Main Lib.

Agric. Dcpf.

United States Department of Agriculture,

BUREAU OF CHEMISTRY Circular No. 31.

H. W. WILEY, Chief of Bureau.

GENERAL RESULTS OF THE INVESTIGATIONS SHOWING THE EFFECT
OF SALICYLIC ACID AND SALICYLATES UPON DIGESTION AND
HEALTH.

ORGANIZATION OP THE EXPERIMENT.
CONTKOL OF SUBJECTS.

The experiments were conducted on twelve young men volunteers,
chiefly from the Department of Agriculture, who voluntarily assumed
the obligations imposed by work of this kind. They pledged them-
selves to abide by the rules and regulations guiding their conduct
during the period of the observation, to indulge in no unusual exer-
cise or study, to pursue the ordinary tenor of their daily lives without
any more variation than is incident to regular habits. They further
undertook to eat only the food which was given them at the hygienic
table, to collect and deliver for analysis the excreta of their bodies,
to observe regular hours respecting sleep and work, and to report
the quantity of water which was drunk away from the hygienic table.
The young men were not placed under surveillance, but simply were
trusted with their pledge that they would not violate any of the rules
of conduct prescribed.

THE RATION.

The work was conducted in a manner which has already been de-
scribed, b namely, by first ascertaining in the fore period the quantity
of food necessary to satisfy the ordinary demands of hunger and

a By reason of the restrictions placed upon the printing and distribution of the bulletins
of the Department of Agriculture, it is not possible to supply the demand for Bulletin 84,
Influence of Food Preservatives and Artificial Colors on Digestion and Health, from the
regular edition. In order to meet this demand and to give as wide a circulation as possible
to the results of the experimental work, it has been deemed advisable, in the case of Part
II on Salicylic Acid and Salicylates, as with Part I, Boric Acid and Borax, to publish the
general results in the form of a circular for more general distribution. In explanation of
results obtained in this circular, attention is called to the fact that the methods pursued
in the investigation were essentially those described in Bulletin 84, Part I, and in Circular
15, Results of Borax Experiment.

& Circular 15, Bureau of Chemistry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

8030 No. 3106

t

UN

preserve the body in a state of equilibrium. It was found that the
amount of dry matter contained in the food consumed averaged a
little less than 1 per cent of the weight of the body, the exact aver-
age for the whole experiment being 0.9 per cent. In other words,
each healthy young man consumes each day an amount of dry food
equivalent, approximately, to 1 per cent of the weight of his body.
In the case of a man weighing 150 pounds, therefore, the amount
of dry food consumed is about li pounds daily. Including the
moisture in the food and drink, the total quantity of food consumed
by each young man is 4.2 per cent of his weight. Thus the total
amount of food and drink consumed by an individual weighing 150
pounds is a little over 6 pounds daily. The diet was varied so as to
give a choice of meats and vegetables, with bread, butter, milk, coffe
and tea. The best qualities of foods were purchased
added preservative or coloring matter and in a perfect state of pres-
ervation. The cooking was done in the Department of Agriculture,
and every precaution was used to have the food and all the appurte-
nances of the table perfectly sanitary. While the kitchen and dining
room were in the basement and perhaps might not be considered
especially attractive, scrupulous neatness was observed.

ADMINISTRATION OF THE/ PRESERVATIVE.

The periods of observation were divided into groups of five days
each, two periods being^used^for the preliminary or fore period,
namely, ten days; six periods, or thirty days, for the administration
of the preservative; and two periods, or ten days, for the after period.
The salicylic acid was given in small and increasing doses, beginning
with 0.2 gram, namely, 3 grains, and gradually increasing the dose
to 2 grams, or 30 grains. The administration of the preservative
extended in this case from October 29, 1903, to November 27, 1903,
a period of thirty days. The preservative was administered in the
two forms considered to be most convenient and most commonly
used by physicians, namely, in tablets and in capsules. Objections
have been urged against this manner of administering a preservative
and it has even been stated in some of the criticisms of the borax
experiment that the use of this method is sufficient ground for the
rejection of all the data collected relative to the injurious effects of
the preservative upon the metabolic processes. It is hardly neces-
sary to call attention to the groundlessness of such an objection. In
all medical and pharmacological work the materials which are used
for study are given either in the food in the form of tablets or cap-
sules, or injected directly into the blood. If, therefore, the data
which have been collected in these experiments are to be rejected
by reason of the method of administration, the whole mass of data
based upon medical and pharmacological experimental work is to be

3

rejected for similar reasons. This criticism, therefore, is of the most
preposterous character and shows to what extremes those who are
dissatisfied with the results of these experiments may go in order to
prejudice the public against their value.

