  The 

1  Op.dt. 


FOOD-POISONING  319 

symptoms  resembled  those  of  cholera.  A  still  larger  epidemic 
occurred  in  Klaten  (1878),  657  persons  being  affected,  with  six 
deaths.  The  outbreak  was  ascribed  to  the  meat  of  a  calf  one 
week  old,  which  had  either  died  or  had  been  slaughtered  during 
the  death  agony.  Two  interesting  points  in  this  epidemic 
were  that  the  veal  appeared  to  have  transmitted  the  infection 
to  hams  which  had  been  stored  alongside,  and  that  secondary 
cases  occurred,  the  infection  being  derived  from  the  primary 
cases.  This  suggests  that  the  illness  was  an  infection  and  not 
an  intoxication. 

In  1887  an  extensive  outbreak  of  poisoning  occurred  in 
Middleburg,  Holland,  affecting  286  persons.  The  meat  was 
derived  from  a  cow  which  was  slaughtered  in  a  moribund 
condition,  the  placenta  having  been  retained  for  nine  days  and 
having  set  up  septic  metritis.  Cooking  did  not  destroy  the 
poisonous  substance,  and  the  effects  appeared  after  periods 
varying  from  twelve  hours  to  one  or  two  days  after  ingestion. 
An  outbreak  occurred  in  Cotta,  Saxony  (1889),  affecting  136 
persons,  with  four  deaths.  The  meat  is  said  to  have  been 
normal  in  appearance  and  odour,  and  was  derived  from  a  cow 
subjected  to  emergency  slaughter  on  account  of  mammitis. 

An  epidemic  characterized  by  gastro-enteritis,  and  affecting 
forty  persons,  occurred  in  Bulstringen  (1898),  and  was  due  to 
veal  from  a  calf  that  had  been  the  subject  of  inflammation  of 
the  joints  and  diarrhoea. 

Next  comes  a  group  of  cases  in  which  poisoning  resulted 
from  the  flesh  of  animals  slaughtered  on  account  of  ill-defined 
diseases  characterized  by  diarrhoea.  Amongst  these  may  be 
mentioned  an  outbreak  at  St.  Georgen,  near  Friedrichshafen, 
affecting  eighteen  persons,  the  incubation  period  being  two  to- 
three  hours ;  an  outbreak  at  Lauterbach  in  1884,  causing  three 
deaths  ;  an  epidemic  in  Schonenberg,  Switzerland,  in  1886, 
affecting  about  fifty  persons,  with  one  death ;  a  similar 
epidemic  in  Frankenhausen  in  1889,  with  fifty-nine  cases  and 
one  death.  In  this  instance  the  cooked  meat  was  injurious. 
When  the  cow  was  slaughtered  the  only  abnormal  condition 


320  PEESEEVATIVES  IN   FOOD 

found  was  a  slight  reddening  of  the  intestines.  An  outbreak  at 
Piesenkam  occurred  in  1891,  due  to  the  flesh  of  a  cow  which 
had  suffered  from  gastritis,  enteritis,  and  cystitis.  In  the 
interesting  epidemic  which  occurred  in  Moorseele,  Belgium, 
in  1892,  in  which  about  eighty  persons  were  affected  after 
eating  veal,  the  chief  symptoms  were  vomiting,  diarrhoea,  and 
lassitude.  The  meat  came  from  two  calves,  one  of  which  had 
died,  and  the  other  had  been  slaughtered  while  in  a  diseased 
condition.  Both  calves  had  suffered  from  acute  diarrhoea,  and 
the  intestines  were  of  a  dark-red  colour,  and  the  livers  were 
swollen ;  the  muscles  appeared  to  be  normal.  The  meat  was 
eaten  within  twenty-four  hours  of  slaughter,  and  it  is  said  in 
every  case  in  a  well-cooked  condition.  The  incubation  period 
varied  from  three  to  twenty-four  hours,  though  in  one  case  at 
least  forty-eight  hours  elapsed.  In  the  Canton  of  Thurgau 
(1896)  an  epidemic  of  gastro-enteric  catarrh  affecting  a  number 
of  persons  was  traced  to  cooked,  pickled,  and  smoked  pork, 
derived  from  animals  slaughtered  on  account  of  a  reddening  of 
the  skin  and  diarrhoea.  In  the  same  year  forty-one  persons 
suffered  from  symptoms  resembling  Cholera  nostras  in  Sielkeim, 
East  Prussia,  the  cause  being  traced  to  the  flesh  of  two  three- 
month-old  calves  slaughtered  on  account  of  diarrhoea  associated 
with  great  depression.  In  the  following  year  (1897)  an  epidemic 
characterized  by  similar  symptoms  affected  forty-one  persons  in 
Kalk,  near  Cologne.  The  implicated  meat  was  from  a  cow 
slaughtered  on  account  of  diarrhoea  and  general  malaise. 
Illness  was  caused  by  the  meat  in  both  a  raw  and  cooked 
condition. 

As  regards  the  more  specific  diseases,  Ostertag  mentions 
several  instances  in  which  ill  results  followed  the  consumption 
of  the  meat  of  animals  suffering  from  foot-and-mouth  disease 
or  its  sequelae,  but  the  symptoms  of  the  victims  resembled  those 
described  in  the  other  epidemics. 

Localized  outbreaks  of  so-called  ptomaine -poisoning  are 
recorded  almost  weekly,  especially  during  the  summer  months, 
and  deaths  so  frequently  occur  that  no  excuse  is  needed  for  the 


FOOD-POISONING  321 

somewhat   lengthy  reference   which   has  been  made   to   this 
subject. 

The  histories  of  these  outbreaks  form  a  sufficient  ground 
for  regarding  with  grave  suspicion  the  flesh  of  animals  which 
have  been  slaughtered  on  account  of  the  presence  of  some 
serious  disease.  Bacteriology  has  shown  us  that  few  of  the 
bacterial  diseases  in  man,  formerly  regarded  as  local,  are  in 
fact  really  so,  and  we  may  perhaps  picture  the  steps  leading  up 
to  an  epidemic  of  food-poisoning  as  follows.  A  cow  or  pig  is 
attacked  with  diarrhrea,  possibly  due  to  the  Bacillus  enteritidis, 
or  an  allied  species,  and  some  of  the  bacilli  enter  the  general 
blood  stream.  The  animal  is  slaughtered,  and  the  flesh 
possesses  the  normal  appearance.  Probably  at  this  stage  no 
bacilli  can  be  detected  in  the  muscles,  but  a  rapid  multiplica- 
tion takes  place  after  death,  when  the  circulation  has  ceased. 
The  meat  is  cooked  or  made  into  pies,  or  pickled  ;  the  process 
is  insufficient  to  destroy  the  bacilli  in  the  interior,  and  an 
epidemic  results ;  or  it  may  be  that  whilst  the  bacilli  have  been 
killed  the  toxins  produced  have  escaped  destruction,  and  these 
may  be  present  in  sufficient  quantities  to  produce  poisonous 
effects. 


21 


CHAPTEK   XXVI 
FOOD-POISONING  (continued).    EXAMINATION  OF  THE  FOOD 

WHEN  a  sample  of  food  alleged  to  be  toxic  is  submitted  for 
chemical  examination,  most  careful  inquiries  should  be  made 
with  reference  to  its  source,  the  quantity  consumed  by  the 
individuals  affected,  the  intervals  between  the  partaking  of  the 
food  and  the  onset  of  the  symptoms  of  poisoning,  and  the 
character  of  these  symptoms.  If  considerable  quantities  of 
food  were  required  to  produce  the  ill  effects,  and  it  had  been  in 
contact  with  any  metallic  vessel,  the  possibility  of  the  poison 
being  derived  therefrom  might  receive  consideration,  especially 
if  the  symptoms  corresponded  with  those  due  to  arsenic, 
lead,  copper,  tin,  or  zinc.  It  is,  however,  as  we  have  stated 
elsewhere,  absurd  to  attribute  the  poisonous  effect  to  these 
metals  because  a  trace  can  be  detected  in  the  food ;  and  if  only 
small  quantities  of  the  particular  food  submitted  were  required 
to  cause  illness,  the  probability  of  this  being  due  to  metallic 
contamination  may  be  at  once  dismissed.  The  methods  of 
detecting  and  estimating  the  various  inorganic  poisons  which 
may  occur  in  foods  from  the  process  of  manufacturing,  pre- 
serving, or  from  colouring,  will  be  described  in  a  later  section ; 
it  remains  only,  therefore,  to  deal  with  the  method  of  examina- 
tion to  be  followed  when  the  poison  is  suspected  to  be  of 
bacterial  origin. 

The  following  facts  must  be  borne  in  mind  in  making  such 
an  investigation,  and  in  forming  an  opinion  from  the  results 
obtained :  (1)  That  the  poison  may  not  be  uniformly  dis- 
tributed throughout  the  whole  mass ;  (2)  that  changes  may 
have  occurred  in  the  food  since  the  poisonous  portion  was 


FOOD-POISONING.     EXAMINATION  OF  THE  FOOD    323 

eaten,  whereby  the  toxic  principle  has  been  destroyed  ;  (3) 
that  any  process  requiring  the  use  of  acids  or  the  aid  of  heat 
is  likely  to  produce  traces  of  substances  giving  many  of  the 
reactions  of  '  ptomaines  ' ;  (4)  that  results  obtained  by  experi- 
ments on  animals  are  not  conclusive  proof  that  the  same 
results  would  be  obtained  with  man ;  (5)  that  it  is  a  waste  of 
time  conducting  any  chemical  investigation  unless  a  consider- 
able amount  of  material  is  at  disposal ;  (6)  that  many  chemicals 
used,  especially  alcohol,  ether,  and  chloroform,  may  contain 
traces  of  basic  substances  giving  alkaloid  reactions.  These 
solvents  should  therefore  never  be  used  as  purchased  without 
previously  undergoing  careful  examination. 

Before  commencing  the  chemical  examination,  feeding 
experiments  should  be  made  to  ascertain  whether  the  substance 
contains  a  poison  or  not,  and  to  obtain  an  idea  of  its  action 
and  virulency.  Mice  may  be  used  for  this  purpose,  or  kittens, 
or  both.  Babbits  and  guinea-pigs  are  not  suitable,  since  these 
animals  cannot  vomit.  The  fact  of  the  food  being  poisonous 
having  been  demonstrated,  an  attempt  may  be  made  to  isolate 
the  toxic  substance,  ptomaine  or  toxin. 

Processes  have  been  devised  for  isolating  ptomaines  by 
Stas-Otto,  Dragendorff,  Brieger,  Gautier,  Etard,  and  others, 
but  the  Stas-Otto  method,  with  proper  skill,  is  undoubtedly 
the  most  reliable. 

The  substance  to  be  examined  is  treated  with  twice  its 
volume  of  90  per  cent,  alcohol.  If  solid,  or  semi-solid,  it  must 
first  be  minced  or  triturated  into  a  paste.  Enough  tartaric 
acid  is  then  added,  if  necessary,  to  give  the  liquid  a  slight,  but 
distinctly  acid  reaction,  and  the  whole  digested  with  frequent 
agitation  at  a  temperature  not  exceeding  70°  C.  for  several 
hours.  The  liquid  portion  is  filtered  and  evaporated  in  a 
partial  vacuum  at  a  temperature  not  exceeding  35°  C.  The 
residue  is  exhausted  with  absolute  alcohol,  the  solution  filtered 
and  again  evaporated  with  the  same  precautions  as  before. 
The  residue  is  now  dissolved  in  a  little  water,  filtered  if 
necessary,  rendered  slightly  alkaline  with  sodium  carbonate, 


324:  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

exhausted  with  pure  ether,  and  the  ether  allowed  to  evaporate 
spontaneously.  The  residue  can  now  be  tested  for  ptomaines, 
or,  if  thought  desirable,  further  purification  may  be  attempted 
by  redissolving  the  residue  in  water,  again  extracting  with 
ether,  &c. 

To  small  portions  of  the  aqueous  solution  the  following 
reagents  may  be  applied,  and  the  reaction  obtained  recorded. 
Unless  the  first  two  reagents  give  a  distinct  precipitate, 
ptomaines  are  either  absent  or  present  in  infinitesimal 
quantities :  potassium  bismuthic  iodide,  potassium  mercuric 
iodide,  phospho-tungstic  acid,  phospho-molybdic  acid,  picric 
acid,  tannin,  iodine,  platinic  chloride,  and  gold  chloride.  If  it  is 
desired  to  ascertain  whether  the  ptomaines  correspond  with 
any  previously  described,  reference  may  be  made  to  the  tables 
in  Vaughan  and  Novy's  work  on  '  Cellular  Toxins  '  or  to 
Brieger's  on  'Ptomaines.' 

To  examine  for  toxins,  a  filtered  aqueous  extract  of  the  food- 
product  is  evaporated  to  a  small  bulk  in  a  vacuum  apparatus 
at  a  very  low  temperature,  and  the  liquid  supersaturated  with 
crystals  of  ammonium  sulphate.  After  standing  in  a  shallow 
dish  for  twelve  hours  at  a  temperature  of  37°  C.,  a  film  or  scum 
will  be  found  upon  the  surface  of  the  fluid.  This,  which 
contains  the  toxin,  can  be  removed  by  means  of  a  platinum 
spatula,  placed  on  a  watch-glass  and  dried  in  the  dark  over 
sulphuric  acid,  preferably  in  vacuo.  The  residue  dissolved  in 
water,  or,  better  still,  in  normal  saline  solution,  can  be  used 
for  experiments  on  animals  or  for  the  application  of  chemical 
reagents. 

The  toxins  are  amorphous,  nitrogenous  substances,  ap- 
parently incapable  of  forming  crystalline  compounds,  yet  they 
are  dialyzable.  They  are  insoluble  in  ether  and  alcohol,  and 
from  an  aqueous  solution  they  are  precipitated  by  alcohol  and 
by  saturation  with  certain  neutral  salts.  They  readily  undergo 
decomposition  in  the  presence  of  acids  and  alkalies.  Many 
are  destroyed  at  a  temperature  far  below  100°  C.,  and  even 
exposure  to  light  may  exert  a  destructive  influence.  If,  there- 


FOOD-POISONING.     EXAMINATION  OF  THE  FOOD   325 

fore,  by  the  process  above  mentioned,  a  poisonous  principle  is 
isolated,  containing  nitrogen  and  possessing  the  above-men- 
tioned properties,  it  must  be  assumed  to  be  or  to  contain  a 
'  toxin.' 

Tyrotoxicon,  the  poisonous  principle  first  obtained  by 
Vaughan  from  cheese,  and  since  obtained  from  milk,  ice-cream, 
&c.,  is  not  a  true  toxin  but  a  diazo-benzene  compound  of  very 
unstable  character.  Vaughan  states  that  it  may  disappear  in 
twenty-four  hours  from  a  sample  of  milk  rich  in  the  poison  if 
it  is  allowed  to  stand  in  an  open  beaker.  It  is  decomposed  in 
water  at  a  temperature  of  90°  C.,  and  at  ordinary  temperatures 
sulphuretted  hydrogen  reduces  it,  and  acids  decompose  it  into 
phenol  and  nitrogen.  It  may  be  formed  artificially  by  the 
action  of  nitrous  acid  on  aniline  salts.  Its  most  stable  and 
characteristic  compound  is  formed  by  the  action  of  potassium 
hydrate  on  the  nitrate — 

C6H5N20  .  N02  +  2KOH  =  C6H5N2OK  +  KN03  +  HaO. 

This  compound  crystallizes  readily  in  colourless,  pearly,  six- 
sided  plates  or  prisms.  These  are  insoluble  in  ether,  but  soluble 
in  water,  and  the  aqueous  solution  gives  a  white  precipitate 
with  silver  nitrate.  Acetic  acid  decomposes  it  into  phenol  and 
nitrogen,  the  phenol  being  recognized  by  the  bromine  and 
other  tests.  With  a  mixture  of  sulphuric  acid  and  phenol  in 
equal  parts  it  gives  a  green  colour.  It  does  not  decompose  at 
a  temperature  below  130°  C. 

Vaughan's  process  for  the  detection  of  tyrotoxicon  in  milk  is 
as  follows : — The  acidified  milk  is  filtered  and  neutralized  with 
sodium  carbonate,  agitated  with  an  equal  volume  of  ether, 
allowed  to  stand  in  a  stoppered  cylinder  for  twenty-four  hours, 
the  ether  removed,  and  permitted  to  evaporate  spontaneously  in 
an  open  dish.  The  aqueous  residue  is  acidified  with  nitric  acid, 
then  heated  with  an  equal  volume  of  a  saturated  solution  of  potas- 
sium hydrate,  and  the  whole  concentrated  on  the  water-bath. 
On  being  heated  the  mixture  becomes  yellowish  brown  and 
emits  a  peculiar  a-romatic  odour.  On  cooling  the  tyrotoxicon 


326  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

compound  forms  beautiful  six-sided  plates,  and  these  are  found 
along  with  prisms  of  potassium  nitrate. 

In  applying  the  sulphuric  acid  and  phenol  test  the  green 
colour  will  not  be  obtained  unless  the  pure  crystals  are  used  ; 
with  the  impure  crystals  obtained  as  above  an  orange-red 
colour  is  produced.  The  ether  residue  may  be  used  for  this 
test.  Vaughan  states  that  the  physiological  test  should  always 
be  applied,  as  certain  of  the  tyrotoxicon  reactions  may  be  ob- 
tained from  cheese  and  milk  which  are  not  poisonous. 

The  detection  of  the  bacteria  to  which  the  poisoning  may 
be  attributed  is  in  all  cases  a  very  difficult  matter,  and  one 
which  cannot  be  undertaken  with  any  prospect  of  success  by 
any  but  expert  bacteriologists,  with  a  well-equipped  laboratory, 
and  who  have  a  licence  to  experiment  upon  animals.  Each 
investigation  is  in  fact  an  original  research,  and  may  at  any 
stage  require  some  original  method  of  treatment.  The  recent 
observations  of  Durham  l  and  Morgan  2  seem,  however,  to 
indicate  that  the  specific  organisms  are  in  most  cases  members 
of  the  group  which  includes  the  B.  typhosus,  B.  enteritidis  of 
Gartner,  B.  coli,  and  the  paratyphoid  bacilli,  all  of  which  are 
usually  associated  with  excremental  matter,  and  Durham 
thinks  that  the  B.  enteritidis  surpasses  all  others  in  importance, 
since  it  has  been  found  more  frequently  than  any  other  bacillus 
in  the  cases  of  food-poisoning  recently  investigated. 

In  conducting  such  an  investigation  the  earlier  it  is  com- 
menced the  more  likely  it  is  to  be  successful,  since  the  patho- 
genic bacteria  may  possibly  not  survive  for  any  lengthened 
period  when  once  the  organisms  of  putrefaction  begin  to 
multiply.  For  the  examination  it  is  not  only  desirable  to 
have  specimens  of  the  implicated  food,  but  in  case  of  the  death 
of  a  patient  small  portions  of  the  kidney,  liver,  spleen  and 
heart  blood  should  be  secured  if  possible.  Durham  suggests 
that,  where  the  usual  swabs  and  serum  tubes  used  for  diphtheria 

1  '  Outbreaks  due  to  Meat  Poisoning,'  British  Medical  Journal,  December  17, 
1898. 

*  '  The  Micro-organisms  of  Meat  Poisoning,'  British  Medical  Journal,  June  10, 
1905. 


FOOD-POISONING.     EXAMINATION  OF  THE  FOOD    327 

cultivations  are  at  hand,  '  cultures  should  be  made  from  the 
liver,  spleen,  kidney,  and  heart  blood  (after  searing  the 
surface  of  the  organs  with  a  red-hot  poker)  within  ten  or 
twelve  hours  of  death,  earlier  if  possible,'  and  that  '  small 
portions  of  the  organs — not  more  than  one-quarter  inch  thick 
— should  be  put  into  rectified  spirit  for  microscopic  examina- 
tion.' He  recommends  also  that  the  spleen,  kidney,  and  a  piece 
of  liver  should  be  cut  out  with  proper  precautions,  placed  at 
once  in  separate  cloths  wetted  with  O2  per  cent,  mercuric 
chloride  solution,  each  separately  folded  in  gutta-percha  tissue, 
and  each  placed  in  a  tin  (tobacco  tins).  The  tins  are  then  to 
be  packed  in  ice  and  salt  and  at  once  despatched  to  the 
laboratory.  Samples  of  the  food  wrapped  in  tissue  and  packed 
in  tins  should  be  sent  at  the  same  time  in  the  case  containing 
the  freezing  mixture. 

It  would  be  advisable  to  make  cultures  from  the  blood,  from 
the  organs  above  mentioned,  and  from  the  food  on  a  number 
of  plates  containing  Drigalski's  nutrose-litmus-lactose-neutral- 
red  medium  at  the  earliest  possible  moment.  This  medium 
would  enable  the  operator  without  loss  of  time  to  single  out 
the  colonies  bearing  a  resemblance  to  those  produced  by  the 
Gartner,  typhoid,  or  colon  bacillus  for  further  examination. 


PART  Y 

CHAPTEK    XXVII 

DETECTION  AND  ESTIMATION  OF  PEESERVATIVES 
BOBIC  ACID 

Qualitative  Tests. — It  is  always  desirable  to  perform  a  pre- 
liminary experiment  to  ascertain  whether  boron  compounds 
are  present  or  not,  before  making  a  quantitative  examination, 
and  there  are  two  tests  which  are  generally  applicable,  and 
which,  if  properly  performed,  are  reliable :  namely,  the  pro- 
duction of  a  green-coloured  flame  in  burning  alcohol,  and  the 
characteristic  reaction  of  boric  acid  with  turmeric  paper.  The 
latter  is  far  more  delicate  than  the  former. 

The  Flame  Test. — The  ash  of  the  material,  prepared  as 
described  in  the  first  quantitative  test,  is  rendered  strongly 
acid  with  a  little  sulphuric  acid  and  hydrochloric  acid  (the  two 
acids  together  render  the  test  more  delicate  than  either  alone), 
and  placed  in  a  test  tube  with  a  little  alcohol.  The  mouth 
of  the  tube  is  plugged  with  a  rubber  stopper  through  which 
passes  a  short  piece  of  narrow  tubing.  The  liquid  is  then 
boiled  and  the  escaping  alcohol  vapour  ignited.  The  pro- 
duction of  a  green  flame  indicates  the  presence  of  boric  acid. 
Greater  delicacy  is  attained  if  the  experiment  is  conducted  in 
a  nearly  dark  room. 

Turmeric  Test. — The  ash  or  extractive  (free  from  fat)  is 
acidulated  with  a  little  dilute  hydrochloric  acid,  and  a  strip  of 
turmeric  paper  is  immersed  therein  and  warmed  for  a  few 
minutes.  The  paper  is  then  removed,  pressed  between  sheets 
of  blotting-paper,  and  dried  at  a  low  temperature.  If  boric 


DETECTION  AND  ESTIMATION  OF  BOEIC  ACID,  ETC.    329 

acid  is  present  the  paper  will  assume  a  characteristic  red 
colour,  changing  to  blue-green  after  moistening  with  an  alkali. 
The  presence  of  O01  per  cent,  of  boric  acid  in  the  liquid  may 
be  detected  by  this  method. 

Quantitative  Tests.  — If  the  amount  of  boric  acid  present 
is  likely  to  be  small,  one  of  the  following  colorimetric  tests 
should  be  employed  for  its  estimation  ;  but  if  fairly  abundant, 
a  volumetric  process  will  give  more  reliable  results. 

(a)  Colorimetric  Methods  of  Determination  :  Hebebrand's 
Process.1 — Especially  applicable  for  fruits,  fruit  juices,  &c., 
containing  minute  quantities  of  boric  acid  or  borates. 

Twenty-five  to  30  grammes  of  the  liquid  is  mixed  with 
5  c.c.  of  a  10  per  cent,  solution  of  calcium  acetate  (or  calcium 
chloride),  evaporated  to  dry  ness,  and  the  residue  ignited  until  free 
from  carbon.  The  ash  is  dissolved  in  the  smallest  possible  quan- 
tity of  hydrochloric  acid,  diluted  with  a  little  water,  and  made 
faintly  alkaline  to  litmus  by  the  addition  of  a  dilute  solution  of 
caustic  soda.  The  mixture  is  boiled,  and  the  precipitate  filtered 
out  and  wrashed.  The  filtrate  is  evaporated  to  dryness,  the 
residue  treated  first  with  5  c.c.  of  dilute  hydrochloric  acid,  and 
afterwards  with  15  c.c.  of  absolute  alcohol,  and  to  this  15  c.c.  of 
dilute  hydrochloric  acid  is  added,  and  the  mixture  cooled.  This 
contains  practically  all  the  boric  acid  in  the  liquid  taken,  free 
from  iron,  phosphates  and  other  possibly  interfering  substances, 
and  upon  the  addition  of  0-2  c.c.  of  a  turmeric  solution 
(1  gramme  to  1  litre  of  50  per  cent,  alcohol)  a  colour  is  developed, 
the  depth  of  which  corresponds  approximately  to  the  amount  of 
boric  acid  present.  The  tint  produced  is  compared  with  similar 
acid  solutions  containing  known  quantities  of  boric  acid. 

Cassal  and  Gerran's  Method.2 — When  a  solution  contain- 
ing boric  acid  is  evaporated  to  dryness  with  a  little  turmeric 
solution  and  oxalic  acid  a  magenta  colour  is  produced,  and  upon 
this  reaction  the  method  to  be  described  is  based,  the  depth  of 
the  colour  varying  approximately  with  the  amount  of  boric 
acid  present.  Fifteen  to  20  grammes  of  the  milk,  fruit  juice, 

1  TJie  Analyst,  vol.  xxviii.  p.  37.  2  Ibid.,  vol.  xxviii.  p.  36. 


330  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

or  other  liquid  to  be  examined  is  rendered  alkaline  with 
barium  hydrate,  evaporated  to  dryness  in  a  platinum  basin  on 
a  paraffin  bath  at  105°  C.,  the  residue  charred,  acidified  with 
hydrochloric  acid,  extracted  with  hot  water  (70  to  80  c.c.),  and 
the  solution  filtered.  The  filter  paper  and  contents  are  rendered 
alkaline  with  barium  hydrate,  ignited  and  extracted  with 
acidified  water,  and  the  filtrate  added  to  that  obtained  from  the 
carbonaceous  residue  and  made  up  to  100  c.c.  An  aliquot 
portion  of  this,  one-tenth,  is  added  to  10  to  15  grammes  of 
clean  white  sand  in  a  porcelain  basin,  the  mixture  made 
alkaline  with  baryta  water,  and  evaporated  to  dryness  on  the 
paraffin  bath.  The  sand  is  then  rendered  acid  with  a  few 
drops  of  very  dilute  hydrochloric  acid,  2  c.c.  of  a  saturated 
solution  of  oxalic  acid  and  2  c.c.  of  a  solution  of  turmeric  (O'l  per 
cent.)  are  added,  and  the  mixture  again  evaporated  to  dryness. 

To  collect  the  small  amount  of  boric  acid  which  may  be 
lost  during  the  evaporation,  the  basin  is  covered  with  a  funnel 
connected  with  a  series  of  potash  bulbs  containing  a  few  cubic 
centimetres  of  baryta  water,  and  air  is  aspirated  until  the  sand 
is  dry.  The  colouring  matter  in  the  sand  is  finally  extracted 
with  alcohol  and  the  solution  filtered.  The  liquid  in  the 
potash  bulbs  is  then  neutralized,  and  the  colouring  matter 
extracted  with  alcohol,  and  mixed  with  that  previously  ob- 
tained. The  liquid  is  diluted  in  a  tube  to  a  definite  volume, 
say  25  c.c.,  and  compared  with  that  obtained  from  standards 
containing  known  quantities  of  boric  acid.  This  method  is 
probably  more  delicate  than  that  of  Hebebrand,  but  it  is  very 
tedious,  and  not  likely  therefore  to  take  the  place  of  the  latter 
or  the  more  simple  volumetric  process  next  to  be  described. 

(6)  Volumetric  Methods  of  estimating  Boric  Acid. — The  only 
volumetric  methods  which  are  generally  applicable  are  based 
upon  that  devised  by  E.  J.  Thomson,  in  which  the  solution 
containing  boracic  acid  is  made  neutral  to  methyl-orange,  a 
quantity  of  glycerine  added,  and  the  liquid  titrated  with 
standard  soda  solution,  phenol-phthalein  being  used  as  the 
indicator.  On  the  addition  of  the  glycerine  the  liquid  becomes 


DETECTION  AND  ESTIMATION  OF  BOEIC  ACID,  ETC.    331 

acid,  the  amount  of  acid  liberated  corresponding  to  that  of  the 
boric  acid  present ;  hence,  using  a  decinormal  solution  of  soda, 
1  c.c.  will  represent  3'5  mlgm.  of  B203,  6-2  mlgm.  of  H3B03, 
or  9-55  mlgm.  of  crystallized  borax,  Na2B4O7  +  10H20.  The 
presence  of  phosphates  vitiates  the  results,  since  the  di-hydric 
phosphates  are  neutral  to  methyl-orange  but  acid  to  phenol- 
phthalein.  The  glycerine  used  should  give  a  pink  colour  with 
phenol-phthalein  upon  the  addition  of  a  single  drop  of  the 
decinormal  soda  solution ;  if  more  than  this  is  required  the 
necessary  correction  must  be  made. 

Estimation  of  Boric  Acid  in  Butter. — Thomson's  method 
as  modified  by  Richmond  and  Harrison  can  be  applied  to  butter. 
The  percentage  of  water  in  the  butter  having  been  determined, 
weigh  about  25  grammes  of  the  butter  into  a  100  c.c.  stoppered 
cylinder,  and  add  sufficient  distilled  water  to  make  with  the 
water  already  present  a  number  of  cubic  centimetres  equal  to 
the  weight  of  butter  in  grammes.  Then  pour  in  10  to  15  c.c. 
of  chloroform,  warm  to  melt  and  dissolve  the  butter,  agitate 
and  set  aside  to  separate.  Remove  with  a  pipette  an  aliquot 
part  of  the  aqueous  liquid,  render  alkaline,  evaporate  to  dryness 
and  ignite.  Treat  the  ash  with  hot  water  until  all  soluble 
matter  is  removed,  make  neutral  to  methyl-orange,  boil  to 
expel  C02,  add  about  10  c.c.  of  glycerol  and  titrate,  using 
phenol-phthalein  as  the  indicator.  Each  c.c.  of  the  aqueous 
solution  corresponds  to  1  gramme  of  the  original  butter,  hence 
the  percentage  of  the  boric  acid  is  easily  calculated. 

A  simpler  method  has  been  devised  by  Richmond  and 
Harrison  which  dispenses  with  the  evaporation  and  ignition 
of  the  residue,  &c.,  the  time  required  for  an  estimation  being 
thereby  considerably  shortened.  It  is  carried  out  as  follows : 

Weigh  out  25  grammes  of  the  butter  in  a  beaker,  add  25  c.c. 
of  a  solution  containing  6  grammes  of  milk-sugar  and  4  c.c. 
N.  sulphuric  acid  in  100  c.c.  Place  in  the  water-oven  until 
the  fat  is  just  melted,  and  stir  well ;  allow  the  aqueous  portion 
to  settle  for  a  few  minutes,  and  draw  off  20  c.c. ;  add  a  few  drops 
of  phenol-phthalein  solution,  bring  to  the  boil,  and  titrate  with 


332  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

seminormal  soda  solution  till  a  faint  pink  colour  just  appears ; 
add  12  c.c.of  glycerol,  and  titrate  till  the  pink  colour  is  restored. 
The  difference  between  the  two  titrations,  less  the  amount  of 
alkali  required  by  the  12  c.c.  of  glycerol,  multiplied  by  0-0368, 
will  give  the  amount  of  boracic  acid  in  20  c.c.,  and  this, 
multiplied  by 

100  + p.c.  of  water  in  the  butter 
~20~ 

will  give  the  percentage  in  the  butter  examined.  If  the  per- 
centage of  water  is  about  the  average,  it  may  be  taken  as  13 
without  appreciable  error. 

It  will  be  observed  that  in  this  process  methyl-orange  is  not 
used,  and  that  the  factor  employed,  G'0368,  is  higher  than  is 
required  by  theory,  0*031,  for  seminormal  alkali.  The  authors 
found  that  using  phenol-phthalein  only,  the  presence  of  a  small 
quantity  of  phosphates  could  be  ignored,  that  titrating  in  a 
boiling  solution  in  the  presence  of  milk-sugar,  the  end  reaction 
is  more  sharply  defined,  and  that  the  difference  between  the 
two  titrations  constantly  indicates  84-4  per  cent,  of  the  total 
boric  acid,  hence  the  factor 

n  AQAQ     °'031  x  100 
~84"4~ 

The  above  process  is  rapidly  conducted,  and  sufficiently  accurate 
for  all  practical  purposes. 

Estimation  of  Boric  Acid  in  Milk.— Take  100  c.c.  of  the  milk 
in  a  long-necked  flask,  heat  rapidly  to  the  boiling  point,  remove 
the  flame,  and  add  8  c.c.  of  2  per  cent,  nitric  acid.  Lightly 
stopper  the  flask  and  set  aside  until  cool.  When  cold,  filter 
off  50  c.c.  (the  8  c.c.  of  acid  added  corresponds  approximately 
to  the  volume  of  the  curd  produced,  therefore  50  c.c.  of  the 
liquid  removed  will  correspond  to  50  c.c.  of  the  original  milk). 
Add  a  few  drops  of  a  10  per  cent,  solution  of  calcium  chloride, 
and  render  faintly  alkaline  by  the  addition  of  sodium  carbonate. 
Evaporate  to  dryness  in  a  platinum  dish  and  incinerate  at  a 
moderate  temperature.  Exhaust  the  ash  with  successive  small 


DETECTION  AND  ESTIMATION  OF  BOEIC  ACID,  ETC.    333 

quantities  of  boiling  water  and  evaporate,  if  necessary,  to  25  c.c. 
When  cold,  render  neutral   to  methyl-orange,  add  25  c.c.  of 

glycerine,  and  titrate  with  -^  solution  of   soda  until  alkaline 
5  J  10 

to  phenol-phthalein. 

This  process  is  based  upon  one  recommended  by  Konerigh,1 
and  gives  very  satisfactory  results.  The  addition  of  the  nitric 
acid  removes  the  casein  and  fat,  and  the  nitrate  in  the  residue 
facilitates  greatly  the  process  of  incineration. 

Estimation  of  Boric  Acid  in  Cream. — Weigh  out  20 
grammes  of  the  cream,  dilute  with  80  c.c.  of  water  in  a  long- 
necked  flask,  and  proceed  exactly  as  described  when  examining 
milk.  The  8  c.c.  of  acid  introduced  corresponds  with  sufficient 
accuracy  to  the  volume  of  the  fat  and  curd,  so  that  the  boric 
acid  found  in  50  c.c.  of  the  filtrate  represents  the  amount  in 
10  grammes  of  the  cream. 

Estimation  of  Boric  Acid  in  Cider,  Fruits,  &c. — It  must 
be  remembered  that  traces  of  boric  acid  are  found  in  apples, 
pears,  quinces,  grapes,  pomegranates,  peaches,  gooseberries, 
cherries,  oranges,  lemons  (also  in  hops,  radishes,  and  lettuce), 
and  therefore  may  be  detected  in  both  foreign  and  British 
wines,  in  cider,  perry,  &c.  The  largest  amount  found  in  any 
of  these  substances  appears  to  be  16  mlgm.  of  boric  acid 
in  100  grammes  (0-016  per  cent.),  and  unless  the  quantity 
present  considerably  exceeds  this  it  would  be  unwise  to  assert 
that  it  had  been  added  as  a  preservative. 

The  following  process  for  the  determination  of  the  boric 
acid  in  fruit  and  fruit  juices  was  described  by  Allen  and 
Tankard.2  At  the  same  time  a  process  based  on  the  volatility 
of  methyl-borate  was  given,  but  as  it  is  more  tedious  and  not 
more  accurate  than  the  one  recommended,  it  is  not  likely  to  be 
used  for  practical  purposes. 

One  hundred  c.c.  of  the  cider,  fruit  juice,  or  other  liquid  is 
evaporated  to  dryness  with  a  few  c.c.  of  a  10  per  cent,  solution 
of  calcium  chloride.  The  dry  residue  is  well  charred,  boiled 

1  The  Analyst,  vol.  xxiv.  p.  144.        -  Year  Book  of  Pharmacy,  1904. 


334  PEESEEVATIVES  IN   FOOD 

with  150  c.c.  of  distilled  water,  and  the  liquid  filtered.  The 
carbonaceous  mass  is  thoroughly  incinerated  at  a  moderate 
temperature,  and  when  cold  boiled  with  a  further  quantity  of 
150  c.c.  of  water,  and  allowed  to  stand  in  the  cold  for  some 
hours,  or  preferably  overnight.  The  liquid  is  then  filtered 
cold,  and  the  filtrate  added  to  the  fruit  extract.  Although  this 
filtrate  usually  exhausts  the  residue,  the  authors  recommend 
that  it  should  be  treated  a  third  time  with  water,  and  that  this 
third  extract  should  be  titrated  separately.  The  mixed 
aqueous  extracts  are  next  evaporated  to  about  30  c.c.,  and  after 
cooling  neutralized  by  decinormal  acid,  using  methyl-orange  as 
the  indicator.  As  the  borate  exists  in  this  solution  as  a 
calcium  salt,  which  is  only  of  moderate  solubility,  care  must 
be  taken  to  see  that  all  the  borate  is  in  the  solution  before  the 
titration  is  commenced.  An  equal  volume  of  glycerine  is  next 

added,  and  the  liquid  titrated   with  phenol-phthalein  and  J^ 

anj 

caustic  soda  solution  (free  from  carbonate).  About  10  c.c. 
more  glycerine  should  now  be  added,  when,  if  the  titration  is 
complete,  the  red  colouration  will  remain.  The  glycerine 
used  should  be  previously  tested  to  prove  that  it  is  neutral  to 
the  indicator.  The  process  gives  good  results  when  the 
amount  of  boric  acid  present  in  the  sample  taken  is  not  less 
than  0-005  gramme. 

This  process  can  be  adopted  for  the  examination  of  jams 
and  many  kinds  of  preserved  foods,  using  an  aqueous  extract  of 
the  material  of  known  strength.  Meat,  sausage,  &c.,  after 
being  finely  minced  can  be  exhausted  by  macerating  with  luke- 
warm water,  rendered  faintly  alkaline,  and  the  filtrate  con- 
centrated and  treated  as  above  described. 

SULPHUBOUS   ACID   AND    SULPHITES 

Qualitative  Tests. — One  or  more  of  the  following  tests 
should  be  applied  according  to  the  character  of  the  solution 
under  examination. 


DETECTION  AND  ESTIMATION  OF  BOEIC  ACID,  ETC.    335 

1.  To  the  acidified  solution  add  a  little  starch  paste  and  a 
drop   of  a  very  dilute   solution   of  iodine.     If   a  blue   colour 
develops    sulphurous    acid    is    either   absent,   or  present    in 
exceedingly  small  amount,  but  the  non-appearance  of  a  blue 
colour  is  no  proof  of  the  presence  of  a  sulphite. 

2.  To  the  acidified  solution  in  a  long  test-tube  add  a  few 
fragments  of  pure  zinc.     Cover  the  mouth  of  the  tube  with  a 
piece  of  filter  paper  moistened  with  solution  of  subacetate  of 
lead  and  warm.     The  nascent  hydrogen  reduces  the  sulphite, 
and  sulphuretted  hydrogen  is  evolved,  producing  a  black  stain 
on  the  paper  cap  more  or  less  quickly  according  to  the  amount 
present. 

3.  Mix  the  liquid  with  an  equal   volume    of  pure  hydro- 
chloric acid,  add  a  small  piece   of   clean,  bright   copper   foil, 
and  boil  for  a  few  minutes.     In  the  presence  of  sulphites  the 
copper  becomes  coated  with  a  dead-black  film  of  sulphide. 

4.  Acidify  the  liquid  with  phosphoric  acid  and  distil  a  few 
c.c.     The  tube  of  the  condenser  should  be  beneath  the  surface 
of  a  little  water  in  the  collecting  vessel.     To  the  distillate  add 
a  few  drops  of  bromine  water  and  boil.     In  the  presence  of 
sulphurous  acid,  sulphuric  acid  will  be  formed,  and  the  solution 
will  give  a  precipitate  with  barium  chloride. 

Quantitative  Tests. — The  methods  recommended  by  the 
U.S.  Department  of  Agriculture  are  the  following :  l 

1.  Twenty-five  grammes  of  the  sample,  finely  divided  if 
solid  or  semi-solid,  is  placed  in  a  flask  with  about  100  c.c.  of 
water,  and  10  c.c.  of  normal  solution  of  soda  are  added.  Shake 
thoroughly  until  the  whole  is  well  mixed,  and  allow  to  stand  for 
about  fifteen  minutes.  Ten  c.c.  of  25  per  cent,  sulphuric  acid 

are  now  added,  and  subsequently  a  little  starch  paste,  and  ' 

50 

solution  of  iodine  run  in  until  a  blue  colour  is  produced.  Each 
c.c.  of  the  iodine  solution  used  corresponds  to  0-64  mlgm.  of  S02. 
This  process  gives  fairly  accurate  results,  except  in  cases  when 
the  amount  of  sulphurous  acid  or  sulphite  is  very  small :  the 

1  Leach,  Food  Inspector,  p.  676. 


336  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

error  is  then  one  of  excess,  since  many  forms  of  organic  matter 
take  up  small  amounts  of  iodine. 

2.  Take  two  equal  volumes  of  the  liquid  to  be  tested,  or  of  an 
infusion  of  a  solid  or  semi-solid  substance,  and  to  one  add  a  few 
drops  of  bromine  water  and  boil.  Estimate  the  H2S04  in  both, 
and  from  the  excess  in  the  solution  which  has  been  treated 
with  bromine  calculate  the  corresponding  S02. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  amount  of  sulphurous  acid 
found  will  rarely  correspond  with  the  quantity  originally  present 
in  the  substance  under  examination,  since  it  has  a  tendency  to 
undergo  continuous  oxidation,  with  the  formation  of  sulphuric 
acid. 

FLUORIC  ACID  AND  FLUORIDES 

Qualitative  Test. — If  butter  is  the  article  suspected  to  con- 
tain a  fluorine  compound,  a  considerable  portion  of  it  should 
be  melted  and  the  aqueous  layer  separated  for  the  test ;  if  fruit 
or  jam  is  being  examined,  an  infusion  may  be  prepared.  The 
liquid  is  rendered  alkaline  by  the  addition  of  lime  water, 
evaporated  to  dryness,  and  ignited.  One  half  of  the  residue 
is  introduced  into  a  platinum  crucible,  a  little  strong  sulphuric 
acid  added,  and  the  crucible  at  once  covered  with  a  watch- 
glass,  the  convex  surface  of  which  has  been  coated  with  white 
wax,  and  some  distinguishing  mark  scratched  through  it  with 
a  pin.  The  crucible  is  placed  on  a  hot  plate  at  about  80°  C., 
and  the  watch-glass  kept  cool  by  filling  with  water.  After 
standing  an  hour  the  watch-glass  is  removed,  the  wax  melted, 
and  the  glass  examined  to  ascertain  if  the  distinguishing  mark 
has  been  etched  thereon.  With  as  little  as  1  mlgm.  of  a 
fluoride  the  etching  will  be  distinct.  Fluoborates  and  fluo- 
silicates  may  be  present  even  if  the  action  on  glass  is  not 
obtained.  To  detect  these  take  the  remainder  of  the  in- 
cinerated residue,  and  exhaust  with  dilute  acetic  acid,  filter  off 
the  insoluble  portion,  dry,  ignite,  and  again  treat  with  dilute 
acetic  acid.  The  acid  liquid  will  contain  calcium  borate  if  a 


DETECTION  AND  ESTIMATION  OF  BOEIG  ACID,  ETC.    337 

fluoborate  was  present,  and  it  should,  therefore,  be  tested 
for  boric  acid.  The  residue  will  contain  calcium  fluoride  and 
calcium  silicate  if  a  fluosilicate  was  present  in  the  original 
substance  under  examination.  Treat  the  residue  with  strong 
sulphuric  acid  as  above  directed. 

A  positive  reaction  at  this  stage,  following  a  negative 
reaction  when  the  test  wras  applied  directly  to  the  incinerated 
residue,  indicates  the  presence  of  a  fluoborate  or  fluosilicate. 
If  boric  acid  was  detected  in  the  acetic  solution  the  compound 
present  was  a  fluoborate  ;  if  this  acid  was  not  detected,  probably 
a  fluosilicate  was  present.  To  confirm  this  a  special  examin- 
ation must  be  made.  The  incinerated  residue  obtained  as 
above  is  exhausted  with  dilute  acetic  acid,  and,  after  ignition, 
placed  in  a  small  test-tube  with  a  little  concentrated  sulphuric 
acid,  and  kept  at  a  temperature  of  about  100°  C.  for  an  hour. 
Fluosilicic  acid  will  be  found  if  a  fluosilicate  was  originally 
present,  a  gas  which  forms  dense  fumes  in  moist  air.  If  the 
test-tube  is  connected  with  a  small  U-tube  containing  a  bubble 
of  water,  the  separated  silicic  acid  will  deposit  on  the  side  of 
the  tube,  impairing  its  transparency,  and  flakes  of  gelatinous 
silica  may  be  observed  in  the  water. 

Quantitative  Estimation. — No  accurate  process  for  esti- 
mating small  quantities  of  these  fluoric  compounds  is  known. 
Hehner  weighed  the  ignited  ash  obtained  as  above  described 
from  a  given  quantity  of  material  after  treatment  with  dilute 
acetic  acid,  and  again  after  treatment  with  strong  sulphuric 
acid  and  ignition,  the  fluoride  thus  being  converted  into 
sulphate.  As  78  parts  of  CaF2  correspond  to  136  parts  of 
CaS04,  the  amount  of  fluorine  can  be  calculated.  Hehner, 
however,  found  that  there  was  a  slight  increase  of  weight  in 
the  absence  of  fluorides,  and  this  amount  was  deducted  from 
the  total  increase  before  making  the  calculation. 

Probably  the  following  method  would  give  more  reliable 
results.  Fuse  the  ash  of  the  substance  under  examination 
with  four  times  its  weight  of  sodium  carbonate,  exhaust  the 
smelt  with  water,  and  remove  the  silica  by  digestion  with  a 

22 


338  PRESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

solution  of  ammonium  carbonate.  Filter,  and  nearly  neutralize 
with  hydrochloric  acid,  add  a  little  calcium  chloride,  and 
evaporate  to  dry  ness.  Ignite  gently,  wash  with  water,  dry, 
ignite,  and  weigh..  Moisten  with  strong  sulphuric  acid,  again 
ignite,  weigh.  The  increase  in  weight  multiplied  by  -688  gives 
the  amount  of  fluorine  originally  present : 

CaF2  +  H,S04  =  CaS04  +  2HF 

FORMALDEHYDE 

Detection  in  Milk. — The  simplest  test  is  one  first  suggested 
by  Hehner.  To  about  3  c.c.  of  the  milk  placed  in  a  test-tube 
add  an  equal  volume  of  water,  then  introduce  carefully  at  the 
bottom  of  the  tube,  by  means  of  a  pipette,  1  c.c.  of  strong 
sulphuric  acid  in  such  a  way  as  to  allow  the  dilute  milk  to 
float  on  the  surface  of  the  acid.  Set  aside  for  a  time.  If, 
formaldehyde  is  present,  a  violet  ring  will  form  at  the  junction 
of  the  two  fluids. 

An  acid  containing  a  trace  of  iron  acts  better  than  pure 
sulphuric  acid.  This  can  be  prepared  by  adding  a  drop  or  two 
of  a  solution  of  ferric  chloride  to  about  100  c.c.  of  the  strong 
acid. 

The  test  will  detect  1  part  of  formaldehyde  in  100,000. 
Luebert's  modification  of  this  test  is  said  to  give  a  reaction 
with  1  in  250,000.  About  5  grammes  of  coarsely  ground  crystals 
of  potassium  sulphate  are  placed  at  the  bottom  of  a  100  c.c. 
flask,  and  5  c.c.  of  milk  mixed  therewith.  About  10  c.c.  of 
strong  sulphuric  acid  are  then  delivered  slowly  from  a  pipette 
down  the  side  of  the  flask.  After  standing  a  few  minutes  the 
salt  becomes  of  a  violet  colour.  If  there  is  no  formaldehyde 
present,  a  brown  colour  only  is  developed,  ultimately  becoming 
black. 

The  Phlorog-lucol  or  Jorissen's  Test. — This  depends  upon 
the  production  of  a  salmon  colour  when  phloroglucol  and  a 
caustic  alkali  are  added  to  a  solution  containing  formaldehyde. 


DETECTION  AND  ESTIMATION  OF  BOEIC  ACID,  ETC.    339 

To  25  c.c.  of  the  milk  in  a  flask  or  test-tube,  10  c.c.  of  a  Ol  per 
cent,  solution  of  phloroglucol  are  added,  and  the  mixture 
shaken.  To  this  is  added  10  c.c.  of  a  5  per  cent,  solution  of 
sodium  or  potassium  hydrate.  After  agitating,  the  charac- 
teristic colour  more  or  less  quickly  appears  if  formalin  is 
present  even  to  the  extent  of  1  part  in  100,000. 

The  alkali  may  produce  a  yellowish  tint  if  the  milk  has 
been  boiled,  or  if  it  contains  added  colouring  matter,  but  such 
a  tint  is  quite  distinct  from  that  produced  by  formaldehyde. 

In  our  experience  it  is  preferable  to  use  the  following 
modification  of  this  test.  Eaise  100  c.c.  of  the  milk  to  the 
boiling  point,  add  a  few  drops  of  25  per  cent,  sulphuric  acid, 
and  agitate  gently  so  as  to  get  as  complete  a  separation  of  the 
curd  as  possible  ;  cool  quickly  and  strain  through  linen.  A 
portion  of  the  liquid,  which  is  now  only  slightly  opalescent,  is 
used  for  the  phloroglucol  test,  another  portion  can  be  tested 
with  alkali  only  for  comparative  purposes,  and  the  remainder 
may  be  used  for  the  following  test. 

Schiff's  Test.— To  25  c.c.  of  the  strained  fluid  add  a  few 
drops  of  Schiff's  reagent  (a  solution  of  magenta  decolourized 
with  sulphurous  acid).  In  the  presence  of  formaldehyde  a 
magenta  colour  appears  more  or  less  quickly  according  to  the 
amount  of  the  aldehyde  present.  This  test  cannot  be  applied 
to  milk  direct,  since  the  latter  contains  some  body  which  gives 
the  formaldehyde  reaction.  Whatever  the  nature  of  this  sub- 
stance may  be,  it  is  removed  in  the  curd. 

Dr.  Tebb,  Public  Analyst  to  the  Borough  of  Southwark,  has 
made  a  detailed  study  of  the  use  of  Schiff's  reagent  for  the 
detection  of  formaldehyde  in  milk,  and  the  following  are  the 
details  of  the  process  he  has  devised  : 

'  To  Precipitate  the  Casein  and  Fat  from  Milk. — Fifty  cubic 
centimetres  of  the  sample  are  measured  out  into  a  tall  cylindrical 
glass  of  250  c.c.  capacity,  the  glass  is  filled  up  to  the  250  c.c. 
mark  with  water,  the  milk  and  water  are  well  mixed  together, 
and  0'4  c.c.  of  a  25  per  cent,  solution  of  sulphuric  acid  is 
added.  The  mixture  is  well  agitated  with  a  glass  rod  for  a 


340  PEESEKVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

minute  or  so.  The  casein  and  fat  will  then  separate  as  a 
coarse  precipitate,  leaving  a  more  or  less  clear  liquid  at  the 
top.  The  precipitate  is  allowed  to  settle  for  about  five  minutes 
and  the  liquid  filtered.  In  the  majority  of  samples  the  filtrate 
will  come  through  quite  clear,  but  occasionally  it  will  be 
opalescent  or  even  milky ;  when  this  happens  the  remainder  of 
the  250  c.c.  should  be  poured  on  to  the  filter,  and  it  will  be 
found  that  after  about  100  c.c.  have  gone  through,  the  filtrate 
will  become  quite  clear ;  this  is  owing  to  the  precipitate  itself 
lining  the  inside  of  the  filter  and  increasing  the  filtering  power 
of  the  paper. 

