FLOUR. There is an impression in some quarters, unfortunately, that flour is adulterated with ground gypsum or other mineral matter. It is also believed by many that alum is used for the purpose of whitening bread. It may be said, however, that these forms of adulteration are not practiced in this country. Some years ago an effort was made to place on the market a ground stone for the purpose of adulterating flour. This product was extensively advertised by means of circular letters addressed to millers. As far as we have been able to ascertain, however, the product was never used. At one time during recent years the use of Indian corn flour for the adulteration of wheat flour became somewhat prevalent. This practice was entirely stopped by the enforcement of the Federal law relating to mixed flour. At the present time there is probably no product on our market more free from adulteration than wheat flour. Some adulteration is practiced in special kinds of flour. For instance, much of the so-called gluten flour on the market is not at all what it purports to be. Frequently untreated wheat flour is sold for gluten flour. Buckwheat flour and other special articles of that nature. are also frequently adulterated with cheaper cereal products. In the preparation of cocoa and chocolate, cocoa beans are roasted, freed from shells, and ground. The resulting product is known as cocoa mass. It contains about 50 per cent of fat (cocoa butter), and is sometimes melted into cakes without any further addition and sold as plain chocolate or bitter chocolate. For the preparation of sweetened chocolate, cane sugar is added to the cocoa mass and ground at a temperature sufficient to melt the fat. Milk chocolate is prepared by mixing with the cocoa mass dry milk powder (obtained by the evaporation of whole milk) and sugar. Cocoa is obtained by pressing the cocoa mass while still sufficiently warm to melt the fat so that a portion of it is removed. The fat is ! melted into cakes and sold as cocoa butter, while the pressed cakes of cocoa from which a portion of the fat has been extracted are ground up in the preparation of breakfast cocoa. For the purpose of cheapening cocoa and chocolate, starches of various kinds are ground in with the cocoa mass at the time of the introduction of the sugar or with the cocoa after the expression of the fat. The list of the various starches that have been reported from different sources is given in Table V. It will be noted that with a few exceptions the adulterants reported in this class of products are not injurious to health except in so far as they reduce the nutritive value of the product. At the same time such products as iron oxid, sawdust, sand, and woody shells can not be regarded as wholesome and should not be added to foods. Owing to the enforcement of the Federal tea law, by inspectors stationed at all ports of entry, it is believed that no adulterated tea comes into this country, and it is probably true that the adulteration of this product is not practiced after entry. Formerly it was believed that many other leaves were used as substitutes or adulterants for tea, and a sample may be readily examined for such adulterants by thoroughly wetting and unrolling the leaves and noting their shape. With regard to coffee, however, while it is believed that only the pure product is brought into the country, its adulteration after reaching our shores is not uncommon. The attempts that have been made to imitate the coffee bean have not been commercially successful, but the ground coffees sold in the market are frequently adulterated. For this purpose chicory was usually employed, but has since been largely replaced by articles of lower value-ground peas, wheat, beans, barley, etc., now being commonly used. The principal offense in the coffee trade is misbranding as to country of origin. The sale of Brazilian coffee, for example, as Java or Mocha is unfortunately very common. The artificially molded coffee berries, referred to above, are not on the market, as far as is known, but may be readily distinguished by cutting a cross section of the bean and examining its structure. That of the artificial bean is of a compact, solid, uniform nature, whereas the true coffee has a characteristic structure that can not be imitated. If pure coffee is desired, therefore, the most practical plan is to buy it unground. The term "condimental sauces" as here used is intended to apply to catsups, pickles, and miscellaneous sauces. It is not intended to include vinegar or spices, which are considered under other captions (see pp. 33 and 40). Catsups are very commonly colored and preserved. In the home at single bottle of catsup may be kept open for a considerable time, and a demand has been found for preserved goods in order that the bottle. may be kept without deterioration of the contents for some time after it is opened. Again, some manufacturers buy the greater part of the tomatoes used in making catsup within a very short period in the summer. They then prepare the pulp and store it in barrels, preserved with benzoic or salicylic acid to prevent its spoiling. Owing to the demand for catsups free from preservatives, however, some firms are now preparing their goods in small bottles sterilized by heat. These are found to keep perfectly well before opening, but of course must be used within a reasonable time after they are opened, and be kept in a cool place. An additional expense attends the preparation of goods in this manner, as it is necessary to preserve the pulp by means of sterilization by heat until such time as it is desirable to prepare the catsup. Pickles are sometimes colored with copper, as in the case of imported peas and beans. TABLE VII.-Condimental sauces. The sale of oleomargarin as butter was formerly very common, but the enforcement of the internal-revenue laws, relative to that subject, by the Treasury Department, and of the State laws," have greatly less @U. S. Dept. of Agr., Bureau of Chemistry, Bul. 69 Revised, Parts I-VIII, Foods and Food Control. Rept. Ohio Dairy and Food Comm., 1899. Rept. Conn. Agr. Expt. Sta., 1897. Rept. Conn. Agr. Expt. Sta., 1899. Rept. Ohio Dairy and Food Comm., 1898. Rept. Wis. Dairy and Food Comm., 1895-6. Rept. Mass. State Bd. of Health, 1900. Rept. Ohio Dairy and Food Comm., 1888. Rept. Mass. State Bd. of Health, 1899. Rept. Ohio Dairy and Food Comm., 1899. Rept. Minn. Dairy and Food Comm., 1901. Rept. Ill. Food Comm., 1901. Rept. Pa. Dept. of Agr., 1900. Oleomargarin or renovated butter. Rept. Conn. Agr. Expt. Sta., Pt. 2, 1901. Rept. Mass. State Bd. of Health, 1901. Rept. Mass. State Bd. of Health, 1903. 155 1 24 Rept. Ohio Dairy and Food Comm., 1900. CHEESE. Rept. Ohio Dairy and Food Comm., 1899. 7 Rept. Conn. Agr. Expt. Sta., Pt. 3, 1902. 6 31 4 Rept. Minn. Dairy and Food Comm., 1900. | Rept. Minn. Dairy and Food Comm., 1901. 1 Rept. Conn. Agr. Expt. Sta., Pt. 2, 1904. 3 Rept. Ohio Dairy and Food Comm., 1900. Rept. Ohio Dairy and Food Comm., 1903. Rept. Ohio Dairy and Food Comm., 1901. Rept. Ohio Dairy and Food Comm., 1900. |