EXAMINATIONS AND ANALYSES MADE.

Each one of the young men was carefully examined for organic
or other troubles and no one was admitted to the table who was
not perfectly sound physically and who had not been free from any
serious illness for at least a year. As much or even greater care was
exercised in this case than is given to the examination of candidates
for life-insurance policies. Each young man was subjected to care-
ful medical control during the entire period of the experiment in
regard to his temperature, rate of pulsation, and character of any
symptoms of disease of any kind which were developed. A daily
record was made of this clinical and medical history, which was
made the basis of a general discussion concerning these points.
The weight and water content of the feces and the volume and
specific gravity of the urine were determined each day, and these
excreta were subjected to careful chemical analysis.

These analytical data, combined with the analytical data obtained
for the food products, established the basis for the chemical study
of the changes in the metabolic activities of the young men during
the progress of the investigation. An elaborate study was also
made of the sulfur occurring in the urine in regard to its distribu-
tion in different sulfur compounds and especially in relation to the
content of nitrogen. Microscopic examinations of the urine were
conducted at all periods for the purpose of ascertaining what influ-
ence, if any, the exhibition of salicylic acid had upon these bodies.
In a similar manner a microscopic examination was made of the
blood, including the estimation of the number of corpuscles, both
red and white, contained therein. All possible precautions, in view
of the magnitude of the work, were observed in securing a complete
chemical and clinical control of each one of the young men engaged
in the experimental work. By reason of illness and other unavoid-
able incidents only nine of the young men engaged in the work are
admitted to the general comparison. The fragmentary and unsatis-
factory data of the other three, while they are recorded, are not
included" in the general discussion. These data, however, are of a
character which, had they been included in the general discussion,
would not have altered the general conclusions derived therefrom.
There can be no fault imputed to the final conclusions due to the
exclusion of these fragmentary data. The results of the work are
offered to the medical profession, to the officials in charge of National
and State food control, and to the public with the hope that the

work will be carefully considered and that there will be accorded
to it that measure of professional and public confidence which its
character merits.

SUMMARY OF RESULTS.
CLINICAL AND MEDICAL DATA.

A study of the clinica} and medical history of the men under
observation indicates that the administration of the salicylic acid
at first produces a stimulating effect upon the processes of solution
and absorption of the food materials from the alimentary canal.
There is a smaller proportion of the food products in the feces, both
in the individual cases and as a whole, during the preservative period,
and part of the after period is subject still to the effects of the admin-
istration of the preservative. There is also reported in the clinical
and medical history an increased appetite in the case of the majority
of the subjects. Altho the quantity of food which had been found
sufficient for the normal functions of the body during the fore
period is not diminished, and even to a slight extent in most instances
increases, a feeling of hunger develops in almost every case, show-
ing a disturbance of some kind in the metabolic process. The
nature of this disturbance is disclosed in the chemical studies, while
its observation is a prominent feature of the clinical and medical
history. Judged by the development of hunger alone the administra-
tion of the salicylic acid might be considered a stimulant. When,
however, all the functions of the body are in a normal state, there is no
need of a stimulant, and the effect produced by the administration
of the acid is evidently, therefore, an abnormal one. In cases where
it is advisable to stimulate temporarily the digestive organs an effect
such as that produced would be desirable if not continued too
long. The physiological history of the use of stimulants, however,
shows that they are temporary in their effects; that the increased
activity produced by them is at the expense of the total vitality of
the organ. Hence stimulants -are indicated only for temporary or
intermittent use. The truth of this statement is wholly established
by the subsequent data gathered from the clinical and medical history
of the subjects. The temporary hunger, while accompanied in a
number of cases by heaviness and uneasiness in the epigastric region,
does not cause any very great discomfort, and in the majority of
cases the abnormal desire for food soon decreases. The same quan-
tity or a slightly increased quantity of food is consumed thruout the
administration of the preservative.