'  Preparation  of  the  Schiff's  Reagent. — One  gramme  of 
ordinary  crystalline  fuchsine  (not  the  acid  fuchsine)  is  weighed 
out  and  placed  in  a  50  c.c.  flask,  which  is  filled  up  to  the  mark 
on  the  neck  with  a  cold  saturated  solution  of  sulphurous  acid 
in  water.  The  sulphurous  acid  solution  may  be  conveniently 
prepared  by  means  of  a  syphon  of  the  compressed  gas.  After 
standing  for  several  hours  the  fuchsine  loses  its  colour  and 
goes  into  solution,  the  liquid  assuming  a  light  yellow  tint. 
Then  dilute  the  50  c.c.  to  1  litre  with  distilled  water,  and 
proceed  as  follows  :  Two  Nessler  glasses  are  taken,  to  one  of 
them  is  added  0'5  c.c.  of  a  1  in  1,000  dilution  of  formalin, 
and  both  glasses  are  filled  up  to  the  50  c.c.  mark  with  water ; 
then  5  c.c.  of  the  Schiff's  reagent  are  added  to  each  glass, 
which  is  stirred  and  allowed  to  stand  for  ten  minutes.  It  will 
be  found  that  both  solutions  show  a  marked  pink  colour — 
that  is  to  say,  that  at  this  stage  the  simple  dilution  of  the 
reagent  with  water  will  give  a  similar  reaction  to  the  form- 
aldehyde. To  make  the  Schiff's  reagent  sensitive,  sulphurous 
acid  gas  is  bubbled  in  from  the  syphon  for  about  ten  seconds 
at  a  time  until  a  point  is  reached  when  it  will  react  in  the 
Nessler  glass  containing  formalin,  but  not  with  the  plain  water 
after  standing  for  ten  minutes.  If  the  reagent  is  too  strongly 
impregnated  with  sulphurous  acid  it  will  cease  to  react  to 
the  formalin,  and  hence  the  care  required  in  conducting 
these  operations.  250  c.c.  of  the  Schiff's  reagent  prepared  as 


DETECTION  AND  ESTIMATION  OF  BOKIC  ACID,  ETC.    341 

above  (Ol  per  cent,  fuchsine)  will  be  made  sensitive  by 
bubbling  in  the  gas  at  a  medium  rate  for  about  thirty  or  forty 
seconds. 

'  Application  of  Test. — Fifty  c.c.  of  the  clear  filtrate  from  the 
sample  of  milk  are  poured  into  a  Nessler  glass,  5  c.c.  of  the 
Schiff's  reagent  added,  and  the  mixture  is  allowed  to  stand 
for  ten  minutes.  In  estimating  small  traces  of  formaldehyde, 
which  may  readily  be  done  if  the  Schiff's  reagent  is  sufficiently 
sensitive,  it  is  advisable  to  allow  the  liquid  to  stand  for  a  longer 
period — that  is  to  say,  for  half  an  hour  or  even  an  hour.  To 
estimate  the  exact  percentage  of  formaldehyde  a  number  of 
standards  must  be  prepared  of  known  amounts  of  formalin 
added  to  milk.  Each  standard  is  treated  by  precipitation, 
filtration,  &c.,  in  precisely  the  same  manner  as  the  sample. 
The  Schiff's  reagent  is  then  added,  and  the  colour  of  the  sample 
in  the  Nessler  glass  is  matched  with  the  nearest  standard.  If 
the  Schiff's  reagent  is  already  prepared,  the  whole  analysis, 
including  the  precipitation,  filtration,  &c.,  of  six  or  eight 
standards  can  easily  be  completed  within  the  hour.' 

From  experiments  made  to  ascertain  for  how  long  after  the 
addition  of  the  formalin  it  is  possible  to  detect  it  in  the  milk, 
Tebb  found  that  this  depended  on  the  amount  added.  With 
O004  per  cent,  a  considerable  portion  was  present  at  the  end  of 
fifty-three  hours,  whilst  with  O001  per  cent,  all  had  disappeared 
by  the  following  day. 

It  is  impossible  to  obtain  the  whole  of  the  formaldehyde 
introduced  into  a  sample  of  milk  by  distillation  either  of  the 
milk  alone,  or  after  the  addition  of  a  little  sulphuric  acid,  but 
apparently  one-third  of  the  total  quantity  present  passes  over 
in  the  first  20  c.c.  distilled  from  100  c.c.  of  milk.  The  tests 
above  described  can  be  applied  to  this  distillate,  but  it  seems 
to  us  to  be  preferable  to  use  the  whey,  and  to  examine  the 
sample  as  quickly  as  possible  after  collection. 

The  following  test  suggested  by  Hehner  may  be  applied  to 
such  a  distillate.  To  about  20  c.c.  of  the  distilled  fluid  add 
one  drop  of  a  5  per  cent,  solution  of  phenol,  and  pour  carefully 


342  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

into  a  test-tube  containing  a  little  strong  sulphuric  acid.  A 
crimson  colour  is  produced  at  the  plane  of  contact  of  the  two 
fluids  if  formaldehyde  be  present.  The  colour  appears  in  a' 
very  short  time  with  1  part  of  formaldehyde  in  100,000,  and 
instantly  with  a  little  stronger  solution.  The  limit  appears  to 
be  1  in  200,000. 

Formaldehyde  being  a  reducing  agent,  its  presence  can 
also  be  confirmed  in  the  distillate  by  adding  thereto  a  few 
drops  of  a  solution  of  aminonio-nitrate  of  silver  and  setting  the 
tube  aside,  in  the  dark,  for  twenty-four  hours.  The  distillate 
from  a  pure  milk  may  give  a  faint  brown  colour,  but  in  the 
presence  of  any  appreciable  quantity  of  formaldehyde  the  liquid 
becomes  black.  The  reaction  can  be  obtained  in  the  distillate 
(20  c.c.)  from  milk  (100  c.c.)  containing  1  part  of  the  preservative 
in  250,000. 

As  milk  requires  about  1  part  of  pure  formaldehyde 
(2£  parts  of  the  40  per  cent,  commercial  solution)  to  10,000 
in  order  to  keep  it  fresh  for  three  days,  it  is  obvious  that  all 
the  above  tests  should  give  very  distinct  reactions  with  milk  to 
which  sufficient  preservative  has  been  added  to  prevent  rapid 
change.  Unfortunately,  however,  as  already  stated,  the  aldehyde 
is  gradually  decomposed,  and  after  some  days  it  almost,  if  not 
entirely,  disappears  ;  hence  the  amount  present  in  a  sample 
may-  not  at  all  represent  that  originally  introduced.  The 
tests,  therefore,  should  be  applied  as  soon  after  the  milk  is 
received  as  possible.  The  decomposition  proceeds  more  rapidly 
if  the  formaldehyde  is  added  to  milk  already  tending  to  become 
sour. 

All  the  tests  described  have  applied  to  milk  simply  because 
formalin  is  the  most  common  preservative  used  for  this 
commodity,  and  it  is  comparatively  rarely  found  in  other 
articles  of  food  or  drink.  From  most  other  articles  the  form- 
aldehyde may  be  obtained  by  distillation,  and  the  various 
tests  applied  to  the  distillate. 


DETECTION  AND  ESTIMATION  OF  BORIC  ACID,  ETC.    343 

VOLUMETRIC  ESTIMATION  OF  FORMALDEHYDE 

The  simplest  and,  in  our  experience,  the  most  accurate 
process  for  estimating  small  quantities  of  formaldehyde  is 
the  following.  It  is  based  on  that  devised  by  Seyewetz  and 
Gibello,1  and  takes  advantage  of  the  well-known  reaction  of 
aldehydes  with  bisulphites.  When  formaldehyde  is  added  to 
a  strong  solution  of  sodium  sulphite,  the  latter  is  in  part 
decomposed,  with  the  formation  of  the  compound  of  aldehyde 
and  bisulphite  and  liberation  of  sodium  hydrate.  The  amount 
of  the  latter  can  easily  be  determined,  and,  as  the  following 

41 

equation  shows,  1  c.c.  of  —  sulphuric  acid  corresponds  to  3pO 

mlgm.  of  formaldehyde  : 

2Na2S03  +  H2S04  +  2H .  COH  =  2NaHS03 .  H .  COH  +  Na2SO4. 

The  reagents  required  are  :  (a)  a  20  per  cent,  solution  of  sodium 
sulphite,  to  which  a  very  small  quantity  of  phenol-phthalein 
has  been  added,  and  sufficient  dilute  sulphuric  acid  to  just 
discharge  the  colour ;  (b)  a  decinormal  solution  of  sulphuric 
acid.  The  process  is  conducted  as  follows  :  Take  20  c.c.  of 
the  sulphite  solution,  add  thereto  the  solution  of  formalin, 
obtained  by  distillation  from  the  substance  under  examination, 
and  allow  to  stand  for  two  or  three  minutes.  A  pink  colour 
appears,  and  the  volumetric  solution  of  acid  is  now  run  in 
carefully  until  this  colour  is  entirely  discharged.  As  each  c.c. 
of  acid  used  corresponds  to  3  mlgm.  of  formic  aldehyde,  the 
quantity  in  the  liquid  is  readily  calculated. 

The  following  experiments  were  made  to  ascertain  the 
reliability  of  the  method  : 

A  solution  of  formaldehyde  (Schering).  guaranteed  to 
contain  40  per  cent.,  was  employed  and  diluted  to  correspond 
to  O'l  per  cent.  This  dilute  solution  was  added  to  the  neutra- 
lized sodium  sulphite  in  varying  quantities,  and  the  titration 
effected. 

1  Cfamical  News,  March  25,  1905 


344  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 


Quantity  of  formaldehyde  taken 
(calculated) 


lO'O  mlgm. 

10-0    „ 

7-0  „ 
5-0  „ 
2-0 


Quantity  of  formaldehyde  found 


1O5  mlgm. 
10-5      „ 

7-5      „ 

5-1      „ 

1-9 


Using  a  1  per  cent,  solution  of  formaldehyde  the  following 
results  were  obtained : 


Quantity  of  formaldehyde  taken 
(calculated) 

Quantity  of  formaldehyde  found 

20  mlgm. 
50     „ 
100      „ 

21-0  mlgm. 
52-5      „ 
106 

It  is  almost  certain  that  the  strong  solution  used  contained 
over  40  per  cent,  of  formaldehyde,  as  the  mean  of  the  three 
last  determinations  corresponds  to  42-1  per  cent.  Such  being 
the  case,  the  results  for  the  very  small  quantities  are  exceed- 
ingly close.  In  any  case  they  are  very  concordant,  and  better 
than  we  have  obtained  by  any  other  process. 

ABEASTOL  OB  ASAPEOL 

This  substance  may  be  detected,  according  to  Leffmann,1 
by  the  following  process.  If  milk  is  being  examined,  take 
10  c.c.  and  treat  with  0'5  c.c.  of  a  solution  of  mercuric  nitrate 
(prepared  by  dissolving  mercury  in  twice  its  weight  of  nitric 
acid  and  diluting  with  five  times  the  quantity  of  water).  If 
abrastol  is  present  a  yellow  colouration  is  quickly  shown.  A 
control  experiment  with  pure  milk  should  be  made  at  the  same 
time.  In  wines,  &c.,  the  preservative  may  be  detected  by 
acidifying  with  a  few  drops  of  dilute  sulphuric  acid  and  shaking 
with  an  equal  volume  of  ether  or  chloroform.  The  ether  or 
chloroform  solution  is  drawn  off,  a  few  drops  of  the  mercuric 
nitrate  solution  added,  and  the  liquids  shaken.  Abrastol  is 

1  The  Analyst,  p.  21,  January  1906. 


DETECTION  AND  ESTIMATION  OF  BOEIC  ACID,  ETC.    345 

indicated  by  the  mercury  solution  turning  yellow,  and  finally 
to  bright  red.  If  a  fat  is  being  examined  it  should  be  melted 
and  the  abrastol  removed  by  shaking  with  20  per  cent,  alcohol. 
The  alcohol  can  then  be  distilled  off  and  the  mercuric  nitrate 
applied  to  the  residual  aqueous  solution. 

SALICYLIC   ACID 

In  comparatively  few  instances  can  tests  be  applied  directly 
to  articles  of  drink  or  infusions  of  food-stuffs  for  the  detection 
of  this  acid,  since  so  many  substances  interfere  with  the 
reactions,  either  masking  them  or  preventing  such  as  are 
characteristic.  For  this  reason  it  is  always  advisable  to 
attempt  the  separation  of  the  acid  in  order  to  apply  the  tests 
to  the  acid  itself  or  to  solutions  of  neutral  salicylates.  Advan- 
tage is  taken  of  the  fact  that  the  acid  is  but  slightly  soluble  in 
cold  water  (1  in  550),  whereas  it  is  exceedingly  soluble  in  ether 
(1  in  2)  and  in  a  mixture  of  ether  and  petroleum  spirit.  It  melts 
between  156°  to  157°  C.,  and  volatilizes  completely  below 
200°  C.  It  slowly  volatilizes  at  a  much  lower  temperature, 
hence  its  amount  cannot  be  accurately  determined  by  drying 
and  weighing.  It  is  rarely  present,  however,  in  articles  of 
food  or  drink  in  such  quantities  as  to  render  a  gravimetric  or 
volumetric  estimation  practicable,  but  fortunately  there  is 
little  difficulty  in  estimating  small  quantities  colori metrically 
providing  the  pure  acid  is  isolated.  The  reaction  utilized  for 
this  purpose  is  the  production  of  an  intense  purple-violet 
colour  on  the  addition  of  a  little  ferric  salt  to  a  dilute  solution, 
and  it  is  very  characteristic  in  the  absence  of  other  colour- 
producing  bodies.  This  test,  if  properly  applied,  will  detect 
1  part  of  salicylic  acid  in  300,000. 

If  the  fluid  to  be  tested  contains  no  appreciable  amount 
of  any  substance,  such  as  tannin,  capable  of  giving  a  colour 
reaction  with  ferric  salts,  the  acid  may  usually  be  obtained 
in  solution  sufficiently  pure  for  estimation  by  the  following 
process  : 

Render    the    solution    slightly   alkaline   with   KHO,    and 


346    .  PEESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

evaporate  to  remove  any  alcohol  present.  Acidify  with  dilute 
sulphuric  acid,  and  extract  the  salicylic  acid  by  agitating  with 
three  successive  quantities  of  a  mixture  of  equal  parts  of  ether 
and  petroleum  spirit.  Distil  off  most  of  the  ether  mixture, 
and  shake  the  concentrated  fluid  with  water  rendered  slightly 
alkaline  with  solution  of  ammonia.  The  watery  solution 
should  be  warmed  to  drive  off  the  dissolved  ether,  and,  after 
evaporation  nearly  to  dryness  and  redilution,  the  liquid  may 
be  tested  qualitatively  by  aid  of  a  solution  of  ferric  chloride. 
If  the  colour  produced  indicates  the  presence  of  interfering 
substances,  the  solution  may  be  acidified,  extracted  with  the 
mixture  of  ether  and  petroleum  ether,  &c.,  as  before.  In 
nearly  all  cases  the  acid,  if  present,  will  be  sufficiently  pure 
for  detection  and  estimation.  In  the  presence  of  tannin  the 
following  process  devised  by  Harry  and  Mummery  '  can  be 
recommended : 

Into  a  300  c.c.  flask  introduce  50  grammes  of  the  fluid  or 
pulp  to  be  examined  together  with  a  little  water,  and  mix  with 
15  to  20  c.c.  of  a  saturated  solution  of  basic  lead  acetate. 
Add  25  c.c.  of  N.  scda  solution  and  afterwards  15  to  20  c.c.  of 
strong  hydrochloric  acid.  Dilute  up  to  300  c.c.  and  filter  off 
200  c.c.  Acidulate  with  hydrochloric  acid  and  again  filter  if 
the  liquid  becomes  turbid.  The  salicylic  acid  is  then  dissolved 
out  by  means  of  ether  (three  times),  the  ether  evaporated  off, 
the  residue  dissolved  in  a  few  drops  of  alcohol,  diluted  with 
distilled  water  to  100  c.c.,  and  the  salicylic  acid  estimated 
colorimetrically  with  ferric  chloride  or  iron  alum.  In  this 
process  the  alkali  added  first  throws  down  the  excess  of  lead, 
then  redissolves  the  hydroxide,  the  albuminoids,  and  the  lead 
salicylate,  whilst  the  lead  tannate  remains  undissolved. 

If  the  fluid  examined  contains  alcohol  this  must  be 
previously  driven  off  by  evaporating  on  the  water-bath,  the 
solution  first  being  made  slightly  alkaline. 

The  amount  of  lead  acetate  solution  and  of  alkali  may  have 
to  be  increased  a  little,  to  secure  rapidity  of  filtration  and 
1  The  Analyst,  1905,  p.  124. 


DETECTION  AND  ESTIMATION  OF  BOEIC  ACID,  ETC.    347 

solution  of  the  minimal  quantity  of  lead  hydroxide.  In  most 
beers  and  wines  it  is  merely  necessary  to  render  slightly 
alkaline,  evaporate  to  remove  all  the  alcohol,  and,  after  acidify- 
ing, to  extract  with  ether.  When  very  small  quantities  of 
salicylic  acid  are  present  the  evaporation  may  be  prolonged  so 
as  to  concentrate  the  fluid.  A  convenient  quantity  to  take  is 
200  c.c.  evaporated  to  50  c.c. 

Spica  *  recommends  the  following  method  for  the  recognition 
of  salicylic  acid  and,  incidentally  also,  of  saccharin.  The 
ether  and  petroleum-ether  solution  is  divided  into  three 
portions  in  test-tubes  and  each  evaporated  to  dryness.  The 
residues  are  used  for  the  following  tests. 

1.  To  the  residue  in  one  tube  add  a  few  drops  of  strong 
nitric  acid,  warm  for  a  few  seconds,  dilute  with  water,  insert  a 
piece  of  grease-free  wool,  and  raise  and  maintain  at  the  boiling 
point  for  some   minutes.      If   the   residue  contained  salicylic 
acid,  the  nitric  acid  would  oxidize  it  to  picric  acid,  and  this 
would  stain  the  wool  a  bright  yellow. 

2.  To  the  second  residue  add  about  a  centigramme  of  quick- 
lime in  fine  powder  and  heat  until  charring  commences.     Add 
a  few  c.c.  of  water,  boil,  and  decant  the  solution  into  another 
tube.     Acidify  with  hydrochloric  acid  and  add  a  fragment  of 
zinc.     After  standing  twenty  minutes,  pour  off  the  solution,  and 
add  to  it  a  few  drops  of  a  solution  of  potassium  nitrate  and 
a-naphthylamine  hydrochloride.     If  saccharin  were  originally 
present,  even  in  very  minute  quantity,  a  carmine  colour  will 
appear  in  a  few  minutes. 

3.  To  the  third  residue  add  a  few  drops  of  sulphuric  acid 
and  a  small  crystal  of   potassium   permanganate   and  warm. 
Remove  the  excess  of  permanganate  by  the  addition  of  a  little 
oxalic  acid  or  solution  of  sulphurous  acid.     Dilute  with  a  few 
c.c.  of  water,  and  add  at  the  bottom  of  the  tube,  by  means  of  a 
pipette,  a  few  drops  of   a  solution  of   diphenylamine  hydro- 
chloride.      The    presence   of    saccharin   is   indicated   by   the 
formation  of  a  blue  ring  at  the  junction  of  the  two  fluids. 

1  The  Analyst,  1900,  p.  277. 


348  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

For  the  detection  and  estimation  of  salicylic  acid  in  butter 
and  milk  special  processes  must  be  used,  the  fat  present 
rendering  the  ordinary  methods  inapplicable. 

Milk. — If  the  sample  contains  an  appreciable  amount  of 
salicylic  acid,  the  addition  of  a  solution  of  ferric  chloride, 
sufficient  in  amount  to  curdle  the  milk,  will  produce  a  dirty, 
pale-brown  colour,  and  in  the  separated  whey  a  tint  of  violet 
may  be  detected.  The  difference  is  very  marked  when  com- 
pared with  a  genuine  milk. 

Pellet's  method  consists  in  treating  the  milk  with  mercuric 
nitrate,  and  extracting  the  salicylic  acid  from  the  nitrate  by 
means  of  ether.  For  this  purpose  200  c.c.  of  the  milk  should 
be  diluted  with  an  equal  quantity  of  water,  warmed  to  60°  C., 
and  1  c.c.  of  acetic  acid  added.  A  solution  of  mercuric  nitrate 
(free  from  any  mercurous  salt)  is  dropped  in  until  no  further 
precipitate  is  produced.  The  liquid  is  then  filtered  off,  rendered 
slightly  alkaline,  evaporated  to  about  100  c.c.,  acidified,  and 
shaken  with  ether. 

Butter. — The  method  adopted  in  the  Paris  Municipal 
Laboratory  consists  in  exhausting  20  grammes  of  the  butter 
with  successive  quantities  of  warm  water  to  which  a  little 
sodium  bicarbonate  has  been  added.  The  liquid  is  evaporated 
to  a  small  bulk,  acidified  with  sulphuric  acid,  and  the  salicylic 
and  other  acids  extracted  by  ether.  The  ether  is  driven  off 
at  a  temperature  of  about  80°  C.,  and  the  residue  dissolved 
in  a  little  water,  and  the  salicylic  acid  precipitated  with 
mercurous  nitrate.  The  precipitate  is  washed,  diffused  through 
a  little  water,  and  the  acid  liberated  by  the  addition  of  a  few 
drops  of  dilute  sulphuric  acid.  This  is  taken  up  by  ether, 
and  the  ethereal  solution  again  evaporated  nearly  to  dryness, 
and  treated  with  petroleum  spirit  to  separate  traces  of  the 
other  acids.  Upon  evaporation  of  this  solution,  the  acid  is 
then  left  in  a  condition  sufficiently  pure  for  detection  and 
estimation. 

The  results  obtained  by  quantitative  examination  methods, 
which  necessitate  drying  of  the  separated  salicylic  acid,  must 


DETECTION  AND  ESTIMATION  OF  BOEIC  ACID,  ETC.    394 

always  be  a  little  too  low ;  better  results  are  obtained  by 
colorimetric  or  volumetric  methods. 

When  the  amount  of  salicylic  acid  isolated  amounts  to 
several  milligrammes  the  volumetric  method  may  be  utilized 
for  its  determination,  but  even  this  quantity  may  be  estimated 
colorimetrically,  providing  the  solution  is  so  diluted  that  it 
contains  not  more  than  2  mlgm.  of  the  acid  in  100  c.c.  of 
water. 

Colorimetric  Method  of  Estimation. — In  using  this  method 
certain  precautions  must  be  observed  to  ensure  reliable  results. 
The  salicylic  acid  must  be  sufficiently  pure,  and  the  solution 
containing  it  must  be  free  from  any  trace  of  alkalinity.  The 
ferric  salt  employed  should,  if  possible,  be  iron  alum,  as  this 
gives  a  purer  and  deeper  colour  than  ferric  chloride.  According 
to  Harvey J  a  trace  of  tannin  does  not  affect  the  estimation, 
but  it  is  obvious  that  any  appreciable  quantity  would  render 
it  impossible  to  attain  correct  results.  The  solutions  required 
are  (1)  a  1  per  cent,  solution  of  iron  alum  in  distilled  water, 
and  (2)  a  0-1  per  cent,  solution  of  salicylic  acid,  also  in 
distilled  water.  The  solution  to  be  tested  is  diluted  to  50, 
100  c.c.,  or  more,  according  to  the  result  obtained  by  a  rough 
experiment,  and  to  50  c.c.  in  a  Nessler  cylinder  is  added  2  c.c. 
of  the  iron-alum  dilution.  Various  solutions  of  the  standard 
salicylic  acid  are  then  made  until  one  is  obtained  which  corre- 
sponds to  that  which  is  being  examined. 

Volumetric  Method. — The  volumetric  method  recommended 
by  Fresenius  and  Grunhut 2  is  applicable  for  quantities  of 
salicylic  acid  from  5  mlgm.  upwards,  if  proper  precautions  are 
observed,  but  unless  the  operator  has  had  some  experience 
with  the  process  his  results  are  likely  to  be  unreliable.  The 
method  is  based  upon  the  following  reactions : 

C(;H2Br3 .  OBr  +  4HBr  +  C02 
Cf)H2Br3 .  OBr  +  2KI  =  C6H2Br3 .  OK  +  KBr  +  I2 

from  which  it  is  evident  that  6  atoms  of  bromine  (480  parts) 
are  equivalent  to  1  molecule  (138  parts)  of  salicylic  acid. 
1  The  Analyst,  1903,  p.  2.  2  The  Analyst,  1900,  p.  20. 


350  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

The  solutions  required  are  : 

1.  A  solution  containing  2'5  grammes  of  potassium  bromate 
and  lO'O  grammes  of  potassium  bromide  in  1  litre  of  water. 

2.  A  decinormal  solution  of  sodium  thiosulphate. 

Upon  adding  a  solution  of  salicylic  acid  to  the  acidified 
bromate  solution  the  above  reaction  takes  place,  providing 
that  the  solution  is  not  too  dilute,  and  that  a  considerable 
excess  (75  to  100  per  cent.)  of  bromine  is  present,  and  the 
brominated  derivative  is  deposited  in  an  insoluble  condition. 
Upon  adding  excess  of  potassium  iodide,  and  titrating  with 
thiosulphate,  the  excess  of  bromine  can  be  determined,  and 
each  rnlgm.  of  bromine  removed  from  the  solution  corresponds 
to  2-3  mlgm.  of  salicylic  acid.  The  process  must  be  carefully 
performed  in  the  following  manner.  The  approximate  amount 
of  salicylic  acid  must  be  known,  either  from  a  rough  colori- 
metric  determination,  or  by  weighing,  and  it  must  be  dissolved 
in  water,  10  c.c.  to  each  mlgm.  of  acid. 

Introduce  into  a  flask  and  add  1  c.c.  of  the  bromate  solution 
for  each  10  c.c.  of  the  solution,  and  a  volume  of  strong  hydro- 
chloric acid  equal  to  half  that  of  the  bromate  solution.  After 
standing  not  less  than  five  minutes  for  the  reaction  to  take 
place,  add  an  excess  of  potassium  iodide,  and  titrate  the 
liberated  iodine  with  thiosulphate.  Each  c.c.  of  bromate 
solution  will  correspond  to  1-5  c.c.  of  sodium  thiosulphate, 
and  each  c.c.  of  thiosulphate  represents  8  mlgm.  of  bromine, 
or  2-3  mlgm.  of  salicylic  acid.  If  a  represents  the  number  of 
c.c.  of  bromate  solution  used,  and  b  the  number  of  c.c.  of 
thiosulphate  required  to  combine  with  the  liberated  iodine, 
then  (1*5  a  —  b)  x2'3=mlgm.  of  salicylic  acid  present. 

The  following  results  were  obtained  by  this  process : 


Quantity  of  salicylic  acid  taken  Quantity  of  salicylic  acid  found 


lO'O  mlgm. 
5-0      „ 
20-0      „ 
44-0      „ 
115-0 


9-89  mlgm. 

5-06  „ 
19-55  „ 
43-91  „ 
114-49 


DETECTION  AND  ESTIMATION  OF  BOEIC  ACID,  ETC.    351 

BEN  zoic  ACID 

Considering  the  marked  antiseptic  properties  of  this  acid, 
it  is  singular  that  it  is  not  more  used.  There  is  a  probability, 
however,  that  its  use  is  more  extensive  than  is  generally 
suspected.  It  is  not  so  easy  to  detect  with  certainty  as 
salicylic  acid,  and  if  a  mere  trace  of  the  latter  acid  is  present, 
the  difficulty  of  discovering  the  presence  of  benzoic  acid  is 
greatly  accentuated.  For  these  reasons  it  is  probably  either 
not  frequently  sought  for,  or  is  overlooked  in  the  presence  of 
salicylic  acid. 

Its  isolation  is  attempted  in  exactly  the  same  way  as 
already  described  for  salicylic  acid.  The  ether  solution,  on 
evaporation,  may  contain  salicylic  or  benzoic  acids,  or  both, 
and  also  saccharin  and  traces  of  colouring  matter  arid  acetic 
acid.  None  of  these  interfere  with  the  ordinary  tests  for 
salicylic  acid,  but  all  interfere  with  certain  of  the  tests  for 
benzoic  acid.  Saccharin  may  be  detected  by  the  taste,  colour- 
ing matter  by  the  appearance,  acetic  acid  by  the  odour,  and 
salicylic  acid  by  the  ferric  chloride  test.  If  all  these  are 
absent,  the  residue  may  be  dissolved  in  a  small  quantity  of 
water  to  which  a  little  solution  of  ammonia  has  been  added, 
and  the  solution  evaporated  nearly  to  dryness  to  drive  off  every 
trace  of  ammonia.  The  residue  may  be  slightly  diluted,  and  a 
drop  of  solution  of  ferric  chloride  added,  when  in  presence  of  a 
benzoate  a  characteristic  flesh-coloured  precipitate  is  produced. 
Unfortunately  this  is  by  no  means  a  delicate  test. 

In  Massachusetts  the  State  Board  of  Health  frequently 
reports  the  finding  of  benzoic  acid  in  jams,  ketchup,  &c.  In 
the  report  for  1902  it  is  stated  that,  of  samples  of  jams  and 
jellies  examined,  seven  contained  benzoic  acid,  and  three 
salicylic  acid.  They  point  out  that  the  ferric  chloride  test  as 
usually  applied  is  inapplicable  to  such  products  as  sweet 
pickles,  by  reason  of  the  formation  of  basic  ferric  acetate 
when  ferric  chloride  is  applied,  and  that  in  the  case  of  jams 
the  characteristic  colour  of  the  ferric  benzoate  is  apt  to  be 


352  PEESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

obscured  by  the  artificial  colouring  matter  so  often  present. 
In  such  cases  they  recommend  the  following  method  of  pro- 
cedure : 

'  Extract  the  acidified  sample  with  ether,  add  ammonia  to 
the  ether  extract  in  excess,  and  evaporate  to  dryness  in  a  large 
watch-glass.  Fasten  with  clips  or  otherwise  another  watch- 
glass  of  the  same  size  above  it,  thereby  forming  a  double 
convex  shell,  a  sheet  of  filter  paper  being  preferably  interposed 
between  the  two  glasses,  and  heat  the  lower  watch-glass  on  a 
small  sand-bath,  or  over  a  small  flame.  If  benzoic  acid  is 
present,  crystals  of  the  same  will  be  sublimed  on  the  upper 
watch-glass,  where  they  may  be  recognized  under  the  micro- 
scope ;  or  they  may  be  dissolved  in  dilute  ammonia,  the  solu- 
tion evaporated  to  dryness,  the  residue  taken  up  with  water, 
and  the  final  solution  tested  by  ferric  chloride  in  the  usual 
manner.' 

Peter's  Method. — In  the  absence  of  salicylic  acid  and 
saccharin,  the  benzoic  acid  may  be  oxidized  to  salicylic  acid  by 
the  following  process.1 

'  A  portion  of  the  residue,  say  Ol  gramme,  from  the  ether 
or  chloroform  extraction  of  the  suspected  article,  is  transferred 
to  a  large  test-tube,  and  dissolved  in  from  5  to  8  c.c.  of  strong 
sulphuric  acid.  Small  portions  of  barium  peroxide  are  then 
successively  added,  and  the  tube  shaken  in  cold  water  to  keep 
the  temperature  down,  using  from  O5  to  O8  gramme  of  the 
peroxide  in  all.  This  should  produce  a  permanent  froth  on 
the  sulphuric  acid  solution.  After  standing  for  half  an  hour 
the  test-tube  is  filled  three-quarters  full  of  water,  and  the 
mixture  shaken,  quickly  cooled,  and  filtered.  The  filtrate  is 
then  extracted  with  ether-chloroform,  and  the  extract  tested  in 
the  regular  manner  for  salicylic  acid/ 

Erevan's  Method  2  is  said  to  be  capable  of  detecting  the 
presence  of  a  milligramme  of  benzoic  acid  in  the  absence  of 

1  Dep.  Agric.,  U.S.A.,  Bureau  Chem.,  Bulletin  65,  p.  160  ;  Leach,  Food  Inspec- 
tion, p.  674. 

2  Annalcs  de  Chiin.  Analyt.,  vii.  43  ;  Year  Book  of  Pharmacy,  1902,  p.  39. 


DETECTION  AND  ESTIMATION  OF  BOEIC  ACID,  ETC.    353 

interfering  bodies.  The  ether  residue  is  transferred  to  a  perfectly 
dry  test-tube  and  O5  c.c.  of  aniline  oil,  containing  O02  gramme 
of  rosaniline  hydrochloride  in  100  c.c.  of  oil,  is  added.  This  is 
boiled  on  a  sand-bath  for  half  an  hour,  the  mouth  of  the  tube 
being  covered  with  a  small  bulb  of  water  to  condense  the 
aniline  vapour.  If  benzoic  acid  is  present  the  original  red 
tint  of  the  liquid  will  have  changed  to  a  more  or  less  decided 
violet  blue.  After  cooling,  a  few  drops  of  hydrochloric  acid 
are  added  to  combine  with  the  excess  of  aniline,  and  the 
mixture  diluted  with  water.  In  the  presence  of  benzoic  acid 
in  the  original  substance  an  insoluble  dark-blue  compound  is 
deposited,  which  is  collected,  washed  free  from  violet  colour 
with  water,  and  then  dissolved  in  alcohol.  The  alcohol  has  a 
marked  blue  colour  if  the  original  substance  contained  as  little 
as  1  mlgm.  of  benzoic  acid.  In  our  hands  this  test  gives 
better  results  with  salicylic  acid  than  with  benzoic  acid.  In 
some  experiments  recently  made,  the  presence  of  saccharin  did 
not  appear  to  interfere  with  the  reaction.  The  blue  colour  is 
best  obtained  by  passing  the  turbid  diluted  liquid  through  a 
small  filter,  when  the  blue  colouring  matter  is  left  on  the 
surface  of  the  paper,  and  after  washing  can  be  dissolved  in 
alcohol. 

Meisol's  Method.1 — Kender  250  c.c.  of  the  milk  alkaline 
with  baryta  water,  evaporate  in  the  water-bath  to  60  c.c. 
and  mix  with  sufficient  plaster-of-Paris  to  make  a  paste,  then 
continue  the  evaporation  to  dryness.  Powder  the  residue, 
moisten  with  very  dilute  sulphuric  acid,  and  exhaust  with 
50  per  cent,  alcohol.  Distil  off  the  alcohol,  and  evaporate 
the  residual  aqueous  solution  to  a  low  bulk,  acidify  with 
sulphuric  acid  if  necessary,  and  exhaust  by  repeated  shakings 
with  ether.  On  evaporation  of  the  ether,  the  benzoic  acid  is 
deposited,  and  may  be  recognized  by  its  crystalline  form, 
volatility,  action  with  ferric  chloride,  &c. 

There  are  no  methods  of  quantitatively  estimating  ben- 
zoic acid  such  as  have  been  described  for  salicylic  acid.  An 

1  Chemical  News,  1903,  p.  283. 

23 


354  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

approximation  may  be  obtained  by  using  a  larger  quantity  of 
material,  and  weighing  the  ether  residue,  carefully  dried  at 
as  low  a  temperature  as  possible. 

FOEMIC  ACID 

The  substance  under  examination  must  be  acidified  with 
sulphuric  or  phosphoric  acid,  and  distilled.  The  distillate,  if 
acid,  is  neutralized  with  ammonia,  and  evaporated  to  a  low 
bulk.  With  this  solution,  a  formate  being  present,  ferric 
chloride  yields  a  reddish  coloured  precipitate,  becoming  more 
marked  on  boiling.  Ammonio-nitrate  of  silver  yields  a  white 
precipitate,  becoming  black  on  boiling,  and  mercurous  nitrate 
yields  a  white  precipitate,  which  quickly  becomes  grey  from 
reduction  to  metallic  mercury.  Dilute  solutions  may  give  no 
precipitate  with  the  silver  salt,  but  deposit  metallic  silver  on 
heating. 

Quantitative  Estimation. — We  can  find  no  method  de- 
scribed for  estimating  small  quantities  of  formic  acid,  but  in 
our  hands  the  following  process  has  given  excellent  results. 
It  depends  upon  the  oxidation  of  the  acid  in  the  presence  of  an 
alkali  by  permanganate  of  potassium. 

To  the  distillate  containing  the  formic  acid,  concentrated  if 
necessary,  add  10  c.c.  of  solution  of  sodium  hydrate  (20  per 
cent.),  raise  to  the  boiling  point,  and  run  in  from  a  burette  a 
solution  of  permanganate  (1  c.c.  =  l  mlgm.  0)  in  excess.  Keep 
near  the  boiling  point  for  fifteen  minutes,  more  permanganate 
being  added  if  necessary  to  keep  the  liquid  very  distinctly 
coloured.  Allow  to  cool,  add  sulphuric  acid  in  excess,  dilute, 
put  in  a  few  crystals  of  potassium  iodide,  and  titrate  with 
sodium  thiosulphate.  The  amount  of  permanganate  added 
being  known,  the  amount  used  up  by  the  oxidation  of  the 
formic  acid  is  estimated.  As  16  mlgm.  of  oxygen  will  oxidize 
46  mlgm.  of  formic  acid,  the  quantity  of  the  latter  present  is 
readily  calculated. 

2H.CH0 


DETECTION  AND  ESTIMATION  OF  BOEIC  ACID,  ETC.    355 
The  following  results  were  obtained  in  testing  this  process : 


Quantity  of  acid  taken 

Quantity  of  acid  found 

3-3  mlgm. 
6-5      „ 
13-0      „ 
19-5      „ 
32-5      „ 
65-0      „ 

3'8  mlgm. 
6-4      , 
12-6      , 
19-0     , 
32-6      , 
64-7      , 

If  the  sodium  hydrate  solution  is  not  made  from  metallic 
sodium  it  is  advisable  to  boil  it,  and  add  a  very  dilute  solution 
of  permanganate  until  a  faint  but  permanent  colouration  is 
obtained.  The  excess  of  permanganate  is  so  small  that  no 
correction  is  necessary.  If  sulphurous  acid  be  present,  this 
must  be  converted  into  sulphuric  acid  by  the  very  careful 
addition  of  iodine  solution  before  rendering  alkaline  and  adding 
the  permanganate. 

Hydrogen  Peroxide. — This  compound  when  added  to  milk 
or  cream,  or  to  any  substance  rich  in  organic  matter,  so  readily 
splits  up  into  water  and  oxygen  that  it  will  probably  never  be  de- 
tected in  any  article  to  which  it  has  been  added  as  a  preservative. 
When  hydrogen  peroxide  has  been  added  to  milk  in  a  larger 
proportion  than  is  necessary  to  '  Buddeize  '  it,  its  presence  can 
only  be  detected  for  a  few  minutes  after  it  has  been  added  to 
the  milk. 

The  most  delicate  test  consists  in  the  addition  to  50  c.c.  of 
the  milk  of  1  c.c.  of  5  per  cent,  solution  of  potassium  iodide, 
a  little  starch  solution  and  1  c.c.  of  dilute  hydrochloric  acid 
(1  :  6).  In  the  presence  of  a  minute  quantity  of  the  peroxide 
the  blue  colour  appears  at  once.  The  limit  of  the  test  appears 
to  be  1  part  of  H202  in  50,000  parts  of  fresh  milk.  With  such 
a  dilution  the  reaction  can  only  be  obtained  for  a  few  minutes 
after  mixing.  If  the  milk  is  becoming  sour  the  hydrogen 
peroxide  appears  to  be  decomposed  instantly,  and  a  far  larger 
quantity  must  be  added  to  admit  of  detection. 

Bach's   reagent    whilst    differentiating  between   hydrogen 


356  PEESEKVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

peroxide  and  chlorine,  nitrites,  and  other  bodies  capable  of 
liberating  iodine  from  potassium  iodide,  is  far  less  delicate  than 
the  above.  The  reagent  consists  of  two  solutions  :  (1)  O03 
gramme  potassium  bichromate  and  5  drops  of  aniline  oil  in 
1  litre  of  water ;  (2)  a  5  per  cent,  solution  of  oxalic  acid.  To 
5  c.c.  of  the  solution  to  be  tested  an  equal  volume  of  the  bi- 
chromate solution  is  added  and  1  drop  of  the  oxalic  acid 
solution.  Upon  shaking,  the  production  of  a  violet  red 
colouration,  which  reaches  its  maximum  intensity  very  quickly, 
indicates  the  presence  of  a  peroxide. 

Kingsett's  method  for  determining  the  strength  of  solutions 
of  hydrogen  peroxide  is  as  follows :  Mix  10  c.c.  of  the  solution 
with  40  c.c.  of  25  per  cent,  sulphuric  acid  and  50  c.c.  distilled 
water.  Add  10  c.c.  of  this  dilution  to  an  equal  volume  of 
10  per  cent,  solution  of  potassium  iodide  and  allow  to  stand  for 
five  minutes.  Titrate  the  iodine  liberated  with  decinormal 
solution  of  sodium  thiosulphate,  and  calculate  the  amount  of 
hydrogen  peroxide  from  the  equation  H202  +  2HI=2H20  +  I2. 
The  thiosulphate  being  of  the  correct  strength,  each  c.c.  will 
represent  0'8  mlgrn.  of  available  oxygen  or  !•?  mlgm.  H202. 


CHAPTEE  XXVIII 

DETECTION   AND   ESTIMATION   OF   METALLIC   IMPURITIES 

Arsenic. — The  commission  of  experts  appointed  by  the 
Manchester  Brewers'  Association  recommended  Eeinsch's  test 
for  the  detection  of  arsenic  in  beer,  and  directed  it  to  be  per- 
formed in  the  following  manner  : 

'  Take  200  c.c.  of  the  beer  in  a  porcelain  evaporating  dish, 
acidulate  with  1  c.c.  of  pure  concentrated  hydrochloric  acid,  and 
evaporate  until  the  volume  of  liquid  is  reduced  to  one-half.  Then 
add  a  further  15  c.c.  of  the  hydrochloric  acid,  and  insert  a  piece  of 
pure  burnished  copper  foil,  a  quarter  of  an  inch  by  half  an  inch  in 
size,  and  keep  the  solution  gently  simmering  for  an  hour,  replacing 
the  evaporated  liquor  from  time  to  time  by  distilled  water.  If  at  the 
end  of  an  hour  the  copper  remains  bright  and  red,  the  beer  is  arsenic 
free. 

'  If  a  deposit  is  obtained  on  the  copper,  the  foil  should  be  removed, 
washed  successively  with  water,  alcohol,  and  ether,  dried  at  a  tem- 
perature not  exceeding  100°  C.  and  subjected  to  slow  sublimation  in 
a  thin  reduction  tube,  not  less  than  2  inches  long  and  having  an 
internal  diameter  of  0-15  inch,  the  upper  portion  of  which  should  be 
warmed  before  the  sublimation  begins.  For  the  purpose  of  the 
sublimation  a  small  spirit  lamp  should  be  used.  If  any  sublimate  is 
obtained,  it  must  be  examined  under  a  magnifying  power  of  about 
200  diameters.  Any  sublimate  which  does  not  show  well-marked 
octahedral  or  tetrahedral  crystals  is  not  to  be  considered  arsenical. 
Mere  blackening  of  the  copper,  or  deposit  thereon,  does  not  demon- 
strate the  presence  of  arsenic. 

'  The  addition  of  oxidizing  agents  to  decompose  sulphites,  and 
the  use  of  reducing  agents  to  decompose  possible  arsenates,  is  not 
recommended,  as  such  a  procedure  is  in  our  opinion  unnecessary 
in  the  testing  of  beer,  and  introduces  possible  sources  of  error.' 

This  test  is  not  absolutely  reliable,  nor  is  it  so  delicate  as 
the  test  next  to  be  described.  It  will,  however,  detect  one- 


358  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

fiftieth  of  a  grain  of  arsenic  in  the  gallon  of  beer  (1  in  3,500,000). 
Neither  this  nor  Marsh's  test  will  detect  arsenic  in  organic 
combination,  hence  when  the  presence  of  such  a  compound  is 
suspected  the  organic  matter  must  be  destroyed  before  apply- 
ing tests. 

A  conjoint  Committee  of  the  Society  of  Chemical  Industry 
and  of  the  Society  of  Public  Analysts,  appointed  in  March 
1901,  after  an  examination  of  various  methods  of  detecting  and 
estimating  arsenic,  recommended  the  methods  of  Marsh- 
Berzelius,  and  finding  great  difficulty  in  obtaining  arsenic-free 
chemicals,  the  Committee  in  their  report  described  the  methods 
they  recommended  for  securing  the  requisite  purity  of  the  re- 
agents, &c.,  employed.  The  following  is  a  copy  of  their  report,1 
every  detail  of  which  must  be  carefully  followed  if  reliable 
results  are  to  be  obtained. 

'  Materials  required. — Hydrochloric  acid. — The  purest  hydrochloric 
acid  obtainable  is  very  rarely  free  from  arsenic.  To  the  "  pure  "  acid, 
as  purchased  for  analysis,  diluted  with  distilled  water  to  a  specific 
gravity  of  I'lO,  sufficient  bromine  is  added  to  colour  it  strongly 
yellow  (about  5  c.c.  per  litre),  sulphurous  acid,  either  gaseous  or  in 
aqueous  solution,  is  then  added  in  excess,  and  the  mixture  is  aUowed 
to  stand  for  at  least  twelve  hours.  Or  hydrobromic  acid  and 
sulphurous  acid  may  be  used.  The  acid  is  then  boiled  till  about 
one-fifth  has  evaporated,  and  the  residue  can  either  be  used  direct, 
or  may  be  distilled,  the  whole  of  the  arsenic  having  volatilized  with 
the  first  portion. 

'  Sulphuric  acid. — This  is  more  frequently  obtainable  arsenic-free 
than  hydrochloric  acid.  If  not  procurable,  to  about  half  a  litre  of 
sulphuric  acid,  "  pure  for  analysis,"  a  few  grammes  of  sodium 
chloride  are  added  and  the  mixture  distilled  from  a  non-tubulated 
glass  retort,  the  first  portion  of  about  50  c.c.  being  rejected.  For  the 
purpose  of  the  test  to  be  described,  one  volume  of  the  distilled  acid  is 
diluted  with  four  volumes  of  water. 

'  Nitric  acid  can,  as  a  rule,  be  obtained  free  from  arsenic  without 
much  difficulty,  the  pure  redistilled  acid  being  used.  This  should  be 
tested  by  evaporating  20  c.c.  in  a  porcelain  dish,  which  should  then 
be  washed  out  with  dilute  acid,  and  tested  as  described  in  this 
report. 

1  TJie  Analyst,  February  1902,  p.  48. 


DETECTION  OF  METALLIC  IMPURITIES  359 

1  The  purified  acids  should  be  prepared  as  required,  and  should  not 
be  stored  for  any  length  of  time.  If  this  be  unavoidable,  however, 
Jena  flasks  are  to  be  preferred,  since  most  bottle-glass  is  liable  to 
communicate  traces  of  arsenic. 

'  Zinc. — Arsenic-free  zinc  is  obtainable  from  chemical  dealers.  It 
should  be  regranulated  by  melting  it  and  pouring  it  from  some  height 
into  cold  water. 

'  Lime. — Caustic  lime,  even  when  made  from  white  marble,  is  not 
always  free  from  arsenic.  A  selection  must,  therefore,  be  made  from 
various  samples.  If  pure  lime  is  not  obtainable,  magnesia  may  equally 
well  be  used,  and  can  be  more  readily  obtained  of  sufficient  purity. 

1  Calcium  Chloride.— This  salt  often  contains  arsenic,  and  before 
being  used  as  a  drying  agent  must  be  freed  from  the  volatilizable 
part  of  the  impurity  by  moistening  it  with  strong  hydrochloric  acid, 
fusing  and  regranulating. 

•  Apparatus.— A  bottle  or  flask,  holding  about  200  c.c.  (for  froth- 
ing materials  preferably  wider  at  top  than  bottom),  is  fitted  with  a 
doubly  bored  cork,  india-rubber  stopper,  or  with  a  ground-in  glass 
connection,  carrying  a  tapped  funnel  holding  about  50  c.c.  and  an 
exit  tube.  The  latter  is  connected  with  a  drying  tube  containing, 
first,  a  roll  of  blotting-paper  soaked  in  lead  acetate  solution  and  dried, 
or  a  layer  of  cotton-wool  prepared  in  a  similar  way,  then  a  wad  of 
cotton-wool,  then  a  layer  of  granulated  calcium  chloride,  and  finally 
a  thick  wad  of  cotton -wool.  To  this  tube  is  fitted  a  hard-glass  tube, 
drawn  out  as  shown  in  the  figure,  and  of  such  external  diameter  that 
at  the  place  where  the  arsenic-mirror  is  to  be  expected  the  tube  just 
passes  through  a  No.  13  Birmingham  wire  gauge  (corresponding 
with  0*092  inch).  The  exact  size  is  not  material,  but  all  tubes  used 
for  standards  and  tests  should  be  as  nearly  as  practicable  of  the  same 
diameter.  A  good  Bunsen  flame  is  used  to  heat  the  hard-glass  tube 
close  to  the  constriction.  About  1  inch  of  tube,  including  the 
shoulder,  ought  to  be  red-hot.  A  piece  of  moderately  fine  copper 
gauze  (about  1  inch  square)  wrapped  round  the  portion  of  the  tube 
to  be  heated  assists  in  insuring  equal  distribution  of  heat.  A  suitable 
form  of  apparatus  is  shown  in  the  figure  on  page  360. 

'  About  20  grammes  of  zinc  are  placed  in  the  bottle,  and  washed 
with  water  to  clean  the  surface,  as  particles  of  dust  may  contain 
arsenic  ;  all  parts  of  the  apparatus  are  connected,  and  a  sufficient 
quantity  of  acid  (prepared  as  previously  described)  allowed  to  flow 
from  the  funnel,  so  as  to  cause  a  fairly  brisk  evolution  of  hydrogen. 
When  the  hydrogen  flame,  which  during  the  heating  of  the  tube 
should  be  kept  at  as  uniform  a  height  as  possible  (about  a  quarter  of 


360 


PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 


an  inch),  burns  with  a  round,  not  pointed,  tip,  all  air  has  been 
removed  from  the  apparatus.  The  Bunsen  burner  should  then  be 
placed  under  the  hard-glass  tube  as  described,  and  more  acid  (10  to 
20  c.c.  is  generally  enough)  run  in  as  required.  With  good  materials 
no  trace  of  a  mirror  is  obtained  within  half  an  hour.  Great  care 
must  be  taken  that  when  additions  of  acid  are  made  to  the  zinc  no 
bubble  of  air  is  introduced,  since  in  presence  of  air  the  arsenic  mirror 
may  become  black  and  unevenly  distributed,  whilst  it  is  brown  when 
the  experiment  has  been  properly  conducted. 


'  Should  the  blank  experiment  not  be  satisfactory  it  must  be 
ascertained,  by  changing  the  materials  methodically,  whether  the  fault 
lies  with  the  acid,  zinc,  other  materials,  or  with  the  apparatus. 

'  Preparation  of  Standard  Mirrors. — When  a  satisfactory  blank 
experiment  has  been  obtained,  a  series  of  standard  mirrors  must  be 
prepared  under  the  following  conditions  : 

'  A  hydrochloric  acid  solution  of  arsenious  oxide,  containing  in 
each  cubic  centimetre  O'OOl  milligramme  As406,  is  prepared  by 
diluting  a  stronger  solution  with  distilled  water.  Two  c.c.  of  this 
solution  (equal  to  0'002  milligramme  of  arsenious  oxide)  are  in- 
troduced into  the  apparatus,  a  new  tube  having  been  joined  to  the 
drying  tube.  If  the  zinc  is  sensitive,  a  distinct  brown  mirror  is 
obtained  after  twenty  minutes.  It  is  important  to  note  that  some 
"pure"  zinc  is,  from  a  cause  at  present  unknown,1  not  sufficiently 

1  Vide  Chapman  and  Law,  The  Analyst,  1906,  p.  3. 


361 

sensitive — that  is  to  say,  the  addition  of  minute  quantities  of  arsenic 
produces  no  mirrors.  The  portion  of  the  tube  containing  the  mirror 
should  be  sealed  off  while  still  filled  with  hydrogen  ;  in  contact  with 
air  the  mirrors  gradually  fade.  Mirrors  are  now  similarly  made  with 
0-004,  0-006,  0-008,  and  O'Ol  milligramme  of  arsenious  oxide.  With 
a  little  patience  it  is  easy  to  obtain  the  deposits  of  arsenic  neatly  and 
equally  distributed.  The  standard  mirrors,  properly  marked,  are 
mounted  on  a  white  card  or  porcelain  slip.  It  is  to  be  understood 
that  the  first  stage  of  every  test  must  be  a  blank  of  at  least  twenty 
minutes. 

'  Hydrochloric  acid  is  somewhat  more  sensitive  than  sulphuric 
acid — that  is  to  say,  it  gives  rather  denser  mirrors  with  minute 
quantities  of  arsenic.  If  for  one  reason  or  another  sulphuric  acid  is 
preferred  by  the  operator,  he  must  make  a  set  of  standard  mirrors 
with  sulphuric  acid,  and  use  these  for  comparison.  Organic 
materials,  such  as  beer,  yeast,  &c.,  cannot  be  tested  when  sulphuric 
acid  is  used  without  destruction  of  the  organic  matter,  whilst,  as  a 
rule,  they  can  be  directly  tested  with  hydrochloric  acid.  However, 
many  materials  are  met  with  in  which  it  is  preferable  to  destroy  the 
organic  matter. 

'  Procedure  without  Destruction  of  Organic  Matter. — The  apparatus 
is  started,  and  a  blank  experiment  allowed  to  go  on  for  twenty 
minutes.  If  no  trace  of  deposit  is  obtained,  10  c.c.  of  the  liquid  to  be 
tested  and  about  10  c.c.  of  hydrochloric  acid  are  put  into  the  funnel, 
and  slowly  introduced  into  the  bottle  without  air-bubbles.  Some 
materials  (beers,  for  example)  are  apt  to  froth,  hence  the  necessity 
for  slow  introduction.  If  after  about  ten  minutes  no  mirror  appears, 
another  10  c.c.  of  the  liquid,  with  10  c.c.  of  hydrochloric  acid,  are 
added,  and  the  experiment  continued  for  fifteen  to  twenty  minutes, 
acid  being  from  time  to  time  added  as  may  appear  necessary. 

'  Malt. — Fifty  grammes  of  the  malt  are  placed  in  a  300  c.c. 
separator  funnel,  furnished  with  a  stopcock ;  50  c.c.  of  hydrochloric 
acid,  prepared  as  described,  and  50  c.c.  of  water  are  warmed  to  about 
50°  C.  and  poured  on  the  malt.  The  whole  is  then  allowed  to  digest 
for  fifteen  to  twenty  minutes,  with  frequent  agitation,  and  the  acid 
then  allowed  to  run  off  by  the  stopcock.  About  60  c.c.  of  the  acid 
liquor  is  thus  obtained,  of  which  every  20  c.c.  contains  the  arsenic 
from  10  grammes  of  the  malt. 

'  Hops. — Twenty  grammes  of  hops  are  digested  with  100  c.c.  of 
dilute  hydrochloric  acid  (one  volume  of  the  purified  acid  to  one 
volume  of  water)  at  about  50°  C.  for  half  an  hour,  50  c.c.  of  the 
strained-off  liquid  being  used  for  the  test. 


362  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

'  Sugar  and  other  brewing  materials  are  dissolved  in  water,  10  c.c. 
of  acid  added,  and  the  solution  tested  direct,  operating  upon  from 
10  to  20  grammes  of  material. 

'Destruction  of  Organic  Matter. —  (a)  Acid  Method. — Ten  grammes 
of  the  substance  are  placed  in  a  S^-inch  porcelain  crucible,  and 
covered  with  pure  distilled  nitric  acid  (about  10  to  15  c.c.).  The 
whole  is  then  heated  on  a  sand-bath  until  the  evolution  of  brown 
fumes  ceases.  Three  c.c.  of  concentrated  arsenic-free  sulphuric  acid 
are  then  added,  and  the  heating  continued  until  the  mass  just  begins 
to  char,  when  a  further  quantity  of  5  c.c.  of  nitric  acid  is  added. 
The  heating  is  now  continued  until  all  the  acid  is  expelled,  leaving  in 
the  crucible  a  black,  nearly  dry,  charred  mass.  The  crucible  is  about 
half  filled  with  water,  and  a  few  c.c.  of  hydrochloric  acid,  or  of  dilute 
sulphuric  acid,  run  in  (according  as  the  one  or  the  other  is  to  be  used 
in  the  Marsh  apparatus),  the  whole  being  allowed  to  extract  for  about 
half  an  hour  on  a  water-bath.  It  is  then  filtered  into  a  porcelain 
basin,  the  charred  mass  washed  with  hot  water,  and  the  filtrate  con- 
centrated down  to  about  30  c.c.,  which  is  allowed  to  cool,  and  is  then 
ready  for  the  test.  It  is  essential  that  the  mass  should  be  thoroughly 
charred,  and  that  the  solution  when  filtered  should  be  colourless. 

'  In  the  case  of  beer,  10  to  20  c.c.  are  evaporated  to  dryness  on  a 
water-bath,  and  the  residue  oxidized  as  above  stated. 

'  Hops. — Ten  c.c.  of  pure  nitric  acid  and  5  c.c.  of  pure  con- 
centrated sulphuric  acid  are  mixed  in  a  3^-inch  porcelain  crucible, 
and  the  hops  are  then  added  in  small  portions  at  a  time,  each 
quantity  being  thoroughly  disintegrated  by  pressure  under  the  acid 
with  a  glass  rod,  a  further  quantity  of  5  c.c.  of  nitric  acid  being 
added  when  about  half  the  hops  have  thus  been  introduced.  The 
crucible  with  its  contents  is  then  cautiously  warmed  so  as  to  avoid 
frothing  over.  When  the  evolution  of  dense  red  fumes  ceases  the 
heating  is  increased,  and  the  acids  are  evaporated  on  a  sand-bath, 
and  a  dry  charred  mass  extracted  with  dilute  acid,  filtered,  con- 
centrated, and  introduced  into  the  Marsh  apparatus  in  the  ordinary 
way.  It  may  be  noted  that  with  many  English  hops  of  relatively 
fine  texture  the  addition  of  the  second  quantity  of  nitric  acid  above 
recommended  is  unnecessary. 

'  When,  owing  to  the  presence  of  larger  quantities  of  arsenic, 
smaller  amounts  of  substance — e.g.  0'5  gramme  to  2  grammes — are 
taken,  the  quantities  of  acids  recommended  above  may,  of  course,  be 
reduced. 

'  (b)  Basic  Method. — The  materials  are  mixed  with  pure  lime  or 
magnesia  (1  gramme  for  20  c.c.  of  beer),  dried  and  incinerated.  For 


DETECTION  OF  METALLIC  IMPUKITIES  363 

sugars  or  other  solid  materials  about  half  their  weight  of  base  is 
employed.  The  ash  is  dissolved  in  hydrochloric  acid,  and  the  solution 
tested.  This  method  is  not  recommended  for  hops. 

'  Of  coal  or  other  fuel,  after  careful  sampling,  two  portions  of  1 
gramme  each  are  weighed.  One  portion  is  incinerated  in  a  platinum 
dish  in  a  muffle,  and  the  hydrochloric  acid  extract  of  the  ash  tested 
for  "  non-volatile  arsenic."  The  other  is  intimately  mixed  with 
1  gramme  of  lime  or  magnesia  and  also  incinerated.  The  hydro- 
chloric acid  extract  of  the  latter  gives  the  "  total  arsenic,"  the 
difference  between  the  two  determinations  being  the  "  volatile 
arsenic."  It  may  in  some  cases  be  found  that  the  above-mentioned 
quantity  of  fuel  gives  a  mirror  too  dense  to  be  measured.  When 
this  is  the  case  the  hydrochloric  acid  extract  is  diluted  to  a  deter- 
minate volume  and  an  aliquot  portion  taken. 

'  Sulphites. — The  sulphurous  acid  must  be  oxidized  by  bromine, 
the  excess  of  the  latter  being  removed  by  heating. 

'  The  Committee  have  convinced  themselves  that  arsenic  in  both 
states  of  oxidation  can  be  detected  and  estimated  by  the  procedure 
described. 

'As  an  additional  precaution  a  fresh  tube  should  always  be 
substituted  for  that  containing  the  mirror,  and  the  experiment 
continued  for  a  further  period  of  fifteen  minutes.  Should  a  second 
mirror  be  formed,  the  quantity  of  arsenic  with  which  it  corresponds 
is  to  be  added  to  that  shown  by  the  first. 

'  It  must  be  understood  that  the  tests  are  only  approximate,  and 
that  mirrors  corresponding  with  less  than  0*003  milligramme  of 
arsenious  oxide  in  the  quantity  of  materials  taken  cannot  be  safely 
relied  upon.  When  a  mirror  has  been  obtained,  a  duplicate  test 
should  always  be  made  to  preclude  error  by  accidental  contamination. 

'  The  proof  that  the  mirrors  are  arsenical  is  obtained  as  follows : 
The  narrow  portion  of  the  tube  containing  the  mirror  (which  should 
not  be  denser  that  that  produced  by  0*01  milligramme  of  arsenious 
oxide)  is  cut  off,  the  hydrogen  replaced  by  air,  and  the  ends  sealed  up. 
The  tube,  held  in  the  tongs,  is  then  heated  by  drawing  it  repeatedly 
through  the  flame  of  a  Bunsen  lamp  until  the  mirror  has  disappeared. 
On  cooling,  minute  crystals  of  arsenious  oxide  deposit,  the  sparkling 
of  which  can  be  seen  with  the  naked  eye  if  the  tube  be  held  before  a 
luminous  flame,  and  which  can  be  readily  identified  under  the 
microscope  by  their  crystalline  form. 

1  This  test,  as  recommended,  is  one  of  such  extreme  delicacy,  that 
with  quantities  of  20  grammes  (or  20  c.c.)  it  will  give  an  indication  of 
the  presence  of  0-000015  per  cent,  (or  1  part  in  7,000,000)  of 
arsenious  oxide.' 


364  PEESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

This  process  gives  excellent  results  and  leaves  little  to  be 
desired.  It  is  the  one  now  almost  universally  employed.  An 
attempt  has  been  made  to  simplify  it,  where  an  electric  current 
of  sufficient  intensity  is  available,  by  generating  the  hydrogen 
electrolytically,  using  platinum  electrodes.  This  method  is  fully 
described  in  the  -report  of  the  Inland  Eevenue  Departmental 
Committee.1 

We  have  had  no  experience  with  this  electrolytic  process, 
but  Sand  and  Hackford  regard  platinum  electrodes  as  altogether 
unsuitable  for  the  purpose,  and  recommend  lead  as  a  substitute.2 

The  advantages  claimed  for  the  electrolytic  method  are  : 

1.  That  it  obviates  the  use  of  zinc. 

2.  That  it  is  simple  in  execution. 

3.  That   the   results   obtained   by  different   operators   are 
strictly  comparable. 

4.  That  the  whole  of  the  arsenic  can  be  obtained  from  a 
beer  in  thirty  minutes,  and  beer  and  aqueous  extract  of  malt 
may  be  used  without  prior  destruction  of  the  organic  matter. 

5.  That  the  deposits  obtained  are  more  uniform  in  character 
than  those  furnished  with  the  acid  and  zinc  method. 

6.  That  a  number  of  estimations  may  be  made  at  the  same 
time. 

The  disadvantages  are  that  the  apparatus  is  costly,  and 
that  a  current  of  sufficient  intensity  is  not  always  available. 

Gauter 3  has  described  a  method  of  separating  very  minute 
quantities  of  arsenic  based  on  the  fact  that,  on  precipitating 
iron  in  the  ferric  state  from  the  suspected  solution,  every  trace 
of  arsenic  in  solution  is  simultaneously  carried  down.  The 
arsenic  thus  removed  is  subsequently  determined  by  the  Marsh- 
Berzelius  method.  The  test  is  alleged  to  be  so  delicate  that 
OOOl  mlgm.  of  arsenic  may  be  determined  in  a  litre  of  water. 
Using  this  process  Gauter  has  been  able  to  show  that  arsenic 
is  almost  ubiquitous. 

1  Report  Royal  Commission  on  Arsenical  Poisoning,  vol.  ii.  p.  208. 

2  Proceedings,  Chemical  Society,  xx.  123. 

3  Analyst,  December,  1902,  p.  367. 


DETECTION  OF  METALLIC  IMPURITIES  365 

Many  other  excellent  and  delicate  methods  of  detecting 
arsenic  have  been  devised,  but  as  the  results  would  always 
require  confirming  by  Marsh's  test  it  is  quite  unnecessary  to 
describe  them. 

Lead  and  Copper. — In  water,  and  aerated  waters  free  from 
saccharine  matter,  tests  may  be  applied  directly  to  the  liquid 
for  the  detection  of  lead  and  for  its  estimation  colorimetrically, 
but  in  all  cases  where  organic  matter  is  present  the  latter 
should  be  completely  destroyed  before  proceeding  to  apply 
either  qualitative  or  quantitative  tests. 

A  fair  sample  of  the  whole  mass  having  been  secured,  it 
should  be  evaporated  as  nearly  to  dryness  as  possible  in  a 
porcelain  capsule  upon  the  water-bath,  moistened  with  strong 
sulphuric  acid  (free  from  lead),  and  carefully  heated  until 
completely  carbonized.  The  ignition  may  then  be  continued 
in  a  muffle  until  all  the  carbon  has  disappeared,  the  process 
being  hastened,  if  necessary,  by  occasionally  moistening  the 
residue  with  strong  nitric  acid.  The  ash  is  then  moistened  with 
acetic  acid,  an  excess  of  ammonia  added  with  a  little  water,  and 
the  solution  boiled  and  filtered.  The  process  is  repeated  until 
the  ash  is  exhausted,  and  the  filtrate  is  made  up  to  a  definite 
volume.  Small  quantities  may  then  be  tested  for  copper  by 
potassium  ferrocyanide  ;  if  any  appreciable  quantity  is  present 
the  liquid  will  have  a  brown  colour,  if  absent,  lead  may  be 
detected  by  the  addition  of  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  after 
acidifying  with  hydrochloric  acid.  If  copper  is  present,  a 
little  potassium  cyanide  must  be  added  to  the  solution  before 
adding  the  sulphuretted  hydrogen  water  to  test  for  lead. 

The  amount  of  copper  present,  if  very  minute,  can  be 
estimated  colorimetrically  by  means  of  potassium  ferrocyanide  ; 
if  present  in  appreciable  quantity  it  may  still  be  estimated 
colorimetrically  by  comparison  with  standard  solutions  of 
copper  containing  solution  of  ammonia,  or  it  may  be  determined 
electrolytically.  For  this  purpose  a  known  quantity  of  the 
liquid  is  acidified,  and  placed  in  a  tared  platinum  dish  or 
crucible.  This  is  connected  to  the  zinc  of  a  single  Grove's 


366  PEESEKVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

cell.  A  platinum  spatula  or  slip  of  platinum  foil  is  connected 
with  the  platinum  of  the  cell  and  suspended  in  the  liquid,  care 
being  taken  that  it  does  not  touch  the  side  or  bottom  of  the 
dish  or  crucible.  The  current  is  allowed  to  pass  for  several 
hours,  or  until  a  drop  of  the  liquid  removed  ceases  to  give  a 
colouration  with  dilute  solution  of  potassium  ferrocyanide.  The 
dish  is  then  removed,  washed  successively  with  boiling  distilled 
water,  alcohol,  and  ether,  dried  and  weighed.  The  weight  of 
the  copper  in  the  amount  of  liquid  used  being  thus  ascertained, 
a  simple  calculation  gives  the  amount  in  the  quantity  of  original 
material  employed. 

In  another  portion  the  lead  may  be  determined  colori- 
metrically  by  the  addition  of  sulphuretted  hydrogen  water,  and 
comparison  of  the  tint  produced  with  that  of  solutions  of  lead  of 
known  strength.  In  the  presence  of  copper,  a  little  potassium 
cyanide  must  have  been  added  prior  to  the  introduction  of  the 
sulphuretted  hydrogen. 

Paul  and  Cownley  recommend  the  following  process  for 
the  estimation  of  copper  in  vegetables.  Carbonize  about  100 
grammes  in  a  platinum  dish,  extract  the  ash  with  strong 
hydrochloric  acid,  filter  through  an  acid-washed  filter  into  a 
porcelain  dish.  The  residue,  insoluble  in  acid,  is  moistened 
with  a  few  drops  of  nitric  acid,  dried  and  ignited.  The  resulting 
mass  is  exhausted  with  strong  hydrochloric  acid  filtered  into  the 
first  portion  in  the  porcelain  dish,  and  the  residue  in  the  filter 
washed  with  hot  water.  The  hydrochloric  acid  solution  is 
then  evaporated  down  to  about  30  c.c.,  placed  in  a  weighed 
platinum  dish,  the  copper  precipitated  by  pure  zinc  and 
weighed.  If  the  deposited  metal  is  not  of  a  pure  copper 
colour,  it  is  dissolved  in  a  little  nitric  acid,  made  up  to  a 
known  quantity,  and  the  metal  estimated  colorimetrically  in 
an  ammoniacal  solution. 

Great  differences  are  often  found  in  determinations  made 
by  different  chemists,  and  Vedrodi !  claims  to  have  obtained 
a  hundred  times  as  much  copper  by  the  following  method 

1  Chem.  Zeit.  May  1896,  and  Pharm.  Journal,  June  6,  1896. 


DETECTION  OF  METALLIC  IMPUEITIES  367 

than  by  Lehinann's,  which  consists  in  destroying  the  organic 
matter  with  sulphuric  acid.  He  burns  the  material  in  a  muffle 
for  eight  hours,  exhausts  the  ash  with  hydrochloric  acid,  pre- 
cipitates the  copper  as  sulphide  with  sulphuretted  hydrogen, 
and  after  ignition  weighs  as  oxide.  Dr.  Paul  has  pointed  out 
that  it  is  unsafe  to  regard  this  final  product  as  pure  copper 
oxide. 

Tin. — Proceed  as  directed  for  copper  and  lead  to  obtain  the 
ash.  Transfer  this  to  a  silver  crucible  and  fuse  with  caustic 
soda,  exhaust  the  smelt  with  boiling  water  acidulated  with 
hydrochloric  acid,  and  after  filtration  pass  sulphuretted  hydrogen 
into  the  solution.  A  yellow  precipitate  soluble  in  ammonium 
sulphide  indicates  the  presence  of  tin,  and  the  quantity  may  be 
estimated  by  collecting  the  precipitate  in  a  small  crucible  and 
converting  it  into  stannic  oxide  by  the  continued  application 
of  a  gentle  heat  with  free  access  of  air,  and  weighing. 

Antimony. — Beverages  kept  in  bottles,  the  stoppers  of 
which  have  rubber  rings,  should  be  examined  for  particles  of 
rubber.  For  this  purpose  several  bottles  should  be  opened  and 
the  contents  passed  through  a  small  filter  paper.  The  deposit 
can  then  be  examined  with  a  magnifying  glass  and  the  pieces 
picked  out,  or  the  whole  may,  after  washing,  be  boiled  with  a 
little  concentrated  nitric  acid,  evaporated  to  dryness,  and  the 
residue  treated  with  a  little  hydrochloric  and  tartaric  acid,  and 
taken  up  in  boiling  water.  The  solution  can  then  be  examined 
by  the  zinc  platinum  test  for  the  presence  of  antimony. 

If  the  presence  of  an  appreciable  quantity  is  indicated,  the 
solution  must  be  placed  in  a  small  flask,  warmed,  and  a  current 
of  sulphuretted  hydrogen  passed  through  it  until  saturated. 
The  flask  should  then  be  stoppered  and  kept  for  a  few  hours  in 
a  warm  place,  after  which  the  excess  of  sulphuretted  hydrogen 
is  removed  by  a  current  of  carbon  dioxide,  and  the  precipitate 
collected  in  a  small  tared  asbestos  filtering  tube.  It  is  then 
dried  at  a  gentle  heat  in  a  slow  current  of  carbon  dioxide,  after 
which  the  heat  is  carefully  increased  until  the  sulphide  turns 
black  and  all  free  sulphur  has  volatilized.  The  tube  is  then 


368  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

allowed  to  cool,  the  carbon  dioxide  displaced  by  air,  and  the 
tube  again  weighed.  The  increase  in  weight  corresponds  to 
the  amount  of  antimony  sulphide  in  the  material  used. 

Smaller  quantities  may  probably  prove  capable  of  determina- 
tion by  Marsh's  test,  in  the  way  described  under  arsenic.  The 
antimony  mirror  is  deposited  nearer  the  flame  than  the  arsenic 
mirror,  and  when  heated  in  a  current  of  sulphuretted  hydrogen 
it  is  converted  into  the  orange  or  black  sulphide.  If  now 
dry  hydrochloric  acid  is  passed  through  the  tube,  chloride  of 
antimony  is  formed  and  volatilizes. 

Our  experiments  in  order  to  make  this  test  quantitative 
proved  very  unsatisfactory,  and  the  following  method  was 
adopted.  A  standard  solution  containing  tartar  emetic  equi- 
valent to  0-1  nilgrn.  of  antimony  in  1  c.c.  was  prepared,  from 
which  further  dilutions  were  made  as  required.  From  1  to  10  c.c. 
of  these  dilutions  was  acidulated  with  hydrochloric  acid,  placed 
in  a  platinum  dish,  a  fragment  of  zinc  added,  and  the  deposit 
formed  in  the  course  of  one  or  two  hours  compared  with  that 
derived  from  the  same  quantity  of  the  fluid  to  be  tested  pre- 
pared as  above  described.  The  limit  of  the  test  appears  to  be 
about  0-1  mlgm.  of  antimony.  Using  10  c.c.  of  liquid  contain- 
ing O'Ol  mlgm.  per  c.c.,  a  decided  stain  was  obtained,  but  with 
greater  dilutions  the  results  were  negative,  or  the  stain  too  faint 
to  be  recognizable  with  certainty.  More  concordant  results 
were  obtained  by  this  method  than  by  the  Marsh-Berzelius  pro- 
cess, and  with  very  much  less  trouble  and  expenditure  of  time. 


CHAPTEK   XXIX 

EXAMINATION    OF    FOOD    AND    DRINK   FOR    COAL-TAR    COLOURS 

THE  following  simple  tests  have  been  found  reliable  in  a  recent 
investigation  carried  out  by  one  of  us.  They  are  based  on 
a  method  recommended  by  Sostegni  and  Carpentieri '  for  the 
detection  of  acid  dyes.  The  great  majority  of  coal-tar  dyes 
used  for  food  colouring  are  '  acid,'  very  few  '  basic  '  colours 
being  employed  for  this  purpose.  The  basic  colours  are  taken 
up  by  white  grease-free  wool  upon  boiling  in  a  neutral  or 
faintly  alkaline  solution,  and  the  colour  removed  by  the  wool 
can  be  obtained  in  solution  by  treating  the  wool  with  a  5  per 
cent,  solution  of  acetic  acid.  The  acid  colours  are  taken  up 
by  the  wool  from  acid  solutions,  and  can  be  recovered  from 
the  wool  by  treating  the  latter  with  a  very  dilute  solution  of 
ammonia.  The  double  dyeing  recommended  below  is  necessary 
because  certain  vegetable  colours,  such  as  logwood  and  cochi- 
neal, are  also  capable  of  staining  wool.  These  colours,  how- 
ever, are  not  taken  up  from  the  wool  when  this  is  subsequently 
treated  as  directed. 

Make  a  clear  solution  or  infusion  of  the  substance  to  be 
examined  and  divide  into  two  portions  of  50  to  100  c.c.  each. 
Render  one  faintly  alkaline  with  ammonia  and  the  other  dis- 
tinctly acid  with  hydrochloric  acid.  Into  each  put  about 
1  foot  of  white  worsted  which  has  previously  been  well  boiled 
in  distilled  water  rendered  faintly  alkaline  with  caustic  soda, 
and  afterwards  washed  to  remove  any  trace  of  alkali.  Place 
the  flasks  on  a  hot  plate  and  keep  the  liquid  at  the  boiling 
point  for  an  hour,  or  less  if  the  wool  is  distinctly  dyed.  The 
dyed  wool  is  then  removed,  pressed  between  sheets  of  blotting- 
paper,  and  washed  by  boiling  in  two  successive  quantities 
(20  c.c.)  of  distilled  water. 

1  Food  Inspection  and  Analysis,  Leach,  p.  641. 

24 


370 

The  wool  from  the  acid  solution  is  then  boiled  in  about 
20  c.c.  of  dilute  solution  of  ammonia  (1  part  of  liq.  ammon.,  sp. 
gr.  0*88,  to  9  parts  of  water),  whilst  the  wool  from  the  alkaline 
solution  is  boiled  in  about  the  same  quantity  of  5  per  cent, 
acetic  acid.  The  wools  are  removed,  and  the  alkaline  fluid 
made  acid  by  the  addition  of  acetic  acid,  and  the  acid  liquid 
made  alkaline  by  the  addition  of  ammonia.  A  fresh,  grease- 
free  piece  of  worsted,  2  or  3  inches  in  length,  is  now  put  into 
each  tube,  and  both  are  placed  in  a  water-bath  for  about  half  an 
hour,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time  the  wools  can  be  removed, 
washed  in  distilled  water,  dried,  and  mounted  for  comparison 
with  worsted  similarly  treated  with  known  dyes. 

If  an  aniline  dye  were  present  in  the  original  solution  one 
of  the  samples  will  be  brilliantly  dyed.  If  the  dye  present 
were  of  a  '  basic  '  character,  the  wool  originally  inserted  in 
the  alkaline  liquid  will  be  dyed,  whereas  that  in  the  acidified 
solution  will  be  barely  tinted.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  as  is 
usually  the  case,  the  dye  is  of  the  acid  type,  the  wool  originally 
placed  in  the  acidified  solution  will  be  the  one  most  distinctly 
dyed.  Such  vegetable  colouring  matters  as  we  have  examined 
do  not  dye  the  short  lengths  of  worsted,  at  the  most  giving 
them  merely  a  dirty  appearance. 

Assuming  that  it  is  wished  to  identify  the  dye,  this  may  in 
many  cases  be  done  by  comparing  the  wools  as  above  sug- 
gested, or  by  applying  tests  to  them  or  to  the  colouring  matter 
removed,  from  the  wool  first  used,  by  the  action  of  an  acid  or 
an  alkali.  Allen's  Tables  l  can  be  consulted  with  advantage 
for  this  purpose. 

Usually  it  suffices,  when  it  has  been  ascertained  that  such 
a  dye  is  present,  to  determine  whether  it  contains  arsenic  or 
not.  For  this  purpose  the  dye  itself  must  be  obtained  and 
examined,  or  the  article  of  food  or  drink  submitted  to  the 
various  tests  for  arsenic.  In  the  latter  case,  however,  the 
detection  of  the  poison  would  in  most  cases  be  far  from  con- 
clusive proof  that  it  was  introduced  with  the  dye. 

1  Commercial  Organic  Analysis,  vol.  iii.  part  i. 


CHAPTER   XXX 

DECEPTIVE  APPEAEANCES 

FOAM  AND  FACING 

A  RECENT  article  in  the  '  Lancet,'  l  entitled  '  Fraudulent  Foam,' 
has  directed  attention  to  the  fact  that  many  beverages  are 
made  more  attractive  by  the  addition  thereto  of  preparations 
which  readily  produce  a  foam  upon  the  surface  of  the  liquid, 
and  it  is  argued  that  '  the  practice  of  making  things  not  what 
they  seem  is  fraud,  and  nothing  but  fraud  ;  and  even  if  perfectly 
innocuous  substances  are  used  for  the  same  purpose,  the 
intention  is  obviously  again  to  deceive  and  to  produce  a 
wretched  imitation  of  the  genuine  article.'  No  doubt  foaming 
preparations  may  be  used  in  beers  and  such  like  liquids  to 
conceal  staleness,  and  give  an  appearance  of  freshness  and 
palatableness,  but  they  are  often  used  merely  to  give  per- 
manence to  an  otherwise  evanescent  effervescence,  and  to  pro- 
duce a  more  pleasing  appearance.  For  this  purpose  gelatinous 
preparations,  gums,  and  infusions  and  tinctures  of  quillaia 
bark  have  been  used  for  a  long  series  of  years.  These  are 
added  to  syrups  for  mixing  with  aerated  waters,  and  without 
any  idea  of  fraud.  The  quillaia  bark  owes  its  property  of 
producing  a  froth  to  the  presence  of  a  glucoside,  saponin, 
which  undoubtedly  is  a  poison  if  taken  in  quantity,  paralyzing 
the  respiratory  and  vaso-rnotor  centres.  It  has  been  recently 
recommended  as  an  expectorant,  in  doses  of  1^  to  3  grains  in 
the  form  of  tincture.  An  exceedingly  small  quantity  is  re- 
quired to  produce  the  surface  tension  requisite  for  frothing, 
and  it  is  exceedingly  doubtful  whether  in  the  proportion  used 

1  February  3,  1906. 


372  PEESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

it  can  do  any  possible  harm.  The  writer  in  '  The  Lancet,' 
however,  urges  that  '  though  the  effect  of  small  doses  may  be 
inappreciable,  yet  the  presence  of  a  poison  in  beverages  in  any 
quantity  at  all  is  highly  objectionable.'  There  are  many 
substances  which,  when  taken  in  quantities,  are  injurious  to 
the  system,  which  may  therefore  be  regarded  as  poisons,  which 
are  perfectly  harmless  when  taken  in  smaller  proportions,  and 
although  saponin  preparations  have  been  used  for  forty  years 
and  upwards  in  the  preparation  of  beverages  no  suspicion  has 
ever  arisen  of  their  producing  any  evil  effects. 

Saponin  is  now  a  generic  name  for  a  series  of  glucosides, 
or  mixtures  of  glucosides,  and  other  substances,  obtainable  from 
quillaia  bark,  root  of  the  common  pink,  sarsaparilla  root,  &c. 
Kruskai  in  1891  enumerated  150  varieties  of  saponin,  and 
Kobert l  has  shown  that  these  are  all  mixtures  consisting  of  at 
least  four  organic  substances,  together  with  traces  of  inorganic 
bodies.  The  crude  saponin  from  quillaia  bark  contains  an 
acid,  quillaic  acid,  which  is  slightly  toxic  ;  sapotoxin,  an 
acrid  and  very  poisonous  principle  ;  lactoxin,  an  inert  carbo- 
hydrate; and  saponin  (C13H30010),  which  in  a  pure  state  is  also 
inert.  Crude  saponins  from  different  sources  with  the  same 
general  formula  have  different  chemical  characteristics,  and 
differ  in  their  degree  of  toxicity.  They  are  soluble  in  water, 
slightly  soluble  in  alcohol,  and  insoluble  in  ether,  chloroform, 
and  benzol.  When  a  solution  of  saponin  is  injected  into  the 
blood  stream  the  red-blood  corpuscles  are  dissolved,  but  when 
administered  per  os  they  are  much  less  poisonous,  being 
difficult  of  absorption  in  the  intestinal  canal.  They  therefore 
do  not  act  as  blood  poisons  when  swallowed.2  According  to 
Mitchel  Bruce,3  saponin  is  probably  excreted  in  part  by  the 
skin  and  kidneys,  both  of  which  it  stimulates,  increasing  the 
volume  of  urine  and  the  most  important  solid  constituents. 
Exceedingly  small  quantities  may  produce  fatal  effects  in 

1  Tear  Book  of  Pharmacy,  1886,  p.  82. 

2  Mann,  Forensic  Medicine  and  Toxicology,  p.  414. 

3  Bruce,  Materia  Medica  and  Therapeutics. 


DECEPTIVE  APPEARANCES  373 

animals  if  introduced  subcutaneously,  but  as  much  as 
2  grammes  per  kilogram  of  weight  of  the  most  toxic  con- 
stituent is  required  to  kill  a  dog  when  administered  with  food. 
The  saponins  of  commerce  are  very  variable  in  composition, 
and  though  capable  of  causing,  in  large  doses,  catarrh  of  the 
mucous  membrane,  it  is  very  doubtful  whether  they  come 
within  the  category  of  '  poisons.'  One  ounce  of  a  5  per  cent, 
tincture  or  infusion  of  quillaia  bark  is  generally  added  to  a 
gallon  of  syrup,  and  about  2  ounces  of  this  is  added  to  8  ounces 
of  aerated  water  for  making  temperance  beverages.  Such  a 
beverage  would  therefore  contain  about  1  part  of  quillaia  bark 
in  15,000,  or  1  of  crude  saponin  in  1,500,000,  an  amount  which 
it  is  difficult  to  conceive  can  have  any  deleterious  effect  even 
if  such  a  liquid  is  imbibed  largely  and  frequently.  Notwith- 
standing this  the  use  of  saponin  appears  to  have  been  interdicted 
in  Austria. 

The  detection  of  these  minute  quantities  of  saponin  in 
liquids  such  as  beer  and  saccharine  beverages  would  be  a  very 
difficult  matter.  After  neutralizing,  a  large  excess  of  barium 
hydrate  should  be  added,  and  the  precipitated  barium  compound 
collected,  washed  with  a  little  water,  and  decomposed  by  a 
current  of  carbonic  acid  gas.  If  the  filtered  liquid  easily  froths, 
saponin  is  probably  present.  The  solution  may  be  evaporated 
to  dryness  and  exhausted  with  boiling  alcohol,  sp.  gr.  853,  the 
alcohol  filtered  off,  and  the  residue  examined.  It  should  be 
acrid  in  taste,  produce  froth  when  shaken  with  water,  and  be 
precipitated  from  its  alcoholic  solution  by  the  addition  of  excess 
of  benzol  or  ether. 

Another  type  of  deceptive  appearance  is  that  of  the  '  facing  ! 
of  rice.1  By  attrition,  suitably  applied,  the  surface  of  the  rice 
grains  is  made  smooth  and  shining,  the  appearance  being  thus 
improved.  To  this  method  there  can  be  no  objection,  but  it  is 
now  becoming  common  to  introduce  oil,  paraffin,  French  chalk, 
and  possibly  other  substances,  during  the  attrition,  apparently 
with  the  view  of  making  inferior  samples  more  closely  resemble 

1  Lancet,  February  10,  1906. 


374  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

rice  of  a  superior  quality.  Messrs.  Cribb  &  Richards,1  who 
have  recently  examined  a  number  of  such  samples,  state  '  that 
the  proportion  of  foreign  matter  present  in  some  cases  is  quite 
sufficient  to  constitute  a  fraud,  inappreciable  perhaps  to  the 
individual  purchaser,  but  ample  to  give  an  unscrupulous  vendor 
an  advantage  over  his  more  honest  rival.'  They  suggest  also 
the  possibility  of  the  insoluble  substance,  chiefly  used,  being 
injurious  to  health,  as  it  may  possibly  set  up  mechanical 
irritation  in  the  intestines,  or  lead  to  the  formation  of  faecal 
concretions.  This  is  a  somewhat  far-fetched  theory,  if  the 
material  used  is  talc  or  French  chalk,  especially  with  the 
infinitesimal  amount  left  adherent  to  the  rice.  It  is  possible, 
however,  that  more  objectionable  substances  may  be  used.  In 
all  cases  Cribb  &  Richards  found  that  by  washing  the  rice  with 
distilled  water  the  liquid  became  opalescent,  and  that  the 
insoluble  matter  was  not  taken  up  by  hydrochloric  acid,  and 
that  it  contained  magnesia  and  silica.  In  normal  rice  the  ash 
is  nearly  always  under  -5  per  cent,  and  contains  only  a  trace  of 
matter  insoluble  in  hydrochloric  acid,  and  the  magnesia  as 
MgO  forms  only  from  9  to  11  per  cent,  of  the  total  ash.  In 
the  faced  rice  the  insoluble  ash  almost  invariably  formed 
40  per  cent,  of  the  total  ash,  and  consisted  mainly  of  magnesia 
and  silica. 

Facing  with  paraffin  or  other  fat  would  be  detected  by 
washing  the  rice  with  petroleum  ether,  distilling  off  the  ether 
and  examining  the  residue. 

When  such  faced  rice  is  washed  before  being  used,  as  all 
rice  should  be,  no  possible  harm  can  result  from  the  facing. 
The  process  doubtless  enables  an  inferior  article  to  be  classed 
as  a  superior  one,  and  to  this  extent  is  fraudulent,  but  from 
the  public  health  point  of  view  the  matter  is  scarcely  one  of 
importance  so  long  as  the  '  facing  '  is  done  with  comparatively 
harmless  substances. 

1  The  Analyst,  February  1906. 


CHAPTEB   XXXI 

LEGAL    CASES 

I.— THE  USE  OF  PEESEEVATIVES 

PERSECUTIONS  with  reference  to  the  presence  of  preservatives 
and  colouring  matters  may  be  taken  under  section  3  or  6  of 
the  Food  and  Drugs  Act,  1875.     These  sections  are  as  under : 
'  Section  3.    No  article  of  food  intended  for  sale  shall  be 
mixed,  stained  or  coloured,  or  powdered,  so  as  to  render 
it  injurious  to  health.' 

'  Section  6.    No  person  shall  sell  to  the  prejudice  of  the 

purchaser  any  article  of  food  or  any  drug  which  is  not 

of   the  nature,  substance,   and  quality  of   the  article 

demanded  by  such  purchaser. 

'Under  this  section   no  offence  shall  be  deemed  to  be 

committed — 

'  Where  any  matter  or  ingredient  not  injurious  to  health 
has  been  added  to  the  food  or  drug  because  it  is  required 
for  the  production  or  preparation  thereof,  as  an  article 
of  commerce  in  a  state  fit  for  carriage  or  consumption, 
and  not  fraudulently  to  increase  the  bulk,  weight  or 
measure  of  the  food  or  drug,  or  to  conceal  the  inferior 
quality  thereof.' 

It  has  generally  been  assumed  that  only  a  duly  authorized 
inspector  could  take  samples  of  foods  or  drugs  for  analysis  and 
institute  proceedings,  but  in  a  recent  case  in  the  High  Court 
(Worthington  v.  Kyme,  August  1905)  the  Lord  Chief  Justice 
ruled  that  a  medical  officer  of  health,  an  inspector  of  nuisances, 
inspectors  of  weights  and  measures,  and  other  people  are  entitled 
to  take  samples  and  to  have  them  analyzed,  and  the  people  who 


376  PRESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

may  take  samples  may  take  proceedings  when  the  result  of 
the  analysis  is  ascertained.  Of  course  the  purchaser  would 
have  to  observe  all  the  legal  requirements  with  reference  to 
the  division  of  the  sample,  delivery  to  the  analyst,  &c. 

If  action  is  taken  under  Section  3  it  is  necessary  for  the 
plaintiffs  to  prove  that  the  preservative  or  colouring  matter 
present  is  injurious  to  health.  This  is  so  exceedingly  difficult 
a  matter  that  prosecutions  are  now  more  frequently  taken 
under  Section  6,  the  preserved  or  coloured  article  being  held 
to  be  not  of  the  nature,  substance  or  quality  demanded  by  the 
purchaser,  and  leaving  the  defendants  to  disprove  this,  or  to 
prove  that  the  preservative  or  colouring  matter  is  not  injurious 
to  health,  or  that  it  is  a  necessary  addition  to  produce  an  article 
of  commerce. 

These  prosecutions  arise  in  the  Police  Courts,  with  the  right 
of  appeal  to  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions ;  but  the  decisions  have 
no  binding  effect  on  other  Courts,  and  the  conflicting  decisions 
given  emphasize  the  necessity  for  some  modification  of  the 
law,  and  for  the  formation  of  some  '  Court  of  Reference  '  having 
power  to  regulate  the  practices  of  trade  throughout  the  country. 
As  the  law  now  stands,  there  is  no  right  of  appeal  to  the  High 
Court  save  on  points  of  law,  and  as  the  decisions  with  reference 
to  the  use  of  preservatives  and  colouring  matters  are  almost 
always  on  questions  of  fact,  no  appeal  is  usually  possible.  Com- 
mittees upon  the  administration  of  the  Food  and  Drugs  Acts 
have  repeatedly  recommended  the  appointment  of  a  Standing 
Committee  of  Eeference,  with  powers  to  fix  standards,  &c.,  but 
no  steps  in  this  direction  have  been  taken  by  the  legislature. 
An  alternative  scheme  would  be  for  Parliament  to  give  power 
to  Justices  to  refer  to  the  High  Court  at  the  request  of  either 
party  concerned,  debatable  questions  of  importance,  such  as 
those  affecting  the  whole  of  the  members  of  a  particular  trade. 

The  present  position  is  admittedly  unsatisfactory  both  from 
the  commercial  and  administrative  point  of  view. 

The  subjoined  brief  account  of  prosecutions  under  the 
Sale  of  Food  and  Drugs  Acts  for  the  use  of  preservatives  will 


LEGAL  CASES  377 

probably  be  of  interest,  and  may  prove  of  value  in  other  cases 
of  a  similar  character. 

Boric  Acid. — 1.  Margarine  containing  51  grains  of  boric 
acid  per  pound.  Conviction  upheld  upon  appeal  to  Court  of 
Quarter  Sessions.  Boadle  v.  Stewart. 

This  case  was  first  heard  before  the  Liverpool  Stipendiary 
Magistrate  on  May  30,  1900.  For  the  prosecution  Professor 
Boyce  gave  evidence  as  to  the  non-necessity  of  a  preservative, 
which  might  be  used  to  mask  the  ranciditj^  of  the  fat.  The 
same  proportion  of  boric  acid  when  administered  in  milk  to 
kittens  produced  violent  diarrho3a  and  emaciation.  The  Public 
Analyst  stated  that  margarine  was  usually  free  from  pre- 
servatives. 

For  the  defence  medical  evidence  was  given  to  the  effect 
that  boric  acid  in  small  closes  was  not  injurious  to  health. 

The  defendants  were  convicted  and  fined  50Z.  and  51.  5s. 
costs.  Notice  of  appeal  was  given. 

The  appeal  to  Quarter  Sessions  was  heard  by  the  Recorder 
on  July  20,  1900.  Medical  evidence  was  produced  for  both 
sides.  The  appeal  was  dismissed,  the  Eecorder  stating  that 
from  the  evidence  he  was  satisfied  that  boric  acid  was  a  drug 
which,  in  the  hands  of  competent  and  skilled  men,  was  capable 
of  being  administered  for  the  good  of  mankind,  but  that  he 
could  not  agree  that,  put  indiscriminately  into  any  articles  of 
food,  it  was  a  matter  or  ingredient  not  injurious  to  health. 
As  to  whether  the  boric  acid  were  or  were  not  necessary,  he 
held  on  the  evidence  that  it  was  not  required  in  the  production 
or  preparation  of  the  margarine. 

2.  Butter  containing  25  grains  of  boric  acid  per  pound. 
Conviction  quashed  by  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions. 

The  case  was  first  heard  before  the  Folkestone  Bench  on 
August  15,  1901.  Evidence  for  the  prosecution  as  to  the 
injurious  qualities  of  boric  acid  was  given  by  the  Medical 
Officer  of  Health,  who  also  stated  that  preservatives  were 
unnecessary  for  butter.  He  was  supported  by  another  medical 
man. 


378  PBESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

Medical  evidence  was  also  given  for  the  defence.  The 
amount  of  boric  acid  was  returned  as  25  grains  per  pound. 
The  defendant  was  convicted. 

The  appeal  to  Quarter  Sessions  was  heard  on  October  23, 
1901. 

The  Medical  Officer  of  Health  stated  that  boric  acid  was  liable 
to  cause  illness,  and  that  the  effects  would  continue  day  by  day. 
He  had  met  with  cases  of  intestinal  disturbance  at  the  time  of 
year  when  preservatives  were  mostly  used,  and  where  he  knew 
they  had  been  added.  At  a  religious  institution  in  Dover  five  of 
the  inmates  were  taken  seriously  ill  with  symptoms  of  poisoning, 
and  he  found  that  glacialme  had  been  added  to  the  milk.  He 
made  blancmange  of  the  milk  and  gave  it  to  fowls ;  some  of 
these  died,  and  borax  was  found  in  the  gizzards  and  stomachs. 
Cold  storage  was  quite  sufficient,  without  the  use  of  preserva- 
tives. On  cross-examination  as  to  the  use  of  salt  as  a  pre- 
servative he  pointed  out  that  salt  was  a  normal  constituent  of 
the  body,  whereas  borax  was  not.  He  was  cross-examined  on 
the  experiments  of  Liebreich,  Chittenden,  and  Tunnicliffe  and 
Kosenheim,  and  it  was  suggested  that  the  fowls  mentioned 
above  had  died  of  ptomaine-poisoning.  Drs.  Tunnicliffe,  Luff, 
Thresh,  Bell,  and  others  had  been  retained  for  the  defence,  but 
were  not  called  upon  for  evidence.  The  conviction  by  the 
Magistrates  was  quashed. 

3.  Butter  containing  84  grains  of   boric  acid  per  pound. 
Birmingham,    May   1899.      Police   Court    proceedings   under 
section  6.     Food  and  Drugs  Act.     Convicted. 

4.  Butter   containing  63  grains  of  boric  acid  per  pound. 
Birmingham,    May   1899.      Police    Court   proceedings   under 
section  6.     Convicted. 

5.  Butter    containing   84   grains    boric    acid    per    pound. 
Oxford,   February   1900.       Police    Court    proceedings    under 
section  6.    Convicted. 

6.  Butter   containing   63   grains    boric    acid    per    pound. 
Birmingham,   April   1901.     Police    Court   Proceedings   under 
section  6.     Convicted. 


LEGAL  CASES  379 

7.  Butter    containing  64   grains    boric    acid    per    pound. 
Southwark,   April    1901.       Police   Court    proceedings    under 
section  6.     Convicted. 

8.  Butter    containing   68   grains   boric    acid    per    pound. 
Hey  wood,  September  1901.     Police  Court  proceedings  under 
section  6.     Convicted. 

9.  Butter   containing   54   grains    boric    acid    per    pound. 
Birmingbam,  November  1901.     Police  Court  proceedings  under 
section  6. 

Tbe  Medical  Officer  of  Healtb  gave  evidence  for  tbe  prosecu- 
tion, alleging  the  injurious  effect  of  boric  acid,  and  stated  that  he 
did  not  prosecute  unless  the  amount  exceeded  23  grains  per 
pound.  For  the  defence  the  Folkestone  case  was  quoted  (2). 
The  Bench  considered  that  an  excessive  amount  had  been  used, 
and  convicted. 

10.  Butter  containing    120    grains   boric    acid  per  pound. 
Bootle,    November   1902.       Police   Court   proceedings   under 
section  6.     Convicted. 

11.  Butter    containing   70   grains    boric   acid   per   pound. 
Worship   Street,  London,  February  1904.     Police  Court  pro- 
ceedings under  section  6.     Convicted. 

12.  Butter  containing  55'3   grains   boric   acid  per  pound. 
Bamber  Bridge,  December  1904.     Police  Court  proceedings, 
under  section  6. 

Evidence  for  the  prosecution  was  given  by  the  Medical 
Officer  of  Health  for  the  Lancashire  County  Council.  He 
pointed  out  that  the  Departmental  Committee  recommended  a 
maximum  quantity  of  35  grains  per  pound,  and  he  held  that 
any  further  amount  was  unnecessary  and  undesirable.  He 
could  not  say  that  the  amount  present  would  be  injurious 
to  health,  or  that  it  had  been  added  for  the  purpose  of  increas- 
ing the  weight  or  making  a  larger  profit.  For  the  defence 
it  was  contended  that  on  the  evidence  there  was  no  case,  and 
that  the  recommendations  of  the  Departmental  Committee 
had  not  become  law.  The  Bench  held  that  the  purchaser  had 
not  obtained  what  he  asked  for,  and  convicted. 


380  PEESEKVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

13.  Clotted  cream  containing  0  464  per  cent,  of  boric  acid 
(32^  grains  per  pound).    Westminster,  November  1899.    Police 
Court  proceedings  under  section  6.     Whipps  v.  Hudson  Bros. 
For  the  prosecution,  after  the  Public  Analyst's  evidence,  Mr. 
Droop  Richmond,  chemist  to  the  Aylesbury  Dairy  Co.,  stated 
that  his   Company  were   able   to   dispense   with   the   use   of 
preservatives.     Professor   Corfield    said   that  the   quantity  of 
boric  acid  present  was  sufficient  to  cause  injury  to  health,  that 
clotted  cream  was  given  to  children,  and  that  the  half-pound 
jar  contained  16  grains,  the  maximum  dose  of  an  adult.     This 
evidence  was  supported  by  Dr.  Hill  (Medical  Officer  of  Health 
for  Birmingham),  Dr.  F.  I.  Allan   (Medical  Officer  of  Health 
for  Westminster),  and   others.     For   the   defence  Drs.  Gibb, 
Pattison,    Marsh,   Bryden,    and   Bond  were   called,   and   also 
Professor  Attfield,  F.E.S.,  Mr.  Stokes,  F.I.C.,  and  Mr.  Lloyd, 
F.I.C.     The  Bench,  however,  convicted. 

Since  1900,  apparently  every  prosecution  with  one  exception 
for  the  use  of  boric  acid  in  milk  has  been  successful,  convictions 
being  obtained.  Only  one  appeal  appears  to  have  been  made 
to  the  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions,  and  in  this  instance  the 
appeal  failed,  though  the  penalty  was  reduced.  The  amounts 
of  acid  added  varied  from  4'8  grains  to  24  grains  per  pint. 

Under  the  circumstances  one  or  two  cases  only  need  be 
referred  to. 

14.  Milk    containing    7    grains   of    boric    acid   per   pint. 
Southwark,  October  1902.     Police    Court   proceedings.     Con- 
victed. 

An  appeal  was  heard  at  the  Newington  Quarter  Sessions. 
For  the  prosecution  the  recommendations  of  the  Departmental 
Committee  were  quoted,  and  the  Medical  Officer  of  Health, 
the  Public  Analyst,  and  Professor  Halliburton  gave  evidence  as 
to  the  danger  to  be  apprehended  from  the  use  of  boric  acid  in 
milk.  The  Public  Analyst  for  Paddington  gave  evidence  for 
the  defence.  The  conviction  wras  affirmed,  with  a  somewhat 
reduced  penalty. 

15.  Milk   containing    62-4    grains   boric   acid   per  gallon. 


LEGAL  CASES  381 

Maidstone,  September  1903.  Police  Court  proceedings.  Con- 
victed. 

Dr.  Thresh  for  the  prosecution  said  :  '  He  had  never  con- 
demned the  use  of  preservatives  in  toto,  as  he  believed  that  in 
many  cases  they  might  be  used  with  advantage  both  to  the  pro- 
ducer and  consumer,  and  he  regarded  boric  acid  as  one  of  the  most 
generally  useful  and  least  harmful  of  all  chemical  preservatives. 

'  On  the  other  hand  he  had  strong  objections  to  preserva- 
tives being  used  where  such  were  unnecessary,  and  in  articles 
of  food  likely  to  be  used  by  the  very  young,  especially  infants, 
as  was  the  case  with  milk. 

'  By  the  use  of  boracic  acid,  uncleanly  milk,  which  more 
rapidly  decomposes  than  "clean"  milk,  could  be  more  easily 
foisted  on  the  public.  One  day's  milk  could  be  kept  over  and 
sold  the  next  day  as  fresh  milk,  and  the  public  be  imposed 
upon.  Such  being  the  case,  carelessness  in  the  cowshed,  in 
the  milking,  in  the  scalding  and  cleansing  of  cans  was  fos- 
tered. Filth  microbes  remain  undetected  in  the  milk  and 
might  deleteriously  affect  persons,  especially  young  children, 
consuming  it. 

'  The  object  of  recent  legislation,  of  bylaws  adopted  in 
nearly  all  districts,  of  the  efforts  of  all  Medical  Officers  of 
Health  and  Sanitary  Inspectors,  was  to  ensure  clean  cowsheds, 
clean  milk,  and  clean  vessels  to  contain  it.  Evidences  of 
carelessness,  and  uncleanliness  were  concealed  by  the  use  of 
preservatives,  and  for  this  reason  he  very  strongly  objected  to 
their  use. 

'  Milk,  properly  collected,  stored,  and  refrigerated,  can  always 
be  delivered  to  the  consumers  in  a  satisfactory  condition. 
Boric  acid  does  not  kill  the  organisms  in  milk,  it  merely  retards 
the  growth  of  certain  of  them  for  a  time.  Others  it  does  not 
even  retard  in  the  quantity  generally  used.  Organisms  derived 
from  sewage  and  manure  grow  rapidly  in  milk,  and  rapidly 
turn  it  sour,  and  may,  under  certain  circumstances,  produce 
poisonous  compounds.  If  a  milk  turns  sour  before  there  is 
time  to  deliver  it,  it  is  an  indication  that  it  is  not  safe  to  use, 


382  PRESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

especially  for  infants,  in  whom  it  would  cause  indigestion  and 
diarrhoea.  The  use  of  boric  acid  conceals  this  defect  and 
does  not  remedy  it,  as  the  change  continues  when  the  milk  is 
taken  into  the  system,  the  harmful  bacteria  not  being  de- 
stroyed. 