The loss of weight which is observed in almost all cases indicates
that the apparent stimulation of the digestive process is not
attended with any corresponding benefit in the building up of the
tissues of the body. Assuming, as is done constantly in these

studies, that the energy developed by each individual remains prac-
tically constant, any increased absorption of food materials should
have been followed by an increase in body weight. On the con-
trary, as is shown in the study of the balances, the katabolic activities
are increased more strongly than the anabolic. There is a more
vigorous tearing down of the tissues of the tody than there is a
building up thereof, and thus the observations made in the clinical
and medical history are thoroly corroborated by the chemical studies
of the foods and the products of metabolism. The general study of
the medical data shows in some instances decidedly unfavorable
symptoms attending the use of salicylic acid, while in a minority of
cases no unfavorable symptoms of a diagnostic character are devel-
oped. After carefully weighing all the data favorable and unfavor-
able to the salicylic acid, disclosed in the detailed statement of the
medical history, the conclusion is inevitable that taken as a whole
the effects produced by its administration are unfavorable. It is
true that there are individual cases which, taken alone, would lead
presumably to a contrary opinion, and to these due weight is given
in the general conclusion. As a jury considering conflicting testi-
mony gives weight to that which seems most convincing and least
open to doubt, so in the decision of this case from the medical history
the verdict must follow the weight of testimony and be given against
the defendant, namely, salicylic acid.

A summary of the most important indications leading to these
conclusions is as follows, dealing with the average results obtained
on body weight, effect on the blood and urine, and the metabolism
of nitrogen and phosphoric acid :

THE WEIGHT OF THE BODY.

If all the variations in weight be taken as a whole for the nine
men who completed the periods, it is noticed that there is a gradual
diminution in weight, which falls from 62.71 kilograms with an
average of 555 grams of dry food per day in the fore period to an
average of 62.27 kilograms with an average of 564 grams of dry food
per day in the preservative period. This loss of weight is continued
in a more marked degree in the after period, where the average
weight is 61.61 kilograms with 568 grams of dry food. Thus, altho
the quantity of food is increased, the weight of the body is dimin-
ished. The general conclusion, therefore, in regard to the effect of
the preservative upon the weight of the body is that there is a greater
waste than there is a building up of the tissues, assuming, as we may
practically do, that the amount of energy and the temperature
remain reasonably constant. The general effect, therefore, of the
salicylic acid is, under the conditions specified, to diminish the
weight of the 'body; in other words, to interfere with the processes

6

of nutrition by exciting the katabolic activities to a greater degree
than the anabolic.

THE MICROSCOPIC BODIES IN THE BLOOP.

There is an Increase in the number of red corpuscles in the blood
and also a slight increase in the number of white corpuscles during
the period of the administration of the preservative. The intensity
of the color of the^blood diminishes, however, both in the preservative
and in the after period. There is a marked decrease in the number
both of red and white corpuscles in the after period. The apparent
increase, therefore, in the preservative period is followed by a very
considerable decrease in the after period. No conclusion, favorable
or unfavorable, can be drawn from this observation regarding the
use of the preservative, tho apparently, if there is any effect
produced, it should be attributed to a favorable influence of the
preservative in increasing the number of red corpuscles.

INFLUENCE OF THE PRESERVATIVE UPON THE URINE.

VOLUME.

But little influence of the salicylic acid on the volume of the urine
is noticed. The average quantity of urine excreted per day is very
slightly larger in the preservative period than in the fore period, for
the nine men taken together, while in the after period it is slightly
less. There is, therefore, a very slight tendency manifested, which
is of no particular significance, to increase the volume of the urine.
There is also noticed a slight increase in the total solids excreted in the
urine, and this increase is maintained in the after period. This obser-
vation is in harmony with that indicated by many of the other
phenomena which show that the salicylic acid has increased the
katabolic activities of the body.

PRESENCE OF ALBUMIN.

In so far as the limited observations made on this point in the
main experiment on the twelve men are concerned, the administra-
tion of the salicylic acid did not produce any notable effect upon the
occurrence of albumin in the urine. In the special study made sub-
sequently of four men, a marked tendency is shown to increase the
occurrence of albumin.

MICROSCOPIC BODIES.

The occurrence of microscopic bodies in the urine is a normal con-
dition, and therefore the only point which can be considered here is
to determine whether or not the exhibition of the salicylic acid tended
to increase or diminish their number. The mass data collected for the
nine men indicate that there was a tendency on the part of the sali-
cylic acid to increase the number of microscopic bodies in the urine,

the average relative occurrence rising from 68.3 per cent in the fore
period to 78.3 per cent in the preservative period, and showing still
an additional rise to 79.4 per cent in the after period. Inasmuch as
most of the microscopic bodies are considered to be more or less asso-
ciated with the katabolic products of the body, their increase tends
to confirm the supposition already entertained, namely, that the
salicylic acid has a greater influence upon the destruction of the
tissues of the body than it has upon their restoration. To this extent
the increased appearance of microscopic bodies is to be regarded as
an unfavorable indication.