*  The  action  of  boric  acid  on  digestion  has  been  carefully 
studied,  and  it  has  been  asserted  that  where  an  animal  has  not 
developed  its  full  digestive  powers  boric  acid  is  practically  a 
slow  poison,  preventing  digestion,  causing  diarrhoea,  emaciation 
and  death.  So  very  many  infants  die  with  such  symptoms 
that  it  was,  in  his  opinion,  criminal  to  give  them  a  milk  believed 
to  produce  similar  symptoms  in  animals.' 

16.  (a.)  Milk  containing   13   grains   boric    acid   per   pint. 
Wakefield,  August  1904.   Police  Court  proceedings.   Convicted. 

The  Public  Analyst,  for  the  prosecution,  pointed  out  that 
whilst  boric  acid  prevented  certain  forms  of  decomposition, 
other  forms  proceeded  unchecked.  An  infant  taking  one- 
pint  of  this  milk  per  day  would  receive  almost  the  maximum 
dose. 

(&.)  Milk  containing  4'8  grains  of  boric  acid  per  pint.  Wake- 
field,  October  1905.  Police  Court  proceedings.  Case  dismissed. 

Dr.  Kaye,  Medical  Officer  of  Health  for  the  West 
Riding  County  Council,  gave  evidence  for  the  prosecution. 
Dr.  Bradshaw,  of  Liverpool,  for  the  defence,  stated  that  since 
the  use  of  preservatives  in  milk  had  been  discontinued  the 
infantile  death-rate  in  Liverpool,  mainly  due  to  diarrhoea,  had 
largely  increased.  The  Bench  dismissed  the  case  on  the 
grounds  that  it  was  not  proved  to  their  satisfaction  that 
the  amount  of  boric  acid  present  in  the  milk  was  injurious  to- 
health. 

17.  Butter  containing  68  grains  of  boracic  acid  per  pound. 
Heywood,  October  1,  1901.     Convicted,  fined  1Z. 

18.  Shrimps  containing  61  grains  of  boracic  acid  per  pound. 
Liverpool,  January  18,  1902.     Convicted,  fined  10s. 

19.  Shrimps  containing  46  grains  of  boracic  acid  per  pound. 
Ormskirk,  July  15,  1902.     Convicted,  fined  51. 


LEGAL  CASES  383 

20.  Shrimps  containing  45  grains  of  boracic  acid  per  pound. 
Rochdale,  September  26,  1902.     Dismissed  on  technical  objec- 
tion. 

21.  Shrimps  containing  40  grains  of  boracic  acid  per  pound. 
Wigan,  October  1902.     Dismissed  on  technical  objection. 

22.  Butter  containing  120  grains  of  boracic  acid  per  pound. 
Bootle,  November  1902.     Convicted,  fined  40s. 

23.  Sausages  containing  85  grains  of  boracic  acid  per  pound. 
Bournemouth,  October  3,  1903.     Convicted,  fined  30s. 

24.  Butter  containing  76'3  grains  of  boracic  acid  per  pound. 
West  London  Police   Court,  November  14,  1903.     Summons 
dismissed. 

25.  Butter  containing  70  grains  of  boracic  acid  per  pound. 
Worship  Street  Police  Court,  February  20,  1904.     Convicted, 
fined  40s. 

26.  Butter  containing  1-4  per  cent,  boracic  acid.     Birming- 
ham, October  13,  1904.     Dismissed  on  warranty. 

27.  Sausages  containing  30  grains  of  boracic  acid  per  pound. 
South  Western  Police    Court,  October  22,  1904.     Convicted, 
fined  20s. 

28.  Sausages  containing  60  grains  of  boracic  acid  per  pound. 
In  this  case  Dr.  Brash,  the  Medical  Officer  of  Health  for  the 
City,  deposed  that  boracic  acid  was  not  a  proper  preservative 
to  be  used  in  any  food.     Exeter,  January  21, 1905.     Convicted, 
fined  5s. 

29.  Butter  containing  94  grains  of  boracic  acid  per  pound. 
Worship  Street  Police  Court,  February  11,  1905.     Dismissed. 

30.  Margarine  containing  0'7  per  cent,  boracic  acid.     Liver- 
pool, June  10,  1905.     Convicted,  fined  II. 

31.  Butter  containing  53-9  grains  of  boracic  acid  per  pound. 
Widnes,  July  1905.     Dismissed. 

32.  Butter  containing  1  per  cent,  boracic  acid.     Mistley, 
August  20,  1905.     Convicted,  fined  10s. 

33.  Potted  shrimps   containing   boracic    acid.     Blackpool, 
October  21,  1905.     Convicted,  fined  10s. 

34.  Butter  containing  60  grains  of  boracic  acid  per  pound. 


384  PEESEBVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

Worship   Street   Police  Court,  October   2,  1905.     Convicted, 
fined  31. 

35.  Sausages  containing  41  grains  of  boracic  acid  per  pound. 
Worship  Street  Police  Court,  December  19,  1905.     Convicted, 
fined  20s.,  but  case  stated  for  opinion  of  High  Court. 

36.  Potted  shrimps  containing  47  grains  of  boric  acid  per 
pound.    Leeds,  October  1902.    Police  Court  proceedings.    Case 
dismissed. 

The  chief  witness  for  the  prosecution  was  the  Medical 
Officer  of  Health,  who  pointed  out  that  boric  acid  was  not 
a  normal  constituent  of  the  body,  and  that  it  was  liable  to 
produce  deleterious  effects  when  administered  internally. 
Witnesses  wrere  also  called  to  prove  that  shrimps  could  be 
potted  without  the  use  of  preservatives,  and  would  keep  for  a 
reasonable  length  of  time.  For  the  defence  the  dealer  stated 
that  preservatives  were  absolutely  necessary  if  the  shrimps 
were  to  be  kept  more  than  a  few  days,  and  a  medical  witness 
expressed  the  opinion  that  the  quantity  of  boric  acid  present 
was  quite  harmless.  The  Stipendiary  Magistrate  was  assisted 
in  his  decision  by  the  fact  that  the  Departmental  Committee 
recommended  limitations  in  the  use  of  boric  acid  only  in  the 
cases  of  milk,  cream,  butter,  margarine,  and  invalid  preparations. 

Formalin. — In  all  the  cases,  with  one  exception,  in  which 
dealers  have  been  prosecuted  for  the  use  of  formalin  in  milk, 
convictions  seem  to  have  been  obtained,  and  no  appeal  has 
been  attempted. 

37.  Milk.     Formalin  present,  quantity  not  stated.     Liver- 
pool, March  1900.     Convicted. 

38.  Milk.     Formalin   present,    1    in   50,000.     Manchester, 
June  1901.     Convicted. 

For  the  prosecution  the  Public  Analyst  stated  that  formalin 
rendered  milk  less  digestible,  that  by  its  use  it  was  possible  to 
sell  stale  milk  as  fresh,  and  that  even  1  part  in  100,000  would 
be  injurious  to  children.  Professor  Boyce  stated  that  he  had 
fed  kittens  with  milk  containing  1  in  50,000  of  formalin,  that 
they  lost  weight,  suffered  from  diarrhoea,  and  died ;  that 


LEGAL  CASES  385 

formalin  introduced  into  the  stomach  neutralized  the  gastric 
juice,  and  also  injured  the  cells  of  the  mucous  membrane. 

For  the  defence  Dr.  Rideal,  in  evidence,  said  that  it  was 
entirely  a  matter  of  quantity  present;  that  the  digestion  of 
milk  containing  1  part  of  formalin  per  100,000  was  only 
retarded  as  compared  with  pure  milk  in  the  proportion  of 
forty-five  to  forty-four  minutes.  The  Stipendiary,  in  giving 
judgment,  said  it  had  been  proved  to  his  satisfaction  that 
formalin  was  so  volatile  that  it  was  impossible  to  ascertain 
accurately  the  amount  which  had  been  added  to  the  milk,  but 
that  on  the  evidence  there  was  at  least  1  part  in  50,000.  He 
considered  it  impossible  to  contend  that  formalin  was  not 
injurious  to  health. 

39.  Milk.     Formalin   present,    1    in    100,000.     Lancashire 
County  Police  Court,  January  1902.     Convicted. 

40.  Milk.   Formalin  present,  1  in  200,000.   Leigh,  September 
1902.     Convicted. 

41.  Milk.   Formalin  present,!  in  100,000.  Lambeth,  October 
1902.     Convicted. 

42.  Milk.  Formalin  present,!  in  100,000.   Lambeth,  October 
1902.     Convicted. 

43.  Milk.  Formalin  present,!  in  100,000.  Barrow,  November 
1902.     Dismissed. 

In  this  case  the  defendant  stated  that  formalin  had  been 
used  for  cleansing  the  cans,  and  had  not  been  added  to  the  milk. 
The  Bench  apparently  accepted  this  statement,  saying  that  the 
formalin  had  been  used  innocently. 

44.  Milk.    Formalin  present,  1  in  100,000.    Salford,  October 

1902.  Convicted. 

45.  Milk.  Formalin  present,  1  in  25,000.   Widnes,  November 

1903.  Convicted. 

46.  Milk.     Formalin  present,  quantity  not  stated.     Ashton, 
October  1903.     Convicted. 

The  defence  in  this  case  was  that  the  preservative  used  was 
sold  as  '  concentrated  essence  of  limes.' 

25 


386  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

47.  Milk.     Formalin  present,  1  in  100,000.    Birmingham, 
January  1904.     Convicted. 

48.  Milk.     Formalin  present,  1  in  100,000.    Birmingham, 
January  1904.     Convicted. 

49.  Milk.  Formalin  present,  1  in  20,000.   Greenwich,  August 
1904.     Convicted. 

50.  Milk.  Formalin  present,  1  in  33,000.  Greenwich,  August 
1904.     Convicted. 

51.  Milk.      Formalin   present,    1   in   25,000.     Harleston, 
September  1904.     Convicted. 

The  defendant  pleaded  that  he  had  been  asked  by  his 
customers  to  add  a  little  formalin,  and  that  he  was  unaware 
that  it  was  injurious. 

52.  Milk.     Formalin   present,    1  in  100,000.     Greenwich, 
September  1904.     Convicted. 

For  the  prosecution,  the  Medical  Officer  of  Health  for 
Lewisham  stated  that  after  taking  daily  a  pint  of  milk  con- 
taining 1  part  of  formalin  in  100,000  for  ten  days,  he  felt  a 
considerable  amount  of  discomfort  and  nausea.  He  considered 
it  must  be  deleterious,  especially  to  young  and  delicate  children. 
It  was  not  possible  to  estimate  the  whole  of  the  formalin  that 
had  been  added  to  milk.  He  was  supported  by  the  medical 
superintendent  to  the  Lewisham  Infirmary,  who  said  that 
formalin  was  an  irritant  poison.  He  had  made  experiments 
and  found  that  he  could  tolerate  formalin  up  to  1  part  in 
10,000,  after  which  it  made  him  sick.  There  was  no  doubt  that 
even  1  part  in  100,000  hindered  digestion  and  was  injurious. 

For  the  defence  Dr.  Eideal  said  he  had  considerable  ex- 
perience of  preservatives  and  had  never  known  formalin  to 
be  injurious  to  health,  though  he  had  given  it  to  his  own 
children,  and  to  kittens  and  other  animals.  There  was  no 
evidence  that  1  part  in  100,000  was  harmful ;  he  had  given 
his  son  twenty  times  this  amount.  He  had  made  experiments 
with  fish,  and  a  goldfish  throve  in  water  containing  1  part  of 
formalin  in  40,000.  One  part  in  5,000  did  not  affect  the  heart 
of  a  frog. 


LEGAL  CASES  387 

53.  Milk.     Formalin  present,  0*00125  per  cent.     Lambeth, 
November  1904.     Convicted. 

54.  Milk.    Formalin  present,  0-00075  per  cent.     Lambeth, 
November  1904.     Convicted. 

55.  Milk.   Formalin  present,  0-0016  per  cent.     Southwark, 
November  1904.     Convicted. 

56.  Milk.    Formalin  present,   0-001   per   cent.   Woolwich, 
November  1904.     Convicted. 

Salicylic  Acid. — The  decisions  given  with  reference  to  the 
use  of  this  acid  present  no  uniformity,  though  many  convictions 
have  been  obtained.  No  case  appears  to  have  gone  up  to  the 
High  Courts,  but  in  some  instances  the  convictions  of  the 
Police  Courts  have  not  been  upheld  on  appeal  to  the  Court  of 
Quarter  Sessions. 

57.  Ginger  wine  containing  13  grains  of  salicylic  acid  per 
pint.      Liverpool,  October  1900.      Police  Court   proceedings. 
Dismissed. 

For  the  prosecution  Professor  Boyce  stated  that  he  had 
fed  kittens  four  weeks  old  with  milk  containing  a  small  quantity 
of  salicylic  acid  ;  the  effects  had  been  most  injurious.  Salicylic 
acid  was  unnecessary  and  harmful.  The  Public  Analyst  stated 
that  salicylic  acid  was  a  foreign  ingredient  to  ginger  wine. 
Out  of  thirty-three  samples  analyzed  the  greatest  quantity  he 
had  ever  found  was  4  grains  per  pint. 

For  the  defence  two  medical  men  considered  that  the 
quantity  of  salicylic  acid  which  would  be  consumed  in  the 
ginger  wine  wmild  be  harmless. 

A  member  of  the  firm  stated  that  when  the  wine  was  made 
from  ginger,  and  not  from  an  essence,  a  preservative  was 
essential. 

58.  Ginger  wine  containing  13  grains  of  salicylic  acid  per 
pint.      Liverpool,  February  1901.     Police  Court  proceedings. 
Dismissed. 

59.  Ginger  wine  containing  9  grains  of  salicylic  acid  per 
pint.      Leyland,  April  1902.     Police  Court  proceedings.     Con- 
victed. 


388  PEESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

60.  Raisin   wine   containing  8'5   grains   salicylic  acid  per 
pint, 

61.  Cherry  brandy  containing  6'0  grains  salicylic  acid  per 
pint, 

62.  Orange  wine   containing   8*5  grains  salicylic  acid  per 
pint.     Chorley,  June    1902.     Police  Court   proceedings.     All 
convicted. 

63.  Orange   wine   containing  15   grains  salicylic  acid  per 
pint.     Wiltshire  County  Sessions,  August  1902.     Convicted. 

64.  Orange  wine    containing   7*1  grains   salicylic  acid  per 
pint.     Chester,  January  1903.     Convicted. 

65.  Orange    wine   containing    10   grains  salicylic  acid  per 
pint.     Pontypridd,  July  1903.     Convicted. 

66.  Elderberry  cordial  containing  5  grains  salicylic  acid  per 
pint.     Bury,  October  1903.     Convicted. 

67.  Ginger  wine  containing  7-2  grains  salicylic   acid   per 
pint.     Coagh,  May  1904.     Dismissed. 

The  only  evidence  for  the  prosecution  was  the  Analyst's 
certificate.  For  the  defence  witnesses  were  called  who  testified 
as  to  the  harmlessness  of  salicylic  acid  in  the  proportion 
present  in  the  samples. 

68.  Ginger  wine  containing  7 '2  grains  of  salicylic  acid  per 
pint.     Belfast  Petty  Sessions  ;   appeal   before   the   Recorder, 
September  1904.     Conviction  upheld. 

The  case  was  first  heard  at  the  Belfast  Petty  Sessions, 
when  the  defendant  was  convicted  under  section  6  and  fined 
20s.  It  was  contended  that  as  ginger  wine  had  been  known  for 
a  century  or  more,  and  as  salicylic  acid  was  a  comparatively 
recently  discovered  drug,  its  use  could  not  be  essential  in  the 
making  of  ginger  wine,  that  the  larger  manufacturers  did  not 
use  it,  and  that  it  was  injurious.  For  the  defence  it  was 
alleged  that  either  a  preservative  or  alcohol  was  required  to 
prevent  fermentation,  and  that  the  amount  of  salicylic  acid 
used  was  too  small  to  be  harmful. 

The  appeal  was  heard  before  the  Recorder  of  Belfast  on 
September  23,  1904. 


LEGAL  CASES  389 

The  City  Analyst  proved  that  the  wine  contained  7*2  grains 
of  salicylic  acid  per  pint  and  12-2  per  cent,  of  alcohol,  and 
stated  that  the  latter  was  sufficient  to  preserve  the  wine  from 
fermentation. 

Dr.  O'Neill  stated  that  he  had  been  practising  medicine  for 
twenty-seven  years,  and  before  that  had  had  practical  experience 
in  the  making  of  ginger  wine.  He  read  formulae  for  its  prepara- 
tion in  Muspratt's  '  Dictionary  of  Chemistry,'  1860,  and  also  in 
the  '  Chemist  and  Druggist '  of  1890.  Ginger  wine  contained 
from  5  to  12  per  cent,  of  alcohol  produced  by  fermentation  in 
the  course  of  manufacture,  and  this  was  sufficient  to  preserve 
it.  Salicylic  acid  was  a  dangerous  drug,  especially  dangerous 
when  given  in  any  quantity  to  persons  suffering  from  inflamma- 
tion of  the  heart,  liver,  or  kidneys.  Dr.  Stanley  B.  Coates 
and  Dr.  Torrens  supported  Dr.  O'Xeill's  evidence. 

For  the  appellants,  Mr.  Charles  Huxtable,  pharmaceutical 
and  analytical  chemist,  stated  that  he  had  had  experience  in 
the  manufacture  of  ginger  wine  for  four  years,  and  that  the 
addition  of  a  preservative  was  essential.  Salicylic  acid  to  the 
extent  of  7-2  grains  per  pint  would  be  harmless,  and  less  than 
this  quantity  would  be  ineffectual.  Ginger  wine  might  con- 
tain 16  to  20  per  cent,  of  proof  spirit,  but  this  would  be 
insufficient  to  prevent  fermentation.  When  cross-examined  on 
the  experiments  quoted  in  the  Report  of  the  Departmental 
Committee  as  to  the  effects  of  salicylic  acid  on  the  digestive 
ferments,  it  was  stated  that  he  had  carried  out  experiments 
on  the  point,  and  found  that  there  was  no  retardation  in- 
duced by  salicylic  acid  when  present  up  to  10  grains  per  pint. 

Sir  William  Whitla,  Professor  of  Materia  Medica,  Queen's 
College,  Belfast,  said  the  pharmacoposial  dose  of  salicylic  acid 
was  5  to  20  grains,  but  it  was  not  unusual  to  give  as 
much  as  120  grains  in  the  day.  Anyone  taking  120  grains  of 
salicylic  acid  through  the  wine  would  have  to  consume  also 
half  a  stone  of  sugar ;  he  did  not  think  there  was  a  particle 
of  evidence  to  show  that  it  did  harm  in  small  doses.  He 
believed  the  statements  continually  made  in  books  about 


390  PBESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

salicylic  acid  and  its  effects  upon  the  heart  and  kidneys  arose 
at  the  time  when  it  was  impossible  to  get  the  drug  pure,  and 
that  the  injurious  effects  were  due  to  the  impurities.  With 
the  present  methods  of  purification  the  cardiac  depression 
was  not  found  even  when  enormous  doses  were  given.  He 
thought  salicylic  acid  was  preferable  to  alcohol  as  a  preserva- 
tive. It  was,  he  believed,  being  introduced  into  beer  and  light 
wines,  but  if  a  man  took  a  couple  of  bottles  of  beer,  a  bottle  of 
cider,  and  a  bottle  of  claret,  he  would  absorb  only  30  grains  of 
salicylic  acid,  and  it  would  do  him  less  harm  than  the  alcohol. 

Dr.  A.  Montgomery  gave  supporting  evidence. 

The  Eecorder,  in  giving  his  decision,  said  that  the  question 
resolved  itself  into  whether  the  drug  was  necessary  or  whether 
there  was  any  doubt  as  to  its  being  injurious,  because  if 
unnecessary  it  should  not  be  introduced,  and  if  injurious  it 
should  not  be  introduced.  Ginger  wine  had  existed  long 
before  the  drug  was  introduced  into  it.  Was  the  wine  better 
than  it  used  to  be  ?  Having  been  existent  so  long  without  the 
drug  he  could  not  see  how  the  drug  was  necessary,  and  if  not 
required,  it  appeared  to  him  that  it  ought  not  to  be  introduced 
into  the  wine.  The  decision  of  the  Magistrates  was  therefore 
confirmed,  and  the  appeal  dismissed. 

69.  Lime-juice  cordial  containing  8  grains  of  salicylic  acid 
per  pint.  Southwark,  October  1903.  Dismissed. 

The  Medical  Officer  of  Health,  in  evidence,  stated  that 
salicylic  acid  was  a  drug  which,  under  certain  circumstances, 
produced  injurious  effects,  and  that  as  present  in  the  sample  it 
was  prejudicial  to  health.  In  previous  years  some  85  per  cent, 
of  temperance  drinks  contained  preservatives,  but  the  latter 
were  not  so  extensively  used  now. 

Dr.  Tebb  gave  his  opinion  as  to  the  injurious  effects  of 
salicylic  acid  in  persons  suffering  from  heart  disease  and 
kidney  complaints.  Any  beverage  containing  a  preservative 
should  be  labelled  to  that  effect.  The  conclusions  of  the 
Departmental  Committee  were  quoted. 

For  the  defence,  the  manager  of  the  firm  stated  that  sali- 


LEGAL  CASES  391 

cylic  acid  had  been  used  by  the  trade  for  twenty  years,  and 
that  it  was  necessary  to  prevent  the  bursting  of  the  bottles. 
He  believed  that  nineteen  out  of  twenty  manufacturers  used 
it.  In  spite  of  the  recommendations  of  the  Committee  he 
thought  salicylic  acid  was  necessary  for  lime  juice,  and  1  grain 
per  pint  was  insufficient.  Their  consulting  chemist  stated  that 
out  of  eighteen  samples  examined,  seventeen  contained  salicylic 
acid  in  proportions  varying  from  1^  to  12  grains  per  pint. 

Further  evidence  was  given  by  Mr.  Bannister,  Dr.  Luff, 
and  Dr.  Thresh.  The  last-named  considered  that  the  natural 
citric  acid  of  the  fruit  might  become  more  harmful  than  the 
salicylic  acid,  and  would  be  more  injurious  to  the  kidneys.  No 
evil  effect- had  ever  been  traced  to  the  use  of  the  preservative. 

Dr.  Abbott  Anderson  stated  that  the  mischief  alleged  to  be 
due  to  salicylic  acid  was  due  to  impurities,  but  that  it  could 
now  be  procured  in  a  pure  state. 

In  his  decision,  the  Magistrate  stated  that  the  onus  of 
proving  the  injurious  effects  of  salicylic  acid  used  in  the 
proportions  present  lay  on  the  prosecutors,  and  this  they  had 
failed  to  do,  relying  almost  entirely  on  theoretical  evidence 
and  the  findings  of  the  Departmental  Committee.  These 
grounds  were  not  conclusive,  or  even  satisfactory,  to  him  for 
forming  a  judgment.  Neither  of  the  witnesses  for  the  prose- 
cution had  made  a  special  study  of  the  effects  of  salicylic 
acid,  whilst  for  the  defence  several  witnesses  had  given  evi- 
dence in  its  favour.  He  had  no  evidence  as  to  the  kind  of 
persons  who  habitually  used  the  beverage  except  that  they 
were  generally  teetotalers  or  children.  He  himself  was  pre- 
pared to  accept  the  statement  of  Dr.  Thresh  that  '  the  general 
experience  is  that  salicylic  acid  in  food  has  been  used  by 
hundreds  and  thousands  of  persons  day  by  day,  and  no  one  has 
ever  reported  an  authenticated  case  of  any  sign  of  danger  from 
it.'  The  information  was  therefore  dismissed  without  costs. 

70.  Jam  containing  1'7  grains  salicylic  acid  per  pound. 
Llanrwst,  November  1899.  Police  Court  proceedings.  Case 
dismissed. 


392  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

71.  Jam  containing  2*6  grains  salicylic  acid  per  pound. 
Stockport,  August  1903.  Police  Court  proceedings.  Con- 
viction upheld  at  Quarter  Sessions. 

On  August  25.  1903,  the  defendant  was  convicted  at  the 
Stockport  Police  Court. 

The  appeal  was  heard  in  October  1903,  before  the  Cheshire 
Quarter  Sessions  at  Knutsford. 

The  chief  witness  for  the  prosecution  was  Dr.  Delepine, 
who  stated  that  a  preservative  was  not  necessary  in  jam 
making  if  the  fruit  were  in  good  condition ;  it  was  only  when 
the  fruit  was  too  moist  that  jam  would  not  keep  without  a 
preservative.  Salicylic  acid  was  a  powerful  poison,  and  the 
continuous  taking  of  minute  doses  would  be  injurious  to 
children  and  weakly  persons. 

For  the  defence,  the  manufacturer,  Mr.  J.  Greenhalgh, 
Eeddish,  stated  that  they  had  been  using  salicylic  acid  in  jam 
making  for  twenty-five  years  ;  it  was  not  used  to  conceal  the 
inferior  quality  of  the  fruit,  but  to  prevent  mould  and  mildew 
and  to  check  fermentation.  It  would  be  very  difficult  to 
manufacture  jam  without  it,  and  bad  fruit  could  not  be  made 
into  good  jam  by  the  use  of  a  preservative. 

Similar  evidence  was  given  by  other  manufacturers,  who, 
however,  admitted  that  since  the  issue  of  the  Eeport  of  the 
Departmental  Committee,  they  had  reduced  the  quantity  of 
salicylic  acid  to  2  grains  or  less  per  pound. 

Medical  witnesses  and  analytical  chemists  gave  evidence 
as  to  the  harmlessness  of  the  small  quantity  of  preservative 
present  in  the  sample  of  jam  in  question. 

The  Bench  upheld  the  conviction  ;  they  did  not  consider 
that  the  jam  was  of  the  nature,  substance,  and  quality  demanded 
in  that  it  contained  salicylic  acid.  They  were  influenced  by 
the  fact  that  jam  forms  a  staple  article  of  diet  among  children 
in  working-class  districts,  and  they  could  not  help  thinking  that 
even  in  minute  doses,  repeated,  the  drug  would  be  injurious. 
In  view  of  the  Eeport  of  the  Departmental  Committee  they 
considered  that  more  than  1  grain  per  pound  would  be  unsafe. 


LEGAL  CASES  393 

72.  Jam  containing  2'25  grains  of  salicylic  acid  per  pound. 
Guisborough,  October  1903.     Police  Court  proceedings.     Case 
dismissed. 

For  the  defence  the  manufacturer  stated  that  the  use  of 
salicylic  acid  had  been  the  custom  of  the  trade  for  twenty- 
five  years,  and  that  2£  grains  per  pound  was  the  smallest 
quantity  which  would  prevent  fermentation.  That  1903  was 
a  wet  year,  and  the  fruit  being  unduly  moist,  preservatives 
were  especially  necessary.  Two  medical  witnesses  considered 
that  the  quantity  of  salicylic  acid  present  would  be  harmless. 

73.  Marmalade  containing  5'5  grains  of  salicylic  acid  per 
pound.     Liverpool,  February  1904.     Convicted. 

74.  Jam  containing  3'25  grains  of  salicylic  acid  per  pound. 
Manchester,  January  1904.     Convicted. 

Evidence  for  the  prosecution  was  given  by  Dr.  Sargeant, 
Medical  Officer  of  Health  to  the  Lancashire  County  Council. 
He  agreed  with  the  Departmental  Committee  that  any  pre- 
servative added  should  not  exceed  1  grain  per  pound :  3£ 
grains  might  not  be  injurious  to  the  health  of  adults,  but 
would  be  an  amount  inadvisable  for  children.  It  was  possible 
that  the  preservative  might  be  used  to  disguise  inferior  fruit, 
and  he  found  personally  that,  by  using  equal  quantities  of 
fruit  and  sugar,  jam  kept  well  enough  without  preservatives. 

For  the  defence  it  was  submitted  that  a  small  quantity  of 
preservative  was  necessary  in  order  that  the  jam  might  be  in  a 
fit  state  for  carriage  or  consumption,  and  that,  to  keep  jam  for 
at  least  fifteen  months  under  varying  conditions  of  temperature 
and  atmosphere,  salicylic  acid  was  necessary,  whatever  might 
be  true  of  home-made  jam  for  household  purposes. 

Dr.  Graham,  of  the  Wigan  Infirmary,  stated  that  he  had 
never  met  with  a  case  of  poisoning  from  the  use  of  salicylic 
acid,  and  that  he  instructed  his  own  cook  to  use  2  to  4  grains 
of  the  preservative  to  the  pound  of  jam. 

The  Stipendiary  Magistrate  convicted  on  the  grounds  that, 
as  the  Departmental  Committee,  after  examining  witnesses  of 
the  highest  scientific  knowledge,  considered  that  1  grain  per 


394  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

pound  was  sufficient,  lie  could  not  support  the  contention  of 
the  defence  that  3£  grains  per  pound  was  a  necessary  quantity. 

75.  Jam   containing   2-5  grains  salicylic   acid  per  pound. 
Con  way,  May  1904.     Dismissed.     Evidence   was   given   that 
salicylic  acid  was  frequently  used  by  the  trade,  and  that  in 
twelve  samples  examined  the  average  amount  present  was  2'8 
grains  per  pound,  that  1  grain  per  pound  as  recommended  by 
the  Departmental  Committee  was  worse  than  useless,  and  that 
minute  traces  of  salicylic  acid  were  found  in  all  fruits.     Medical 
evidence  was  also  called  as  to  the  harmlessness  of  the  small 
quantity  of  preservative  present. 

76.  Orange   wine    containing   10   grains    of    salicylic    acid 
per   pint,     Dudley,  February  1,  1902.     Case  dismissed.     Dr. 
Wilkinson,  Medical  Officer  of  Health,  stated  that  in  his  opinion 
this  quantity  would  be  injurious  to  health  if  continually  used. 
Evidence  for  the  defence  was  given  by  Mr.  A.  Gordon  Salamon 
and  Dr.  A.  P.  Luff. 

77.  Cherry  brandy  containing  6  grains  of  salicylic  acid  per 
pint.     Chorley,  June  14,  1902.     Convicted,  fined  51.  and  costs. 

78.  Orange  wine  containing  15  grains  of  salicylic  acid  per 
pint.     Melksham,  August  1903.     Convicted,  fined  51. 

79.  Orange  wine  containing  7'78  grains  of  salicylic  acid  per 
pint.     Chester,    January   10,   1903.     Convicted,  fined  51.    and 
costs. 

80.  Orange  wine  containing  10  grains  of  salicylic  acid  per 
pint.     Pontypridd,  August  8,  1903.     Convicted,  fined  Is. 

81.  Jam  containing  2'6  grains  of  salicylic  acid  per  pound. 
Southport,  August  29,  1903.     Convicted,  fined  5s.     This  con- 
viction was  subsequently  confirmed  on  October  24,  1903,  by 
the  Cheshire  Quarter  Sessions  on  the  ground  that  the  quantity 
exceeded   the    amount    recommended   by   the    Departmental 
Committee. 

82.  Elderberry  cordial  containing  5  grains  of  salicylic  acid 
per  pint.     Bury,  October  17,  1903.     Convicted,  fined  20£. 

83.  Ginger  wine  containing  7-28  grains  of  salicylic  acid  per 
pint.     Cookstown,  June  18,  1904.     Convicted,  fined  5s. 


LEGAL  CASES  395 

84.  Ginger  wine  containing  8*7  grains  of  salicylic  acid  per 
pint.     Dungannon  Quarter  Sessions,  June  25, 1904.     The  local 
Magistrates  had  convicted  defendant,  but  upon  appeal  evidence 
was  given  by  Professor  Tichborne,  Dr.  Graves  and  Dr.  Saggers 
to  the  effect  that  the  quantity  in  question  was  necessary  as  a 
preservative,  and  that  no  harm  could  result  from  its  use.     The 
appeal  was  allowed  and  the  conviction  quashed. 

85.  Belfast  Quarter  Sessions,  October  1, 1904.     There  was  an 
appeal  against  a  conviction  in  respect  of  orange  wine  containing 
7'2  grains  of  salicylic  acid  per  pint.     Evidence  for  the  defence 
was  given  by  Sir  William  Whitla,  Belfast,  and  Dr.  Alexander 
Montgomery.     The  decision  of  the  Magistrates  was  upheld  and 
the  conviction  confirmed. 

86.  Ginger  wine  containing  13  grains  of  salicylic  acid  per 
pint.     Southwark    Police    Court,    January   14,    1905.      Case 
dismissed. 

87.  Orange  wine  containing  3  grains  of  salicylic  acid  per 
pint.     Brentford,  February  25,  1905.     Case  dismissed. 

88.  Ginger  wine  containing  2'4  grains  of  salicylic  acid  per 
pint.     Eglinton,  March  11,  1905.     Convicted,  fined  21. 

89.  Ginger  wine  containing  2'7  grains  of  salicylic  acid  per 
pint.     Portrush,  April  1,  1905.     Case  dismissed. 

90.  Ginger  wine  containing  6  grains  of  salicylic  acid  per 
pint.     Salisbury,  July  29,  1905.     Convicted,  fined  20s. 

91.  Lime  juice  cordial  containing  6  grains  of  salicylic  acid 
per  pint.     Southwark   Police   Court,    March   7,    1906.     Case 
dismissed. 

92.  Jam   containing   2-5    grains   salicylic   acid  per  pound. 
Altrincham,  May  1904.     Dismissed. 

93.  Glucose. — The  following  case  is  of  considerable  interest, 
and   is  included   here   because  it  was   successfully  contended 
that  the  addition  of  glucose  to  marmalade  not  only  prevented 
crystallization,  but  also  had  a  tendency  to  prevent  mildew  and 
fermentation : 

Smith    v.    Wisden.       Appeal ;     King's    Bench    Division, 
November  1901 ;  before  Alverstone,  L.C.J.,  Darling,  J.,  and 


396  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

Channell,  J,      Conviction  of   West   Sussex   Quarter  Sessions 
quashed. 

The  marmalade  was  purchased  by  an  Inspector  of  the 
West  Sussex  County  Council,  and  was  found  on  analysis 
to  contain  13  per  cent,  of  glucose.  It  was  labelled  '  Crosse 
and  Blackwell's  Pure  Orange  Marmalade,  manufactured  entirely 
from  Seville  oranges,  and  warranted  pure.'  The  defendant 
was  convicted  at  the  Worthing  Court  of  Summary  Jurisdiction, 
and  the  conviction  was  confirmed  by  the  West  Sussex  Quarter 
Sessions. 

It  was  proved  at  Quarter  Sessions  that  glucose  was  com- 
posed of  40  per  cent,  dextrose,  40  per  cent,  dextrine,  and  20 
per  cent,  water,  that  it  had  been  employed  by  many  marmalade 
manufacturers  for  years,  that  there  was  no  legal  standard  for 
marmalade,  and  that  glucose  was  not  injurious  to  health,  but 
was  used  to  prevent  the  marmalade  crystallizing,  and  that  it  had 
also  a  tendency  to  prevent  mildew  and  fermentation.  It  was 
contended,  therefore,  that  the  sale  was  not  to  the  prejudice  of 
the  purchaser.  The  Bench,  in  confirming  the  conviction  of  the 
Magistrates,  found :  (1)  that  in  asking  for  marmalade  the  pur- 
chaser desired  to  buy  a  substance  composed  of  oranges  cooked  or 
preserved  with  cane-sugar  or  beet-sugar,  and  had  not  consented 
to  be  served  with  a  preserve  to  which  starch  glucose  had  been 
added ;  (2)  that  the  sale  of  the  article,  which  contained  13  per 
cent,  of  starch  glucose,  was  to  the  prejudice  of  the  purchaser ; 
and  (3)  that  it  was  the  sale  of  an  article  not  of  the  nature, 
substance,  and  quality  demanded. 

The  appeal  in  the  Higher  Court  of  Justice  was  allowed,  on 
the  grounds  that  the  evidence  had  failed  to  prove  that  the 
article  was  not  of  the  nature,  substance,  and  quality  demanded 
by  the  purchaser. 

In  order  to  sustain  such  a  contention  Alverstone,  L.C.J., 
pointed  out  that  the  alteration  must  be  to  the  prejudice  of  the 
purchaser,  and  that  the  prejudice  must  be  that  which  the 
ordinary  customer  suffers  :  namely,  by  paying  for  one  thing  and 
getting  another  of  inferior  quality.  The  words  inserted  in  the 


LEGAL  CASES  397 

clause  (section  6)  are  intended  to  show  that  the  offence  is  not 
simply  the  giving  of  a  different,  but  the  giving  of  an  inferior, 
thing  to  that  demanded  and  paid  for.  In  the  case  under  con- 
sideration it  had  been  proved  to  the  Magistrates  that  glucose 
had  been  employed  in  the  manufacture  of  marmalade  for  a 
period  of  fifteen  years  by  a  large  number  of  manufacturers, 
but  not  by  all.  Therefore  it  is  plain  that  the  Magistrates 
found  as  a  fact  that  it  was  an  alternative  ingredient  in  marma- 
lade. They  found  that  there  is  no  standard  for  marmalade, 
but  that  glucose  was  a  frequent  but  not  invariable  constituent 
in  varying  the  receipt.  They  found  also  that  the  use  of 
glucose  to  the  extent  contained  in  the  analyzed  sample  was 
not  injurious  to  health,  that  it  prevented  the  marmalade  from 
crystallizing,  and  had  a  tendency  to  prevent  mildewing  and 
fermentation.  Consequently  the  purchaser  got  an  article 
which,  if  it  differed  at  all,  was  different  in  the  sense  that  it  was 
better.  The  Justices,  therefore,  were  not  justified  in  coming  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  sale  was  to  the  prejudice  of  the  pur- 
chaser. 

This  decision  was  followed  in  the  Sheriff  Court,  Scotland, 
in  1905  after  much  evidence  and  argument. 

II. — CASES   EELATING   TO    COPPEE   IN   FOODS 

94.  Peas  containing  2'53  grains  of  sulphate  of  copper  per 
pound.     Eochdale,  January  25,  1902.     Convicted,  fined  55. 

95.  Peas  containing  2-5  grains  of  sulphate  of  copper  per 
pound.     February  1,  1902.     Convicted,  fined  21s. 

96.  Peas  containing  1  grain  of  metallic  copper  per  pound. 
Blackpool,  April  12,  1902.     Convicted,  fined  5s. 

97.  Peas   containing  4  grains   of   sulphate  of   copper  per 
pound.     Manchester,  June  14,  1902.     Case  dismissed. 

98.  Peas   containing  5  grains  of   sulphate    of   copper  per 
pound.     Manchester,  July  1902.     Convicted,  fined  Is. 

99.  Peas  containing  2-45  grains  of  crystallized  sulphate  of 
copper  per  pound.     Aberdeen,   August   2,  1902.     Convicted, 
fined  21  10s. 


398  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

100.  Peas  containing  3  grains  of   sulphate  of  copper  per 
pound.     Ulverstone,  August  30,  1902.     Convicted,  fined  51. 

101.  Peas  containing  2^  grains  of  sulphate  of  copper  per 
pound.     Bury,  September  22,  1902.     Convicted,  fined  2Z. 

102.  Peas  containing  2  grains  of   sulphate  of   copper  per 
pound.     Lambeth,  November  29,  1902.     Convicted,  fined  10s. 

103.  Peas  containing  2' 5  grains  of  sulphate  of  copper  per 
pound.     Lambeth,  December  1902.     Convicted,  fined  205. 

104.  Peas  containing  2*8  grains  of  sulphate  of  copper  per 
pound.     January  10,  1903.     Convicted,  fined  20s. 

105.  Peas  containing  3'9  grains  of  sulphate  of  copper  per 
pound.     Marlborough  Street,  February  21,  1903.     Convicted, 
fined  51. 

106.  Peas  containing  3' 57  grains  of  sulphate  of  copper  per 
pound.     South wark  Police  Court,  March  14,  1903.     Convicted, 
fined   20s.     In   this  case  Dr.  Brown,  the  Medical  Officer   of 
Health  for  Bermondsey,  said  the  amount  in  question  was  very 
injurious  to  health.     If  a  person  happened  to  eat  a  pound  of 
peas  he  would  be  seized  with  vomiting  and  diarrhoea. 

107.  Peas  containing  3'37  grains  of  sulphate  of  copper  per 
pound.     Dudley,  August  15,  1903.     Convicted,  fined  20s. 

108.  Peas  containing  1'33  grain  of  sulphate  of  copper  per 
pound.     Dudley,  September  15,  1903.     Convicted,  fined  20s. 

109.  Peas  containing  2*66  grains  of  sulphate  of  copper  per 
pound.     Dudley,  September  19, 1903.     Convicted,  fined  20s. 

110.  Peas  containing  0'44  grain  of  sulphate  of  copper  per 
pound.     Dudley,  September  26,  1903.     Convicted,  fined  40s. 

111.  Peas  containing  2-4  grains  of  sulphate  of  copper  per 
pound.     October  21,  1903.     Convicted,  fined  10s. 

112.  Peas  containing  0'5  grain  of  sulphate  of  copper  per 
pound.     Barrow,  January  9,  1904.     Dismissed. 

113.  Six  cases  of  peas  containing  quantities  varying  from 
1'7  to  2'9  grains  per  pound.     Southwark  Police  Court,  January 
23,  1904.     Convicted,  each  fined  20s.     In  this  case  evidence 
was  given  by  Dr.  Robert  Hutchison,  of  the  London  Hospital, 
and  Dr.  E.  A.  Young,  of  the  Middlesex  Hospital. 


LEGAL  CASES  399 

114.  Nine  cases  of  peas  containing  sulphate  of  copper  in 
varying   quantities,  the   highest  being  3'1   grains  per  pound. 
Bournemouth,  April  16,  1904.     Conviction  in  one  case,  fined 
30s. ;  remaining  cases  withdrawn. 

115.  Peas  containing  2-5  grains  of  sulphate  of  copper  per 
pound.    Marlborough  Street,  June  4, 1904.    Convicted,  fined  51. 
Haricot  beans  containing  2'21  grains  of  sulphate  of  copper  per 
pound.     Same  court.     Convicted,  fined  4/. 

116.  Peas  containing  0'84  grain  of  sulphate  of  copper  per 
pound.     July  30,  1904.     Convicted,  fined  40s. 

117.  Peas   containing  |  grain  of    sulphate    of   copper  per 
pound.     Dunfermline,  August  13,    1904.     Case    dismissed  on 
ground  that  person  who  buys  preserved  peas  must  be  assumed 
to  know  that  something  has  been  added  to  preserve  them. 

118.  Peas  containing  3'4  grains  of  sulphate  of  copper  per 
pound.     Bow  Street,  August  20,  1904.     Convicted,  fined  40s. 

119.  Peas  containing  3'24  grains  of  sulphate  of  copper  per 
pound.     Blackpool,  December  17,  1904.     Convicted,  fined  51. 

120.  Peas    containing   2-96    grains   of   sulphate  of   copper 
per  pound.     Liverpool,  February  11,  1905.     Convicted,  fined 
3Z. 

121.  Peas  containing  2|  grains  of  sulphate  of  copper  per 
pound.     Derry,  April  8,  1905.     Convicted,  fined  31. 

122.  Peas  containing  2£  grains  of  sulphate  of  copper  per 
pound.     Derry,  March  18,  1905.     Convicted,  fined  31. 

123.  Peas  containing  2|  grains  of  sulphate  of  copper  per 
pound.     Barrow,  April  13,  1905.     Convicted,  fined  51. 

124.  Peas  containing  3'4  grains  of  sulphate  of  copper  per 
pound.      Marlborough    Street,    June    24,    1905.      Convicted, 
fined  51. 

125.  Peas  containing  2-34  grains  of  sulphate  of  copper  per 
pound.     Westminster,  July  29,  1905.     Convicted,  fined  II. 

126.  Peas   containing   3-22   grains    of   copper   per   pound. 
Eamsgate,  October  14,  1905.     Convicted,  fined  5s.     In  a  con- 
sidered judgment  the   Eamsgate    Stipendiary  stated  that  the 
preponderance  of  scientific  opinion  sufficiently  established  the 


400  PEESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

fact  that  the  quantity  of  copper  in  this  case  rendered  the  peas 
injurious. 

127.  Peas   containing  3  grains  of   sulphate  of  copper  per 
pound.     Birkdale,  October  21,  1905.     Convicted,  fined  40s. 

128.  Spinach  containing  5  grains  of  sulphate  of  copper  per 
pound.     Westminster,  October  2,  1905.     Convicted,  fined  40s. 

129.  Spinach  containing  7^  grains  of  sulphate  of  copper  per 
pound.     Westminster,  December  9,  1905.     Convicted,  fined  3Z. 

130.  Spinach  containing  3-32  grains  of  sulphate  of  copper 
per  pound.    Marlborough  Street,  December  9, 1905.    Convicted, 
fined  51.     In  this  case  Dr.  F.  J.  Smith,  of  the  London  Hospital, 
deposed  that  sulphate  of  copper  in  such  small  quantities  was 
perfectly  harmless. 

At  the  same  Court  on  the  same  day  two  other  defendants 
were  fined  for  selling  peas  containing  3-4  and  4'47  grains  of 
sulphate  of  copper  respectively. 

131.  Spinach  containing  4'75  grains  of  sulphate  of  copper 
per  pound.     Liverpool,  January  13, 1906.     Convicted,  fined  40s. 

132.  Copper  in  spinach.     Police  Court  proceedings,  Novem- 
ber 9,  1905.     Conviction.     The  case  was  tried  at  Marlborough 
Police  Court  on  November  9,  the  Civil  Service  Co-operative 
Society,   Limited,    Haymarket,   being    charged    with    selling 
to   the   prejudice    of    the   purchaser   a   tin   of   spinach   con- 
taining 0-0166   per   cent,    of  copper   (the   equivalent  of   4-57 
grains  of  copper  to  each  pound  of  spinach).     Dr.  F.  J.  Allan, 
Medical  Officer  of  Health  for  Westminster,  stated  that  in  his 
opinion  the  use  of  copper  in  tinned  spinach  was  unnecessary 
and  harmful ;  he  had  seen  preserved  spinach  having  its  natural 
colour  retained  without  the  use  of  copper.     For  the  defence  it 
was  contended  that  this  particular  spinach  was  not  sold  to  the 
prejudice  of  the  public,  inasmuch  as  its  nature  was  disclosed 
on  the  label :  sulphate  of  copper  had  been  recommended  as  a 
preservative,  and  was  the  only  means  of  keeping  spinach  in  an 
appetizing  form.     The  Magistrates  imposed  a  fine  of  10Z.,  with 
51.  costs. 


LEGAL  CASES  401 

III. — IMPOETANT  APPEAL  CASES 

133.  Copper  in  peas.  Appeal  to  Quarter  Sessions  (South 
London)  from  the  conviction  of  the  appellant  for  an  offence 
against  section  3  of  the  Sale  of  Food  and  Drugs  Act,  1875, 
before  E.  N.  Fen  wick,  Esq.,  sitting  at  the  Southwark  Police 
Court,  May  1896. 

The  following  is  an  abstract  of  the  judgment  of  the  Court 
taken  from  the  '  Justice  of  the  Peace,'  May  30,  1896.  (The 
amount  of  copper  in  the  peas  was  taken  at  3  grains  in  the 
pound.) 

'  Guy  and  Ferrier,  in  1895,  say  that  copper  may  be  used 
medicinally  on  a  human  subject  in  doses  from  half  a  grain  to 
2  grains  as  an  astringent,  and  from  5  grains  to  10  grains  as  an 
emetic.  To  animals,  the  dog  especially,  the  quantity  which 
may  be  given  for  considerable  periods,  without  sensible  effect, 
is  very  large.  The  same  authors  also  quote  recorded  instances 
to  show  that  human  beings  may  take  this  same  drug  for  a 
lengthened  period  without  serious  symptoms  ;  one  of  these 
refers  to  Eaermacher,  a  man  known  to  the  scientific  world, 
who  took  it  for  eight  months  with  no  effect  but  a  ravenous 
appetite  and  painless  diarrhoea,  but  the  Court  would  have 
difficulty  in  believing  that  an  unnatural  craving  for  food,  and 
diarrhoaa,  though  painless,  do  not  point  to  a  condition  of  the 
system  incompatible  with  a  normal  state  of  health.  Touissant 
again  is  quoted  as  having  taken  from  3  to  7^  grains  for 
fourteen  days  with  no  symptoms  but  metallic  taste,  and  as 
having  after  taking  various  preparations  of  copper  for  six 
months  remained  quite  well.  Here  again  arises  the  question 
whether  a  metallic  taste  is  compatible  with  sound  health. 
The  same  authors  mention  a  form  of  disease  called  copper 
colic  as  prevailing  among  workers  in  copper.  This  effect  some 
attribute  to  the  fumes  or  other  influences  of  the  copper  itself, 
others  to  metal  blended  with  it  as  alloys.  Ogier,  Charteris, 
and  Snodgrass  are  severally  quoted  to  show  that  the  presence 
of  salts  of  copper  in  small  quantities  has  no  bad  influence.  It 

26 


402 

has  been  urged  in  favour  of  sulphate  of  copper  that  it  is  used 
as  a  medical  remedy,  in  doses  of  a  half  to  2  grains.  It  is, 
however,  admitted  that  the  use  of  it  has  been  worthily  discon- 
tinued, other  more  desirable  and  efficacious  appliances  having 
come  into  vogue.  The  Court  has,  however,  found  its  attention 
drawn  to  the  fact  that  the  administering  this  drug — where  it 
acts  and  is  acted  upon  by  some  already  existing  derangement 
of  the  system,  whereby  its  effects  are  concentrated — must  be 
regarded  in  a  different  light  from  its  being  gradually  absorbed 
into  the  system  for  a  lengthened  period.  Tschirch l  has  been 
largely  quoted  by  both  sides.  He  says  that  salts  of  copper  can 
cause  poisoning  and  even  death  to  man,  but  that  the  experi- 
ments show  that  such  results,  to  say  the  least,  are  seldom 
found,  and  that  mostly  after  ceasing  the  taking  the  parts 
deranged  return  quickly  to  their  normal  state ;  but  that  he 
cannot  regard  in  the  light  of  such — which  from  the  context 
seems  to  mean  to  such  a  degree — as  lead,  antimony,  and  other 
poisons.  As  to  colouring  he  approves  of  it  as  rendering  food 
more  attractive  to  the  eye,  and  thus  promoting  appetite, 
provided  always  that  no  injury  to  health  attaches  to  the 
process.  In  colouring  he  says — and  this  is  important — that 
the  copper  phyllo-cyanate  alone  acts,  that  copper  leguminate, 
which  is  only  formed  freely  when  there  is  too  much  copper,  is 
to  be  avoided,  as  it  is  useless  for  the  purpose  of  colouring. 
The  Court  must  notice  here  that  in  the  case  before  it  the 
proportions  show  one-third  of  copper  phyllo-cyanate  and  two- 
thirds  of  leguminate.  He  regards  as  of  great  importance  on 
principle  the  question  whether  copper  salts  should  be  allowed 
in  food,  in  view  that  it  is  undoubted  that  it  affects,  though 
slightly,  the  health  if  taken  in  sufficient  quantity,  and  it  is 
desirable  to  fix  a  quantity  which  has  been  shown  to  be  harm- 
less. This,  he  says,  throws  a  great  responsibility  on  the 
hygienic  chemist.  The  quantity  allowed  by  Tschirch  varies 
from  1  in  40,000  to  a  maximum  of  1  in  10,000,  whereas  in  the 
case  before  the  Court  the  quantity  found  is  1  in  8,750,  or, 

1  Monograph :  Das  Kupler,  Stuttgart,  1893.     Vide  also  Blyth  an  Foods,  p.  224. 


LEGAL  CASES  403 

according  to  the  appellant's  contention,  1  in  8,772,  thus  exceed- 
ing Tschirch's  maximum  limit.     For  colouring   purposes  his 
proportion  is  18  in  1,000,000,  whereas  the  result  in  the  case 
before  the  Court  shows  114  in  1,000,000.     The  same  author, 
however,  considers  that  experiments  have  not  been  continued 
for  a  sufficiently  long  time  to  arrive  at  anything  like  certainty 
on  the  question.     He  seems  to  think  that  it  would  be  abortive 
to  prohibit  absolutely  copper  in  food  and  drink,  because  this 
would  be  equivalent  to  prohibiting  the  plant  to  absorb  it  from 
the   ground,  and   to   classify   the  consumption  of   bread   and 
chocolate  amongst  the  things  injurious  to  health.     The  Court 
have  had  brought  to  their  notice  by  the  learned  counsel  for  the 
appellant  two  prosecutions  under  this  same  statute  and  section 
in  Glasgow,  in  both  of  which  the  defendants  wrere  acquitted, 
but  in  the  former  of  those  cases  the  quantity  charged  was  1'4 
of  added  matter.    The  quantity  in  the  second  case  was  2'5.    The 
learned  Sheriff  Birnie  declined  to  convict,  because  he  had  no 
evidence  before  him  of  the  difference  in  effect  between  1-4  and 
2- 5.     To  corroborate  the  general  opinion  that  copper  used  for 
colouring   matter  is   innocuous,  the   learned   counsel  for   the 
appellant  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  Court  that  in  France 
there  is  no  restriction  as  to  its  use  whatever.     Though   this 
general  statement  does  not  influence  the  Court  in  this  case,  the 
proceedings  of  the  French  Government  from  time  to  time  are 
not  without  interest.      It  appears  that   France  is  by  far  the 
largest  exporter  of  preserved  fruits  and  vegetables.     In  1853  it 
prohibited  the  use  of  copper  salts  in  preserved  articles  of  food 
— at  first  in  Paris — but  the  prohibition  seven  years  later  was 
extended   to   the   whole   country  on   the   recommendation  of 
appointed  experts,  who  were  of  the  opinion  that,  although  the 
quantities   extracted    from   certain  samples   were    small    and 
not  likely  to  produce  serious  accidents,  yet  the  presence  of  a 
highly   poisonous   substance   in   proportions   without    a    fixed 
limit  involved  a  risk  which  should  not  be  permitted  to  exist. 
France,  however,  even  at  that  time,  had  20,000  hands  and  a 
capital  of   40,000,000  fr.    engaged   in   the   manufactures,  and 


404  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

appeals  were  made  against  this  decision,  and  it  was  urged  that 
greening  for  export  should  be  permitted,  but  not  for  home  use. 
At  length  in  1889,  on  the  report  of  a  consulting  committee, 
prohibition  was  withdrawn  absolutely.  On  the  other  hand,  in 
most  of  the  continental  countries  restrictions  are  in  force.  It 
has  also  been  urged  that  the  upholding  of  a  conviction  of  this 
kind  would  be  to  seriously  interfere  with  a  very  large  and 
important  branch  of  trade.  The  Court  are  not  apprehensive 
on  that  score,  seeing  there  are  simple  means  of  obviating  such 
a  result.  But  even  were  it  otherwise,  the  Court  do  not  think 
that  such  a  consideration  should  influence  their  judgment.  To 
quote  all  the  authorities  put  before  the  Court  in  this  case 
would  exceed  the  limits  of  a  judgment.  It  is  to  be  observed 
that  the  proportion  of  the  added  foreign  substance  is  in  excess 
of  that  in  all  the  cases  brought  forward  except  in  a  case  at 
Bristol.  After  carefully  perusing  and  considering  the  whole 
of  the  evidence  oral  and  written,  the  Court  are  forced  to  the 
conclusion  that,  where  the  opinions  of  eminent  authorities  are 
still  in  a  state  of  uncertainty,  it  would  be  mischievous  to 
countenance  an  addition  of  this  foreign  substance  to  articles 
of  food  in  a  larger  proportion  than  that  which  they  suggest. 
The  quantity  in  this  case  is  considerably  in  excess  of  that 
quantity.  The  Court  is  therefore  of  opinion  that  the  conviction 
should  be  upheld.  The  appeal  is  therefore  dismissed.' 

134.  From  the  <  Law  Times,'  March  18,  1905.  Copper  in 
peas.  King's  Bench  Division,  Friday,  November  4,  1904. 
(Before  Lord  Alverstone,  C.J.,  Kennedy  and  Eidley,  JJ.). 
Hull  (appellant)  v.  Horsnell  (respondent). 

Food  and  Drugs — Preserved  peas — Sulphate  of  copper — 
Injurious  to  health — Certificate  of  analyst — Sale  of  Food  and 
Drugs  Act,  1875  (38  and  39  Viet.  c.  63)  s.  3. 

Under  section  3  of  the  Sale  of  Food  and  Drugs  Act,  1875, 
the  article  of  food  must  be  rendered  injurious  to  health  by 
being  mixed  with  some  ingredient.  It  is  not  sufficient  that  the 
ingredient  with  which  the  food  is  mixed  is  injurious  to  health. 
The  certificate  of  the  analyst  in  the  case  of  an  alleged 


LEGAL  CASES  405 

offence  under  this  section  is  not  sufficient,  if  it  complies  with 
the  form  in  the  schedule  to  the  Act  of  1875,  merely  because  it 
does  not  state  that  the  ingredient  so  mixed  '  rendered  the  article 
injurious  to  health.' 

Case  stated  on  an  information  preferred  by  the  respondent 
against  the  appellant  under  the  Food  and  Drugs  Act,  1875, 
charging  that  the  appellant  did,  on  February  19,  1904, 
unlawfully  and  wilfully  sell  to  the  respondent  a  certain  article 
of  food — to  wit,  bottled  peas — which  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
appellant  was  mixed  with  a  certain  ingredient  called  sulphate 
of  copper,  which  ingredient  was  injurious  to  health,  contrary 
to  the  Sale  of  Food  and  Drugs  Acts,  1875-1899. 

The  respondent,  an  inspector  under  the  Sale  of  Food  and 
Drugs  Acts,  purchased  of  the  appellant,  a  greengrocer  carrying 
on  business  at  Bexhill,  a  bottle  of  preserved  peas  for  the 
purpose  of  analysis. 

The  respondent  divided  the  peas  so  purchased  into  three 
parts,  and  sent  one  part  to  the  public  analyst,  who  gave  his 
certificate  as  follows : 

'  I,  the  undersigned  public  analyst  for  the  administrative 
county  of  East  Sussex,  do  hereby  certify  that  I  received  from 
yourself  on  February  20  (per  registered  parcel  post)  a  sample 
of  bottled  peas,  No.  14,  for  analysis  (which  then  weighed  about 
4^  oz.),  and  have  analyzed  the  same,  and  declare  the  result  of 
my  analysis  to  be  as  follows : — I  am  of  opinion  that  the  said 
sample  is  adulterated  with  sulphate  of  copper  to  the  extent  of 
at  least  1'87  grains  per  pound.  Observations. — The  copper 
salt  has  doubtless  been  added  to  improve  the  colour  of  the 
peas.' 

The  respondent  proved  that  the  bottle  containing  the 
peas  bore  the  following  label,  'English  Garden  Peas  .  .  . 
Colour  preserved  with  a  small  portion  of  sulphate  of  copper. 
Finest  English  Marrowfat  Peas.  Preserved  in  Kent. — Petty, 
Wood  &  Co.,  London.' 

The  public  analyst  was  called  for  the  prosecution,  and  he 
proved  :  (a)  That  sulphate  of  copper  was  a  poisonous  substance 


406  PKESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

and  injurious  to  health  ;  (&)  that  sulphate  of  copper  was  used 
to  preserve  the  colour  of  the  peas ;  (c)  that  he  had  never 
known  anyone  personally,  or  heard  of  anyone  injured  by  eating 
peas  containing  copper,  but  that  he,  the  public  analyst,  suffered 
from  colic  if  he  ate  coppered  peas;  (d)  that  out  of  eight 
samples  examined  by  him  during  the  previous  quarter,  seven 
contained  copper.  On  behalf  of  the  appellant  it  was  contended 
that  the  information  did  not  disclose  any  offence  under  the 
Sale  of  Food  and  Drugs  Act,  1875,  because  it  did  not  allege 
that  the  admixture  of  the  ingredient  called  sulphate  of  copper 
rendered  the  article  of  food — namely,  the  peas — injurious  to 
health,  but  merely  that  the  ingredient  itself  was  injurious  to 
health,  that  therefore  the  information  was  bad  in  law,  and  the 
appellant  could  not  be  convicted  upon  it.  Tt  was  also  con- 
tended on  behalf  of  the  appellant  that  the  certificate  of  the 
public  analyst  did  not  disclose  any  offence,  and  was  insufficient, 
and  did  not  comply  with  the  requirements  of  the  Sale  of  Food 
and  Drugs  Act,  1875. 

On  behalf  of  the  respondent  it  was  contended  that  the 
information  did  disclose  an  offence  under  the  Act,  that  it  is 
sufficient  to  constitute  an  offence  under  the  latter  part  of 
section  3  of  the  Sale  of  Food  and  Drugs  Act,  1875,  if  the 
ingredient  itself  which  is  mixed  with  the  article  of  food  is 
injurious  to  health,  and  it  is  not  necessary  to  show  that  the 
ingredient  renders  the  article  of  food  injurious  to  health. 

It  was  also  contended  that  the  analyst's  certificate  was 
sufficient,  being  in  the  form  provided  by  the  schedule  to  the 
Sale  of  Food  and  Drugs  Act,  1875,  and  that  the  certificate 
need  not  disclose  any  offence.  It  was  contended  also  that  the 
insufficiency  (if  any)  was  remedied  by  the  public  analyst  being 
called  as  a  witness  to  give  evidence  of  the  facts. 

The  Justices  were  of  opinion  that  sulphate  of  copper,  which 
was  an  ingredient  in  the  peas,  was  injurious  to  health,  and  they 
therefore  convicted  the  appellant,  being  of  opinion  that  the 
ingredient  necessarily  rendered  the  whole  article  sold  injurious 
to  health. 


LEGAL  CASES  407 

The  questions  for  the  opinion  of  the  Court  were :  (1) 
Whether  the  information  disclosed  an  offence  under  the  Sale  of 
Food  and  Drugs  Act,  1875,  and  was  valid  in  law ;  (2)  whether 
the  public  analyst's  certificate  was  sufficient  and  valid  in  law. 

Lord  Alverstone,  C.  J. :  If  the  Justices  had  convicted  the 
appellant  of  an  offence  under  section  3  of  the  Sale  of  Food 
and  Drugs  Act,  1875,  on  the  ground  that  the  ingredient  which 
was  mixed  with  the  article  of  food — sulphate  of  copper — was 
injurious  to  health,  and  not  on  the  ground  that  the  peas  by 
reason  of  the  addition  of  the  sulphate  of  copper  were  rendered 
injurious  to  health,  I  am  clearly  of  opinion  that  the  conviction 
would  be  wrong.  I  have  no  doubt  that  in  order  to  constitute 
an  offence  under  section  3  the  article  of  food  must  be  found 
to  be  injurious  to  health  by  the  addition  of  some  ingredient. 
We  have  seen  the  summons  which  recites  the  information,  and, 
speaking  for  myself,  I  think  that  the  Justices  have,  in  fact, 
found  the  article  itself — namely,  the  peas — was  injurious  to 
health  when  they  said  that  the  ingredient  necessarily  rendered 
the  whole  article  sold  injurious  to  health.  As,  however,  there 
may  be  some  doubt  as  to  whether  they  have  so  found,  I  think 
that  the  case  ought  to  be  sent  back  to  them,  with  directions 
that  if  they  can  find  the  peas  as  sold  were  injurious  to  health 
the  conviction  should  stand,  but  if  they  find,  not  that  the  peas 
were  injurious  to  health,  but  that  the  sulphate  of  copper,  the 
ingredient  with  which  they  were  mixed,  was,  the  conviction 
should  not  stand. 

Mr.  Avory  has  taken  a  second  point — namely,  that  the 
conviction  cannot  stand  because  the  certificate  of  the  analyst 
is  insufficient.  (His  Lordship  read  the  certificate  and  con- 
tinued) :  It  was  contended  that  at  the  end  of  the  finding  the 
analyst  should  have  added  the  words,  '  which  rendered  the 
articles  injurious  to  health,'  since  the  certificate,  as  it  stands, 
does  not  show  on  the  face  of  it  that  any  offence  has  been 
committed.  I  cannot  agree  with  that  contention.  The  analyst 
could  not  know  with  what  offence  the  person  would  be  charged. 
In  my  opinion,  the  certificate  is  sufficient  if  it  is  one  which  is 


408  PEBSEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  the  schedule,  and  sets  out  the 
description  of  the  goods  sent  for  analysis,  the  weight,  and  the 
other  requirements  of  the  schedule. 

Kennedy  and  Kidley,  JJ.,  agreed. 

Case  remitted  to  the  Justices. 

The  following  interesting  case  is  quoted  from  the  '  Justice 
of  the  Peace,'  December  21,  1904. 

135.  King's  Bench  Division,  May  16,  17,  1904.  Friend  v. 
Mapp. 

Sale  of  food  and  drugs — Adulteration — Sulphate  of  copper 
used  to  colour  preserved  peas — Sale  to  the  prejudice  of  a 
purchaser— Sale  of  Food  and  Drugs  Act,  1875  (38  &  39  Viet, 
c.  63),  s.  6. 

The  respondent  was  summoned  for  selling  preserved  peas 
the  colour  of  which  had  been  retained  by  the  addition  of 
sulphate  of  copper,  but  in  such  small  quantity  as  not  to  be 
injurious  to  health,  and  evidence  was  given  that  preserved  peas 
are  habitually  sold  with  such  addition.  The  Justices  dismissed 
the  summons.  Held,  that  the  decision  was  justifiable  on  the 
facts  of  the  case. 

Case  stated  by  Justices  of  the  Peace  for  the  county  of 
London,  acting  in  and  for  the  Kensington  Petty  Sessional 
Division  of  the  said  county : 

1.  The  respondent  was  summoned  for  unlawfully  selling  to 
the  prejudice  of  the  purchaser  an  article  of  food,  to  wit,  preserved 
peas  (sample  No.  75),  which  was  not  of  the  nature,  substance, 
and  quality  of  the  article  demanded  by  such  purchaser,  for  the 
reason  that  the  same  contained,  as  stated  in  the  certificate  of 
the  public  analyst  for  the  said  borough,  0*00924  per  centum  of 
copper,  equivalent  to  2-55  grains  per  pound  of  crystallized 
sulphate  of  copper,  contrary  to  the  provisions  of  section  6  of 
the  Sale  of  Food  and  Drugs  Act,  1875. 

4.  The  appellant  called  evidence  to  prove  that  copper  was 
not  a  normal  constituent  of  peas  or  of  the  human  body.  That 
a  medicinal  dose  of  sulphate  of  copper  was  from  £  to  2  grains, 
and  acts  as  an  astringent.  That  in  large  doses  sulphate  of 


LEGAL  CASES  409 

copper  acts  as  an  irritant,  and  is  apt  to  produce  vomiting,  and 
is  a  cumulative  poison.  That  its  occasional  consumption  in 
such  a  quantity  as  had  been  found  in  the  said  peas  would  not 
harm  a  healthy  individual,  but  that  habitual  consumption 
thereof  might  injuriously  affect  the  health  and  produce  chronic 
ill  health,  and  that  copper  is  added  to  preserve  peas,  to  give 
them  a  fresh  bright  green  colour ;  but  the  appellant's  witness 
admitted  that  such  peas  had  been  generally  used  for  some 
years,  and  that  he  knew  of  no  recorded  case  of  injury  arising 
from  their  use. 

5.  No   evidence   was   called   by   the   respondent,   and   the 
correctness  of  the  analyst's  certificate  \vas  not  disputed. 

6.  The  appellant  contended  (1)  that  inasmuch  as  copper  or 
crystallized  sulphate  of  copper  was  foreign  to  the  said  preserved 
peas,  the  same  were  not  of  the  nature,  substance,  and  quality 
of  the  article  demanded  ;  and  (2)  that  by  reason  thereof  there 
had   been  a  sale   by   the  respondent   to  the   prejudice  of  the 
purchaser ;  and  (3)  that  the  addition  of  copper  or  crystallized 
sulphate  of  copper  in  the  proportion  aforesaid  was  injurious  to 
health ;  and  (4)  that  in  the  absence  of  evidence  by  the  respon- 
dent that  the  matter  or  ingredient  w7as  required  for  the  pro- 
duction or  preparation  of  the  peas  as  an  article  of  commerce 
in  a  state   fit   for   consumption,  even   if   the   said    copper  or 
crystallized  sulphate  of  copper  was  not  injurious  to  health,  an 
offence  had   been  committed   under  section  6  of    the  Sale  of 
Food  and  Drugs  Act,  1875. 

7.  It  was  contended  on  behalf  of  the  respondent  that,  as 
the  purchaser  asked  for  preserved  peas,  and  was  supplied  with 
peas  usually  known  and  sold  as  preserved  peas,  there  was  no 
sale  to  the  prejudice  of  the  purchaser  within  the  meaning  of 
the  Sale  of  Food  and  Drugs  Act,  1875. 

8.  It  was  within  our  own  knowledge  that  preserved  peas  usually 
contain  a  small  quantity  of  added  colouring  matter  which  is 
used  for  the  purpose  of  preserving  the  natural  green  colour  of 
the  peas,  and  we  found  as  a  fact  that  the  quantity  of  copper 
present  in  this  instance,  being  only  1  grain  of  metallic  copper 


410  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

to  about  10,800  grains  of  peas,  was  not  sufficient  to  render  the 
peas  injurious  to  health.  We  were  further  of  opinion  that,  as 
the  appellant  asked  for  preserved  peas,  and  was  supplied  with 
peas  usually  known  and  sold  as  preserved  peas,  and  containing 
no  foreign  ingredient  other  than  that  which  is  usually  found  in 
preserved  peas,  and  in  no  greater  quantity  than  as  aforesaid, 
there  was  no  sale  to  the  prejudice  of  the  purchaser  within  the 
meaning  of  section  6  of  the  Sale  of  Food  and  Drugs  Act,  1875. 
The  summons  was  dismissed. 

9.  The  question  for  the  opinion  of  the  Court  was  whether 
upon  the  facts  stated  we  were  right  in  point  of  law  in  dismiss- 
ing the  summons. 

Manisty,  K.C.,  and  Courthope  Munroe,  for  the  appellant. — 
The  Justices  were  wrong.     He  cited  Smith  v.  Wisden  (1902), 
66  J.P.  150;  85  L.T.  760. 
Bonsey  for  the  respondent. 

Manisty,  K.C.,  in  reply,  referred  to  Pearks  v.  Ward  [1902], 
2  KB.  1  ;  64  J.P.  774 ;  and  Eoberts  v.  Egerton  (1874),  L.E. 
9  Q.B.  494. 

Alverstone,  L.C.J. — I  am  of  opinion  that  in  this  case  we 
cannot  interfere  with  the  decision  of  the  Justices ;  but  it  must 
be  quite  understood  that  we  are  only  dealing  with  the  facts 
stated  in  this  particular  case,  and  that  we  express  no  opinion 
as  to  the  views  which  ought  to  be  taken  by  Justices  in  cases 
where  the  evidence  is  different ;  nor  must  it  be  considered  that 
we  express  any  opinion  as  to  what  conclusion  should  have 
been  drawn  from  the  facts  even  as  stated  here.  We  must  be 
satisfied,  before  we  can  interfere,  that  there  has  been  some 
mistake  in  law,  and  it  appears  to  me  impossible  to  say  that  in 
the  case  before  us  the  Justices  have  gone  wrong  in  law.  The 
case  contains  no  statement  which  can  admit  of  the  point 
counsel  for  the  appellant  has  endeavoured  to  raise,  which  in 
itself  would  be  a  point  of  substance,  that  when  a  person  asks 
for  a  bottle  of  preserved  peas  he  means  to  get  a  bottle  of  peas 
which  have  not  been  treated  in  any  manner  for  the  purpose  of 
preserving  them.  If  it  can  be  said  that  preserved  peas  mean 


LEGAL  CASES  411 

nothing  more  than  mere  peas  in  a  bottle  with  water  perhaps, 
and  nothing  else,  there  might  indeed  be  some  ground  for  such 
a  contention,  but  the  finding  of  fact  in  the  case  does  not  allow 
of  such  a  point  being  raised.  The  finding  in  paragraph  3  (a) 
of  the  case  is  that  '  the  purchaser  asked  for  and  was  served 
with  a  bottle  of  preserved  peas '  ;  and  in  paragraph  4  that 
'  the  appellant's  witness  admitted  that  such  peas  have  been 
generally  used  for  some  years,  and  that  he  knew  of  no  recorded 
case  of  injury  arising  from  their  use.'  Furthermore,  the 
Justices  in  paragraph  8  make  the  following  statement :  '  It 
was  within  our  own  knowledge  that  preserved  peas  usually  con- 
tain a  small  quantity  of  added  colouring  matter  which  is  used 
for  the  purpose  of  preserving  the  natural  green  colour  of  the 
peas  ' ;  and  '  the  appellant  .  .  .  was  supplied  with  peas  usually 
known  and  sold  as  preserved  peas,  and  containing  no  foreign 
ingredient  other  than  that  which  is  usually  found  in  preserved 
peas,  and  in  no  greater  quantity  than  as  aforesaid,'  namely, 
'  1  grain  of  metallic  copper  to  about  10,800  grains  of  peas.' 
Under  these  circumstances  it  seems  to  me  that  a  great  many 
of  the  arguments  put  forward  by  counsel  for  the  appellant 
would  be  very  properly  used  in  some  other  case  to  induce 
Justices  to  come  to  a  different  conclusion  of  fact,  or,  on  a  case 
stated  differently  from  the  present  case,  to  show  that  an 
offence  had  been  committed,  but  in  our  opinion  we  cannot 
send  this  case  back  to  them.  Here  the  very  finding  of  the 
Justices  prevents  the  case  coming  within  the  initial  words  of 
section  6  of  the  Sale  of  Food  and  Drugs  Act,  1875,  which  are  : 
'  No  person  shall  sell  to  the  prejudice  of  the  purchaser  any 
article  of  food  or  any  drug  which  is  not  of  the  nature,  sub- 
stance, and  quality  of  the  article  demanded  by  such  purchaser.' 
Had  the  appellant,  the  purchaser  in  the  present  case,  not  got 
what  he  asked  for,  I  should  have  been  of  opinion  that  neither 
proviso  (1)  nor  proviso  (4)  of  section  6  would  have  afforded 
any  protection  to  the  seller ;  since  to  justify  the  supply  of  an 
article  different  from  that  demanded  under  any  of  the  provisos 
to  section  6,  evidence  of  a  character  entirely  different  from  the 


412  PEESEKVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

evidence  suggested  in  this  case  must  be  given.  I  should  like 
to  point  out  that,  so  far  as  we  are  in  a  position  to  judge,  the 
appellant's  real  remedy  in  this  particular  case  would  have  been 
under  section  3  of  the  Act,  which  prohibits  the  colouring  of 
articles  of  food  so  as  to  render  them  injurious  to  health.  But, 
as  I  have  said  before,  to  satisfy  section  6  evidence  very 
different  from  that  given  in  the  present  case  must  be  given ; 
and  the  only  possible  thing  we  could  do  would  be  to  send  it 
back  to  the  Justices  for  further  inquiry ;  but  as  we  certainly 
cannot  send  it  back  to  them  with  a  direction  to  convict,  and 
since  we  cannot  say  that  the  Justices  were  wrong  in  law,  I  am 
of  opinion  that  the  appeal  must  be  dismissed. 

Wills,  J. — I  am  of  the  same  opinion.  It  is  clear  that  the 
protection  afforded  by  provisos  (1)  and  (4)  of  section  6  cannot 
be  claimed,  for  the  substantive  part  of  section  6  goes  far 
beyond  the  provisos.  I  should  certainly  be  sorry  to  say 
anything  which  would  sanction  the  notion  that  people  can  sell 
unwholesome  mixtures  simply  because  they  happen  to  be 
known  in  the  trade  by  a  particular  name  ;  but  when  anyone 
asks  for  preserved  peas  he  must  be  taken  to  know  that  he  is 
going  to  get  peas  that  have  a  colouring  tincture  of  some  sort. 
I  am  not  prepared  to  say  that  in  the  present  case  I  should, 
upon  the  evidence,  have  come  to  the  conclusion  the  Justices 
did,  but  that  is  beside  the  question,  for  it  was  well  within 
their  powers  to  decide  as  they  did,  and,  to  put  the  matter 
shortly,  they  have  stated  the  appellant  out  of  Court. 

Kennedy,  J. — I  agree.     Appeal  dismissed. 

Solicitors  for  the  appellant :  Pontifex,  Hewitt  and  Pitt. 

Solicitors  for  the  respondent :  Neve,  Beck  and  Kirby. 

IV. — UNSOUND  FOOD 

136.  Canned  French  beans.  At  the  Brighton  Police  Court, 
January  1901,  a  firm  of  Soho  provision  importers  were  con- 
victed for  selling  tins  of  French  beans  unfit  for  food.  In  all  there 
were  six  cases,  containing  twenty-four  dozen  tins.  Some  of 
them  were  bulged,  some  leaking,  and  in  247  instances  the  tins 


LEGAL  CASES  413 

had  been  pricked  and  resoldered.  In  many  cases  the  contents 
were  mildewy  and  foul.  At  the  London  premises  a  piercing 
iron,  copper  bit,  and  solder,  had  been  found  by  the  Sanitary 
Inspector  of  the  City  of  "Westminster  at  a  previous  visit.  The 
tins  were  sold  to  a  restaurant-keeper  at  Brighton. 

137.  Mouldy  jam  and  fruit,  and  unsound  condensed  milk.    At 
the  Folkestone  Police  Court,  May  1901,  a  dealer  was  summoned 
for  exposing  for  sale  in  an  auctioneer's  sale-room  thirty-four 
pots  of  jam,  ten  bottles  of  plums,   one  bottle  of  gooseberries, 
and  six  tins  of  condensed  milk,   which  were  unfit   for  food. 
The  Sanitary  Inspector  deposed  to  having  seen  the  foods  de- 
posited in  the  sale-room  for  the  purpose  of  sale  and  exposed  for 
sale.     The  pots  of   jam  were  mouldy,  fermenting,  and  sour, 
the  plums  and  gooseberries  being  in  a  similar  condition.     He 
examined  about  forty  tins  of  condensed  milk,  and  four  of  them 
were  blown  and  decomposing.     Two  of  the  tins  were  open,  and 
the  contents  decomposing  and  mouldy.     The  Medical  Officer  of 
Health  said  he  examined  the  articles.     Four  of  the  tins  of  milk 
were  blown,  and  when  one  of  them  was  pricked  the  gas  rushed 
out.     Such  food  if  eaten  would   give  rise  to  indigestion  and 
diarrhoea.     For  the  defence  it  was  submitted  that  people  had 
a  right  to  eat  what  they  liked,  and  that  jam  frequently  crystal- 
lized and  mould  formed  on  the  top,  the  jam  beneath  remaining 
quite  wholesome.    The  same  applied  to  the  bottled  fruit.    Con- 
victed. 

138.  Unsound  fruit  pulp.     At  the  Birmingham  Police  Court, 
January  1904,  a  jam  maker  was  convicted  for  having  twenty- 
four  bottles  of  preserved  fruit  and  several  casks  of  fruit  pulp 
deposited  on   his   premises   for   the   purposes   of    sale,    or   of 
preparation  for  sale,  which  were  unsound  and  unfit  for  food. 
Behind  a  door  in  the  yard  there  was  a  cask  containing  goose- 
berry pulp.     It  was  about  two-thirds  full  of  decomposed  pulp, 
but  was  labelled  '  not  to  be  used.'     Other  casks   containing 
similarly  unsound  pulp  were  likewise  labelled.     There  were, 
however,   three    unopened    casks   of    pulp,    and    twenty-four 
bottles  of  fruit,  the  contents  of  all  being  bad  and  in  a  state  of 


414  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

decomposition.  The  Medical  Officer  of  Health  deposed  to 
having  examined  the  fruit  and  found  it  bad ;  there  were  pieces 
of  fungus  in  it.  Jam  made  from  such  material  would  be 
dangerous  to  the  consumer.  For  the  defence  it  was  contended 
that  the  pulp  was  not  intended  for  use,  but  that  the  labels 
'  not  to  be  used  '  had  been  washed  off  by  rain. 

139.  Bad  crabs.     At  Yarmouth  Police  Court,  October  1901, 
a  restaurant  proprietor  was  summoned  for  exposing  for  sale 
crabs  unfit  for  food.     For  the  defence  it  was  contended  that  it 
was  the  practice  of  the  trade  to  open  the  crabs  before  selling 
them  to  ascertain  if  they  were  sound,  but  that  the  public  would 
not  buy  them  if  previously  opened.     Convicted. 

140.  Unsound   halibut.      At   the   Grimsby   Police    Court, 
March   1903,  a  fish  merchant  was  summoned  for  exposing  for 
sale  eleven  unsound  halibuts ;  a  twelfth  fish  appeared  to  be 
sound.      The    fish   were    condemned    by   a   Magistrate    and 
destroyed.     For  the   defence  it  was   contended  that   the  fish 
were  not  bad,  but  were  Norwegian  halibut  in  prime  condition ; 
others  of  the  same  batch  had  been  sent  to  various  towns  and 
no  complaint  had  been  made.     The  defendant  was  supported 
by  the  fish  Inspector  of  the  Hull  market. 

The   Bench   considered   the   weight   of   evidence  to  be  in 
favour  of  the  defendant,  and  dismissed  the  case. 

141.  Oysters.       At    the    Mansion    House    Police    Court, 
December   1903,    application    was    made    under  the    Public 
Health  (London)  Act  for  an  order  to  condemn  certain  oysters 
as  being  unfit  for  food.     The  Sanitary  Inspector  stated  that 
he  had  seized  100  oysters  at  a  fish  saleswoman's  shop,  they 
having  been  exposed  for  sale  in  a  barrel.     Ten  days  previously 
the  Medical  Officer  of  Health  for  Wandsworth  had  reported  to 
the  Medical  Officer  of  Health  for  the  City  of  London  that  a  case 
of  typhoid  fever  had  occurred  in  his  district,  which  had  presum- 
ably arisen  from  the  consumption  of  oysters  derived  from  the 
same  source  as  those  seized.   Two  batches  of  these  oysters  had 
in  the  meantime  been  procured  and  examined  bacteriologically, 
and  had  been  pronounced  to  be  polluted  by  sewage.     The  oysters 


LEGAL  CASES  415 

were  therefore  seized  by  the  Inspector,  and  the  application  was 
made  in  order  that  they  might  be  examined  too.  The  applica- 
tion was  granted,  on  the  understanding  that  any  further  sale  of 
these  oysters  would  be  at  the  seller's  risk. 

142.  The  following  cases  under  the   Public  Health  Acts, 
recently  decided  in  the  High  Court,  and  having  reference  to 
diseased  meat,  are  of  great  importance  to  all  concerned  in  the 
inspection  of  articles  of  food. 

Firth  v.  MacPhail,  King's  Bench  Division,  April  3,  1905. 
(J.P.  69,  p.  203.)  Cow  slaughtered  to  '  save  its  life  '  after 
parturition  and  sepsis.  Bought  with  knowledge  by  appellant 
(a  middleman),  and  consigned  to  a  meat  salesman,  and  deposited 
by  appellant  on  salesman's  premises. 

Consignor  summoned  and  convicted  in  Court  of  Summary 
Jurisdiction  under  Public  Health  Acts  Amendment  Act,  1890, 
section  28,  as  being  the  person  to  whom  the  cow  did  belong 
when  deposited  for  the  purpose  of  sale.  Case  stated.  Held 
that  appellant  could  not  be  subjected  to  the  penalties  under 
section  117  of  the  1875  Act  since  the  meat  was  not  exposed 
for  sale,  and  that  the  amending  section  only  increased  the  scope 
of  the  articles  which  could  be  seized  and  condemned,  and  did 
not  create  a  new  offence. 

143.  High   Court   of    Justice.     Queen's    Bench    Division. 
June  6,  1899.     A.  L.  Smith,  L.J.,  Eigby,  L.J.,  and  Vaughan 
Williams,  L.J. 

Walshaw  v.  Brighouse  Corporation.  Local  Government 
— Condemnation  of  meat  unfit  for  food  of  man — Compensation 
—Arbitration — Jurisdiction  of  arbitrator — Cost  of  magisterial 
proceedings— Public  Health  Act,  1875  (38  &  39  Vic.,  cap.  55), 
sections  116,  117  and  308. 

Where  meat  has  been  condemned  and  ordered  to  be  destroyed 
by  a  Magistrate  as  unfit  for  the  food  of  man,  and  the  owner  of 
the  meat  claims  compensation  under  section  308  of  the  Public 
Health  Act,  1875,  the  arbitrator  appointed  to  award  compensa- 
tion under  that  section  has  jurisdiction  to  decide  the  question 
of  the  soundness  of  the  meat,  and  may  award  as  part  of  the 


416  PKESEKVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

compensation  the  expenses  incurred  by  the  claimant  in  pro- 
ceedings before  the  Magistrate. 

Appeal  by  the  defendants  from  a  judgment  of  Day,  J., 
without  a  jury.  The  facts  were  these  :  The  Sanitary  Inspector 
and  the  Medical  Officer  of  Health  for  the  district  of  Brighouse, 
acting  under  section  116  of  the  Public  Health  Act,  1875, 
inspected  a  carcass  belonging  to  the  plaintiff,  which  had  been 
deposited  at  the  public  slaughter-house  at  Brighouse  for  the 
purpose  of  preparation  for  sale,  and  was  intended  for  the  food 
of  man,  and  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  carcass  was 
diseased  and  unfit  for  the  food  of  man.  They  thereupon 
showed  it  to  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  who  on  October  19,  1897, 
upon  examination  and  inspection,  found  that  the  carcass  was 
diseased  and  unfit  for  the  food  of  man,  and  acting  under 
section  117  of  the  Public  Health  Act,  1875,  and  section  28, 
sub-section  2,  of  the  Public  Health  (A.)  Act,  1890,  ordered  it  to 
be  destroyed,  and  it  was  destroyed  accordingly.  A  summons  was 
then  issued  summoning  the  plaintiff  to  appear  before  a  court 
of  summary  jurisdiction  to  answer  an  information  laid  by  the 
Medical  Officer  to  the  effect  that  the  carcass  belonged  to  the 
plaintiff  and  was  deposited  for  the  purpose  of  preparation  for 
sale,  and  was  intended  for  the  food  of  man,  and  was  diseased, 
and  to  show  cause  why  he  should  not  be  fined  or  imprisoned 
under  section  117  of  the  Public  Health  Act,  1875.  This 
summons  was  dismissed  upon  the  ground  that,  as  the  carcass 
was  not  in  the  possession  of  the  plaintiff,  or  exposed  for  sale, 
there  was  no  offence  under  that  section.  No  order  was  made 
by  the  Justices  as  to  costs,  and  no  further  proceedings  were 
taken  against  the  plaintiff. 

The  plaintiff,  not  being  content  with  the  finding  of  the 
Magistrate  that  the  carcass  was  diseased  and  unfit  for  the  food 
of  man,  made  a  claim  against  the  defendants,  the  local  authority, 
for  damage  sustained  by  him  by  reason  of  the  exercise  by  them 
through  their  officers  of  their  powers  under  sections  116  and  117 
of  the  Public  Health  Act,  1875,  in  certifying  that  the  carcass 
was  diseased,  and  having  the  same  condemned  and  destroyed 


LEGAL  CASES  417 

accordingly.  The  defendants  disputing  the  fact  of  damage  and 
the  amount  of  compensation  (if  any)  to  be  paid,  the  plaintiff 
appointed  an  arbitrator  under  sections  308  and  179  of  the 
Public  Health  Act,  1875,  and  gave  notice  to  the  defendants  of 
the  appointment.  The  defendants  took  no  steps  in  the  matter, 
and  accordingly  by  section  180  of  the  Public  Health  Act,  1875, 
the  arbitrator  appointed  by  the  plaintiff  became  sole  arbitrator 
between  the  parties.  At  the  hearing  the  plaintiff  tendered,  and 
the  arbitrator,  overruling  the  defendants'  objections,  admitted, 
evidence  that  the  carcass  was  sound,  wholesome,  and  in  every 
way  fit  for  the  food  of  man  on  October  19. 

The  arbitrator  in  due  course  made  his  award,  which,  after 
reciting  the  facts  above  stated,  continued  in  these  words  : 

'  I  find  as  facts  :  1.  That  the  seizure  and  condemnation  of 
the  said  carcass  was  made.  ...  2.  That  the  said  magisterial 
information  was  laid  and  dismissed  as  alleged.  3.  That  the 
said  carcass  was  not  diseased,  or  unsound,  or  unwholesome,  or 
unfit  for  the  food  of  man  on  the  said  19th  day  of  October,  1897, 
when  the  said  order  to  destroy  the  same  was  made.  4.  That 
the  said  carcass  on  the  19th  day  of  October,  1897,  when  the 
same  was  ordered  to  be  destroyed  as  aforesaid,  was  sound, 
wholesome,  and  fit  for  the  food  of  man.  5.  That  the  said 
David  Walshaw,  by  reason  of  the  exercise  of  the  said  powers, 

has  sustained  damages  as  follows  : 

£  s.    d. 

(a)  The  loss  of  the  said  carcass 7  10     0 

(6)  Expenses  of  and  incident  to  the  said  seizure,  and  of 
and  incident  to  defending  himself  in  the  said 

magisterial  proceedings .     37     1     0 

(c)  Loss  in  his  said  business  which  immediately  and 
necessarily  flowed  from  the  said  seizure,  con- 
demnation, and  magisterial  proceedings  .  .  52  0  0 

Total    96  11     0 

The  arbitrator  further  ordered  and  directed  that  the 
defendants  should  pay  to  the  plaintiff  his  costs  of  and  incidental 
to  the  reference  and  costs  of  the  award,  and  that  the  defendants 
should  bear  their  own  costs  of  the  same. 

The  plaintiff  brought  an  action  upon  this  award,  and  the 

27 


418  PEESEBVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

case  was  heard  at  Leeds  before  Day,  J.,  without  a  jury.  Evidence 
that  the  carcass  was  unsound  and  unfit  for  the  food  of  man 
was  tendered  by  the  defendants,  but  rejected  by  the  learned 
Judge,  who  gave  judgment  for  the  plaintiff. 

The  defendants  appealed. 

Macmorran,  Q.C.,  and  T.  B..  D.  Wright  appeared  for  the 
defendants.  Scott  Fox,  Q.C.,  W.  J.  Waugh,  W.  Madden  and 
G.  P.  Walker,  for  the  plaintiff,  were  not  called  upon. 

A.  L.  Smith,  L.J. :  The  arbitrator  has  drawn  his  award  in 
the  right  form.  It  is  not  in  form  a  decision  on  the  question  of 
the  appellants'  liability,  but  is  a  finding  of  facts  upon  which  a 
court  of  law  may  decide  that  question.  By  section  308  of  the 
Public  Health  Act,  1875,  '  Where  any  person  sustains  any 
damage  by  reason  of  the  exercise  of  any  of  the  powers  of  this 
Act  in  relation  to  any  matter  as  to  which  he  is  not  himself  in 
default ' — the  respondent  says  he  has  suffered  such  damage — 
4  full  compensation  shall  be  made  to  such  person  by  the  local 
authority  exercising  such  powers  ' — I  will  deal  with  the  com- 
pensation presently — '  and  any  dispute  as  to  the  fact  of  damage 
or  amount  of  compensation  shall  be  settled  by  arbitration.' 
What  is  the  meaning  of  '  the  fact  of  damage  '  ?  These  words 
have  been  construed  by  Lord  Selborne  and  Lord  Fitzgerald  in 
Brierley  Hill  Local  Board  v.  Pearsall.  Lord  Selborne  there 
says,  '  That  matter  of  fact  no  doubt  cannot  be  ascertained 
without  dealing  with  the  actual  state  of  facts,  whatever  it  may 
be  found  to  be ;  and  that  actual  state  of  facts  may  possibly 
raise  questions  of  law  as  to  what  is  or  what  is  not  done 
properly '  in  the  exercise  of  any  of  the  powers  of  the  Act,  '  and 
also  as  to  what  is  and  what  is  not  a  default  on  the  part  of  the 
claimant.  But  the  inquiry  does  not  cease  to  be  an  inquiry 
into  the  facts  though  the  facts  may  raise  questions  of  law.  If 
the  arbitrator  goes  into  the  inquiry,  as  he  ought,  as  a  question 
of  fact,  and  if  he  deals  with  the  facts  as  he  finds  them,  but 
-deals  with  them  in  a  wrong  view  of  those  facts  according  to 
law,  then  no  doubt  his  award  will  not  be  final.'  But  it  is  not 
suggested  that  the  arbitrator  in  this  case  has  dealt  with  the 


LEGAL  CASES  419 

facts  in  any  wrong  view.  Then  Lord  Fitzgerald  says,  '  In 
establishing  his  case  under  that  section ' — section  308 — '  the 
plaintiff  has  to  sustain  four  propositions,  viz.  first,  that  he 
had  sustained  damage ;  secondly,  that  such  damage  had  been 
occasioned  by  reason  of  the  exercise  of  the  local  authority  of 
the  powers  of  the  Act;  thirdly,  that  such  damage  arose  in 
relation  to  some  matter  as  to  which  he  was  not  himself  in 
default ;  and  fourthly,  the  amount  of  compensation  to  which 
he  was  properly  entitled.  Any  dispute  as  to  propositions  1 
and  4  is  to  be  settled  by  arbitration.  The  fact  of  damage 
comes  first  in  the  section,  and  it  is  the  foundation  of  all  the 
rest.  In  the  execution  of  his  duties  it  is  difficult  to  see  how 
the  arbitrator  can  avoid  inquiring  whether  the  acts  complained 
of  were  matters  done  in  the  exercise  of  the  powers  of  the  Act, 
and  as  to  which  the  claimant  was  not  himself  in  default,  so  as 
to  limit  the  scope  of  his  assessment  of  compensation  ;  but  his 
decision,  if  any,  as  to  the  liability  of  the  defendants  in  point 
of  law  would  not  be  binding,  and  would  be  inoperative.' 

If  the  award  involves  an  error  in  law  it  is  open  to  the  party 
sued  upon  the  award  to  set  up  the  question  of  law  as  a  defence 
to  the  action.  Here  the  arbitrator  finds  that  in  exercise  of  and 
accordance  with,  or  pretended  exercise  or  virtue  of,  the  powers 
and  provisions  of  the  Public  Health  Act,  1875,  the  defendants 
by  their  officer  on  October  19,  1897,  seized  the  carcass  and 
caused  the  same  to  be  condemned  by  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  ; 
and  that  the  carcass  was  not  diseased,  or  unsound,  or  un- 
wholesome, or  unfit  for  the  food  of  man,  on  October  19  when 
the  order  to  destroy  the  same  was  made.  It  is  said  that  he 
ought  not  to  have  gone  into  the  question  of  the  soundness  of 
the  meat.  But  how  otherwise  could  he  find  the  fact  of  damage  ? 
In  order  to  find  that  fact  he  must  go  into  the  question  of  the 
soundness.  Then  it  is  said  he  has  not  addressed  himself  to 
the  question  whether  the  claim  for  compensation  was  in  rela- 
tion to  a  matter  as  to  which  the  claimant  was  not  himself  in 
default.  But  if  the  carcass  was  sound,  how  was  the  claimant 
in  default  ?  It  is  argued  that  he  was  in  default  immediately 


420  PRESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

on  the  finding  by  the  Magistrate  that  the  carcass  was  unsound. 
But  unless  it  was  unsound  in  fact,  he  never  came  within 
sections  116  and  117  at  all. 

The  plaintiff  having  thus  lost  the  carcass  and  been  put  to 
expense,  it  is  next  contended  that  the  damage  was  not  caused 
through  the  act  of  the  defendants.  But  it  was  all  the  result 
of  a  blunder  by  their  officer  acting  in  the  course  of  his  duty. 
Then  it  is  said  that  he  cannot  recover  the  371.  Is.,  the  expenses 
of  the  proceedings.  I  ask  myself  '  Why  not  ?  '  The  words  of 
section  308  are  '  full  compensation  shall  be  made.'  The  only 
question  is,  had  the  plaintiff  371.  Is.  less  in  pocket  through  the 
action  of  the  local  authority  ?  It  is  said  that  these  expenses 
are  costs ;  but  Bater  and  Birkenhead  Corporation,  In  re,  is  an 
authority  that  they  may  be  recovered  notwithstanding.  True, 
in  that  case  the  claimant  for  compensation  appeared  before  the 
Justice  to  show  cause  why  the  meat  should  not  be  condemned  ; 
but  what  difference  does  it  make  whether  the  expense  is  incurred 
before  or  after  condemnation  ?  In  the  words  of  Lord  Esher, 
M.E.,  '  We  are  bound  to  read  section  308  in  its  ordinary  and 
grammatical  sense.  The  words  used  are  very  wide,  and  it 
seems  to  me  that  they  must  include  any  pecuniary  loss  which 
a  man  suffers  when  he  is  not  himself  in  default.'  I  think 
these  are  expenses  for  the  payment  of  which  the  respondent 
was  entitled  to  full  compensation,  and  this  appeal  must  be 
dismissed. 

Rigby,  L.J.,  and  Vaughan  Williams,  L.J.,  concurred. 

144.  High  Court  of  Justice,  Queen's  Bench  Division. 

Before  Kidley  and  Bigham,  JJ.     May  16,  1900. 

A  Magistrate  acting  under  section  47  of  the  Public  Health 
(London)  Act,  1891,  must  decide  whether  any  article  of  food  is 
unsound  or  unwholesome  or  unfit  for  food  of  man,  but  the 
question  whether  the  goods  are  exposed  for  sale  is  not  one 
for  the  Magistrates  but  for  the  Medical  Officer  of  Health. 

Thomas  v.  Van  Os. 

This  was  an  appeal  by  way  of  a  special  case  from  the 
decision  of  the  Magistrate  sitting  at  the  Thames  Police  Court, 
the  question  raised  being  whether,  before  a  Magistrate  acting 


LEGAL  CASES  421 

under  section  47  of  the  Public  Health  (London)  Act,  1891, 
condemns  an  article  as  being  unsound  or  unwholesome,  or 
unfit  for  the  food  of  man,  it  is  necessary  that  the  Magistrate 
should  have  before  him  evidence  that  the  goods  were  intended 
for  the  food  of  man.  In  July  of  last  year  an  application  was 
made  to  the  Magistrate  to  condemn  117  tubs  of  strawberries. 
The  Magistrate  refused  the  application  on  the  ground  that 
there  was  no  evidence  before  him  that  the  strawberries  were 
intended  for  the  food  of  man.  A  rule  nisi  was  then  obtained 
directing  him  to  state  a  case,  and  this  rule  was  made  absolute 
on  January  11,  1900. 

From  the  case  as  stated  the  following  facts  appeared : 
The  appellant  was  the  Medical  Officer  of  Health  for  the 
district  of  Limehouse.  On  July  17,  1899,  he  saw  a  van  in 
Devonport  Street,  Batcliffe,  containing  the  fruit,  which  upon 
examination  he  found  to  be  unsound  and  unwholesome,  and 
unfit  for  the  food  of  man.  The  strawberries  were  sent  to  the 
defendant  from  Holland  under  contract  with  one  Van  Nanien, 
and  on  arrival  in  London  the  defendant  had  ordered  a  carman 
to  convey  them  to  Messrs.  John  Moir,  Limited,  of  Brook 
Street,  Katcliffe,  who  on  seeing  them  refused  to  take  them. 
The  defendant  admitted  that  the  strawberries  were  unfit  for 
the  food  of  man.  The  Medical  Officer  of  Health,  acting  under 
section  47  of  the  Public  Health  (London)  Act,  1891,  caused 
them  to  be  brought  before  the  Magistrate,  who  refused  to 
condemn  them  on  the  ground  that  there  was  no  evidence  that 
the  fruit  was  intended  for  the  food  of  man,  or  sold,  or  exposed 
for  sale,  or  deposited  for  the  purpose  of  sale  at  the  time  of  the 
seizure.  He  held  that  when  Messrs.  John  Moir  refused  to 
take  the  fruit  any  intention  of  applying  them  for  the  purposes 
of  food  or  sale  was  exhausted.  In  the  absence  of  such  evi- 
dence he  held  that  he  had  no  jurisdiction  to  make  any  order 
of  condemnation. 

B.  D.  Muir,  for  the  appellant,  contended  that  there  was 
ample  evidence  that  the  strawberries  were  intended  for  the 
food  of  man,  being  deposited  in  a  van  for  the  purpose  of  sale ; 
that  the  defendant  was  unaware  that  Messrs.  John  Moir  had 


422 

refused  them,  and  that  the  intention  to  sell  continued  after 
such  refusal.  He  further  argued  that  the  question  whether 
the  goods  were  exposed  for  sale  was  not  one  for  the  Magistrate, 
but  for  the  Medical  Officer  of  Health.  He  cited  White  v< 
Eedfern  (5  Q.B.D.,  15) ;  Vintner  v.  Hind  (10  Q.B.D.,  63) ;  In 
re  Bater  and  Birkenhead  Corporation  (1893,  2  Q.B.,  77). 

Ridley,  J.,  in  giving  judgment,  said  that  section  47  of  the 
Act  defined  the  powers  of  the  Medical  Officer  of  Health.  He 
might  enter  upon  the  premises  of  the  defendant  and  inspect 
and  examine  any  article  intended  for  the  food  of  man.  It  was 
obvious  that  as  a  preliminary  to  putting  his  powers  in  force 
the  Medical  Officer  of  Health  must  make  up  his  mind  whether 
the  articles  examined  came  within  the  description  in  section 
47 — that  is,  whether  they  were  intended  for  the  food  of  man 
or  exposed  for  sale.  Having  made  up  his  mind  on  that  question 
his  duty  was  to  examine  the  articles.  If  he  found  them  unsound 
or  unwholesome,  or  unfit  for  the  food  of  man,  then,  and  not  till 
then,  the  functions  of  the  Magistrate  came  into  operation. 
The  Magistrate  must  then  decide  whether  the  articles  were  in 
fact  unsound,  unwholesome,  or  unfit  for  the  food  of  man,  and 
having  decided  that,  his  further  duties  were  merely  ministerial. 
The  question  whether  the  articles  were  intended  for  the  food 
of  man  was,  at  this  stage  of  the  proceedings,  immaterial,  and 
did  not  become  material  until  sub-section  2  of  section  47  came 
into  operation,  and  the  person  exposing  the  goods  for  sale  was 
charged  on  summons  for  an  offence  under  the  Act.  The  case 
of  White  v.  Redfern  (5  Q.B.D.,  15)  was  properly  decided,  and 
covered  this  case  in  principle. 

Bigham,  J.,  concurring,  the  case  was  remitted  to  the 
Magistrate,  with  an  intimation  that  the  strawberries  ought  to 
have  been  condemned. 

Appeal  allowed. 

145.  Shutt  v.  Stockton  Corporation.     January  28,  1901. 

Before  Mr.  Charles  Mellor  (umpire)  and  Messrs.  C.  H.  M, 
Wharton  and  A.  W.  Bairstow  (arbitrators). 

In  arbitration — Public  Health  Act,  1875,  section  308. 


LEGAL  CASES  423 

On  January  28,  1901,  Mr.  Charles  Mellor,  barrister,  sat  as 
umpire  with  Mr.  C.  H.  M.  Wharton,  barrister  (Manchester;) 
as  arbitrator  for  the  Corporation,  and  Mr.  A.  W.  Bairstow, 
barrister  (Leeds)  as  arbitrator  for  the  claimant,  to  hear  and 
decide  a  claim  for  damages  by  Mr.  Langle  Shutt,  Stockton 
and  West  Hartlepool,  for  4QL  13s.  lid,  against  the  Stockton 
Corporation  in  respect  of  the  seizure  of  a  carcass  of  beef 
alleged  to  be  unfit  for  human  food,  which  the  claimant  denied 
was  unsound.  Mr.  Langley  appeared  for  the  claimant,  and 
Mr.  Luck,  barrister,  Darlington  (instructed  by  the  Town  Clerk), 
for  the  Corporation. 

Mr.  Langley  said  that  the  claim  for  compensation  was 
under  section  308  of  the  Public  Health  Act,  1875,  on  the 
grounds :  (1)  That  the  carcass  was  a  perfectly  healthy  one ; 
(2)  that  the  seizure  was  illegal  being  made  by  the  Assistant 
Inspector ;  and  (3)  that  the  Corporation  had  not  allowed 
sufficient  time  for  the  carcass  to  be  examined  by  experts.  On 
behalf  of  Mr.  Shutt,  he  asked  for  491.  13s.  lid,  damages, 
being  12Z.  3s.  lid  cost  of  beast,  and  371.  10s.  in  respect  of 
consequent  loss  of  business  in  the  nine  months  that  had  since 
elapsed. 