EXCRETION OF THE SALICYLIC ACID.

As in most of the cases where an additional and extraneous sub-
stance is added to a food product, the kidneys are called upon to bear
the principal effort of excretion. In the case of salicylic acid a large
part of it is excreted unchanged in the urine. Other portions undergo
changes of a more or less definite nature, and these changed products
are also excreted to a large extent by the kidneys, and thus the bur-
den of their work is increased. It is evident, therefore, that the exhi-
bition of the salicylic acid tends to increase the burden which is
placed upon the. kidneys as the principal excretory organ of the body.
Every increase of a burden of this kind must tend to shorten the
period of activity of this organ and thus produce a deleterious effect.
This is shown therefore to be the case in this instance, and for this
reason it may be fairly supposed that salicylic acid is a deleterious
substance, in that it increases the amount of work demanded of the
kidneys.

THE EXCRETION OF NITROGEN.

The data collected in the experiment on twelve men show that the
general effect of the salicylic acid is to increase slightly the quantity
of metabolized nitrogen excreted by the kidneys, while the quantity
of nonmetabolized nitrogen excreted in the feces is slightly decreased,
resulting in a small decrease in the total percentage of nitrogen elimi-
nated. The balance is somewhat greater in the preservative period,
altho the amount of nitrogen ingested is slightly decreased. In the
special study made of four men, two cases showed an increased excre-
tion of metabolized nitrogen and two a decrease in the preservative
period, indicating an inhibiting effect by the general average. These
data as a whole indicate that the preservative tended to increase
slightly the digestibility and absorption of the nitrogen ingested.

THE EXCRETION OF PHOSPHORIC ACID.

While in the case of nitrogen the general tendency of the salicylic
acid is to increase the quantity of metabolized nitrogen excreted,
just the contrary effect is shown in respect of the phosphoric acid.

There is a well-developed tendency during the administration of the
salicylic acid to increase the store of phosphoric acid in the body,
since the amount absorbed from the alimentary canal is slightly
increased and the quantity excreted by the kidneys is decreased.
It is evident, therefore, that there is a storihg of phosphatic material in
the tissues due to the effect of salicylic acid. It is doubtful if such
an increased store would prove of any lasting benefit in its effects,
nor would it be just to claim that it would be injurious. The most
that can be said in this case is that there is a decided disturbance of
phosphoric acid metabolism in the direction of increasing the stores
of phosphorus in the body, while in the case of nitrogen there is no
marked effect produced on the metabolic process.

THE USE OF SMALL QUANTITIES OF THE PRESERVATIVE.

The arguments which have been advanced in excuse of the use of
preservatives when used in minute quantities have perhaps been
more vigorously urged for salicylic acid than for almost any other
substance. Since the publication of Part I of Bulletin 84 this argu-
ment has been urged with such vigor and such ingenuity that a
further reference may not be out of place in these general conclu-
sions. The principle which is laid down is that a substance which
is injurious to health when added to foods, if not a natural constit-
uent thereof, or if not added for condimental purposes, does not
lose its power of injury to health because it is diluted or given in
small quantities. The only change which is made is to mask the
injurious effects produced to make them more difficult of ascer-
tainment and impossible of measurement. This subject was fully
discust in the hearings before the House Committee on Interstate
and Foreign Commerce in February, 1906. The fallacy of the argu-
ment that small quantities of an injurious substance are not injurious
may perhaps be best represented graphically. The chart which
accompanies this discussion shows theoretically the normal and
lethal dose of a food and a drug or, as in this case, a chemical pre-
servative. The chart shows two curves, one representing a chemical
preservative and one representing a food. The normal dose of a
food is that quantity of food which maintains a healthy adult body
in equilibrium. It is represented in the chart on the right by the
number 100. If the quantity of food necessary to maintain the
equilibrium in a healthy adult body is slightly diminished, no appar-
ent change is at first experienced and possibly even no discomfort.
If, however, the quantity of food be still further diminished pro-
gressively, as indicated by following the curve down to the left,
the point is finally reached when no food is given at all and death
ensues, represented by on the left hand of the diagram designated
" Lethal dose." As the curve begins to deviate from the perpen-

9

LETHAL DOSE
100

NORMAL DOS

00

dicular on the right the degree of injury is very readily noticed and
starvation or symptoms of starvation are set up. Thus if you follow
the perpendicular on the right downward to the point 80 the diver-
gence of the corresponding point of the curve is already measurable.
As you descend to the magnitude of the measurement increases.
It requires^ but very little further illustration to show how easily
the effect of diminishing the normal dose of a food can be measured
immediately after the curve begins to vary appreciably from the
perpendicular on the right.

Let us now consider the perpendicular on the left, which is marked
at the top under the term " Lethal dose/' namely, a quantity of the
added preservative sufficient to destroy life. The normal dose of
such an added
chemical preserva-
tive is and is
shown at the base
line to the right,
marked " Normal
dose." If you add
a very minute
quantity of a chem-
ical preservative,
the curve repre-
senting it varies so
slightly from the
horizontal base as
to be impossible
of measurement by
ordinary means. If
we follow along to
the number 75 on
the horizontal base"
we see the devia-
tion of the curve is sufficiently great to measure. At 50 it is still
greater, at 25 still greater, while at the left of the basic line it is a
maximum extending from to 100, or the lethal dose. It is easy to
show by mathematical data that no matter how small the quantity
of an injurious substance or preservative it will still produce an
injurious effect which may be infinitely small if the dose be infinitely
small. It follows, then, as a mathematical demonstration that any
quantity of an injurious substance added to a food product must of
necessity be injurious, provided it is in the nature of a drug and the
body is in a perfectly healthy, normal condition.

Hence the argument which has been so persistently urged in favor
of a chemical preservative, that if in small quantities it is harmless,
is shown to be wholly untenable. While there is no necessity for

LETHAL DOSE

.50

75 NORMAL DOSE

FIG. 1. Graphic chart representing the comparative influences of
foods and preservatives.

10

the addition of a harmful substance, where no particular benefit is
secured thereby, and where there is no disturbance of the normal
state of health, there can be no possible excuse of a valid nature to
offer for the exhibition of even minute quantities. That these
minute quantities would not be dangerous in so far as producing
any fatal effect is concerned is conceded, but that in the end they
do not produce an injury even in these small quantities is certainly
to be denied. The course of safety, therefore, in all these cases is
to guard the opening of the door. If the admission of small quan-
tities is permitted, then there can never be any agreement among
experts or others respecting the magnitude of the small quantity,
and continued litigation and disagreement must follow. On the
other hand, when the harmfulness of any substance which it is pro-
posed to add to food is established and no reason for its use can be
given other than the convenience, carelessness, or indifference of
the manufacturer, the exclusion of such bodies entirely from food
products follows as a logical sequence and a hygienic necessity.

GENERAL CONCLUSIONS.

In the conclusions based upon the general observations the same
conservatism must be observed, together with the same general
reservations respecting the conclusions that are found in Part I con-
cerning boric acid and borax. While, as described in the borax
report, the attempt has been made to control, as far as possible,
all the conditions of the experimental work, the difficulties attend-
ing the task are so enormous that it is not possible that complete
success should be secured. There has, however, been no attempt
made to discriminate in the choice of data, all the observations
being recorded and the discussion of the individual data based upon
the tabular statements being given without prejudice and without
bias. The general assumption has been made, as in the previous
case, that by reason of the regular habits of life which were imposed
upon the subjects the amount of energy developed and the quan-
tity of nourishment expended therein are reasonably constant
thruout the experimental period. If these factors vary, as they
necessarily must to a certain degree, it is evident that they vary
uniformly above or below the average, and hence these variations
could not possibly produce any notable effect upon the final result.

There has been a general consensus of opinion among scientific men,
including the medical profession, that salicylic acid and its compounds
are very harmful substances, and the prejudice against this particular
form of preservative is perhaps greater than against any other mate-
rial used for preserving foods. This is due not only to the belief in the
injurious character of salicylic acid, but perhaps is especially due to
the fact that it has in the past been so generally used as an antiseptic.

11

That salicylic acid should be singled out especially for condemnation
among preservatives does not seem to be justified by the data which
are presented and discus t in this bulletin. That it is a harmful sub-
stance, however, seems to be well established by the data taken as a
whole, but it appears to be a harmful substance of less virulence than
has been generally supposed. There is no doubt of the fact that
salicylic acid is a drug which is often indicated in diseases well estab-
list ed, and also perhaps in certain conditions which, while verging on
disease, might still be regarded as a state of health. But the adminis-
tration of salicylic acid as a medicine should be controlled exclusively
by the medical profession, and, while it is a remedy well established
in the Pharmacopoeia and especially prized for its effect upon rheu-
matism and gout, it does not seem that there should be any warrant
in this fact for its promiscuous use in foods, even if it were harmless.