The  details  of  the  case  were  as  follows:  On  Thursday 
morning,  April  5,  1900,  Mr.  Thomas  W.  Agar,  the  Assistant 
Inspector  of  Nuisances,  visited  the  claimant's  slaughter-house, 
and  in  it  found  what  he  considered  a  graped  carcass  of  beef, 
the  condition  of  which  was  thus  described  by  Dr.  Home  (the 
Medical  Officer  of  Health)  and  the  Assistant  Inspector  :  The 
midriff  had  been  removed  with  the  exception  of  a  narrow  strip 
attached  to  the  ribs  on  each  side,  and  known  as  the  '  skirting.' 
The  off-side  skirting  measured  16  inches  by  2f  inches,  and  its 
abdominal  surface  was  covered  for  20  square  inches  with 
tubercles  from  ^  inch  to  £  inch  in  diameter.  On  the  adjacent 
parietal  peritoneum  was  an  oval  area,  28  square  inches  in 
extent,  of  inflammation,  with  numerous  tubercles.  The  near- 
side skirting  exhibited  a  similar  tuberculous  area  of  12  square 
inches,  with  an  inflamed  tuberculous  patch,  10  square  inches 


424  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

in  extent,  on  the  adjacent  parietal  peritoneum.  The  mesenteric 
glands  were  enlarged  and  tuberculous,  and  the  tripe  was 
inflamed  and  covered  with  numerous  tubercles.  The  liver  and 
kidneys  were  not  examined,  having  been  taken  away  to  West 
Hartlepool.  Both  lungs  were  affected  with  miliary  tuberculosis, 
and  were  congested  at  the  apices,  and  the  bronchial  glands 
were  enlarged  and  tuberculosed. 

The  Assistant  Inspector  told  the  slaughterman  that  the 
Medical  Officer  of  Health  would  have  to  see  the  carcass,  and 
refused  to  allow  the  lungs  to  be  destroyed  and  the  rest  to  pass. 
Later  in  the  day  the  owner  inquired  at  the  office  what  was  to 
be  done  with  the  carcass,  and  asked  the  Assistant  Inspector, 
(Mr.  Agar)  why  he  had  reported  the  case  to  the  Medical 
Officer  of  Health,  and  not  to  his  (Agar's)  master,  meaning 
Mr.  Crowther,  the  Chief  Inspector,  '  because  Mr.  Crowther 
knows  as  much  about  meat  as  any  doctor.'  Agar  replied  that 
Mr.  Crowther  was  not  his  master,  and  had  nothing  to  do  with 
the  case.  The  same  afternoon,  by  direction  of  the  Medical 
Officer  of  Health,  the  Chief  Inspector  (Mr.  Crowther)  examined 
the  carcass  and  said  to  the  owner :  '  This  is  the  finest  beast  you 
have  had  since  Christmas  and  the  best  nourished,'  and  reported 
in  writing  to  the  Medical  Officer  of  Health  as  follows  : 

'  The  body  itself  is  good  solid  beef,  and  firm  to  the  touch  ; 
on  the  open  and  closed  side  of  the  abdomen,  and  above  the 
diaphragm,  are  small  patches  of  inflammation,  with  a  few 
tubercles  forming  on  the  outer  surface.  The  heart  is  in  a  good 
healthy  condition,  lungs  slightly  congested  at  apex,  with 
tubercles  scattered  over  surface  ;  kidney  in  healthy  condition  : 
tripe  had  inflamed  surface.  There  was  no  liver.' 

At  9.45  A.M.  on  Friday,  April  6,  the  Medical  Officer  ex- 
amined the  carcass,  &c.,  pronounced  it  unsound  and  unfit  for 
food,  and  instructed  the  Inspector  to  carefully  measure  up  the 
affected  parts,  and  to  get  a  Magistrate's  order  for  destruction, 
which  was  done  about  3  P.M.,  the  order  being  made  out  in  the 
name,  of  Mr.  Agar,  the  Assistant  Inspector.  Subsequently  the 
Medical  Officer  of  Health  instructed  him  to  let  the  carcass 


LEGAL  CASES  425 

remain  till  seen  by  the  Butchers'  Association's  inspectors.  At 
10  A.M.  on  Saturday,  April  7,  the  Assistant  Inspector  called  at 
the  slaughter-house,  and  found  that  a  strip  two-thirds  of  the 
length  of  the  off-side  skirting  and  about  f  inch  wide  had  been 
cut  away,  together  with  the  tubercles,  &c.,  upon  it ;  also  that 
structures  round  the  windpipe,  close  to  the  apex  of  the  lungs, 
had  been  removed.  He  reported  the  matter  to  the  Medical 
Officer  of  Health,  who,  after  conference  with  the  Town  Clerk, 
ordered  him  about  noon  on  April  7,  to  take  away  and  destroy 
the  carcass,  which  he  then  did. 

The  facts  were  subsequently  discussed  by  the  Sanitary 
Committee  and  the  Town  Council,  and  a  minute  was  recorded 
on  May  14,  1900,  that  the  carcass  was  unfit  for  food,  but  that 
no  further  steps  be  taken  in  the  matter. 

In  support  of  his  claim,  Mr.  L.  Shutt  stated  that  the 
animal  in  question  '  was  a  very  grand  young  beast ' — it  was 
the  second  best  of  four,  for  which  he  paid  12?.  10s.  each.  It 
looked  very  healthy,  and  ate  and  drank  well ;  the  flesh  was 
not  soft  and  flabby,  and  there  were  no  signs  of  tuberculosis. 
He  gave  evidence  as  to  his  subsequent  loss  of  business,  but 
admitted  he  kept  no  books.  J.  Hutchinson  (slaughterman), 
Messrs.  Thomas  Eobinson,  Councillor  John  Borrow  (butcher), 
and  William  Ayre  (meat-salesman)  also  stated  that  there  were 
no  signs  whatever  of  tuberculosis,  but  each  had  noticed  a 
slight  discoloration  of  the  skirting  on  one  side,  the  result  of  a 
bruise. 

Mr.  John  Brand,  butcher,  said  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Meat  Trades  Association,  and  had  laid  the  facts  before  the 
Federation.  The  carcass  was  of  good  quality,  firm  and  bright, 
there  was  no  sign  of  tubercle,  and  it  was  quite  fit  for  food. 
One  lung  was  slightly  knotty,  which  might  have  been  due  to 
cold  or  it  might  be  from  tuberculosis.  The  discoloration  on 
the  diaphragm  was  a  blood-stain  which  had  '  run  down  and 
dried  in,'  and  might  have  been  caused  by  concussion  producing 
internal  injury.  He  had  a  key  of  the  slaughter-house  during 
the  alleged  tampering,  and  denied  that  it  had  taken  place. 


426  PRESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

Agar  told  him  that  the  slaughterman  had  another  key.  He 
asked  Agar  (the  Assistant  Inspector)  to  have  a  portion  of  the 
diaphragm  put  into  spirits,  but  he  refused.  For  the  Corpora- 
tion it  was  asserted  that  the  animal  was  suffering  from  gene- 
ralized tuberculosis,  that  the  seizure  was  justified  and  regular, 
the  Assistant  Inspector  having  acted  under  the  orders  of  the 
Medical  Officer  of  Health,  as  his  assistant,  and  that  the 
claimant  had  sufficient  opportunity  to  obtain  expert  evidence 
had  he  desired  to  do  so,  and  would  have  had  still  longer  if  the 
carcass  had  not  been  tampered  with. 

Mr.  Thomas  W.  Agar  stated  that  he  was  appointed  in 
January  1899,  Inspector  of  Nuisances  for  the  east  district  of 
the  town,  to  act  under  the  direction  of  the  Chief  Inspector. 
On  February  13,  1899,  a  resolution  was  passed  by  the  Sanitary 
Committee  that  both  the  Assistant  and  the  Chief  Inspectors  were 
to  act  under  the  directions  of  the  Medical  Officer  of  Health.  He 
had  received  no  intimation  that  this  latter  resolution  had  never 
been  confirmed.  He  never  consulted  Crowther.  He  testified 
in  detail  to  the  condition  and  seizure  of  the  carcass  as  above 
described,  and  to  his  conversations  with  the  owner  and  his  repre- 
sentatives. Dr.  Home  elaborated  the  Inspector's  description, 
and  said  it  was  a  case  of  generalized  tuberculosis.  He  was 
positive  that  there  was  miliary  tuberculosis  of  both  lungs,  and 
there  were  tuberculous  lesions  on  both  the  pleura  and  peri- 
toneum. Either  of  these  conditions  rendered  the  carcass  unfit 
for  food.  He  asked  to  see  the  liver,  as  it  corresponded  in 
position  to  the  larger  inflamed  patch  on  the  diaphragm,  but 
was  told  it  had  been  sold.  He  was  asked  whether  his  relations 
with  the  Chief  Inspector  (Mr.  Crowther)  were  strained,  but 
Mr.  Wharton  (arbitrator)  did  not  see  how  that  affected  the 
case.  Mr.  Crowther  had  told  him  that  he  would  not  condemn 
the  carcass. 

Mr.  W.  C.  Crowther,  the  Chief  Inspector,  said  he  had  had 
fifteen  years'  experience,  and  had  examined  all  the  cases  until 
Mr.  Agar  came.  At  Dr.  Home's  request  he  carefully  examined 
this  carcass  on  Friday,  April  6.  He  considered  it  fit  for 


LEGAL  CASES  427 

human  food,  and  told  the  Sanitary  Committee  he  would  not 
have  condemned  it.  He  had  read  the  recommendation  of  the 
Royal  Commission,  and  did  not  consider  that,  tested  by  these 
recommendations,  his  written  report  to  the  Medical  Officer  in 
itself  furnished  sufficient  grounds  for  condemnation. 

Several  Medical  Officers  of  Health  gave  evidence  in  support 
of  Dr.  Home's  views,  and  on  February  11  the  arbitrators 
decided :  '  That  the  claimant  was  in  default  in  respect  of  the 
carcass,  and  suffered  no  damage  from  its  destruction,  that  the 
carcass  was  unsound,  and  unfit  for  the  food  of  man,  and  was, 
in  consequence,  properly  and  lawfully  destroyed.'  The  claimant 
was  ordered  to  pay  the  costs  of  the  award,  and  the  arbitrators' 
and  umpire's  fees,  and  20Z.  to  the  Corporation  on  account  of 
their  costs. 

146.  Important  decision  under  Sale  of  Goods  Act,  1893. ' 
High  Court  of  Justice.  Court  of  Appeal,  February  1905. 
Infected  milk.  Frost  v.  Aylesbury  Dairy  Co. 

'  When  milk  is  sold  by  a  dairy  company  for  consumption  as 
food  there  is  an  implied  warranty  on  the  part  of  the  vendors 
that  it  is  reasonably  Jit  for  that  purpose,  and  they  will  be  held 
liable  for  damages  caused  by  reason  of  its  being  infected, 
although  such  infection  was  latent  and  not  discoverable  by 
ordinary  care  and  skill. 

'  This  was  an  appeal  by  the  defendants,  asking  for  a  new 
trial  or  judgment  in  an  action  tried  before  Grantham,  J.,  and  a 
special  jury.  The  action  was  brought  by  the  plaintiff  to 
recover  damages  owing  to  the  illness  and  death  of  his  wife 
from  typhoid  fever,  caused,  as  he  alleged,  by  the  milk  which 
was  supplied  to  him  by  the  defendants  being  contaminated 
with  the  germs  of  typhoid  fever.  The  jury  found  a  verdict 
for  the  plaintiff  for  106Z.,  the  expenses  to  which  the  plaintiff 
had  been  put  in  consequence  of  the  illness  and  death  of  his 
wife,  and  judgment  was  entered  for  him  accordingly. 

'  MacMorran,  K.C.,  and  W.  Mackenzie  appeared  for  the 
defendants,  and  contended  that  under  section  14  (1)  of  the 
1  Public  Health,  April  1905. 


428  PRESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

Sale  of  Goods  Act,  1893,  the  defendants  did  not  impliedly 
warrant  that  the  milk  was  free  from  infection,  as  no  care  and 
skill  on  their  part  could  have  discovered  whether  it  was  infected 
or  not.  They  also  contended  that  the  verdict  was  against  the 
weight  of  the  evidence,  and  that  the  Judge  at  the  trial  had 
misdirected  the  jury,  and  introduced  topics  of  prejudice  against 
the  defendants. 

'Duke,  K.C.,  and  Holman  Gregory,  for  the  plaintiff,  were 
not  called  upon,  and  the  Court  dismissed  the  appeal. 

'  The  Master  of  the  Eolls  said  that  the  first  point  taken  was 
that,  admitting  that  the  milk  was  the  cause  of  the  typhoid 
fever,  upon  the  facts  of  the  case  there  was  no  actionable  wrong 
on  the  part  of  the  defendants.  The  question  was  whether,  in 
the  particular  circumstances,  the  case  had  been  brought 
within  section  14,  sub-section  1,  of  the  Sale  of  Goods  Act,  1893. 
It  was  said  that  the  buyer  had  not  made  known  to  the  seller 
the  particular  purpose  for  which  the  goods  were  required,  so 
as  to  show  that  he  relied  on  the  seller's  skill  or  judgment.  They 
had  not  evidence  in  any  precise  detail  of  the  inception  of  the 
relationship  between  the  plaintiff  and  the  defendants.  They 
began  with  the  fact  that  the  plaintiff  was  dealing  with  the 
defendants.  The  result  was  that  milk  was  purchased  by  the 
plaintiff  from  the  defendants.  That  involved  a  contract  for  the 
supply  of  an  article  of  food,  namely,  milk.  The  purpose  for 
which  the  milk  was  supplied  was  obviously  for  consumption 
as  an  article  of  food.  It  did  not  require  any  evidence  to  prove 
the  particular  purpose  for  which  the  milk  was  supplied.  The 
jury  must  be  taken  to  have  found  that.  Where  was  the 
condition  so  as  to  show  that  the  buyer  relied  on  the  seller's 
skill  or  judgment  fulfilled?  If  any  seller  ever  did  inform  the 
mind  of  a  buyer  of  his  special  care  as  a  seller,  as  an  induce- 
ment to  the  would-be  buyer  to  deal  with  him,  those  defendants 
did.  The  book,  which  had  been  called  the  pass-book,  which 
was  supplied  to  the  plaintiff,  was  full  of  particulars  of  their 
skill  and  knowledge  in  the  matter.  It  contained  paragraphs 
headed  "  Milk  in  relation  to  Tuberculosis  and  other  Diseases," 
stating  the  precautions  taken  to  ensure  that  only  pure  milk, 


LEGAL  CASES  429 

free  from  all  germs  of  disease  and  free  from  adulteration/  was 
supplied.  One  paragraph  related  to  "  medical  inspection," 
another  to  "  milk  analysis,"  another  to  "veterinary  surgeon." 
The  buyer  could  not  escape  being  permeated  with  the  sense 
that  he  was  secured  against  the  possibility  of  danger  if  he 
bought  the  defendants'  milk.  Milk,  therefore,  for  the  supply 
of  the  plaintiff  and  his  family  was  tendered  by  a  seller  with  all 
his  knowledge  and  skill.  It  was  then  said  that  the  buyer 
could  not  rely  upon  the  seller's  skill  or  judgment  in  a  case 
where  no  skill  or  judgment  could  have  found  out  the  defect. 
That  was  a  contention  that  a  person  could  not  become  liable 
for  an  undiscoverable  latent  defect.  The  law  upon  the  point 
was  the  same  now  as  it  was  at  Common  Law  before  the  Sale 
of  Goods  Act,  1893.  That  point  had  been  dealt  with  and 
decided  by  the  Court  of  Appeal  in  Randall  v.  Newson  (2  Q.B.D. 
102),  where  it  was  held  that  on  the  sale  of  an  article  for  a 
specific  purpose  there  was  a  warranty  by  the  vendor  that  it  was 
presumably  fit  for  that  purpose,  and  that  there  was  no  excep- 
tion as  to  latent  undiscoverable  defects.  Then,  with  regard  to 
the  alleged  misdirection,  it  was  a  well-established  rule  that, 
even  if  there  was  misdirection,  still,  if  that  misdirection  did  not 
affect  the  result  of  the  trial,  the  Court  would  not  be  justified  in 
sending  the  case  down  for  a  new  trial.  The  case  must  there- 
fore be  dismissed.  Lord  Justice  Mathew  delivered  judgment 
to  the  same  effect,  in  the  course  of  which  he  said  that  there 
was  no  reason  whatever  for  any  reflection  upon  the  defendant 
company.  They  had  imposed  stringent  conditions  upon  the 
farmers  from  whom  they  obtained  milk,  but  it  was  obviously 
impossible,  where  the  milk  was  drawn  from  different  parts  of  the 
country,  to  see  that  each  farmer  complied  in  every  respect  with 
their  conditions  and  requirements.  He  (the  Lord  Justice) 
regretted  that  the  use  of  the  word  "  Aylesbury  "  in  the  name  of 
the  defendant  company  was  reflected  upon  by  the  learned  Judge. 
He  desired  to  say  that  he  did  not  concur  in  these  reflections, 
and  in  his  opinion  the  defendant  company  came  well  out  of  the 
inquiry. 

'  Lord  Justice  Cozens-Hardy  agreed.' 


APPENDIX  I 

REPORT  OF  THE  DEPAETMENTAL  COMMITTEE  APPOINTED  TO 
INQUIRE  INTO  THE  USE  OF  PRESERVATIVES  AND  COLOUR- 
ING MATTERS  IN  THE  PRESERVATION  AND  COLOURING 
OF  FOODS 

THE  conclusions  arrived  at  by  this  Committee  are  as  follows : 

1.  '  The  medical  evidence,  speaking  generally,  comprises  for  the 
most  part   opinion   arrived  at  after  a  general  consideration  of  the 
issues  involved,  but  such  opinion  was  not  always  based  directly  upon 
fact.     The  physiological  evidence  consists  of  the  citation  of  the  results 
of  more  or  less  exact  physiological  experiments.     But,  unfortunately, 
in  the  majority  of  cases  the  conditions  under  which  the  experiments 
have  been  made  have  only  partially  imitated  those  conditions  which 
obtain  in  the  actual  taking  of  preservatives  by  the  human  subject  of 
all  ages  for  indefinite  periods  of  time. 

2.  '  Further,  even  supposing  that  we  were  to  assume  that  the 
physiological  experiments  which  have  been  laid  before  us  did  imitate 
with  sufficient  exactness  the  actual  conditions  obtaining  in  the  inquiry 
in  point,  they  would  certainly  only  do  so  in  so  far  as  relates  to  the 
use  of  one  preservative  during  a  given  period  of  time.     The  facts, 
however,  show  that  in  ordinary  life   what   actually  occurs   is   the 
simultaneous  ingestion  of  more  than  one  preservative.     A  further 
condition,  almost  impossible  of   imitation  by  the  physiological  in- 
vestigator, is  the  consumption  of  these  preservatives  by  all  classes  of 
invalids  and  by  sucklings.     The  absolute  effect  of  these  substances 
upon  sucklings  is  at  present  unknown,  and  it  is  also  practically  im- 
possible to  infer  with  accuracy  from  facts  at  present  ascertained  what 
would  be  the  effect  of,  for  instance,  formic  aldehyde  upon  a  patient 
suffering  from  uraemia. 

3.  '  A  factor  still  more  subtle  in  its  influence  upon  the  question 
before  us  is  idiosyncrasy.     Certain  individuals  are  extremely  sensitive 
to  certain  drugs,  and  it  appears  that  among  these  drugs  must  be 
reckoned  at  least  one  of  the  agents  used  as  a  preservative.     Although 
legislation  covering  all  possible   idiosyncrasies   would  be  too  com- 
plicated to  be  practical,  nevertheless,  it  must  be  pointed  out  that  as 


432  PRESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

matters  are  at  present,  an  individual  possessing  an  idiosyncrasy  with 
regard  to  the  poisonous  action  of  boracic  acid  would  not  be  able  to 
profit  even  by  his  own  experienQe.  For  since  the  addition  of  this 
substance  to  food  is  not  declared,  he  might  be  continually  made  ill 
by  the  repeated  involuntary  consumption  of  articles  of  food  con- 
taining it. 

4.  '  The  actual  material  upon  which   to   base   trustworthy  con- 
clusions has  not  existed  heretofore,  in  that  the  declaration  of  pre- 
servatives, and  also  a  regulation  of,  and  notification  of,  the  amount 
thereof  present  in  any  preserved  food  must  be  regarded  as  a  necessary 
preliminary  to   any  accurate    observations  or  statistics   upon  the 
subject.      Had  declaration  of  preservatives   been   in  force  during 
recent  years,  we  should  probably  now  have  been  in  possession  6f 
medical  evidence  more  directly  based  upon  fact  than  that  which  we 
have  had  laid  before  us. 

5.  '  Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  trustworthy  data  as  to  actual 
injury  are  but  few,  there  is  evidence  pointing  to  the  probability  that 
such  injury  does  at  times  accrue.     We  cannot  overlook  the  danger 
to  which  the  uncontrolled  use  of  drugs  in  the  food  of  the  population 
may  be  likely  to  give  rise. 

6.  '  Compounds  of  boracic  acid  have  not  been  proved  to  be  more 
hurtful  than  saltpetre  to  the  consumer,  yet  saltpetre  has  been  used 
from  time  immemorial  in  curing  bacon,  &c.      The  modern  use  of 
borax  and  boracic  acid  has  enabled  producers  to  dispense  with  a  large 
proportion   of   common   salt   formerly  necessary,  thereby  rendering 
bacon  far  milder  to  the  palate,  and  protecting  it  from  taint  and  fly- 
blow. 

7.  '  Although  the  greater  number  of  the  witnesses  disclaimed  any 
knowledge  that  boracic  acid  or  borax  is  actually  injected  into  the 
carcasses,  we  are  convinced  from  our  own  observations  as  well  as 
from  the  testimony  of  certain  witnesses,  that  these  preservatives  are 
used  in  the  curing  of  hog  products,  ham  having  been  found  to  contain 
amounts  varying  from  4  to  24  grains  per  pound,  and  bacon  from  2| 
to  8|  grains  per  pound.     The  use  of  boron  preservatives,  which  began 
about  twenty  years  ago,  is  now  very  general  in  the  import  trade  in 
bacon  and  ham.     No  doubt  they  are  exceedingly  convenient,  but  that 
they  are  not  indispensable  is  proved  by  the  success  of  a  large  and 
well-known  firm  of   exporters  of   Wiltshire   bacon,  which   uses   no 
antiseptics  but  salt  and  saltpetre. 

8.  '  Concerning  the  physiological  effects  of  the  sulphites,  a  pre- 
servative often  used  by  butchers,  poultry  dealers,  and  brewers,  there 
has  been  no  evidence  laid  before  this  Committee.     It  appears,  how- 


APPENDIX   I  433 

ever,  that  when  sulphurous  acid  or  its  salts  are  added  to  organic 
compounds  such  as  beer  or  butchers'  meat,  some  is  at  once  oxidized 
to  sulphate,  which  may  be  regarded,  at  any  rate  in  the  amount 
present,  as  indifferent ;  some  attaches  itself  chemically  to  certain 
constituents  of  the  food  in  question,  and  the  compound  formed  is  also 
innocuous  ;  a  third  portion  remains  as  sulphurous  acid,  and  it  is  this 
portion  alone  which  is  of  permanent  efficacy  as  an  antiseptic.  Con- 
cerning the  effect  of  this  moiety  upon  the  consumer  pharmacologists 
do  not  seem  agreed,  and  further  investigation  is  required  before  the 
sulphites  can  be  regarded  as  either  harmful  or  harmless. 

9.  '  After  very  carefully  weighing  the  evidence  we  have  come  to 
the  conclusion  that,  as  regards  the  trade  in  fresh  and  cured  meat, 
fish,  butter,  margarine  and  other  food  substances  in  the  consumption 
of  which  but  small  quantities  of  the  antiseptic  are  taken  into  the 
system,  there  exists  no  sufficient  reason  for  interfering  to  prevent  the 
use  of  boron  preservatives.     Even  butter,  of  which  the  imports  from 
all  countries,  except  Denmark,  frequently  contain  boracic  acid,  is  not 
consumed  in  such  quantities  by  individuals  as  to  convey  more  than 
a  very  moderate  daily  amount  of  the  drug  into  the  system.     The 
evidence  satisfies  us  that  the  amount  of  preservative  corresponding 
to  0'5  per  cent,  of  boracic  acid  is  sufficient  for  the  purpose  of  pre- 
serving butter. 

10.  'But   the   circumstances    and   considerations    affecting    the 
milk  traffic  are  very  different.     Milk,  a  very  perishable  substance, 
peculiarly  liable  to  bacterial  contamination,  forms  a  very  large  pro- 
portion of  the  daily  food  of  the  public.     The  nutrition  of  infants  and 
young  children  depends  greatly  on  the  purity  and  abundance  of  the 
milk  supply,  and,  seeing  how  frequently  milk  is  prescribed  for  in- 
valids  and   convalescents,  it  is  of   the   utmost   importance   that   it 
should  not  be  the   vehicle  of  any  unsuspected  agent.     While  it  is 
possible  that  milk  containing  boracic  acid  in  sufficient  quantity  to 
act  as  a  preservative  (say  30  grains  to  the  gallon)  might  be  consumed 
to  the  amount  of  4  or  5  pints  a  day,  without  harmful  results,  by 
most  healthy  children  or  adults,  there  is  evidence  pointing  to  an  in- 
jurious  effect   of  boracized   milk  upon   the   health  of   very  young 
children. 

11.  '  Moreover,  there  exists  at  present  no  guarantee  against  the 
addition  of  excessive  amounts  of  preservative  to  milk.     In  1896  the 
Medical  Officer  of  Health  for  Birmingham  estimated  the  amounts  of 
boracic  acid  in  a  number  of  milk  samples.     Of  these,  one-half  showed 
boracic  acid  in  a  proportion  not  exceeding  21  grains  per  gallon,  in  one 
fourth  the  proportion  varied  between  21  and  42  grains  per  gallon,  while 

28 


434  PEESEEVATIVES   IN  FOOD 

in  the  remaining  fourth  it  ranged  from  42  up  to  126  grains  per  gallon. 
Professor  Blyth  instances  a  sample  of  milk,  purchased  in  Marylebone, 
containing  boracic  acid  in  the  proportion  of  no  less  than  80  grains 
to  the  pint.  This  occurred  in  December  1899,  and  the  witness 
assured  us  that  from  time  to  time  he  had  found  an  equally  high  pro- 
portion in  milk  samples  taken  in  summer. 

12.  '  Clearly  such  random  use  of  any  drug  in  a  food  calls  for  regula- 
tion.    At  present  milk  may  be  subjected  to  several  successive  treat- 
ments with  preservative  before  it  reaches  the  consumer.     The  farmer 
or  producer  sometimes  applies  it ;  so  does  the  wholesale  purveyor ;  so 
does  the  retail  dealer ;  lastly,  the  domestic  use  of  preservatives  is 
increasing,  and  has  become  very  general,  and  hence  the  milk  may 
receive  a  fourth  dose  before  it  reaches  the  unsuspecting  consumer. 

13.  '  There  is  this  further  objection  to  the  use  of  preservatives  in 
the  milk  traffic,  that  they  may  be  relied  on  to  protect  those  engaged 
therein   against   the   immediate   results    of    neglect    of   scrupulous 
cleanliness.     Under  the  influence  of  these  preservatives  milk  may  be 
exposed  without  sensible  injury  to  conditions  which  otherwise  would 
render  it  unsaleable.     It  may  remain  sweet  to  taste  and  smell  and 
yet  have  incorporated  disease  germs  of  various  kinds,  whereof  the 
activity  may  be  suspended  for  a  time  by  the  action  of  the  preservative, 
but  may  be  resumed  before  the  milk  is  digested. 

14.  '  It  has  been  put  before  us  that  it  is  not  possible  to  supply 
large  towns,  especially  London,  with  new  milk  without  the  aid  of 
preservatives,  but  we  have  received  abundant  evidence  to  prove  that 
this  is  no  more  than  a  matter  of  organization  and  system.    No  doubt  the 
prohibition  of  preservatives  in  milk  offered  for  sale  would  tend  to  the  dis- 
advantage'of  small  retailers  who  have  no  cold  storage,  but  this  is  not  a 
consideration  which  should  stand  in  the  way  of  a  much-needed  reform. 

'  As  to  the  feasibility  of  conducting  the  traffic  in  the  largest  towns 
without  preservatives  we  have  no  doubt  whatever.  In  Denmark  the 
use  of  all  preservatives  in  milk  is  strictly  prohibited,  and  the  prohibition 
is  stringently  enforced.  Much  of  the  milk  consigned  from  the  country 
to  Copenhagen  is  conveyed  in  ice-wagons,  or  wagons  otherwise 
specially  adapted  for  the  traffic,  the  property  of  purveying  companies 
in  the  capital. 

15.  '  It  has  been  estimated  that  about  50  per  cent,  of  the  dairy- 
men of  London  use  preservatives.  One  of  the  largest  dairy 
companies  in  London  (Welford  Dairy  Company,  Ltd.)  declined  to 
furnish  us  with  any  information,  but  evidence  was  given  by  another 
large  company  (the  Aylesbury  Dairy  Company,  Ltd.)  that  they 
use  no  preservative  whatever,  either  in  milk,  cream  or  butter. 


APPENDIX  I  435 

16.  '  Even  more  conclusive  of  the  practicability  of  supplying  the 
metropolis  with  milk  unmixed  with  preservative  was  the  evidence  of 
Mr.   T.   Carrington   Smith,   who   during   a   series  of   several  years 
consigned  milk  to  London  from  Mid- Staffordshire,  a  distance  of  126 
miles,  under  a  contract  which  prohibited  him  from  the  use  of  preserva- 
tives.    The  milk  was  carefully   strained  and  cooled   by   means  of 
water,  precautions  which  the  witness  pronounced  indispensable,  and 
there  never  was  any  trouble  from  the  milk  going  sour.     Mr.  Smith, 
who  appeared  on  behalf  of  the  Eoyal  Agricultural  Society,  handed  in 
letters  from  farmers,  sending  the  milk  from  500  to  1,500  cows  daily  to 
London  from  Faringdon  and  Didcot  without  the  use  of  preservatives. 

17.  '  In  face  of  these  facts  we  are  of  opinion  that  it  is  idle  to 
pronounce  it  impossible  to  supply  London  with  milk  not  artificially 
preserved.     The  business  would  be  attended  with  some  inconveni- 
ence  at  first,  but  we  are  impressed  with  the  need  for  facing  that 
inconvenience,   and  for   rendering  the   vendors    of  milk  containing 
preservatives  subject  to  penalties  under  the  Sale  of  Food  and  Drugs 
Act.     Obviously  the  conditions  under  which  milk  is  sometimes  kept 
in  the  homes  of  the  poor  is  likely  to  hasten  the  processes  of  decom- 
position, but  we  do  not  think  this  a  sufficient  argument  in  favour  of 
the  sale  of  chemically  preservatized  milk. 

18.  '  In  regard  to  cream  the  question  is  somewhat  different.     We 
are  of  opinion  that,  under  present  conditions,  it  would  be  difficult  to 
maintain  or  increase  the  present  supply  of  cream  without  the  use  of 
some  preserving  agent.     The  presence  of  a  preservative  is  less  objec- 
tionable in  cream  than  in  milk,  because  cream  is  usually  consumed 
in  much  smaller  quantities  than  milk ;  but  inasmuch  as  cream  is  now 
often  prescribed  for  invalids  and  children  instead  of  cod-liver  oil,  we 
consider  that  the  obligation  should  be  laid  on  the  vendor  of  cream 
of  notifying  the  presence,  nature,  and  quantity  of  the  preservative. 

19.  '  One   of  the   considerations   which   render   it   expedient    to 
prohibit  the  use  of  any  preservative  in  milk  offered  for  sale,  namely, 
the  large  quantity  which   may   be    taken   into   the    system   of  the 
consumer,   places,   in    our   opinion,    wine,   cider,    and    temperance 
beverages  upon  a  very  similar  footing.     Moreover,  while  by  far  the 
greater    proportion    of    preservatives   used    in   the   dairy   industry 
consists  of  compounds  of  boron,  a  substance  without  any  active  toxic 
properties,   it  is  otherwise  with  fermented  and  temperance  drinks. 
The  usual  preservatives  in  these  articles  are  salicylic  acid  and  form- 
aldehyde, and  although  the  quantity  of  each  actually  required  is  very 
small,  it  is  often  largely  exceeded. 

20.  '  Thus  the  Public  Analyst  of  Blackpool,  Blackburn,  &c.,  found 


436  PEESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

in  sweetened  lime-juice  cordial,  "  consumed,"  as  he  said,  "  consider- 
ably at  children's  parties  and  such  like  festivities,"  amounts  varying 
from  20  grains  to  108  grains  of  salicylic  acid  per  gallon.  That  the 
use  of  any  preservative  whatever  in  such  drinks  is  unnecessary  was 
proved  to  us  by  one  of  the  largest  manufacturers  in  this  country, 
who  stated  that  his  firm  never  use  them  at  all,  although  he  considered 
that  it  would  be  convenient  to  do  so. 

21.  '  As  stated  above,  we  have  not  given  attention  to  the  prevalence 
of  preservatives  in  beer,  that  matter  having  been  threshed  out  so 
recently  before  the  Beer  Materials  Committee,  but  in  the  manufacture 
of  cider  we  found  that  the  employment  of  salicylic   acid   is   very 
general,  both  in  the  native  and  imported  article.     While  one  cider 
manufacturer  told  us  that  he  used  no  preservative,  another  strongly 
advocated  the  use  of  salicylic  acid. 

22.  '  As  regards  wine,   whether  British  or  imported,  we  are  of 
opinion  that  wine  which  cannot  be  made  or  kept  without  the  use  of  a 
preservative  had  better  not  be  offered  for  sale.     We  are  confirmed  in 
this  view  by  the  action  of  the  Government  of  the  chief  wine-producing 
country  in  the  world,  namely,  France,  which  by  the  law  of  January  11, 
1891,   absolutely   prohibited   the   use   in  wine   of   all  preservatives 
(except  chloride  of  sodium  or  common  salt  to  the  extent  of  1  gramme 
per  litre),  and  of  all  colouring  matters  whatever. 

23.  '  In  regard  to  the  colouring  matters  of  modern  origin,  while  we 
are  of  opinion  that  articles  of  food  are  very  much  preferable  in  their 
natural  colours,  we  are  unable  to  see  from  the  evidence  received  that 
any  injurious   results    have    been    traced    to    their    consumption. 
Undoubtedly  some  of  the  substances  used  to  colour  confectionery  and 
sweetmeats  are  highly  poisonous  in  themselves,  but  they  are  used  in 
infinitesimal   proportions,    and   before    any    individual    had    taken 
enough   of   colouring   matter  to   injure   him,   his   digestion    would 
probably  have  been  seriously  disturbed  by  the  substance  which  they 
were  employed  to  adorn. 

24.  '  The  employment  of  copper  sulphate  to  colour  peas  and  other 
vegetables  has  been  carefully  considered   by   us.     It  is  highly   un- 
desirable that  what  is  admittedly  a  poisonous  substance  should  be 
used,  even  to  the  smallest  extent,  in  connection  with  such  food  as 
may  be  consumed  in  considerable  quantity.     The  public  have  got 
into  their  heads  that  vegetables  ought  to  be  green,  and  green  they 
insist  upon  having  them.     Direct  proof  that  vegetables  containing 
copper  are  injurious  to  the  consumer  is  from  the  nature  of  the  case 
difficult  to  obtain,  and  we  must  admit  that  we  have  not  succeeded  in 
obtaining  it.     There  is  evidence  pointing  to  the  conclusion  that  the 


APPENDIX  I  437 

copper,  when  added  to  the  vegetables,  forms  a  compound  which  is  not 
easily  soluble  in  the  human  economy.  There  is,  however,  evidence 
of  a  contrary  character,  and  it  is  not  clear  to  us  that  the  whole  of  the 
copper  added  becomes,  or  remains,  insoluble  under  all  conditions. 
Be  this  as  it  may,  recent  events  have  so  incontestably  demonstrated 
the  serious  and  widespread  mischief  which  may  result  from  the 
consumption  of  food  and  drink,  other  than  sweetmeats,  containing 
even  minimal  quantities  of  poisonous  metallic  substances,  that  we 
are  strongly  of  opinion  that  such  poisonous  substances  should  be 
rigorously  excluded. 

25.  '  There  is  such  a  wide  choice  of  colouring  matters  suitable  for 
the  dairy  trade,  that  no  inconvenience  would  arise  from  restricting  it 
to  the  use  of  innocuous  substances  as  these  may  be  denned  and  per- 
mitted  in  the  manner  hereafter  suggested.     But  the  same  reason 
which  we   have   given   for  the  prohibition  of  preservative  in  milk 
offered  for  sale,  namely,  the  large  quantity  thereof  which  may  be 
consumed  by  an  individual,  appears  to  render  it  highly  undesirable 
that  any  colouring  matter  should  be  permitted  in  milk.    There  is  this 
further  consideration,  that  milk  is  sold  as  an  absolutely  raw,  un- 
manufactured article,  of  which  the  purchaser  is  entitled  to  be  aware 
of  the  natural  colour,  and  to  draw  his  own  conclusions  therefrom  as 
to  quality. 

26.  '  In  the  butter  trade,  and  still  more  so  in  the  cheese  trade, 
artificial   colouring   has   long    been    established.     Highly   coloured 
goods  find  favour  in  some  markets,  uncoloured  or  faintly  coloured 
goods  in   others.     We  have  not  found  that  in  the  interest  of  the 
consumer  any  interference  is  necessary  with  the  customs  of  the  trade 
in  this  respect. 

27.  '  In  regard  to  margarine,  we  have  to  deal  with  a  cheap  and 
relatively   inferior   article   invariably  coloured  to   resemble  a  more 
costly  and  superior  article,  and  probably  the  only  means  of  protecting 
the  public  from  imposition  would  be  to  prohibit  the  introduction  of 
any  colouring  matter  into  margarine  which  shall  cause  it  to  resemble 
butter.     Be   the   regulations   as    to   the    sale   of    margarine   under 
declaration  what  they  may,  they  cannot  protect  the  customer  who 
calls  for  bread  and  butter  at  an  hotel  or  restaurant  from  being  served 
with  bread  and  margarine,  and  paying  for  it  at  the  rate  charged  for 
the  higher  article.     But  as  the  margarine  may  be  assumed  to  be  a 
perfectly  wholesome  article  of  diet,  it  does  not  fall  within  the  terms 
of  our  reference  to  make  any  recommendation  upon  a  practice  which 
is  not  attended  with  risk  to  the  public  health. 

28.  '  We   wish  to  state  as   our   opinion   that   the   departmental 


438  PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

machinery  for  controlling  the  preparation  and  conservation  of  food 
and  drink  in  this  country  is  not  as  complete  as  could  be  wished. 
The  obvious  fact  has  been  referred  to  by  several  witnesses,  that  new 
methods  of  preserving,  and  new  preserving  agents  and  colouring 
matters,  will  continue  to  be  introduced.  We  regard  it  as  a  matter  of 
concern  for  the  public  health  that  the  nature  of  such  substances  or 
processes  should  be  critically  examined,  and  their  effects  upon  the 
human  economy,  if  possible,  ascertained. 

'  Recommendations.— Based  upon  the  foregoing  conclusions,  we 
beg  to  make  the  following  recommendations  : 

'  (a.)  That  the  use  of  formaldehyde  or  formalin,  or  preparations 
thereof,  in  foods  or  drinks  be  absolutely  prohibited,  and  that  salicylic 
acid  be  not  used  in  a  greater  proportion  than  1  gr.  per  pint  in  liquid 
food  and  1  gr.  per  pound  in  solid  food.  Its  presence  in  all  cases  to 
be  declared. 

'  (b.}  That  the  use  of  any  preservative  or  colouring  matter  whatever 
in  milk  offered  for  sale  in  the  United  Kingdom  be  constituted  an 
offence  under  the  Sale  of  Food  and  Drugs  Act. 

'  (c.)  That  the  only  preservative  which  it  shall  be  lawful  to  use 
in  cream  be  boric  acid  or  mixtures  of  boric  acid  and  borax,  and  in 
amount  not  exceeding  0'25  per  cent,  expressed  as  boric  acid.  The 
amount  of  such  preservative  to  be  notified  by  a  label  upon  the  vessel. 

'  (d.)  That  the  only  preservative  permitted  to  be  used  in  butter  and 
margarine  be  boric  acid  or  mixtures  of  boric  acid  and  borax,  to  be 
used  in  proportions  not  exceeding  0'5  per  cent,  expressed  as  boric 
acid. 

'  (e.)  That  in  the  case  of  all  dietetic  preparations  intended  for  the 
use  of  invalids  or  infants,  chemical  preservatives  of  all  kinds  be 
prohibited. 

'  (/.)  That  the  use  of  copper  salts  in  the  so-called  greening  of 
preserved  foods  be  prohibited. 

'  (g.)  That  means  be  provided,  either  by  the  establishment  of  a 
separate  Court  of  Reference  or  by  the  imposition  of  more  direct 
obligation  on  the  Local  Government  Board,  to  exercise  supervision 
over  the  use  of  preservatives  and  colouring  matters  in  food,  and  to 
prepare  schedules  of  such  as  may  be  considered  inimical  to  the 
public  health.' 


APPENDIX   II 

LAW  AND  PEACTICE  IN  CERTAIN  FOREIGN  COUNTRIES  AND 
THE  COLONIES  AS  TO  PRESERVATIVES  AND  COLOURING 
MATTERS  IN  FOOD 

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. — No  special  law  obtains.  Ministerial  decrees 
are,  however,  in  force  prohibiting  the  use  of  certain  well-known 
preservatives  and  colouring  matters  in  foods.  Generally  at  present 
exceptions  to  prohibition  of  preservatives  are  made  only  in  respect 
of  salt  in  butter  to  5  per  cent.,  and  both  salt  and  saltpetre  to  un- 
limited extent  in  meat  preservation.  But  in  milk,  salicylic  acid, 
borax,  boracic  acid,  and  soda  are  forbidden. 

In  Austria-Hungary  a  decree  of  1866  forbids  in  food  the  use  of 
any  colouring  matter  which  contains  metals  (iron  excepted),  gamboge, 
picric  acid  or  aniline.  But  in  1895  a  large  number  of  aniline  dye- 
stuffs  which  do  not  contain  arsenic  were  permitted  to  be  used  for 
sweetmeats,  liquors,  &c.  ;  specimens  of  such  colours  to  be  yearly 
submitted  to  official  examination. 

BELGIUM.— A  decree  of  1894  prohibits  absolutely  the  use  of  pre- 
servatives in  milk. 

FRANCE. — By  the  provisions  of  the  law  of  January  11,  1891,  Art.  2, 
the  use  in  wine  of  products  such  as  sulphuric,  nitric,  hydrochloric, 
salicylic,  or  boric  acids  is  prohibited. 

By  an  order  dated  February  7,  1881,  the  employment  of  salicylic 
acid  as  a  preservative  was  prohibited. 

In  a  circular  to  the  Prefects,  dated  October  18,  1899,  the  Minister 
of  the  Interior  prohibited  the  sale  of  foods  containing  formalin. 

GERMANY. — None  of  the  following  substances,  nor  mixtures  con- 
taining any  of  them,  are  to  be  used  in  the  preparation  of  wines  or 
vinous  liquors  destined  for  human  consumption,  nor  to  be  added  to 
such  liquors  subsequently  :  soluble  aluminous  salts  (alum,  &c.),  com- 
pounds of  barium,  boric  acid,  glycerine,  kermes  berries,  compounds 
of  magnesium,  salicylic  acid,  impure  spirits  (i.e.,  containing  pure 
amyl  alcohol),  impure  starch  sugar  (non-technically  pure),  compounds 
of  strontium,  and  colouring  tar-stuffs. 


440  PRESEKVATIVES  IN  FOOD 

NETHERLANDS. — In  the  Netherlands,  by  the  law  of  1889,  butter 
must  not  contain,  any  foreign  ingredients  except  salt  and  colouring 
matter. 

SWITZERLAND. — In  the  Canton  of  Zurich  a  law  of  1896  prohibits 
the  employment  of  all  preservatives  save  cooking  salt  and  saltpetre, 
but  borax  continues  to  be  largely  used. 

UNITED  STATES. — No  maximum  limit  laid  down  as  to  preserva- 
tives, but  those  having  no  marked  toxic  character  not  absolutely 
prohibited.  All  packages  to  bear  testimony  to  amount  and  name, 
if  any,  used. 

As  to  colouring  matters,  no  maximum  limit  fixed.  No  colouring 
matter  to  be  used  unless  each  package  bears  testimony  to  name  and 
amount.  No  absolute  prohibition  of  any  colouring  matter  which  has 
no  marked  toxic  character. 

Legislation  in  the  matter  of  the  use  of  preservatives  was  passed 
during  the  year  1901  in  the  State  of  Massachusetts,  in  virtue  of  which 
the  quantity  and  nature  of  the  preservative  is  to  be  declared  in  the 
case  of  all  articles  of  food  and  drink  to  which  an  antiseptic  substance 
is  added. 

Exception  is  made  in  the  case  of  table  salt,  saltpetre,  cane-sugar, 
alcohol,  vinegar,  spices,  the  natural  product  of  the  smoking  process 
for  smoked  goods,  and  where  small  quantities  of  suitable  preserva- 
tive substances  are  dusted  on  the  surface  of  dried  fish  and  meat. 

In  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  it  is  a  demeanour  to  manufacture, 
sell,  consign,  offer  for  sale,  or  have  in  possession  with  intent  to  sell, 
any  article  of  food  or  drink  which  contains  formaldehyde,  sulphurous 
acid  or  sulphites,  boric  acid  or  borates,  salicylic  acid  or  salicylates, 
saccharin,  dulcin,  glucin,  B.-naphthol,  abrastol,  asaprol,  fluorides, 
fluoborates,  fluosilicates,  or  other  fluorine  compounds,  and  all  other 
preservatives  injurious  to  health.  Common  salt,  saltpetre,  vinegar, 
and  the  condimental  preservatives  such  as  turmeric,  mustard,  pepper 
and  other  spices  are  permitted.  The  penalty  for  violation  of  the  Act 
is  a  fine  of  not  less  than  12Z.  nor  more  than  20Z.,  with  costs,  or  im- 
prisonment not  exceeding  60  days,  or  both. 

BRITISH  CANADA. — The  law  does  not  prevent  the  use  of  preserva- 
tives and  colouring  matters  in  food  unless  they  are  injurious  to 
health. 


PLATES 


442 


PLATE   I 

FIG.  1.  Clump  of  actinomyces.      x  800.     After  Klein. 

2.  Nodule  due  to  actinomyces  from  tongue  of  cow.     x  300.    After  Klein. 

3.  Actinomyces,  section  of  nodule,      x  120. 

4.  Actinomyces  in  pus.      x  120. 

5.  Trichina  spiralis  in  muscle.     Longitudinal  section,      x  5. 

6.  Trichina  spiralis  in  muscle.     Transverse  section,      x  5. 


PLATE   I 


444 


PLATE   II 

FIG.  1.  Trichina  spiralis  in  muscle.     Longitudinal  section,     x  125.    Showing 
the  trichina  encysted  with  fat-cells  at  the  poles. 

2.  Trichina  spiralis  in  muscle.     Transverse  section,      x  125. 

3.  Trichina  spiralis  with  cyst  partially  calcined,      x  80. 

4.  Trichina  spiralis  with  cyst  completely  calcined,      x  80. 


PLATE   II 


2. 


4. 


446 


PLATE   III 

FIG.  1.  Tuenia  mediocanellata,  head  of.      x  35. 

2.  Cysticercus  bovis  (beef  bladder  worm)  with  scolex  extended.     After 

Leuckart.      x  4. 

3.  Cysticercus  cellulosae  (hog   bladder  worm)  with  scolex  included  in 

vesicle.     After  Leuckart.      x  4. 

4.  Cysticercus  cellulosse  with  scolex  extended.     After  Leuckart.      x  4. 

5.  Scolex  of  cysticercus  cellulosse  showing  booklets,      x  35. 

6.  Bothriocephalus  latus,  slightty  reduced.     After  Leuckart. 

7.  Bothriocephalus  latus,  one  of  proglottides,  magnified,  showing  repro- 

ductive organs.     After  Leuckart. 

8.  Bothriocephalus  latus,  larvae  of.     After  Leuckart. 

9.  Bothriocephalus  latus,  head  or  scolex  of,  showing  slit -like  sucker, 

and  absence  of  booklets.     After  Leuckart.      x  5. 

10.  Tsenia  echinococcus.     After  Leuckart.      x  5. 

11.  Cyst  of  Echinococcus  polymorphus,  showing  brood  capsules  (slightly 

reduced).     After  Leuckart. 


PLATE   III 


448 


PLATE   IV 

FIG.  1.  Echinococcus  polyrnorphus.     Brood  capsule  with  scolices.     After 

Leuckart.      x  5. 
2.  Echinococcus  polyrnorphus,  scolex  of,  with  invaginated  suckers  and 

booklets.     After  Leuckart.      x  150. 

8.  Echinococcus  polyrnorphus,   scolex  with   suckers   and  booklets  ex- 
tended.    After  Leuckart.      x  150. 

4.  Cysts  of  Echinococcus  veterinorum,  portion  of,  from  liver  of  ox, 

showing  scolices.      x  35. 

5.  Cysticercus  of  hare,  head  of,  showing  booklets  and  suckers,      x  60. 

6.  Scolex  of  Echinococcus  veterinorum.      x  250. 


PLATE   IV 


i. 


2. 


450 


PLATE   V 

FIG.  1.  Distoma  hepaticum.     Liver  fluke,      x  1£. 

2.  Distoma  lanceolatum.     After  Nicholson,      x  6. 

3.  Distoma  lanceolatum.      x  1. 

4.  Pentastomum  denticulatum,  from  liver  of  hare,      x  30. 

5.  Coccidia  oviforme.     Portion  of  bile  duct  of  rabbit. 

6.  Coccidia  oviforme.     Portion   of    bile    duct    of   rabbit,   sporocysts. 

x250. 

7.  Miescher's  sac,  from  muscle  of  pig.      x  30. 

8.  Deposit  from  unclean  milk. 

A.  Portion  of  wing  scale  of  insect,      x  250. 

B.  Fragments  of  hay,  straw,  &c.      x  250. 
c.  Cotton  fibre,      x  250. 

D.  Fat  globules,      x  500. 

E.  Oidium  lactis.      x  250. 

F.  Pus  cells  (?).      x  500. 

G.  H,  K.  Micrococci  and  spores  of  fungi,      x  500. 
L.  Bacilli  and  spirilla,      x  500. 

M.  Oidium   albicans.     After    Grawitz.       x  250.     Introduced    for 
comparison  with  Oidium  lactis. 


PLATE   V 


452 


PLATE  VI 

FIG.  1.  Vibrio  tritici  (red  blight  of  wheat),      x  80. 

2.  Tyroglyphus  farinse  (meal  mites),      x  80. 

3.  Penicillium  glaucum  (green  mould). 

A.  Constricted  spores  on  sterigmata.      x  250. 

B.  Constricted  spores  on  sterigmata,  after  boiling  thirty  minutes 

in  syrup, 
c.  Typical  head  of  penicillium.      x  75. 

4.  Aspergillus  (eurotiurn)  glaucus  (blue  mould),      x  250. 

A.  Hyphae  bearing  sexual  reproductive  organs. 

B.  Mature  perithecium. 

5.  Aspergillus   (eurotium)    glaucus.      Thick    hyphae    bearing    asexual 

reproductive  organs  (sterigmata).      x  250. 
A.  Spore,      x  750. 


PLATE   VI 


454 


PLATE  VII. 

FIG.  1.  Mucor  mucedo  (white  mould). 

A.  Mycelia  and  sporangia,      x  15. 

B.  Mycelia  and  sporangia,      x  150. 

c.  Hyphae  showing  columella  and  remains  of  sporangia  after  spores 
have  been  dispersed,      x  120. 

2.  Crushed  Darnel  seed  (Lolium  temulentum),  diseased. 

A.  Testa,  or  seed  coat,      x  125. 

B.  Husk,      x  125. 
c.  Awn.      x  125. 

D.  Proteid  cells,      x  125. 

E.  Starch  granules,      x  250. 

F.  Teleuto-spores  of  Puccinia  graminis.      x  300. 

G.  Conidial  spores  of  ergot,      x  300. 

H.  One  of  cells  of  testa,  showing  structure  of  walls,      x  500. 

3.  Spores  of  Ustilago  segetum  (smut  on  wheat  grain),      x  500. 

4.  Spores  and  hyphae  of  Uredo  fretida  (bunt  of  corn),      x  500. 


PLATE   VII 


4. 


456 


PLATE   VIII 

FIG.  1.  Wheat  flour,  damaged  by  exposure  to  damp,      x  300. 

A.  Starch  granules. 

B.  Mass  of  gluten. 
c.  Yeast  cells. 

D.  Fungoid  growth,  resembling  Oidium  lactis,  but  larger. 
B.  Particles  of  dust. 
The  whole  swarming  with  bacteria,  chiefly  large  bacilli. 

2.  Crushed  wheat  grain. 

A.  Testa.      x!25. 

B.  Apical  hair  of  grain,      x  125. 
c.  Starch,      x  250. 

D.  Layer  of  proteid  cells  immediately  under  testa,      x  125. 

E.  One  of  cells  of  testa,  showing  structure  of  walls,      x  250. 

3.  Maize  affected  by  Ustilago  maydis. 

A.  Disorganized  parenchymatous  tissue,  and  spores,      x  125. 

B.  Spore  of  Ustilago  maydis.     600. 

4.  Jam  made  from  mouldy  fruit. 

A.  Cells  from  fruit  pulp,      x  75. 

B.  Penicillium,  aspergillus,  and  other  moulds  showing  mycelia  and 

sporangia,      x  75. 
c.  Mould,  spores  of.      x  600. 


PLATE   VIII 


1. 


4- 


INDEX 


ABDOMINAL   tuberculosis    due   to   milk, 

267 
Abrastol,  or  asaprol,  as  a  preservative, 

95 

detection  of,  344 
prohibition  in  America  of,  440 
A  earns  farina,  297,  300 
Acetanilide,  poisoning  by,  185 
Acetic  acid,  arsenic  in,  193 
Acidity  in  milk,  estimation  of,  290 
Actinomycosis,  220,  227 
in  cattle  and  pigs,  227 
examination  for,  228 
Adults,  effects  of  benzoic  acid  on,  86 
effects  of  borax  on,  50 
effects  of  boric  acid  on,  39,  44,  50 
effects  of  copper  salts  on,  177,  179, 

181,  401,  408 
effects  of  fluorides  of  ammonium  on, 

88 

effects  of  formic  acid  on,  92 
effects  of  formic  aldehyde  on,  66 
effects  of  hydrofluoric  acid  on,  87 
effects  of  salicylic  acid  on,  80,  81, 

83 

effects  of  sulphites  on,  72 
Aerated  waters,  detection  and  estimation 

of  copper  in,  365 
lead  in,  201 

detection  and  estimation, 

365 

Agaricus  campestris,  294 
Air,  exclusion   of,  as  a  means  of   pre- 
servation, 6,  164,  165 
Albumoses  as  a  cause  of  food-poisoning, 

312 

Alcohol,  action  on  bacteria,  92 
as  a  preservative,  92,  93,  155 
in  temperance  beverages,  158 
Alcoholic  beverages,  mode  of  production 

of,  151 

pasteurization  of,  151 
sourness  in,  151 
Ales  and  beers,  16 
Algae,  action  of  copper  salts  on,  177 
Alum,  dose  of,  89 
in  bread,  89 


Alum  in  hams,  89,  166 
in  meat,  166 
in  vegetables,  89 
in   wine,   prohibited   in   Germany, 

439 

pharmacological  action  of,  89 
Amanita  plialloides,  294,  296 
America,  action  taken  with  regard   to 
benzoic  and  salicylic  acid  in  food 
by  the   Treasury  of   the  United 
States  of,  84 
laws  relating  to  preservatives  and 

colouring  matters  in,  440 
Ammonium  acetate,  as  a  meat  preserva- 
tive, 89 

fluoride,  as  a  preservative,  88 
dose  of,  88 
in  beer,  89 
Amylopsin,  effects  of  boron  compounds 

on,  27 

effects  of  formic  aldehyde  on,  61 
effects  of  saltpetre  on,  15 
Anabcena,   action   of   copper   salts   on, 

177 
Anchovies,  red  lead  in,  173 

oxide  of  iron  in,  176 
Anchovy  paste,  sulphites  in,  70,  172 
Aniline  compounds,  used  for  colouring 

foods,  173,  184 

pharmacological  action  of,  185 
prohibited  in  Austria-Hungary, 

439 

Sec  also  Coal-tar  dyes 
yellow,  poisoning  by,  186 
Annatto,  as  a  colouring  matter,  174 
in  dairy  produce,  175 
in  margarine,  175 
trade  preparations  of,  175 
Anthrax,  221 

animals  affected  by,  222 
examination  of  a  carcass  for,  222 
human  infection  by,  221,  223 
Antimony,  detection  and  estimation  of, 

367 

excretion  of,  199 
in  bottled  fruits,  200 
in  mineral  waters,  198,  200 


460 


PEESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 


Antimony  in  rubber,  198,  200 

prohibition  as  a  colouring   matter 
in  Germany  of,  186 

symptoms  of  poisoning  by,  199 
Antipyrin,  poisoning  by,  185 
Arcticanus,  16 
Armenian  bole,  176 

arsenic  in,  193 
Arsenic,  action  of  moulds  on,  198 

dangerous  dose  of,  194 

diminished  birth-rate  due  to,  195 

elimination  of,  197 

in  acetic  acid,  193 

in  alkaline  carbonates,  193 

in  Armenian  bole,  193 

in  beer,  191 

detection  of,  357 
epidemics  due  to,  191, 194 
estimation  of,  358 

in  boric  acid  and  borates,  193 

in  calcium  chloride,  359 

in  caramel,  193 

in  chicory,  194 

in  chocolate,  194 

in  citric  acid,  193 

in  coal,  estimation  of,  363 

in  coal-tar  dyes,  194 

in  colouring  matters,  173 

in  confectionery,  173,  193 

in  enamels,  194 

in  fuel,  192 

estimation  of,  363 

in  gelatine,  194 

in  glucose,  191,  193 

in  glycerine,  193 

in  golden  syrup,  193 

in  hair,  197 

in  hops,  192 

estimation  of,  361,  362 

in  hydrochloric  acid,  192,  358 

in  invert  sugar,  193 

in  jam,  193 

in  lime,  359 

in  liquorice,  194 

in  malt,  192 

estimation  of,  361 

in  manures,  194 

in  marmalade,  193 

in  nitric  acid,  358 

in  phosphoric  acid  and  phosphates, 
193 

in  poultry,  194 

in  sugar,  194 

in  sulphuric  acid,  192,  358 

in  sulphurous  acid   and   sulphites, 
193 

in  superphosphate  manure,  194 

in  sweets,  194 

in  syrups,  193 

in  tartaric  acid,  193 

in  treacle,  193 


Arsenic  in  vinegar,  193 
in  wall-papers,  197 
in  wearing  apparel,  197 
in  wine,  epidemic  due  to,  196 
in  yeast,  193 
in  zinc,  359 

neuritis  due  to,  191,  194,  196 
poisoning  by,  191,  194,  196,  197 
prohibition  as  a  colouring  matter  in 

Germany,  186 

recommendations  of   Eoyal  Com- 
mission, 194 
Arsenic-free  chemicals,  preparation  of, 

358 

Asaprol,  see  Abrastol 
Ascarides,  242 
Aspergillus  glaucus,  action  on  arsenic, 

198 

in  corn,  297 

Austria-Hungary  :  laws  relating  to  pre- 
servatives    and      colouring 
matters  in,  186,  439 
prohibition  of  the  use  of  saponin 
in,  373 


BACILLUS  ACIDI  LACTICI,  multiplication 

of,  1 

Bacillus  actinobacter  in  milk,  274 
Bacillus  anthracis,  characteristics  of, 

223 

effects  of  benzoic  acid  on,  86 
effects  of  boric  acid  on,  17 
effects  of  salicylic  acid  on,  79, 

86 

effects  of  salt  on,  13 
Bacillus  botulinus,  312 
Bacillus   of  cholera,  effects   of  copper 

salts  on,  178 
effects  of    hydrogen   peroxide 

on,  94 

effects  of  salt  on,  13 
vitality  in  media  composed  of 

flour,  300 

Bacillus  coli  communis,  as  a  cause  of 
food-poisoning,  312, 314, 
316 

effects    of     boron     com- 
pounds on,  19 
effects  of  copper  salts  on, 

178 
effects  of  formic  aldehyde 

on,  58 

in  cockles,  254,  255,  262 
in  meat,  316 
in  milk,  134,  287 
in  milk,  method  of  detec- 
tion, 287 
in  oatmeal,  299 
in  oats,  300 
in  oyster  layings,  258 


INDEX 


461 


Bacillus  coli  communis  in  oysters,  255, 

257 

in  oysters,  method  of  de- 
tection, 261 
in  potted  meat,  316 
in  water-cress  beds,  293 
in  wheat,  300 

Bacillus  cyanogenus  in  milk,  274 
Bacillus     of      diphtheria,     in     cream, 

vitality  of,  271 
in  cheese,  vitality  of,  271 
in  flour  media,  vitality  of,  300 
in  milk,  269 

in  milk,  detection  of,  287 
in  milk,  vitality  of,  271 
Bacillus    enteritidis    (Gartner),    as    a 
cause  of  diarrhoea,   19, 
252, 271 

as  a  cause  of  food-poison- 
ing, 314 

effects    of     boron     com- 
pounds on,  19 
in  excreta,  314 
in  meat,  314,  316 
in  milk,  19,  272 
in   the   normal  intestine, 

314 
in    oysters,   detection   of, 

264 
in  shell-fish,  detection  of, 

264 
Bacillus     enteritidis     sporogenes,     in 

milk,  detection  of,  288 
in  oats,  300 
in  oyster  layings,  258 
in  oysters,  detection  of,  261 
in  rice,  300 
in  wheat,  300 
Bacillus    lactis   erythrogenes   in   milk, 

274 

Bacillus  lactis  viscosus  in  milk,  274 
Bacillus  prodigiosus  in  milk,  274 
Bacillus  of  swine  fever,  224 
Bacillus  synxanthus  in  milk,  274 
Bacillus     of     tuberculosis,     effects    of 

common  salt  on,  13,  166 
identity  of  human  and  bovine 

forms  of,  216 
in  cattle,  216,  266 
in  cheese,  vitality  of,  271 
in  cream,  vitality  of,  271 
in  milk,  267,  285,  286 
in  milk,  detection  of,  285,  286 
in  milk,  vitality  of,  271 
thermal  death-point  of,  2 
Bacillus  typhosus,  effects  of  boron  com- 
pounds on,  19 
effects  of  copper  and   copper 

salts  on,  178 

effects  of  formic  aldehyde  on, 
58 


Bacillus  typhosus,  effects  of  hydrogen 

peroxide  on,  94 
effects  of  salt  on,  13 
in  cheese,  vitality  of,  271 
in  cockles,  254,  255 
in  cream,  vitality  of,  271 
in    flour    media,    vitality    of, 

300 

in  milk,  vitality  of,  271 
in  oysters,  vitality  of,  255 
in  shell-fish,  254,  255,  264 
Bacon,  benzoic  acid  in,  85,  166 

boron   compounds  in,  16,  21,  166, 

432 

desirability  of,  169,  170 
necessity  for,  169,  432 
quantities     present,    167, 

432 

colouring  matters  in,  174 
poisoning  by,  306,  317 
salt  in,  11,  165,  167 
saltpetre  in,  11,  166 
smoking  of,  171 
sulphites  in,  166 
Bacteria,  associated  with  food-poisoning, 

312,  314,  316,  317,  326 
effects  of  alcohol  on,  92 
effects  of  benzoic  acid  on,  86 
effects  of  boron  compounds  on,  16, 

17,  19 

effects  of  carbonic  acid  on,  158 
effects  of  cold  on,  1,  5,  113 
effects  of  copper  and  its  salts  on, 

178 

effects  of  formic  acid  on,  91 
effects  of  formic  aldehyde  on,  57, 

58 

effects  of  heat  on,  1,  5,  113 
effects  of  hydrogen  peroxide  on,  94 
effects  of  iron  on,  178 
effects  of  salicylic  acid  on,  79,  86 
effects  of  salt  on,  13,  166,  313 
effects  of  smoke  on,  9 
effects  of  sulphurous  acid  and  sul- 
phites on, 70,  74 
effects  of  zinc  on,  178 
in  bread,  301 
in  butter,  142,  282 
in  cream,  vitality  of,  271 
in  eggs,  283 

in  flour  media,  vitality  of,  300 
in  foods,  examination  of,  326 
in  milk,  97,  134 

examination  of,  285,  286,  288 
in  tinned  foods,  301 
thermophylic,  1 
Bacteriological  examination  of   butter 

290 

of  cockles,  260,  262 
of  cream,  290 
of  ice-cream,  290 


462 


PEESEBVATIVES  IN  FOOD 


Bacteriological    examination  of    meat, 

215,  222,  326 
of  milk,  285,  286,  288 
of  oysters,  259,  260,  262 
of  shell-fish,  259,  260,  262 
Bananas,  seizure  of,  209 
Barium  compounds  in  wines  prohibited 

in  Germany,  439 
Barley,  copper  in,  179 

smut  in,  298 
Beans,  copper  sulphate  in,  90 

seizure  of  unsound  tinned,  412 
Beef,  poisoning  by,  305,  314,  318,  319, 

320 
Beef    bladder    worm,    see    Cysticercus 

bovis 

Beef  (corned), 'poisoning  by,  316 
Beer,  aeration  of,  152 
antimony  in,  198 
arsenic  in,  191 

estimation  of,  358 
benzoic  acid  in,  152 
boron  compounds  in,  16,  152 
carbonic  acid  in,  152 
colouring  matters  in,  174 
filtration  of,  152 

fluorine  compounds  in,  87,  89,  152 
foam  producers  in,  371 
hydrogen  peroxide  in,  94 
lead  in,  201 
pasteurization  of,  152 
percentage  of  samples  preservatized, 

152 

preservatives  in,  152 
desirability  of,  153 
necessity  for,  152 
saccharin  in,  93,  152,  153 
salicylic  acid  in,  79,  80,  152,  153 

limitation  suggested  by  De- 
partmental Committee, 
153,  438 

detection  of,  347 
<  sick,'  151,  153 
saponin  in,  371 
sulphites  in,  70,  77,  79,  152,  153, 

433 

See  also  Herb  beer 
Belgium,  prohibition  of  preservatives  in 

milk  in,  439 
Benzoic  acid,  action  on  bacteria,  86 

action  on   digestive  ferments, 

85 

action  taken  by  the  United 
States  Treasury  with  regard 
to,  84 

as  an  antiseptic,  85 
as  a  preservative,  85 
dose  of,  86 
effects  on  adults,  86 
excretion  of,  86 
in  bacon,  85,  166 


Benzoic  acid  in  beer,  152 

in  British  wines,  156 

in  food,  isolation  and  detection 

of,  351 

in  food,  estimation  of,  353 
in  fruit  juices,  85 
in  ham,  85,  170 
in  jam,  85,  162 
in  jam,  detection  of,  351 
in  jellies,  85 
in  ketchups,  85,  164 
in  medicated  wines,  85 
in  milk,  detection  of,  353 
in  minced  meat,  85 
in  pickles,  detection  of,  351 
in  potted  meat,  85,  171 
in  sacramental  wine,  85 
in  sauces,  164 
in  sausages,  85,  170 
in  wines,  85 

occurrence  in  nature  of,  85 
pharmacological  action  of,  86 

Biltong,  8,  171 

Bismarck  brown  as  a  colouring  matter, 

185 
poisonous  effects  of,  186 

Bitter  milk,  275 

Bixa  Orellana,  175 

Black-currant  wine,  salicylic  acid  in,  156 

Black  leg,  223 

Bloater  paste,  oxide  of  iron  in,  176 

Blood  corpuscles  in  milk,  278,  279,  285 

'  Blown  '  tins,  7,  275,  290,  304,  412,  413 

Blue  milk,  274 

Boiled  milk,  test  for,  289 

Borates,  arsenic  in,  193 

Borax,  dose  of,  21 

pharmacological  action  of,  21 
See  also  Boron  compounds 

Boric  acid,  dermatitis  produced  by,  40, 

41 

dose  of,  21,  104 
pharmacological  action  of,  21 
See  also  Boron  compounds 

Boron  compounds,  action  on  adults,  39, 

40,  44,  50 

action  on  amylopsin,  27 
action  on  bacteria,  17,  19 
action  on  cats,  43 
action  on  children,  36,  41,  42 
action  on  dogs,  32,  33,  34 
action  on  epithelium,  31 
action  on  fat  metabolism,  34, 

37,  38,  49 

action  on  the  kidneys,  42,  43 
action  on  kittens,  35 
action  on  nitrogen  metabolism, 

33,  34,  35,  37,  38,  49 
action  on  pepsin,  25 
action   on    phosphorus   meta- 
bolism, 37,  38,  49 


INDEX 


463 


Boron  compounds,  action  on  pigs,  34 

action  on  ptyalin,  23 

action  on  rabbits,  34 

action  on  rennin,  27 

action  on  souring  of  milk,  17, 
19  . 

action  on  trypsin,  29 

arsenic  in,  193 

as  preservatives,  11,  16,  79 

detection  and  estimation  of, 
328 

effects  on  the  digestibility  of 
meat,  31 

effects  on  the  digestibility  of 
milk,  31 

effects  on  the  keeping  qualities 
butter,  19 

elimination  of,  21,  48 

in  ale,  16,  152 

in  bacon  and  ham,  16,  21, 166, 
167,  184,  432 

in  bacon  and  ham,  desirability 
of,  169 

in  bacon  and  ham,  necessity 
for,  169,  432 

in  butter,  16,  19,  142,144, 145, 
433 

in  butter,  desirability  of,  146 

in  butter,  detection  and  esti- 
mation of,  331 

in  butter  (legal  cases),  377, 
378,  379,  382,  383 

in  butter,  limitation  recom- 
mended by  Departmental 
Committee,  438 

in  butter,  necessity  for,  20, 
146 

in  butter,  percentage  of  samples 
containing,  143 

in  butter,  quantity  advocated, 
20,  433 

in  cattle-feeding  cakes,  16 

in  caviare,  16,  172 

in  cider,  154 

in  cider,  detection  and  estima- 
tion of,  333 

in  condensed  milk,  16 

in  cream,  16,  20,  79,  137,  138 

in  cream,  desirability  of,  138 

in  cream,  estimation  of,  333 

in  cream  (legal  case),  380 

in  cream,  limitation  suggested 
by  the  Departmental  Com- 
mittee, 438 

in  eggs,  16 

in  fish,  16,  172,  433 

in  fruit,  estimation  of,  333 

in  fruit  juice,  16 

in  game,  16 

in  ham  and  bacon,  16,  21,  166, 
167,  169,  184,  432 


Boron  compounds  in  herb  beer,  160 
in  herrings,  172 
in  jam,  estimation  of,  334 
in  lemon  squash,  16 
in  lime  juice,  16 
in    margarine,    16,    149,   377, 

383,  433 
in  margarine  (legal  cases),  377, 

383 

in  meat,  16,  166,  170,  433 
in  meat,  estimation  of,  334 
in  meat  extracts,  16,  171 
in  medicated  wines,  157 
in  milk,  16,  17,  79,  98,  99,  102, 

433 
in     milk,     danger    to    health 

from,  104,  433 
in  milk,  estimation  of,  332 
in  milk  (legal  cases),  380,  382 
in  milk,  percentage  of  samples 

containing,  99 

in    milk,    prohibition    recom- 
mended    by     Departmental 

Committee,  438 
in    milk,    quantity   employed, 

102,  380,  382,  433 
in  minced  meat,  16 
in  perry,  estimation  of,  333 
in  polonies,  16 
in  pork  pies,  16,  171 
in  potted  fish,  16,  172 
in   potted    fish    (legal   cases), 

382,  383,  384 

in  potted  meat,  16,  171 

in  poultry,  16 

in  rennet,  16 

in  sausages,  16,  170,  383,  384 

in  sausages,  estimation  of,  334 

in  sausages  (legal  cases),  383, 

384 

in  shell-fish,  16 
in  shrimps  (legal  cases),  382, 

383,  384 

in  temperance  beverages,  159, 

160 

in  tongue,  16,  184 
in  vegetables,  164 
in  venison,  16 
in  vinegar,  16,  164 
in  wine,  16 
prohibited  in  foreign  countries, 

439,  440 
trade  preparations  containing, 

9,  11,  16,  79,  102,  145,  184 
See    also    Borax,   Boric   acid, 

and  Fluoboric  acid 
BothriocepJialus    latus,   appearance  of, 

237 

embryo  of,  237 
fish  invaded  by  larvae  of,  237, 

246 


464 


PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 


BoihriocepTialus  latus,  geographical  dis- 
tribution of,  237 
larvae  of,  237 
symptoms  caused  by,  237 
Bottled  fruit,  see  Fruit,  bottled 
Bottled  milk,  126,  127,  133,  134 
Botulism,  313 
Brandy,  caramel  in,  175 

copper  in,  179 
Brawn,  colouring  matters  in,  174 

poisoning  by,  306 
Braxy,  209,  223 
Bread,  alum  in,  89 

bacteria  in,  301 

cockroaches  in,  301 

dried,  8 

moulds  in,  301 

mouldy,  299,  300 

mouldy,  illness  caused  by,  299 

unsound,  300 
Brine,  see  Salt 
Broths  (tinned),  lead  in,  202 
Buddeized  milk,  94,  135 

detection  of  hydrogen  peroxide 

in,  355 

Bunt  in  corn,  297 

Burton's  household  milk  and  food  pre- 
servative, 16,  102 
Butter,  annatto  in,  175 

bacteria  in,  142,  282 

bacteriological  examination  of,  290 

borax  in,  142 

boric  acid  in,  19,  142, 144, 145,  377, 

378,  379,  382,  383 

boric  acid  in,  estimation  of,  331 
boric  acid  in  (legal  cases),  377,  378, 

379,  382,  383 

boric  acid  in,  quantity  said  to  be 
necessary,  144,  146 

boric  acid  in,  quantity  found,  19, 
144,  146,  377,  378,  379,  382,  383 

boron  compounds  in,  16,  142,  433 

boron  compounds  in,  effects  on  the 
keeping  qualities,  19 

boron  compounds  in,  limitation 
recommended  by  Departmental 
Committee,  438 

boron  compounds  in,  percentage  of 
samples  containing,  143 

boron  compounds  in;  quantity  said 
to  be  necessary,  20,  433 

coal-tar  dyes  in,  174 

colouring  matters  in,  174,  175,  184 

colouring  matters  in,  recommenda- 
tions of  Departmental  Committee 
with  relation  to,  188,  437 

creameries,  144 

disease  due  to  rancid,  281 

factories,  144 

fluorine  compounds  in,  87,  88 

fluorine  compounds  in,  test  for,  336 


Butter,  fluorine  compounds  in,  estima- 
tion of,  337 

formic  aldehyde  in,  143,  145 

influence    of    butter-milk    on    the 
keeping  qualities  of,  147 

preservatives  in,  142 

preservatives  in,  desirability  of,  146 

preservatives  in,  laws  in  the  Nether- 
lands relating  to,  440 

preservatives  in,  necessity  for,  146 

production  of  flavours  in,  141,  147 

refrigeration  of,  5,  142 

salicylic  acid  in,  79 

salicylic  acid  in,  detection  and  esti- 
mation, 348 

salt  in,  11,  19,  142,  143,   144,  145, 
146,  147 

salt    in,    effects    on    the    keeping 
qualities  of,  19 

saltpetre  in,  11,  14,  143,  145 

starters,  141,  143,  146,  147,  151 

turnipy,  141 

tyrotoxicon  in,  281 

tyrotoxicon  in,  detection  of,  325 

unsound,  282 
Butter-colour,  175 
Butter-yellow,  185 


CADAVEKINE,  246 

Cadmium,   prohibited   as    a    colouring 

matter  in  Germany,  186 
Cakes,  white  lead  in,  173 

for  cattle  feeding,  boron  compounds 

in,  16 

Calandra  granaria,  297 
Calcium  chloride,  arsenic  in,  359 
Calves,  coccidia  in,  243 

cow-pox  in,  226 

diphtheria  in,  225 

red  dysentery  in,  244 
Camwood,  174 
Canada,  laws  relating  to  preservatives 

and  colouring  matters  in,  440 
'  Cancer  '  in  cattle,  227 
Cane-sugar  in  cream,  137 
Canned  food,  see  Tinned  food 
Caramel,  in  brandy,  175 

arsenic  in,  193 

Carbonate  of  soda,  see  Sodium  carbo- 
nate 

Carbonates,  arsenic  in,  193 
Carbonic  acid,  as  a  preservative,  134, 
158 

in  alcoholic  beverages,  152 

in  milk,  134 

in  temperance  beverages,  158 

in  wine,  155 

Carrot  juice  as  a  colouring  matter,  17 
Caterpillars  in  fruit,  301 
Cats,  action  of  borax  on,  43 


INDEX 


465 


Cats,  action  of  sulphites  on,  73 

glanders  in,  226 
Catsup,  see  Ketchup 
Cattle,  actinomycosis  in,  227 

anthrax  in,  222 

black-leg  in,  223 

coccidia  in,  243 

Cysticercus  bovis  in,  233 

Cysticercus  tenuicollis  in,  234 

echinococci  in,  239,  240 

foot-and-mouth  disease  in,  226 

pentastomes  in,  242 

pleuropneumonia  in,  225 

quarter-ill  in,  223 

rinderpest  in,  225 

tuberculosis  in,  216,  266 
Caviare,  boron  compounds  in,  16,  172 

examination  of,  255 
Cayenne     pepper,     metallic     colouring 

matters  in,  173 

Celery,  hydatid  disease  due  to,  293 
Cheese,  annatto  in,  175 

colouring  matters  in,  174 

colouring  matters  in,  recommenda- 
tions of  Departmental  Com- 
mittee, 188,  437 

examination  of,  291 

mites  in,  291 

mouldy,  291 

preservatives  in,  141 

salt  in,  11 

toxalbumin  in,  283 

toxins  in,  283 

tyrotoxicon  in,  282,  291 

tyrotoxicon  in,  detection  of,  325 

unsound, 291 

vitality  of  bacillus  of  diphtheria  in, 
271 

vitality  of  Bacillus  tuberculosis  in, 
271 

vitality  of  Bacillus  typhosus  in, 
271 

vitality  of  Streptococcus  conglome- 
ratus  in,  271 

worms  in,  291 

Cherries,  cochineal  in  preserved,  173 
Cherry  brandy,  salicylic  acid  in  (legal 

cases),  388,  394 
Chickens,  diphtheria  in,  229 

fowl  cholera  in,  228 
Chicken-pox  (in  fowls),  244 
Chicory,  arsenic  in,  194 
Children,  administration  of  borax  and 

boric  acid  to,  36,  41^  42 
of  formic  aldehyde  to,  64 
of  salicylic  acid  to,  81,  83 
Chlorophyll,  action  of  copper  salts  on, 
90,  180,  183 

as  a  colouring  matter,  186 
Chocolate,  arsenic  in,  194 
Cholera,  due  to  milk,  266,  271 


Cholera,  due  to  shell-fish,  250 

in  poultry,  228 
Choline,  309 
Chromium  prohibited  in  Germany  for 

colouring  foods,  186 
Cider,  aeration  of,  152 

boron  compounds  in,  154 

boron  compounds  in  estimation  of, 

333 

carbonic  acid  in,  152 
filtration  of,  152 
lead  in,  201 
necessity  for  adding  preservatives 

to,  154 

pasteurization  of,  152 
preservatives  in,  152,  154 
quantity  of  preservative  added,  154 
red  oxide  of  iron  in,  154 
saccharin  in,  93,  154 
salicylic  acid  in,  79,  154,  435 
sulphites  in,  71,  77,  79,  154 
'  Cider  Pasteur,'  154 
Citric  acid,  arsenic  in,  193 

lead  in,  202 

Claviceps  purpurea,  298 
'  Clean  '  milk,  110,  114,  115,  132,  133 
Coal,  estimation  of  arsenic  in,  363 
Coal-tar  derivatives,  poisoning  by,  185, 

187 

Coal-tar  dyes,  173,  174,  184 
arsenic  in,  194 
detection  of,  369 
nature  of,  185 

pharmacological  action  of,  185 
prohibited   in    wines  in   Ger- 
many, 439 

quantities  employed,  185 
trade  preparations  of,  185 
Coceidia,  220,  243 
i   Cochineal,  as  a  colouring  matter,  173, 

186 

Cockles,  bacillus  coli  in,  254,  255,  262 
Bacillus  typhosus  in,  254,  255 
bacteriological  examination  of,  260, 

262 

diarrhoea  due  to,  254 
effects  of  steaming,  253 
enteric  fever  due  to,  253 
examination  of,  247 
Cockroaches,  in  bread,  301 
Cocoa,  copper  in,  179 

oxide  of  iron  in,  176 
Cold,  effects  on  Cysticercus  bovis,  234 
effects    on    Cysticercus    celluloses 

235 

effects   on   multiplication   of   bac- 
teria, 1,  5,  113 
storage,  4 

Colitis  due  to  unsound  milk,  272 
Colouring   matters   in    dairy    produce 
174,  175,  185,  187,  437 

30 


466 


PEESEBVATIVES  IN  FOOD 


Colouring    matters,  in  dairy  produce, 

necessity  for,  175 
in  dairy  produce,  recommenda- 
tions of  Departmental  Com- 
mittee,  189,  438 
in  fish,  174 
in  food,  173 

in  food,  detection  of,  369 
in  food,  laws  in  foreign  coun- 
tries relating  to,   186,  187, 
439 

in  food,  poisoning  by,  187 
in   food,  recommendations  of 
Departmental       Committee 
with  reference  to,  189,  438 
in   margarine,  174,  175,   184, 

189,  437 
in  temperance  beverages,  174, 

184 

Condensed  milk,  boron  compounds  in,  16 
unsound,  275,  290,  413 
unsound,  seizure  of,  413 
Confectionery,  arsenic  in,  173,  193 
coal-tar  dyes  in,  184 
metallic  colouring  matters  in,  173 
oxide  of  iron  in,  176 
poisoning  by  coloured,  187 
Congo  red,  185 
'  Conservare,'  16 

Copenhagen  Milk  Supply  Company,  115 
Copper,  action  on  bacteria,  178 

action  on  chlorophyll,  90,  180,  183 
distribution  in  nature  of,  179,  182 
detection  and  estimation  in  foods 

of,  365 
dose  of,  401 
excretion  of,  177 
in  barley,  179,  180 
in  bottled  fruits,  173 
in  brandy,  179 
in  cocoa,  179 
in  confectionery,  173 
in  foods,  legal  cases,  397 
in     foods,     recommendations     of 
Departmental    Committee    with 
regard  to,  189,  438 
in    foods,  regulations    in    foreign 

countries,  186,  403,  439 
in   the   human   and  animal  body, 

179 

in  linseed,  179,  180 
in  mussels,  249 
in  mustard,  179,  180 
in  oysters,  179,  248 
in  peas,  179,  180 
in  plants,  179 

in  vegetables  (legal  cases),  397 
in  vegetables,  detection  and  estima 

tion  of,  366 

in  water  and  aerated  water,  detec- 
tion and  estimation  of,  365 


Copper  in  wheat,  179,  180 
in  whisky,  179 

pharmacological    action    of,    177, 
179,    181,    401,   408.     See  also 
Copper  acetate,  &c. 
Copper  acetate,  action  on  man,  181 
Copper  arsenite,  in  confectionery,  173 
Copper  carbonate,  in  confectionery,  173 
Copper  chloride,  action  on  Bacillus  coli, 

178 
action  on   Bacillus   typhosus, 

178 

Copper  leguminate,  180,  402 
Copper  phyllocyanate,  180,  402 
Copper  sulphate,  action  on  algae,  177 
action  on  anabcena,  177 
action  on  Bacillus  cholera;,  178 
action  on  Bacillus  coli,  178 
action   on   Bacillus  typhosus, 

178 
action  on  chlorophyll,  90,  180, 

183 

action  on  fish,  178 
action  on  man,  177,  179,  401, 

408 

action  on  pancreatin,  177 
action  on  pepsin,  177 
action  on  ptyalin,  177 
action  on  uroglena,  177 
desirability  of  the  use  of,  187, 

436 

dose  of,  177,  402 
in  beans,  90 
in  fruit,  176 
in  peas,  90,  179,  180,  183,  397, 

404, 408, 436 
in  peas  (legal  cases),  397,  398, 

399,  400,  401,  404,  408 
in  other   vegetables,   90,   164, 
173,  176,  179,  187,  204,  436 
in  other  vegetables  (legal  cases), 

400 
prohibition  in  foreign  countries 

of,  184,  403,  439 
recommendation    of    the    De- 
partmental    Committee    on 
the  use  of,  189,  438 
solubility  in  the  digestive  juices 

of,  183 

Coralline,  prohibited  in  Germany,  186 
Cordials,  cochineal  in,  173 
colouring  matters  in,  174 
formic  aldehyde  in,  160 
salicylic  acid  in,  159,  160 
sulphites  in,  70,  159,  160 
Corn,  bacteria  in,  300 
copper  in,  179,  180 
damaged,  299 
diseases  due  to,  298 
examination  of,  300 
fungi  in,  297,  300 


INDEX 


467 


Corn,  parasites  in,  297,  300 
Corn-weevil,  297 
Cow-pox,  226 

Cows,  feeding  of,  117,  128,  274 
garget  in,  274,  278 
tubercle  in,  216,  266 
Cowsheds,  construction  of,  111 
Cowslip-colour,  175 
Crabs,  examination  of,  247 

seizure  of  unsound,  414 
Crayfish,  examination  of,  247 
Cream,  annatto  in,  175 

boric  acid  in  (legal  case),  380 
boron   compounds   in,   16,  20,  79, 

137 
boron  compounds  in,  detection  and 

estimation,  333 
cane-sugar  in,  137 
carbonate  of  soda  in,  90,  141 
coal-tar  dyes  in,  174 
colouring  matters  in,  174,  175,  184 
desirability  of  adding  preservatives 

to,  138,  141,  435 
enteric  fever  due  to,  280 
examination  of,  290 
fluorine  compounds  in,  87 
formic   aldehyde  in,  56,  137,  138, 

140 

lime  in,  90,  137,  141 
necessity  for  the  use  of  preservatives 

in,  139,  435 
percentage   of   samples  containing 

preservatives,  137 
recommendations   of    the   Depart- 
mental Committee   with   regard 
to   the   use  of   preservatives  in, 
435,  438 

saccharin  in,  137 
salicylic  acid  in,  79,  137,  138,  140 
salt  in,  137,  138 
saltpetre  in,  137,  138,  140 
sterilization  of,  140 
vitality  of  bacteria  in,  271 
'  Cream  cakes,'  poisoning  by,  283 
Cream  of  tartar,  lead  in,  202 
Creameries,  butter,  144 
Creosote,  a  product  of  smoking,  9 
dose  of,  96 

effects  on  animals,  96 
in  hams  and  tongues,  185 
in  pyroligneous  acid,  96 
Cynin,  79,  154 
Cysticerci,    resemblance    to    tubercles, 

220,  240 
Cysticercus  bovis,  appearances  of,  233, 

234 
effect   of    heat    and    cold   on, 

234 

effect  of  salt  on,  234 
method  of  dealing  with,  235 
situation  in  carcasses  of,  234 


Cysiicercus  cellulos<z,  animals  attacked 

by,  236 

appearances  of,  235 
effects  on  flesh  of  animals  of, 

236 
effects   of  heat  and   cold   on, 

235 

method  of  dealing  with,  236 
situation  in  carcasses  of,  236 
situation  in  man,  236 
symptoms  caused  by,  236 
Cysticercus  tenuicollis,  appearances  of, 

234 
situation  in  carcasses  of,  234 


DAISY   PRODUCE,  colouring   matters   in, 

174,  175,  185 

colouring  matters  in,   recom- 
mendations  of    Departmental 
Committee  as  to,  189,  438 
Darnel  grass,  299 

detection  in  flour,  299 
Deer,  Cysticercus  celluloste  in,  236 
Departmental  Committee  on  preserva- 
tives and  colouring  matters  in  food, 
conclusions  and  recommendations  of, 
431 

Dermatitis,  due  to  boric  acid,  40,  41 
due  to  formic  aldehyde,  67 
due  to  milk,  67,  266,  273 
due  to  salicylic  acid,  81 
'  Diamonds,'  224 
Diarrhoea,  due  to  cockles,  254 
due  to  milk,  18,  266,  271 
due  to  oysters,  251,  252,  253 
Diastase,  action  of  benzoic  acid  on,  85 

action  of  salicylic  acid  on,  85 
Digestibility  of   meat,  effects  of   boron 

compounds  on,  31 
effects  of  formic  aldehyde 

on,  59 
Digestibility  of    milk,  effects  of   boron 

compounds  on,  31 
effects  of  heat  on,  124 
Dimethylamine,  246 

'   Dinitrokresol,  poisonous  effects  of,  186 
1   Diphtheria,  due  to  milk,  266,  269 
in  calves,  225 
in  fowls,  229 
in  pigeons,  229 
Distoma  Jwpaticwn,  241 

examination  of  organs  for,  242 
Distoma  lanccolatum,  241 
Dogs,  administration  of  borax  to,  32,  34 
administration  -of  boric  acid  to,  33, 

34 

administration  of  dulcin  to,  93 
administration  of  iodoform  to,  35 
administration    of    perchloride    of 
mercury  to,  35 


468 


PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 


Dogs,  administration  of  saltpetre  to,  15 
administration  of  saponin  to,  373 
administration  of  sulphites  to,  73 
Cysticercus  cellulosa;  in,  236 
glanders  in,  226 
pentastomes  in,  243 
Tcenia  echinococcus  in,  238 

Dried  milk,  8,  135 

Drying,  as  a  means  of  preservation,  8, 
135,  164,  165,  171,  172 

Ducks,  fowl  cholera  in,  228 

Dulcin,  a  substitute  for  saccharin,  93 
effects  on  dogs,  93 
prohibited  in  America,  440 

Dysentery  of  calves,  244 


EAR  COCKLE,  297,  300 
Echinococcus  cysts,  237,  293 

animals  invaded  by,  239,  241 
development  of,  238 
identification  of,  220,  240 
method  of  dealing  with  meat 

infested  with,  240 
Echinococcus  alveolaris(multilocularis), 

239 
Echinococcus    polymorphic     (unilocu- 

laris),  239 

Echinococcus  veterinorum,  240 
Echinorynchus  gigas,  242 
Eels,  Bothriocephalus  latus  in,  237 
Eggs,  bacteria  in,  283 
dried,  8 

poisoning  by,  283 
preservation  by  boron  compounds, 

16 

preservation  by  fats,  172 
preservation  by  lime,  171 
preservation  by  salicylic  acid,  171 
preservation  by  salt,  171 
preservation  by  sulphites,  171 
preservation  by  water-glass,  6,  171 
Elderberry    cordial,    salicylic    acid    in 

(legal  cases),  388,  394 
Emergency  slaughter,  213,  314 
Enamels,  arsenic  in,  194 

lead  in,  202 

Enteric  fever,  due  to  cockles,  253 
due  to  cream,  280 
due  to  fish,  246 
due  to  ice-creams,  280 
due  to  milk,  266,  270,  427 
due  to  mussels,  249 
due  to  oysters,  250 
due  to  vegetables,  292 
due  to  water-cress,  293 
Enteritis,  zymotic,  see  Diarrhoea 
Eosin,  185 

Epithelium,  action  of  borax  on,  31 
action  of  boric  acid  on,  31 
action  of  salicylic  acid  on,  83 


Epithelium,  action  of  salt  on,  12 
action  of  saltpetre  on,  15,  32 
action  of  sulphur  dioxide  on,  72 
Ergot  of  rye,  297,  298 
Ergotism,  symptoms  of,  298 


'  FACING  '  of  rice,  373 

dangers  of,  374 
detection  of,  374 
Factories,  butter,  144 
Fat,  character  of  sound,  213 

detection  of  abrastol  in,  345 

effects  of  borax  on  the  assimilation 
of,  34,  38,  49 

effects  of  boric  acid  on  the  assimi- 
lation of,  34,  37,  49 

effects   of  formic  aldehyde  on  the 

assimilation  of,  65 
Filtration  of  beer,  152 
Filtration  of  cider,  152 
Filtration  of  milk,  113,  121,  128 
Filtration  of  temperance  beverages,  158 
Fish,  action  of  copper  salts  on,  178 

boron  compounds  in,  16,  172,  433 

Bothriocephalus  latus  larvae  in,  237, 
246 

colouring  matters  in,  174 

diseases  caused  by,  246,  247,  303 

enteric  fever  caused  by  fried,  246 

examination  of,  247 

formic  aldehyde  in,  56,  172 

myxosporidia  in,  244 

potted,   boron   compounds   in,   16, 
172 

potted,  boron  compounds  in  (legal 
cases),  382,  383,  384 

preservation  of,  172 

ptomaine  poisoning  due  to,  246 

refrigeration  of,  172 

salt  in,  11,  172 

saltpetre  in,  11,  172 

tinned,  6 

tinned,  lead  in,  202 

tinned,  poisoning  by,  303 

unsound,  seizure  of,  414 

vinegar  in,  172 
Flesh,  characters  of  sound,  212 

microscopical     examinination     of, 
214,  220,  228,  232,  240,  243,  245 
Flour,  bacteria  in,  300 

darnel  grass  in,  299 

disease  caused  by,  299 

examination  of,  300 

mouldy,  299 

Flowers,  salicylic  acid  in,  78 
Flukes,  see  Distoma 

Fluoborates,  prohibited  in  America,  440 
Fluoboric  acid,  as  a  preservative,  87 

detection  of,  336 

effects  on  the  souring  of  milk,  87 


INDEX 


469 


Fluorides,  detection  of,  336 
estimation  of,  337 
prohibited  in  America,  440 
See  also  Sodium  fluoride 
Fluorine  compounds,  87 

detection    and    estimation  of, 

336,  337 

effects  on  animals,  88 
effects   on  digestive  ferments, 

88 
effects  on  the  souring  of  milk, 

87 

in  beer,  87,  89 
in  butter,  87,  88 
in  cream,  87 
in  jam,  87 
in  milk,  87,  99 
in  milk,  desirability  of,  107 
pharmacological  action  of,  88 
prohibited  in  America,  440 
Fluosilicates,  detection  of,  336 
prohibited  in  America,  440 
'  Foam  '  producers  in  beverages,  371 
Foetuses,  flesh  of,  215 
Food,    bacteriological   examination   of, 

215,  326 

examination  of,  205,  212,  214,  322 
examination  of,   laws   relating  to, 

205,  206,  208 
infection,  308,  311,  314 
intoxication,  308,  309 
poisoning,  bacteria  associated  with, 

312,  314,  316,  317,  326 
poisoning  by  ptomaines,  308 
poisoning  by  toxins,  309 
poisoning,    examination     of     food 

causing,  322 

tin  in,  danger  from,  7,  8,  204 
tinned,  bacterial  spores  in,  301 
tinned,  examination  of,  7,  275,  290, 

304 

tinned,  lead  in,  7,  202 
tinned,  poisoning  by,  8, 303, 304,305 
tinned,  tin  in,  7,  204 
tinned,  unsound,  7,  275,  290,  304, 

412,  413 
tinned,  unsound  (legal  cases),  412, 

413 

tinned,  zinc  in,  7 
unsound,  condemnation  of,  205 
unsound,  seizure  of,  205,  412 
unsound,  seizure   of    (legal  cases), 

412,  413,  414,  415,  420,  422 
Foot-and-mouth  disease,  clue  to  milk, 

266 

in  animals,  226,  278,  320 
poisoning     by     flesh     of 
animals  suffering  from, 
320 

Formalin,  56 
Formic  acid,  action  on  bacteria  of,  91 


Formic  acid  as  a  preservative,  91 

detection   and   estimation    of, 

354 

dose  of,  92 
in  fruits,  91 

occurrence  in  nature  of,  92 
pharmacological  action  of,  91 
Formic  aldehyde,  action  on  ad  alts,  66, 67 
action  on  aniylopsin,  61 
action  on  bacteria,  57,  58 
action  on  children,  64 
action  on  fat  metabolism,  65 
action  on  gelatine,  56 
action  on  kittens,  63,  64 
action   on   nitrogenous   meta- 
bolism, 65 
action  on  pepsin,  59 
action   on   phosphorus    meta- 
bolism, 65 
action  on  pigs,  62 
action  on  proteids,  56,  59,  60 
action  on  ptyalin,  58 
action  on  rennin,  60 
action  on  souring  of  milk,  57 
action  on  trypsin,  60 
dermatitis  caused  by,  67 
detection  of,  338,  339,  342 
estimation  of,  343 
estimation  of,  difficulties,  101, 

103,  107,  138,  342 
excretion  of,  66 
in  British  wines,  156 
in  butter,  143,  145 
in  cream,  56,  137,  138,  140 
in  cream,  desirability  of,  140 
in  fish,  56,  172 
in  fruit,  56,  162 
in  ginger  beer,  56 
in  meat,  56,  170 
in  milk,  56,  99,  103,  384 
in  milk,  danger  to  health  from, 

106 

in  milk,  dermatitis  due  to,  67 
in  milk,  detection  of,  338 
in  milk,  difficulty  of  estimat- 
ing, 101,  103,  107,  138,  342 
in  milk,  estimation  of,  343 
in  milk  (legal  cases),  384 
in  milk,  percentage  of  samples 

containing,  100 
in  milk,  quantity  added,  103 
in   temperance  beverages,  56, 

159,  160,  435 
in  vegetables,  164 
in  vinegar,  104 
pharmacological  action  of,  66 
prohibition  in  America,  440 
prohibition    recommended   by 
Departmental      Committee, 
438 
properties  of,  56 


470 


PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 


Fowl  cholera,  228 

Fowl  diphtheria,  228 

Fowls,  chicken-pox  in,  244 
coccidia  in,  244 

France,  prohibition  of  copper  for  colour- 
ing vegetables  in,  184,  403 
prohibition  of  use  of  preservatives 
and  colouring  matters  in,  439 

'  Freeze-em,'  70 

French  chalk,  used  for  facing  rice,  373 

Fruit,   boron  compounds  in,  detection 

and  estimation,  328,  333 
bottled,  antimony  in,  200 
bottled,  colouring  matters  in,  173 
bottled,  lead  in,  202 
bottled,  sterilization  of,  162 
bottled,  sulphites  in,  162 
caterpillars  in,  301 
cochineal  in,  173 
colouring  matters  in,  174 
copper  salts  in,  176 
dried,  8,  164 
examination  of,  301,  302 
fluorine    compounds   in,   detection 

and  estimation,  336,  337 
formic  acid  in,  91 
formic  aldehyde  in,  56,  162 
jellies,  colouring  matters  in,  174 
juice,  benzoic  acid  in,  85 
juice,  boron  compounds  in,  16 
juice,  salicylic  acid  in,  159 
juice,  sulphites  in,  159 
maggots  in,  301 
moulds  in,  301,  302 
preserved,  antimony  in,  200 
preserved,  coal-tar  dyes  in,  174 
preserved,    colouring    matters    in, 

173,  174 

preserved,  examination  of,  301 
preserved,  lead  in,  202 
preserved,  sterilization  of,  162 
preserved,  sulphites  in,  162 
pulp,  colouring  matters  in,  174 
pulp,     microscopical     examination 

of,  163 

pulp,  sulphites  in,  163 
pulp,  unsound,  163,  301,  413 
pulp,  unsound  (legal  case),  413 
salicylic  acid  in,  78 
sulphites  in,  70 

tinned,  bacterial  spores  in,  301 
tinned,  examination  of,  301 
tinned,  lead  in,  202 
tinned,  sterilization  of,  162. 
tinned,  tin  in,  202,  204 
toxins  in,  292 

unsound,  292,  301,  302,  413 
unsound  (legal  case),  413 

Fuchsin,  185 

Fuel,  arsenic  in,  192 

estimation  of,  363 


GAMBOGE,  dose  of,  176 

in  confectionery,  173,  174 

pharmacological  action  of,  176 

prohibited  in  Austria-Hungary,  186, 
439 

prohibited  in  Germany,  186 
Game,  boron  compounds  in,  16 

diseases  of,  228 

preservation  of,  171 

sulphites  applied  to,  70 
Garget,  274,  278 
Gartner's  bacillus,  see  Bacillus  enteri- 

tidis 

Gastro -enteritis  due  to  milk,  279 
Geese,  fowl  cholera  in,  228 
Gelatine,  action  of  formaldehyde  on,  56 

arsenic  in,  194 

Germany,  laws  relating  to  the  use  of 
colouring  matters  in,  186,  439 

laws  relating  to  the  use  of  pre- 
servatives in,  439 
Ginger  beer,  alcohol  in,  158 

formaldehyde  in,  56 
Ginger  wine,  salicylic  acid  in,  156 

salicylic  acid  in  (legal  cases), 

387,  388,  394 
Glanders,  226 

Glucin,  prohibited  in  America,  440 
Glucose,  arsenic  in,  191,  193 

in  marmalade  (legal  case),  395 
Glycerine,  arsenic  in,  193 

in  wine,   prohibited  in   Germany, 

439 
Goats,  echinococci  in,  239 

glanders  in,  226 

strongylus  in,  242 
Gout,  common  salt  in,  13 
'  Grapes,'  see  Perlsucht 
Grapes,  formic  acid  in,  91 
Green-bearded  oysters,  248 


HACKFLEISCH,  sulphites  in,  71,  76 
Heematosporidia,  244 
Ham,  alum  in,  89,  166 

benzoic  acid  in,  85,  170 

boron   compounds  in,  16,  21,  166, 
167,  184,  432 

boron  compounds  in,  desirability  of, 
169 

boron  compounds  in,  necessity  for, 
169,  432 

boron  compounds  in,  quantity  em- 
ployed, 167,  432 

colouring  matters  in,  185 

creosote  in,  185 

refrigeration  of,  4 

salt  in,  12,  166,  184 

saltpetre  in,  12,  89,  166,  169 

smoking  of,  17 1 

sulphites  in,  166 


INDEX 


471 


'  Hamburg  steak,'  sulphites  in,  76 

Hares,  echinococci  in,  241 

'  Hawke's  Anti-ferment,'  71,  154 

'  Health-guard,'  16 

Heat,  effects  on  bacterial  growth,  1,  5, 

113 

effects  on  Cysticercus  bovis,  234 
effects    on    Cysticercus    cellulose, 

235 

effects  on  digestibility  of  milk,  124 
effects  on  milk,  123 
effects  on  toxins,  311,  313,  314,  317, 

324,  325 

Herb  beer,  alcohol  in,  158 
boric  acid  in,  160 
salicylic  acid  in,  160 
Herrings,  boric  acid  in,  172 

pyroligneous  acid  for  curing,  172 
Hoffmann's  violet,  185 
Hog    bladder    worm,    see    Cysticercus 

cellulose 
Hops,  arsenic  in,  192 

estimation  of  arsenic  in,  361,  362 
Horlick's  malted  milk,  8 
Horses,  glanders  in,  226 
pentastomes  in,  243 
Houston's  standards   for   the  bacterio- 
logical examination  of  oysters,  259 
Hydatid     disease,    due    to    vegetables, 

293.     See  also  Echinococci 
Hydrochloric  acid,  arsenic  in,  192,  358 
prohibited  for  wines  in  France, 

439 

Hydrofluoric  acid,  as  a  preservative,  87 
dose  of,  88 
effects  on  man,  88 
Hydrogen  peroxide,  action  on  bacteria, 

94 

as  a  preservative,  94 
detection  of,  355 
dose  of,  95 
estimation  of,  356 
in  beer,  94 
in  milk,  94,  135 


ICE,  contaminated,  172 
Ice-creams,  diseases  caused  by,  280 
enteric  fever  due  to,  280 
examination  of,  290 
Ice-wagons  on  railways,  116,  148 
Immature  animals,  the  flesh  of,  215 
Infantile  mortality,  relation  of  preserva- 

tized  milk  to,  108 
Infantile  scurvy,  in  relationship  to  heated 

milk,  3,  124,  -125 
Infection  by  food,  308,  311 
Inspection  of  food,  see  Food 
Intoxication  by  food,  308,  311,  312 
Invertin,  action  of  benzole  acid  on,  85 
action  of  salicylic  acid  on,  85 


lodoform,  effects  of  administration  to 

dogs,  35 
as  a  cause  of  abnormal  odours  in 

milk,  275 

Iron,  action  on  bacteria,  178 
Iron  oxide,  79,  154,  176 

arsenic   in   colouring   matters 

containing,  193 
in  anchovies,  176 
in  bloater  paste,  176 
in  Cayenne  pepper,  173 
in  cider,  154 
in  cocoa,  176 
in  condiments,  176 
in  confectionery,  176 
in  sauces,  176 
in  sausages,  176 


JAM,  arsenic  in,  193 

benzoic  acid  in,  85,  162 

benzoic  acid  in,  method  of  detection, 

351 
boron    compounds   in,   method   of 

estimation,  334 
coal-tar  dyes   in,  174 
cochineal  in,  173 

colouring  matters  in,  173,  174,  184 
desirability  of  preservatives  in,  163 
fluorine  compounds  in,  87 
fluorine  compounds  in,  method  of 

detection,  336 
fluorine  compounds  in,  method  of 

estimation,  337 
moulds  in,  301,  413 
salicylic  acid  in,  78,  80,  162,  163, 