The data show very clearly that salicylic acid and salicylates
appear to exert an exciting influence upon the activities which take
place in the alimentary canal, stimulating the organs to greater effort,
and this stimulation leads at first to increased digestion and absorp-
tion of the foods which are introduced into the stomach. In the light
of the data which are exhibited salicylic acid may be said to increase
the solubility and absorption of the food in the alimentary canal, so
that larger parts of the nutrients taken into the stomach actually
enter the circulation.

The data which show the effects just noted also indicate that the
general effect upon the system is depressing, in that the tissues are
broken down more rapidly than they are built up, and thus the normal
metabolic processes are interfered with in a harmful way. The
administration of the salicylic acid is attended by a gradual decrease
in the weight of the subjects, altho the quantity of food elements
administered during the preservative and after periods is slightly
increased, which fact, together with a greater degree of absorption of
the food elements, should have resulted in a slight increase in weight.
This increase in weight, however, does not occur, and the disturbing
influences of the salicylic acid upon metabolism, altho not very great,
are specifically demonstrated.

The final conclusion in this matter, therefore, is that the unenviable
position which salicylic acid has heretofore held among preserva-
tives, in being regarded as the most injurious of all, is perhaps to a
certain extent undeserved. Like other ordinary preservatives, it is
not one which can be classed as a poison in the usual sense of the word.
When used as a medicine in many cases of derangement of health it is,
like the other chemical preservatives, often highly beneficial when
properly prescribed by a competent physician. It is, when used in
the food, at first an apparent stimulant, increasing the solubility and
absorption of the common food elements from the alimentary canal.

12

It soon, however, loses its stimulating properties and becomes a depres-
sant, tending to break down the tissues of the body more rapidly than
they are built up. It disturbs the metabolic processes, in most cases
producing conditions which are not normal and which apparently are
not beneficial. It has a tendency to diminish the weight of the body
and to produce a feeling of discomfort and malaise which, while not
marked, is distinctly indicative of injury. In some cases these symp-
toms of malaise approach illness, and while not always diagnostic are
sufficiently common to unmistakably point to the salicylic acid as
their origin. It places upon the excretory organs, especially the kid-
neys, an additional burden which they are not able to bear and which
can not possibly result in any good, but on the contrary must neces-
sarily, by thus increasing the burden of the kidneys, finally result in
injury, tho perhaps with the use of very small quantities of the
preservative these organs would continue to perform their functions
for many years before finally breaking down.

This work is offered as an unbiased study of all the data recorded,
both of those which appear to be in favor of the use of salicylic acid
and those which appear to be against its use, and leads to the inevi-
table conclusion that salicylic acid is a substance which, when added to
foods even in small quantities, exerts a depressing and harmful influ-
ence upon the digestion and health and the general metabolic activi-
ties of the body. Further, there appears to be no necessity for its use,
as food can be preserved in unobjectionable ways without its aid. Its
indiscriminate use would tend to carelessness in the quantities
employed, thus increasing the dangers to which the consumer is sub-
jected. Also its use in the preservation of foods tends to induce care-
lessness and indifference on the part of the manufacturer, as when a
chemical antiseptic is employed many of the processes necessary to
the proper selection, cleaning, and preservation of foods may be omit-
ted. The addition of salicylic acid and salicylates to foods is there-
fore a process which is reprehensible in every respect and leads to
injury to the consumer, which, tho in many cases not easily measured,
must finally be productive of great harm.

H. W. WILEY, M. D.,
Chief Bureau of Chemistry.

Approved :

JAMES WILSON,

Secretary of Agriculture.

WASHINGTON, D. C., August 24, 1906.

O

RETURN

TO

MAIN CIRCULATION

ALL BOOKS ARE SUBJECT TO RECALL
RENEW BOOKS BY CALLING 642-3405

DUE AS STAMPED BELOW

FEB 01 1<

96

RECEIVED

NOV 2 1995

CIRCULATION DEF

FORM NO. DD6

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY
BERKELEY, CA 94720

u.c.

14 DAY USE

RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED

LOAN DEPT.

This book is due on the last date stamped below, ot

on the date to which renewed.
Renewed books are subject to immediate recall.

LD 2lA-60m-10,'65
(F7763slO)476B

General Library

UnivSity of California

Berkeley

YC 69407

.