391,  392,  393,  394 

salicylic  acid  in  (legal  cases),  391, 

392,  393,  394 
seizure  of  unsound,  413 
sterilization  of,  162 
sugar  in,  162 
sulphites  in,  162,  163 

Jellies,  benzoic  acid  in,  85 

benzoic  acid  in,  method  of  detection, 

351 

cochineal  in,  173 

colouring  matters  in,  173,  174,  184 
Jones  and  Trevithick's  process  for  pre- 
serving food,  7 


KERMES  berries,  prohibited  for  wines  in 

Germany,  439 
Ketchups,  benzoic  acid  in,  85,  164 

benzoic  acid  in,  method  of  detection, 

351 

colouring  matters  in,  174 
salicyclic  acid  in,  79,  164 
salt  in,  164 
sulphites  in,  70,  164 


472 


PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 


Kidneys,  effects  of  borax  on,  43 
effects  of  boric  acid  on,  42 
effects  of  salicyclic  acid  on,  81 
effects  of  sulphites  on,  73 
Kittens,  effects  of  administering  boric 

acid  to,  35 

effects    of     administering    formic 
aldehyde,  63,  64 


LACTIC  ACID,  production  of,  2 
Lactoxin  in  saponin,  372 
Lard,  preservation  of,  6 
Lathyrism,  298 

Laws  relating  to  the  use  of  preservatives 
and  colouring  matters  in  England,  375 
Laws  relating  to  the  use  of  preserva- 
tives and  colouring  matters  on  the 
Continent,  186,  439 
Lead  chromate,  in  confectionery,  173 
Lead,  detection  and  estimation  in  foods 

and  beverages  of,  365 
idiosyncrasy  towards,  203 
in  aerated  waters,  201 
in  beer,  201 
in  cider,  201 
in  citric  acid,  202 
in  cream  of  tartar,  202 
in  enamels,  202 
in  fruit  preparations,  202 
in  tartaric  acid,  202 
in  tea,  202 
in  tin,  201,  202 
in  tinned  foods,  7,  202 
in  vegetables,  202 
in  water,  200 
in  water,  method  of  detection  and 

estimation,  365 

poisoning  by,  200,  201,  202,  203 
poisoning  by,  symptoms  of,  203 
prohibited  in  colouring  matters  in 

Germany,  186 
red,  in  anchovies,  173 
red,  in  Cayenne  pepper,  173 
red,  in  confectionery,  173 
white,  in  cakes,  173 
Legal  cases,  375 

under  the  Public  Health  Acts, 

412 
under   the  Sale  of  Food   and 

Drugs  Acts,  377 
under  the  Sale  of  Goods  Act, 

1893,  427 

Boodle  v.  Stewart,  377 
Firth  v.  McPhail,  207,  415 
Friend  v.  Mapp,  408 
Frost  v.  Aylesbury  Dairy  Co., 

426 

Hull  v.  Horsnell,  404 
Shutt  v.  Stockton  Corporation, 
422 


Legal  cases : 

Smith  v.  Wisden,  395 
Thomas  v.  Van  Os,  420 
Walshaio  v.    Brighottse   Cor- 
poration, 415 

Whipps  v.  Hudson  Bros.,  380 
Lemon  squash,  boron  compounds  in,  16 
colouring  matters  in,  174 
salicylic  acid  in,  79 
sulphites  in,  70 
Lemons,  formic  acid  in,  91 
Leucocytes  in  milk,  279,  286 
Liebig's  food,  8 
Lime,  arsenic  in,  359 

for  preserving  eggs,  171 
in  cream,  90,  137,  141 
in  milk,  90 

Lime  juice,  boron  compounds  in,  16 
colouring  matters  in,  174 
salicylic   acid   in,  79,   80,   84, 

160,  390,  395,  436 
salicylic  acid  in   (legal  cases), 

390,  395 

sulphites  in,  70,  84 
Limes,  formic  acid  in,  91 
Linseed,  copper  in,  179,  180 
Liquorice,  arsenic  in,  194 
Liver-flukes,  see  Distoma 
Lobster,  lead  in  tinned,  202 
Lobsters,  examination  of,  247 
Logwood,  as  a  colouring  matter,  174 
dose  of,  176 
in  wines,  176 
pharmacological  action  of,  176 


MAGGOTS  in  fruit,  301 
Magnesium   compounds   in   wine,   pro- 
hibited in  Germany,  439 
Maize,  alkaloids  in,  309 
damaged,  299 
'  verdet '  in,  298 
Malignant  disease  and    common  salt, 

association  of,  13 
in  animals,  215 
Malt,  arsenic  in,  192 

arsenic  in,  estimation,  361 
Manures,  arsenic  in,  194 
coal-tar  dyes  in,  174 
Margarine,  annatto  in,  175 

boron    compounds     in,    16,     149, 

377,  383,  433 
boron  compounds  in  (legal  cases), 

377,  383 
colouring  matters  in,  174,  175,  184, 

189,  437 
salt  in,  149 
Markets  and  Fairs  Clauses  Act,  1847, 

208 

Marmalade,  arsenic  in,  193 
glucose  in  (legal  case),  395 


INDEX 


473 


Marmalade,  salicylic  acid  in  (legal  case), 

393 

Marsh's  test,  applied  to  foods,  358 
Martius'   yellow,   poisonous   effects   of, 

186 
Mastitis,  a  cause  of  pollution  of  milk, 

99 

McCall's  process  of  preserving  food,  7 
Meal  mites,  297,  300 
Measly  beef,  233 
Measly  pork,  235,  236 
Meat,  action  of  sulphites  on  the  colour 

of,  71,  76 
alum  in,  166 

ammonium  acetate  in,  89 
animal  parasites  in,  230 
appearance  of  normal,  212 
Bacillus  coli  in,  316 
Bacillus  enteritidis  in,  314,  316 
bacteriological  examination  of,  215, 

222,  326 
boron  compounds  in,  16,  166,  170, 

433 
boron   compounds    in,   effects    on 

digestibility,  31 
boron   compounds   in,   estimation, 

334 
colour  of,  action  of  sulphites  on, 

71,76 

colouring  matters  in,  174,  184 
decomposing,  303 
dried,  8,  165,  171 
examination  of,  205,  212,  213,  214, 

215,  219,  245,  326 
formic  aldehyde  in,  56,  170 
formic     aldehyde     in,    effects    on 

digestibility,  59 
illness   caused  by,   303,   304,  305, 

307,  311, 312, 314.    See  also  Meat 

epidemics 
inspection   of,   205,  212,  213,  214, 

215 
microscopical  examination  of,  214, 

220,  228,  232,  240,  243,  245 
minced,  see  Minced  meat 
cedematous,  215 
potted,  see  Potted  meat 
refrigeration  of,  4,  165 
salt  in,  11,  165 
saltpetre  in,  11,  14,  166 
smoked,  171 
sterilization  of,  165 
sugar  in,  167 

sulphites  in,  70,  71,  74,  170,  432 
tinned,  see  Tinned  meat 
tuberculous,  219,  422 
tumours  in,  215 
unsound,  205,  303,  415,  422 
unsound,  condemnation  of,  205 
unsound,  laws  relating  to,  205,  206, 

208 


Meat,   unsound,   seizure    of,   205,   303, 

415,  422 
Meat  epidemics,  Bregenz,  318 

Breslau,  317 

Bulstringen,  319 

Chadderton,  315 

Cotta,  319 

Denis,  317 

Derby,  315 

Fluntern,  318 

Frankenhausen,  314,  319 

Ganstadt,  317 

Kalk,  320 

Klaten,  319 

Lauterbach,  319 

Mansfield,  316 

Middleburg,  319 

Middlesbrough,  306,  316,  317 

Moorseele,  317,  320 

Nottingham,  316 

Oldham,  305 

Piesenkam,  320 

Portsmouth,  306 

Eetford,  306 

St.  Georgen,  319 

Schonenberg,  319 

Sheffield,  316 

Sielkeim,  320 

Thurgau,  320 

Welbeck,  316 

\Vhitchurch,  306 

Wurzen,  318 

Meat  extracts,  boron  compounds  in,  16, 
171 

colouring  matters  in,  174 

salicylic  acid  in,  79,  171 
Meat  pies,  poisoning  by,  306,  315 
'  Meat  preserve  crystal,'  70 
Medicated  wines,  benzoic  acid  in,  85 

salicylic  acid  in,  79 

Meningitis,  due  to  tuberculous  milk,  268 
Mercury    compounds,     prohibited     as 
colouring  matters   in   Germany, 
186 

sulphide,  in  Cayenne  pepper,  173 
sulphide,  in  confectionery,  173 
Metallic    poisoning,   danger  in  tinned 

meats  from,  7,  8 

Methyl  orange,  as  a  colouring  agent, 
175,  185 

poisoning  by,  186 
Methylamine,  246 
Methylene   blue,  as  a  colouring  agent, 

185 

Microscopical  examination,  of  flesh, 
214,  220,  228,  232,  240,  213, 
245 

of  milk,  278,  284 
Miescher's  sacs,  244 
Milk,   abdominal  tuberculosis   due   to, 
267 


474 


Milk,  abrastol  in,  detection  of,  344 
absorption  of  odours  by,  275 
acidity  of,  estimation,  290 
annatto  in,  175 
Bacillus  actinobacter  in,  274 
Bacillus    coli   communis  in,   134, 

287 

Bacillus  cyanogenes  in,  274 
Bacillus  enteritidis  in,  19,  272 
Bacillus  enteritidis  sporogenes  in, 

288 

Bacillus  lactis  erythrogcnes  in,  274 
Bacillus  lactis  viscosus  in,  274 
Bacillus  prodigiosus  in,  274 
Bacillus  synxanthus  in,  274 
Bacilhis  tuberculosis  in,  267,  285, 

286 

Bacillus  tuberculosis  in,  examina- 
tion for,  285,  286 
bacteria  in,  97,  113,  134 
bacteria  in,  effects  of  heat  and  cold 

on,  5,  113 
bacteria   in,  examination  for,  285, 

286,  288 
bacteriological  examination  of,  285, 

286,  288 

benzoic  acid  in,  detection,  353 
bitter,  275 

blood  corpuscles  in,  278,  279,  285 
blue,  274 

boiled,  test  for,  289 
boron  compounds  in,  16,  17,  79,  98, 

99,  102,  433 
boron    compounds    in,   danger   to 

health  from,  104,  433 
boron  compounds  in,  detection  of, 

332 
boron    compounds    in,   effects   on 

digestibility,  31 
boron    compounds    in,   effects    on 

souring,  17,  19 
boron  compounds  in,  estimation  of, 

332 
boron  compounds  in  (legal  cases), 

380,  382 

bottled,  126,  127,  133,  134 
'  Buddeized,'  94,  135 
'  Buddeized,'  detection  of  hydrogen 

peroxide  in,  355 
carbonate  of  soda  in,  90,  99 
carbonic  acid  in,  134 
centrifugalization  of,  113 
cholera  due  to,  266,  271 
clean,  110,  114,  115,  132 
colouring  matters  in,  174,  175,  187, 

437 

colouring    matters,    recommenda- 
tions of  Departmental  Committee 
with  regard  to,  189,  438 
condensed,  see  Condensed  milk 
dermatitis  caused  by,  67,  266,  273 


Milk,  diarrhoea  due  to,  18,  266,  271 
diphtheria  bacilli  in,  269 
diphtheria  bacilli  in,  detection  of, 

287 

diphtheria  due  to,  266,  269 
dirt  in,  examination  for,  284 
diseases  due  to,  266,  274 
dried,  8,  135 
effect  of  feeding  materials  on  the 

flavour  of,  274 
effect  of  Ehus  toxicodendron  on, 

274 

effect  of  heat  on,  123 
effect  of  heat  on  the  digestibility  of, 

124 

effect  of  sterilization  on,  123 
enteric  fever  due  to,  266,  270,  427 
filtration  of,  113,  121,  128 
fluoboric  acid  in,  effects  on  souring, 

87 

fluoric  compounds  in,  87,  99,  107 
foot-and-mouth  disease  due  to,  266 
formic   aldehyde   in,   56,   99,   103, 

384 
formic     aldehyde     in,    danger     to 

health  from,  106 
formic     aldehyde     in,     dermatitis 

caused  by,  67 
formic   aldehyde   in,  detection   of, 

338 

formic  aldehyde  in,  difficulty  of 
estimating,  101,  103,  107,  138, 
342 

formic  aldehyde  in,  effect  on  sour- 
ing, 57 
formic  aldehyde  in,  estimation  of, 

343 

formic  aldehyde  in  (legal  cases),  384 
formic  aldehyde  in,  percentage  of 

samples  containing,  100 
gastro-enteritis  due  to,  279 
heated,  see  Pasteurized  and  steri- 
lized 
hydrofluoric    acid    in,    effects    on 

souring,  87 

hydrogen  peroxide  in,  94,  135 
hydrogen  peroxide  in,  detection  of, 

355 

infantile  scurvy  due  to  heated,  124 
leucocytes  in,  279,  286 
lime  in,  90 

meningitis  due  to  tuberculous,  268 
microscopical  examination  of,  278, 

284 

moulds  in,  279 
Oidium  albicans  in,  266,  288 
Oidium  lactis  in,  288 
oxygen  in, 134 

pasteurized,  3,  99,  122,  127,  134 
pasteurized,  relationship  to  infan- 
tile scurvy,  125 


INDEX 


475 


Milk,  pasteurized,  test  for,  289 
powdered,  8,  135 

preservatives  in,  desirability  of  em- 
ploying, 103, 130,  433 
preservatives  in,  in  relation  to  in- 
fantile mortality,  108 
preservatives  in,  necessity  for  the 

use  of,  110,  434 
preservatives  in,  prevalence  of  the 

use  of,  100 
preservatives    in,     prohibition    in 

foreign  countries,  439 
preservatives  in,  recommendations 

of  Departmental  Committee   as 

to  the  use  of,  438 

pus  in,  272,  273,  277,  278,  279,  285 
pus  in,  examination  for,  285 
red,  274 
refrigeration  of,  5,99, 110, 113,  118, 

120,  128,  132,  133 
ropy,  274,  279 
salicylic  acid  in,  79,  99,  107 
salicylic    acid    in,    detection    and 

estimation  of,  348 
salt  in,  99,  103,  107 
saltpetre  in,  99,  103,  107 
Sarcina  rosea  in,  274 
scarlet  fever  due  to,  266,  269 
scrofula  due  to,  268 
soapy,  275 

sodium  bicarbonate  in,  108 
sore  throat  due  to,  266,  272 
staphylococci  in,  272,  279 
sterilized,  3,  99,  122 
sterilized,  effects   on   nutrition  of, 

126 
sterilized,    relation     of     infantile 

scurvy  to,  124 
sterilized,  test  for,  289 
straining  of,   110,    113,   118,   121, 

133 

streptococci  in,  272,  279,  285 
streptococci    in,    examination    for, 

285,  286 
Supply  Company   of   Copenhagen, 

115 

Supply,  Pasteur,  127 
Tabes  mesenterica  due  to,  267 
thrush  due  to,  266 
tinned,  6.   See  also  Condensed  milk 
tuberculosis  due  to,  266,  267 
turmeric  in,  173 
tyrotoxicon  in,  273 
tyrotoxicon    in,    examination    for, 

325 

ulcerative  colitis  due  to,  272 
unsound,  276,  285,  288,  290 
unsound  condensed,  275,  290,  413 
unsound    condensed,    seizure     of, 

413 
unsound,  seizure  of,  276 


Milk,  vitality  of  pathogenic  bacteria  hi, 
271 

yellow,  274 

zymotic  enteritis  due   to,  18,  266, 

271 

Minced  meat,  benzoic  acid  in,  85 
boron  compounds  in,  16 
sulphites  in,  71,  76 

Mineral  waters,  antimony  in,  198,  200 
Mites,  in  cheese,  291 

in  meal,  297,  300 
Moulds,  action  on  arsenic  of,  198 

in  bread,  301 

in  fruit,  301,  302 

in  jam,  301,  413 
Mouldy  bread,  299,  300 

flour,  299 

jam,  301,  413 
Mucor  mucedo,   action  on   arsenic   of, 

198 

in  corn,  297 

Muscarine,  poisoning  by,  309 
Muscle,  character  of  sound,  212 
Mushrooms,  appearance  of,  294,  296 

symptoms  of  poisoning  by,  293 
'  Muskins,'  Bacillus  typhosus  in,  254 
Mussels,  bacteriolgical  examination  of, 
262 

copper  in,  249 

enteric  fever  due  to,  249 

examination  of,  247,  248 

poisoning  by,  248 
Mustard,  coal-tar  dyes  in,  184 

copper  in,  179 

turmeric  in,  176 
Mustard  yellow,   poisonous   effects   of, 

186 

Mydaleine,  309 
Mytilotoxine,  249 
Myxosporidia,  243,  244 


NAGANA,  244 

£-naphthol,  prohibited   in  America  for 

foods,  440 
Natural  death,  sale  of  flesh  of  animals 

following,  215 
Netherlands,  laws  relating  to  the  use  of 

preservatives  in,  440 
Neuridine,  246 
Neurine,  309 

Neuritis,  due  to  arsenic,  191,  194,  196 
New  York  pure  milk  supply,  132 
Nitric  acid,  arsenic  in,  358 

in  wines  prohibited  in  France, 

439 

Nitro-benzole  poisoning,  185 
Nitrogen    in    Jones    and    Trevithick's 

process,  7 

Nitrogen  metabolism,  effects  of   borax 
on,  33,  34,  38,  49 


476 


PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 


Nitrogen  metabolism,  effects  of  boric 

acid  on,  33,  34,  35,  37,  49 
effects  of  formic  aldehyde  on, 
65 


OATMEAL,  Bacillus  coli  communis  in, 

299 

illness  caused  by,  299 
Proteus  vulgaris  in,  299 
Oats,  Bacillus  coli  communis  in,  300 
Bacillus  enteritidis  sporogenes  in, 

300 

smut  in,  298 
<Edematous  meat,  215 
Oidium  albicans,  in  milk,  266,  288 
Oidium  lactis,  in  milk,  288 
Oil  used  for  '  facing  '  rice,  373 
Oleo-butter  colour,  175 
Orange  II.,  poisonous  effects  of,  186 
Orange   wine,   salicylic   acid   in   (legal 

cases),  388,  394 
Oxygen  and  carbonic  acid,  for  preserving 

milk,  134 
Oyster  layings,  Bacillus  coli  communis 

in,  258 

Bacillus     enteritidis     sporo- 
genes in,  258 
Oysters,  Bacillus    coli    communis   in, 

255,  257 

Bacillus  enteritidis  in,  264 
Bacillus  typliosus  in,  255 
bacteriological  examination  of,  259, 

260,  262 

copper  in,  179,  248 
diarrhoea  due  to,  251,  252,  253 
enteric  fever  due  to,  250 
examination  of,  247,  248 
green-bearded,  248 
illness  caused  by,  250 
native,  253 
Portuguese,  253 
seizure  of  contaminated,  414 
streptococci  in,  258 


'  PAIN  biscuite,'  8 

Palisade  worm,  242 

Parcreatin,  action  of  benzoic  acid  on, 

85 

action  of  copper  salts  on,  177 
action  of  salicylic  acid  on,  80,  82, 

85 

Paraffin,  used  for  '  facing'  rice,  373 
Parasites,  in  animals,  230 
in  cheese,  291 
in  corn,  297 
in  fish,  237,  244,  246 
Paratyphoid  bacillus,  as  a  cause  of  food 

poisoning,  314 
in  excreta,  314 


Paratyphoid    bacillus,   in    the    normal 

intestine,  314 
Parturition,  flesh  of  animals  dying  after, 

208,  215 
Pasteurization,  2,  3 

of  alcoholic  beverages,  151 
of  temperance  beverages,  158 
Pasteurized  milk,  3,  99,  122,  127,  134 

relationship  to  infantile  scurvy 

of,  124 
test  for,  289 
Peas,  copper  in,  90,  179,  180,  183,  397, 

404,  408, 436 
copper  in   (legal  cases),  397,  398, 

399,  400,  401,  404,  408 
Pellagra,  298 
;   Penicillium     breviculare,     action     on 

arsenic  of,  198 

Penicillium  glaucum,  in  corn,  297 
Pentastomes,  220,  242,  243 
Pepper,  Cayenne,  see  Cayenne  pepper 
|   Pepsin,  effects  of  benzoic  acid  on,  85 
effects  of  borax  on,  25 
effects  of  boric  acid  on,  25 
effects  of  copper  sulphate  on,  177 
effects  of  formic  alhehyde  on,  59 
effects  of  salicylic  acid  on,  80,  82, 

85 

effects  of  saltpetre  on,  14 
effects  of  sodium  fluoride  on,  88 
Perchloride  of  mercury,  administration 

to  dogs,  35 

Periwinkle,  examination  of,  248 
Perlsucht,  220,  240 
Peroxide  of  hydrogen,  see  Hydrogen 
Perry,  estimation  of  boron  compounds 

in,  333 

salicylic  acid  in,  79 
Phallin,  296 

Pheasants,  fowl  cholera  in,  228 
Phosphoric  acid,  arsenic  in,  193 
Phosphorus      metabolism,     effects     of 
boron  compounds  on,  37,  38, 
49 
effects  of  formic  aldehyde  on, 

65 

Piccalilli,  turmeric  in,  176 
Pickles,  detection  of  benzoic  acid  in, 

351 

sulphites  in,  70 

Picric  acid,  as  a  colouring  agent,  185 
poisonous  effects  of,  186 
prohibited    in    foreign    coun- 
tries, 186,  439 
Pigeons,  cholera  in,  228 
diphtheria  in,  229 
Pigs,  actinomycosis  in.  227 
anthrax  in,  222 
coccidia  in,  243 
cysticerci  in,  235 
distoma  in,  242 


INDEX 


477 


Pigs,  echinocoeci  in,  239,  240 
Echinorynchus  gigas  in,  242 
effects  of  administering  boric  acid 

to,  34 
effects    of    administering     formic 

aldehyde  to,  62 

foot-and-mouth  disease  in,  226 
1  measles  '  in,  235 
Miescher's  sacs  in,  244 
pentastomes  in,  242 
sarcosporidia  in,  244 
strongylus  in,  242 
swine  erysipelas  in,  224 
swine  fever  in,  224 
trichinosis  in,  231 
tuberculosis  in,  219 
Pike,  Bothriocephalus  latus  in,  237 
Piophila  casei,  291 
Piroplasmosis,  244 
Plants,  copper  in,  179 
Pleuro-pneumonia  in  cattle,  225 
Polonies,  boron  compounds  in,  16 
Pork,  Bacillus  botulinus  in,  313 
Bacillus  coli  in,  316 
boron  compounds  in,  16 
cysticerci  in,  235 
echinocoeci  in,  239 
illness  due  to,  304,  306,  313,  316, 

320 

Pork  pies,  Bacillus  enteritidis  in,  314 
boron  compounds  in,  16,  171 
poisoning  by,  306,  314 
Port,  salicylic  acid  in,  155 
Potatoes,  dried,  8 
Potted  fish,  boron  compounds   in,   16, 

172,  382,  383,  384 
boron     compounds    in    (legal 

cases),  382,  383,  384 
Potted  meat,  Bacillus  coli  in,  316 
benzoic  acid  in,  85,  171 
boron  compounds  in,  16,  171 
colouring  matters  in,  174 
microscopical  examination  of, 

245 

poisoning  by,  316 
salicylic  acid  in,  79 
Potted  shrimps,   boric   acid   in    (legal 

cases),  382,  383,  384 
Poultry,  arsenic  in,  194 

boron  compounds  in,  16 
diseases  of,  228 
sulphites  in,  70 
Powdered  milk,  8,  135 
Pox  in  food  animals,  226 
Preservation  of  foods  by  drying,  8 
by  exclusion   of  air,  6 
by  heat,  2 
by  refrigeration,  4 
by  smoking,  9 

Preservatives,  conclusions  and  recom- 
mendations    of     the    Departmental 


Committee  with  regard  to  the  use  of, 
431 

Preservatives      employed      in      foods,, 
abrastol,  or  asaprol,  95 
alcohol,  92 
alum,  89 

ammonium  acetate,  89 
benzoic  acid,  85 
boron  compounds,  16 
carbon  dioxide,  134,  158 
copper  salts,  89 
creosote,  9,  96 
dulcin,  93 

fluorine  compounds,  87 
formic  acid,  91 
formic  aldehyde,  56 
hydrogen  peroxide,  94 
lime,  90 
oxygen,  134 
pyroligneous  acid,  96 
saccharine,  93 
salicylic  acid,  78 
salt,  11 
saltpetre,  14 
sodium  carbonate,  90 
sugar,  137,  162,  167 
sulphites,  70 
sulphuric  acid,  90 

See  also  under  the  respective  names. 
Preservatives  in  bacon,  165 

in  beer,  152 

in  bottled  fruit,  162 

in  British  wines,  156 

in  butter,  142 

in  cheese,  141 

in  cider,  154 

in  cordials,  159 

in  cream,  137 

in  fish,  172 

in  fresh  meat,  165,  170 

in  fruit,  162 

in  game,  171  , 

in  ham,  165 

in  ketchups,  164 

in  lime  juice,  160 

in  margarine,  149 

in  medicated  wines,  157 

in  milk,  99 

in  pork  pies,  171 

in  sauces,  164 

in  sausages,  170 

in  temperance  beverages,  158 

in  vegetables,  164 

in  vinegar,  164 

in  wine,  155 
See  also  tinder  the  respective  foods 

and  beverages. 

Preservatives,  laws  relating  to  the  use 
of,  in  England,  375 

laws  relating  to  the  use  of,  in  foreign 
countries,  439 


478 


PEESERVATIVES  IN  FOOD 


Preservatives,  legal  cases  relating  to  the 

use  of,  377 

methods  of  detection  and  estima- 
tion, 328 
Preserving  food,  Jones  and  Trevithick's 

process  of,  7 
M'CalPs  process  of,  7 
Preservitas,  11,  16 
Prosecutions,  under  the  Public  Health 

Acts,  412 
under  the  Sale  of  Food  and  Drugs 

Acts,  377 
under  the  Sale  of  Goods  Act,  1893, 

427 

Proteid  metabolism,  see  Nitrogen  meta- 
bolism 
Proteids,  action  of  formic  aldehyde  on, 

56,  59,  60 

Proteus  vulgaris,  in  oatmeal,  299 
Prussian  blue,  in  confectionery,  173 
Ptomaine  poisoning,  303,  308 

due  to  apparently  sound  food, 

303 

due  to  butter,  281 
due  to  fish,  246 
due  to  mussels,  249 
due  to  tinned  food,  7,  303 
symptoms  of,  7,  246,  309 
Ptomaines,  examination  of  food  for,  323 
in  butter,  281 
nature  of,  308 
tests  for,  324 

Ptyalin,  effects  of  benzoic  acid  on,  85 
effects  of  boron  compounds  on,  23 
effects  of  copper  sulphate  on,  177 
effects  of  formic  aldehyde  on,  58 
effects  of  salicylic  acid  on,  80,  85 
effects  of  saltpetre  on,  14 
effects  of  sodium  fluoride  on,  88 
Public    Health    Act,   1875,   seizure   of 

unsound  food  under,  205,  412 
Public  Health  Acts  (Amendment)  Act, 
1890,  seizure  of  unsound  food  under, 
206,  415 

Public  Health  (London)  Act,  1891, 
seizure  of  unsound  food  under,  208, 
414,  420 

Pitccinia  yraminis  in  corn,  297 
Putrescine,  246 
Pyaemia  in  animals,  225 
Pyroligneous  acid,  as  a  preservative,  96 
for  curing  herrings,  172 


QUARTER-ILL,  in  cattle,  223 

Quillaia  bark,  as  a  foam  producer,  371 

Quillaic  acid  in  saponin,  372 


RABBITS,  coccidia  in,  243 
echinococci  in,  241 


Rabbits,  effects  of  administering  boric 

acid  to,  34 
Rabies,  226 

Railways,  ice-wagons  on,  115,  116,  148 
Raisins,  formic  acid  in,  91 
Raisin-wine,  salicylic  acid  in  (legal  case) 

388 

'  Ramsden's  Milk  Preserver,'  145 
Raspberries,  caterpillars  in,  301 
Raspberry  wine,  salicylic  acid  in,  156 
Red  dysentery,  in  calves,  244 
Red  milk,  274 
Refrigeration,  2,  4 

dangers  of,  172 

effects  on  bacteria,  1,  5,  113 

effects  on  Cysticerciis  bovis,  234 

effects    on    Cysticercus    celluloses, 
235 

effects  on  Trichina  spiralis,  231 

of  butter,  5,  142 

of  fish,  172 

of  hams,  4 

of  meat,  4,  165 

of  milk,  5,  99,  110,  113,  118,  120, 

128,  132,  133 

.  Reinsch's  test,  applied  to  beer,  357 
'  Rennet,  boron  compounds  in,  16 
Rennin,  effects  of  benzoic  acid  on,  85 

effects  of  borax  on,  27 

effects  of  boric  acid  on,  27 

effects  of  formic  aldehyde  on,  60 

effects  of  salicylic  acid  on,  85 
Reticularia  ustilago,  298 
Bhus  toxicodendron,  274 
Rice,  Bacillus  enteritidis  sporogenes  in, 
300 

damaged,  299 

'  facing  '  of,  373 
Rinderpest,  225 
Ropy  milk,  274,  279 
Round  worms,  in  food  animals,  242 
Rubber,  antimony  in,  198,  200 

antimony  in,  detection  and  estima- 
tion of,  367 
'  Rust '  in  corn,  297 
Rye,  ergot  in,  298 


SACCHARIN,  action  on  the  digestive  fer- 
ments of,  93 
in  beer,  93,  152,  153 
in  cider,  93,  154 
in  cream,  137 

in  foods,  detection  of,  347,  351 
prohibited  in  America,  440 
Saffron,  as  a  colouring  agent,  174,  186 
Sale  of  Food  and  Drugs  Act,  1875,  375 
Sale  of  Goods  Act,  1893,  427 
Salicylic  acid,  action  on  adults,  80,  81, 

83 
action  on  animals,  83,  85 


INDEX 


479 


Salicylic  acid,  action  on  bacteria,  79,  86 
action  on  children,  81,  83 
action  on  diastase,  85 
action  on  epithelium,  83 
action  on  invertin,  85 
action  on  kidneys,  81 
action  on  pancreatin,  80,  82, 

85 

action  on  pepsin,  80,  82,  85 
action  on  ptyalin,  80,  85 
action  on  rennet,  85 
action   taken    by  the    United 
States  Treasury  with  regard 
to,  84 

cumulative  effects  of,  83 
dermatitis  caused  by,  81 
detection  of,  345 
dose  of,  80 
estimation  of,  349 
excretion  of,  80,  83 
for  preserving  eggs,  171 
idiosyncrasy  towards,  81 
impurities  in,  79,  81 
in  beer,  79,  80,  152,  153 
in  beer,  quantity  required,  152 
in  beverages,  quantity  required, 

80 
in  British  wines,  79,  80,  156, 

387,  394 
in  British  wines  (legal  cases), 

387,  394 
in  butter,  79 

in  butter,  detection  and  estima- 
tion of,  348 
in  cider,  79,  154,  435 
in  cordials,  159,  160 
in  cream,  79,  137,  138,  140 
in  flowers,  78 

in  foods,  detection  and  estima- 
tion of,  345,  349 
in  foods  (legal  cases),  387 
in  foods,  separation  of,  345 
in  fruit,  78 
in  fruit  juices,  159 
in  herb  beer,  160 
in  jam,  78,  80,  162,  163,  391, 

394 

in  jam,  quantity  required,  80 
in  jam  (legal  cases),  391,  392, 

393, 394 

in  ketchups,  79,  164 
in  lemon  juice,  79 
in  lime  juice,  79,  80,  84,  160, 

390,  395,  436 
in    lime    juice    (legal    cases), 

390,  395 

in  marmalade  (legal  case),  393 
in  meat  extracts,  171 
in  meat  juice,  79,  171 
in  medicated  wines,  79,  157 
in  milk,  79,  99,  107 


Salicylic  acid,  in  milk,  desirability  of, 

107 

in  milk,  detection  and  estima- 
tion of,  348 
in  perry,  79 
in  potted  meat,  79 
in  sauces,  79,  164 
in  sausages,  79 
in  syrups,  79,  159 
in  temperance  beverages,  159, 

160, 435 

in  wines,  78,  79,  80,  155,  435 
in  wines,  prohibited  in  France 

and  Germany,  439 
irritation  caused  by,  79 
limitation    recommended    by 
Departmental      Committee, 
438 

pharmacological  action  of,  80 
prohibition  in  foreign  countries, 

439,  440 

tests  for,  345,  347 
trade  preparations  of,  79 
Salicylism,  81 

Salmon,  Bothriocephaltis  latus  in,  237 
illness  due  to  tinned,  305 
lead  in  tinned,  202 
Sal  preservare,  16 
Salt  (sodium  chl  oride) ,  action  on  bacteria , 

13,  166,  313 
action      on      Cysticercus 

bovis,  234 

action  on  epithelium,  12 
action     on    the     keeping 

quality  of  butter,  19 
action        on        Trichina 

spiralis,  232 
as  a  preservative,  11,  13, 

166 

deprivation  of,  12 
for  preserving  eggs,  171 
in  bacon,  11,  165,  167 
in  butter,  11,  19,  142,  143, 

144,  145,  146,  147 
in  cheese,  11 
in  cream,  137,  138 
in  fish,  11,  172 
in  hams,  11,  12,  16G,  184 
in  ketchups,  164 
in  margarine,  149 
in  meat,  11,  165 
in  milk,  99,  103,  107 
in  sauces,  164 
in  vegetables,  164 
in  wine,  155,  436 
pharmacological  action  of, 

12 
Salting  of  meat,  effects  on  the  nutritive 

value  of,  166 
methods  of,  165,  167 
Saltpetre,  action  on  amylopsin,  15 


480 


PEESBRVATIVES   IN  FOOD 


Saltpetre,  action  on  dogs,  15 

action  on  epithelium,  15,  32 

action  on  man,  14 

action  on  pepsin,  14 

action  on  ptyalin,  14 

as  a  preservative,  11,  14,  99 

dose  of,  14 

excretion  of,  14 

in  bacon,  11,  166 

in  butter,  11,  14,  143,  145 

in  cream,  137,  138,  140 

in  fish,  11,  172 

in  ham,  12,  89,  166,  169 

in  meat,  11,  14,  166 

in  milk,  99,  103 

in  milk,  desirability  of,  107 

in  vegetables,  164 

pharmacological  effects  of,  14 
Salufer,  87 
Saponin,  composition  of,  372 

dose  of,  371 

effects  of  administration  to  dogs, 
373 

in  beer  and  syrups,  371 

in  beer  and  syrups,  desirability  of, 
372 

in   beer   and  syrups,  detection   of, 
373 

in  beer  and  syrups,  quantity  em- 
ployed, 373 

pharmacological    action    of,     371, 
372 

prohibition  in  Austria  of,  373 
Sapotoxin  in  saponin,  372 
Sapraemia  in  animals,  225 
Sarcina  rosea  in  milk,  274 
Sarcosporidia,  243 
Sauces,  benzole  acid  in,  164 

colouring  matters  in,  174,  176 

oxide  of  iron  in,  176 

salicylic  acid  in,  79,  164 

salt  in,  164 

sulphites  in,  164 
Sausages,  Bacillus  botulinus  in,  313 

benzole  acid  in,  85,  170 

boron  compounds  in,  16,  170,  383, 
384 

boron  compounds  in,  estimation^, 
334 

boron  compounds  in  (legal  cases), 
383,  384 

colouring  matters  in,  174,  176,  184 

microscopical  examination  of,  245 

oxide  of  iron  in,  176 

poisoning  by,  304,  314,  318 

salicylic  acid  in,  79 

smoked,  171 

sulphites  in,  171 

Scarlet  fever,  due  to  milk,  266,  269 
Schiff's  reagent,  preparation  of,  340 
Schiff's  test  for  formic  aldehyde,  339 


Scrofula,  due  to  milk,  268 

Scurvy  in  relationship  to  food,  13,  313 

Scurvy  rickets  in  relationship  to  heated 

milk,  3,  124,  125 

Seizure  of  unsound  food,  see  Food 
Sepsine,  309 

Septicaemia  in  animals,  225 
Sheep,  actinomycosis  in,  227 
anthrax  in,  222 
braxy  in,  209,  223 
coccidia  in,  243 
Cysticercus  celluloses  in,  236 
Cysticerus  tenuicollis  in,  234 
distoma  in,  241 

Sheep,  echinococci  in,  239,  240 
glanders  in,  226 
Miescher's  sacs  in,  244 
pentastomes  in,  242 
sarcosporidia  in,  244 
strongylus  in,  220,  242 
Sheep-pox,  226 
'  Sheep  rot,'  241 
Shell-fish,   Bacillus   typliosus    in,  254, 

255,  264 
bacteria  present  in,  254,  255,  257, 

262 
bacteriological  examination  of,  260, 

262 

boron  compounds  in,  16 
cholera  due  to,  250 
enteric  fever  due  to,  246,  249,  250, 

253 

examination  of,  247 
seizure  of,  257,  414 
See  also  Cockles,  Mussels,  Oysters, 

&c. 

Sherry,  salicylic  acid  in,  155 
Shrimps,  boron   compounds   in   potted 

(legal  cases),  382,  383,  384 
Sienna  as  a  colouring  matter   in  con- 
fectionery, 173 
Smoke,  action  on  bacteria,  9 

action  on  Trichina  spiralis,  232 
|  '  Smokene,'  9 

•  Smoking,  as  a  means  of  food  preserva- 
tion, 9,  165,  171 
processes  of,  9 
Smut  in  corn,  297 
Soapy  milk,  275 

Sodium  carbonate,  in  cream,  90,  141 
in  milk,  90,  99 
in  milk,  desirability  of,  108 
Sodium  fluoride,  action  on  peptic  diges- 
tion, 88 

action  on  salivary  digestion,  88 
estimation  of,  337 
in  beer,  89 
test  for,  336 
Sodium  fluosilicate,  as  a  preservative, 

87 
detection  of,  336 


INDEX 


481 


Sodium  silicate,  for  preserving  eggs,  6, 

172 

Sodium  sulphite,  in  McCall's  process,  7 
Sore  throat  due  to  milk,  266,  272 
Soups,  colouring  matters  in,  174 
lead  in  tinned,  202 
tin  in,  202 
Souring  of  milk,  17,  57 

effects  of  boron  compounds 

on,  17,  19 

effects   of    fluorine    com- 
pounds on,  87 
effects  of  formic  aldehyde 

on,  57 

estimation  of,  290 
Spices,  colouring  matters  in,  174 
Spinach,  copper  in  (legal  cases),  400 
Staphylococci,  action  of  salt  on,  13 

in  milk,  272,  279 

Starters,  butter,  141,  143,  146,  147,  151 
Sterilization,  as  a  means  of  preserving 

foods,  2 
of  bottled  and   tinned  foods,   162, 

165 

of  cream,  140 
of  jam,  162 
of  milk,  3,  99,  122 
of  temperance  beverages,  158 
Sterilized  milk,  3,  99,  122 

advantages  and  disadvantages 

of,  3,  123 

effects  on  nutrition  of,  126 
relationship  to  infantile  scurvy 

of,  124 
tests  for,  289 

Strawberries,  seizure  of  unsound,  421 
Streptococci  in  milk,  272,  279,  285 

in   milk,  method   of   detection   of, 

285,  286 
Streptococcus  conglomcratus,  vitality  in 

cheese,  cream,  and  milk  of,  271 
Streptococcus   of   erysipelas,   effects  of 

salt  upon,  13 
Strongylidoe,  220,  242 
Strontium    compounds   in   wines,  pro- 
hibited in  Germany,  439 
Sugar,  arsenic  in,  194 

as  a  preservative,  137,  162,  167 
burnt,  as  a  colouring  agent,  175 
chloride  of  tin  in,  184,  194 
colouring  matters  in,  174,  184,  194 
invert,  arsenic  in,  193 
in   wine,  prohibited  in   Germany, 

439 

'  Sugar  of  boron,'  154 
Sulphites,  action  on  adults,  72 
action  on  bacteria,  74 
action  on  cats,  73 
action  on  colour  of  meat,  71,  76 
action  on  dogs,  73 
action  on  kidneys,  73 


Sulphites,  action  on  meat,  71,  74 

arsenic  in,  193 

detection  of,  335 

dose  of,  70 

estimation  of,  335 

for  preserving  eggs,  171 

in  anchovy  paste,  70,  172 

in  bacon,  166 

in  beer,  70,  77,  79,  152,  153,  433 

in  beer,  quantities  employed,  153 

in  bottled  fruit,  162 

in  British  wines,  156 

in  cider,  71,  77,  79,  154 

in  cordials,  70,  159, 160 

in  fruit,  70 

in  fruit  juices,  159 

in  fruit  pulp,  163 

in  game,  70 

in  ham,  166 

in  jam,  162 

in  lemon  syrup,  70 

in  lime  juice,  70,  84 

in  meat,  70,  71,  74,  170,  432 

in  pickles,  70 

in  poultry,  70 

in  sauces,  164 

in  sausages,  171 

in  syrups,  159 

in  temperance  beverages,  159,  160 

in  tinned  fruits,  162 

in  vegetables,  164 

in  vinegar,  70,  164 

in  wines,  70,  72 

pharmacological  action  of,  70,  72 

prohibition  in  America  of,  440 

tests  for,  335 

trade  preparations  of,  70 
Sulphonal,  poisoning  by,  185 
Sulphur  dioxide,  action  on  bacteria  of, 

70 

action  on  epithelium  of,  72 
in  jams,  163 

in  Jones  and  Trevithick's  pro- 
cess, 7 
Sulphuric  acid,  arsenic  in,  192 

arsenic  in,  elimination  of,  358 
in  vegetables,  164 
in  vinegar,  90,  164 
prohibition  in  wines  in  France 

of,  439 
Sulphurous  acid,  arsenic  in,  193 

prohibition  in  America  of,  440 
Surra  disease,  244 
Swine  erysipelas,  224 
Swine  fever,  224 
Switzerland,  laws  relating  to  the  use  of 

preservatives  in,  440 
Syrups,  arsenic  in,  193 

cochineal  in,  173 

colouring  matters  in  fruit,  174 

foam  producers  in,  371 

31 


482 


PEESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 


Syrups,  preservatives  in,  159 
salicylic  acid  in,  79,  159 
sulphites  in,  159 


TABES  MESKNTL-RICA,  due  to  milk,  267 
Tcenia  echinococcus,  238,  293 
TcBnia  marginata,  234 
Tcenia  mediocanellata,  233 
Tcenia  solium,  235 

symptoms  produced  by,  236 
Tapeworms,  233 
Tartaric  acid,  arsenic  in,  193 

lead  in,  202 
Tea,  lead  in,  202 

Temperance  beverages,  alcohol  in,  158 
antimony  in,  198,  200 
boron  compounds  in,  159,  160 
carbonic  acid  in,  158 
colouring  matters  in,  174,  184 
filtration  of,  158 
formic   aldehyde   in,   56,  159, 

160,  435 

pasteurization  of,  158 
preparation  of,  159 
preservatives  in,  158,  159,  160, 

435 
preservatives  in,  necessity  for, 

159,  160,  161 

salicylic  acid  in,  159,  160,  435 
sterilization  of,  158 
sulphites  in,  159,  160 
Tetanus  in  animals,  226 
Texas  fever,  244 
'  Thermophylic  '  bacteria,  1 
Throat,  sore,  due  to  milk,  266,  272 
Thrush,  due  to  milk,  266 
Tilletia  caries,  297 
Tilletia  tritici,  297 
Tin,  lead  in,  201,  202 

in  foods,  danger  to  health  from,  7, 

8,204 
in  foods,  detection  and  estimation 

of,  367 
Tin  chloride,  arsenic  in,  194 

in  sugar,  183,  194 
Tinned  fish,  poisoning  due  to,  303 
Tinned  food,  bacterial  spores  in,  301 

examination   of,   7,  275,   290, 

304 

lead  in,  7,  202 

poisoning  by,  8,  303,  304,  305 
tin  in,  7,  204 
unsound,  7,  275,  290,  304,  412, 

413 
unsound    (legal     cases),    412, 

413 

zinc  in,  7 

Tinned  meat,  poisoning  by,  303,  305 
Tinned  milk,  see  Condensed  milk 
Tinned  salmon  poisoning,  by,  305 


Tinned  tongue,  poisoning  by,  305 
Tins,   blown,   7,   275,    290,    304,    412, 

413 

Tongue,  boron  compounds  in,  16,  184 
colouring  matters  in,  184 
creosote  in,  184 
salt  in,  184 
smoking  of,  171 
tinned,  poisoning  by,  305 
'  wooden,'  227 
Toxalbumin  in  cheese,  283 
Toxins,  effect  of  heat  on,  311,  313,  314, 

317,  324,  325 
'  extracellular,'  310 
in  cheese,  283 

in  food,  examination  for,  324 
'  intracellular,'  310 
nature  of,  309,  324 
of  Bacillus  botulinus,  313 
poisoning  by,  309 
tests  for,  324 
Treacle,  arsenic  in,  193 
Trichina  spiralis,  231 

effect  of  cold  on,  231 
effect  of  heat  on,  232 
effect  of  pickling  on,  232 
effect  of  smoking  on,  232 
Trichinosis,  230 

examination  of  carcass  for,  232 
symptoms  of,  232 
Trimethylamine,  246 
Tropaeolins,  175,  185 
Trout,  BothriocepJialus  latus  in,  237 
Trypanosomata,  244 
Trypsin,  action  of  borax  on,  29 
action  of  boric  acid  on,  29 
action  of  formic  aldehyde  on,  60 
Tubercle  bacillus,  see  Bacillus  tubercu- 
losis 

Tuberculosis,  due  to  milk,  266,  267 
in  cows,  119,  266 
relationship   between   human   and 

bovine,  216 
Tuberculous  meat,  method   of   dealing 

with,  219 

method  of  examining,  219 
seizure  of  (legal  case),  422 
Tuberculous  milk,  266 
Tumours  in  food  animals,  215 
Turkeys,  fowl  cholera  in,  228 
Turmeric,  as  a  colouring  matter,  173, 

174 

in  mustard,  176 
in  piccalilli,  176 
Turnipy  butter,  141 

Typhoid  bacillus,  see  Bacillus  typhosus 
Typhoid  fever,  see  Enteric  fever 
Tyrotoxicon,  in  dairy  produce,  149,  273, 

281,  282,  325 
poisoning  by,  282 
tests  for,  325 


INDEX 


483 


ULTBAMABINE  as  a  colouring  matter, 
186 

Umber  as  a  colouring  matter  in  con- 
fectionery, 173 

United  States,  action  taken  with  regard 
to  benzoic  and  salicylic  acids  in  food 
by  the  Treasury  of  the,  84 

Unsound  food,  see  Bread,  Cheese,  Food, 
Fruit,  Meat,  Milk,  &c. 

Uranium,  prohibited  as  a  colouring 
matter  in  Germany,  186 

Uroglena,  action  of  copper  salts  on,  177 

Urotropine,  dose  and  action  of,  66 

Ustilago  segetum  in  corn,  297 


VACCINATED  animals,  flesh  of,  226 
Veal,  poisoning   due  to   unsound,  305, 

315,  317,  318,  319,  320 
Vegetables,  alum  in,  89 

bacterial  spores  in  tinned,  301 

boron  compounds  in,  164 

colouring  matters  in,  173,  174 

copper  salts  in,  90,  164,  173,  176, 
179,  187,  204,  397.  See  also 
Peas. 

copper  salts  in,  detection  and  esti- 
mation of,  365,  366 

copper  salts  in  (legal  cases),  397 

copper  salts  in,  recommendations 
of  Departmental  Committee  con- 
cerning, 189,  438 

copper  salts  in,  solubility  in  the 
digestive  juices  of,  183 

dried,  8,  164 

enteric  fever  due  to,  292 

examination  of,  302 

formic  aldehyde  in,  164 

hydatid  disease  due  to,  293 

lead  in  tinned,  202 

salt  in,  164 

saltpetre  in,  164 

sulphites  in,  164 

sulphuric  acid  in,  164 

vinegar  in,  164 

See  also  Peas,  Spinach,  Water-cress  &c. 
Venison,  boron  compounds  in,  16 
Verdet  in  maize,  298 
Vermilion  as  a  colouring  matter,  185 
Vibrio  tritici,  297,  300 
Vinegar,  arsenic  in,  193 

as  a  preservative,  93,  164,  172 

boron  compounds  in,  16,  164 

formic  aldehyde  in,  164 

sulphites  in,  70,  164 

sulphuric  acid  in,  90,  164 


WALL-PAPERS,  arsenic  in,  197 
Walter  Gregory's  powder,  79,  154 
Water,  aerated,  lead  in  201 


Water,  aerated,  detection  and  estimation 
of  copper  in,  365 

aerated,  detection  and  estimation  of 
lead  in,  365 

detection  and  estimation  of  copper 
in,  365 

detection  and  estimation  of  lead  in, 
365 

lead  in,  200 

Water-cress,  enteric  fever  due  to,  293 
hydatid  disease  due  to,  293 
Water-glass,  see  Sodium  silicate 
Wearing  apparel,  arsenic  in,  197 
'  Wens  '  in  cattle,  227 
Wheat,  Bacillus  coli  communis  in,  300 

Bacillus  enteritidis  sporogenes  in, 
300 

bunt  in,  298 

copper  in,  179,  180 
Whisky,  copper  in,  179 
Wine,  abrastol  in,  detection  of,  344 

alcohol  in,  93,  155 

arsenic  in,  neuritis  due  to,  196 

barium  compounds  prohibited  in 
Germany  in,  439 

benzoic  acid  in,  85 

boron  compounds  in,  16 

boron  compounds  in,  estimation  of, 
333 

boron  compounds  in,  prohibited  in 
France  and  Germany,  439 

carbonic  acid  in,  155 

coal-tar  dyes  prohibited  in  Ger- 
many in,  439 

colouring  matters  in,  176,  184 

glycerine  prohibited  in  Germany 
in,  439 

hydrochloric  acid  prohibited  in 
France  in,  439 

impure  spirits  and  starch  sugar 
prohibited  in  Germany  in,  439 

kermes  berries  prohibited  in  Ger- 
many in, 439 

laws  relating  to  the  use  of  pre- 
servatives in  Germany  in,  439 

laws  relating  to  the  use  of  pre- 
servatives in  France  in,  155,  436, 
439 

logwood  in,  176 

magnesium  compounds  prohibited 
in  Germany  in,  439 

method  of  making,  155 

necessity  for  use  of  preservatives  in, 
155,  436 

nitric  acid  prohibited  in  France  in, 
439 

'  plastering '  of,  155 

salicylic  acid  in,  78,  79,  80, 155,  435 

salicylic  acid  in,  detection  of,  347 

salicylic  acid  in,  prohibited  in 
France  and  Germany,  439 


484 


PKESEEVATIVES  IN  FOOD 


Wine,  salt  in,  155,  436 

strontium    compounds    prohibited 

in  Germany  in,  439 
sulphites  in,  70,  72 
sulphuric  acid  prohibited  in  France 

in,  439 

Wine,  black  currant,  salicylic  acid  in,  80 
Wines,  British,  benzoic  acid  in,  156 
formic  aldehyde  in,  156 
preservatives    in,    desirability 

of,  156 
preservatives  in,  necessity  for, 

156 

preservatives    in,    opinion    of 

the  Departmental  Committee 

as  to  the  necessity  for,  157, 

436 

salicylic  acid   in,  79,  80,  156, 

387,  394 

sulphites  in,  156 
Wines,  '  home  made,'  157 
Wines,  medicated,  benzoic  acid  in,  85 


Wines,  medicated,  boi'ic  acid  in,  157 

desirability  of  presence  of  pre- 
servatives in,  157 
salicylic  acid  in,  79,  157 

Wines,  sacramental,  benzoic  acid  in,  85 

Winkles,  examination  of,  248 

'  Wooden-tongue '  in  cattle,  227 

Worms  in  cheese,  291 


YEAST,  arsenic  in,  193 

Yeasts,  alcoholic  fermentation  by,  151 

'  wild,'  151 
Yellow  milk,  274 


ZINC,  action  on  bacteria,  178 

arsenic  in,  359 

in  tinned  foods,  7 

prohibited  as  a  colouring  matter  in 

Germany,  186 
Zymotic  enteritis,  see  Diarrhoea 


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