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91
Sausages.
Twenty' samples of sausages were taken and submitted to
the Public Analyst. Of these twenty samples eight (i.e., 40 per
cent.) were reported by the Analyst to contain added preservative
(boric acid) in varying proportions from 4.71 grains per pound
to 16.73 grains per pound.
Coffee and Cocoa.
Eighteen samples of coffee were purchased and submitted to
the Public Analyst for analysis. All of these samples were reported
not to be adulterated, though one was certified as inferior.
Other Articles.
Arrowroot 4; bicarbonate of soda 4; bread 6; cheese 11 (two
deficient in fat); cream 6 (of which 4 were adulterated with boric
acid varying from 4.95 grains per pound to 24.79 grains per
pound); cream of tartar 4; currant jelly 5; flour 6; honey 5;
lard 14 (one adulterated); margarine 10; meat (preserved) 34 (of
which 8 were adulterated with boric acid, viz., brawn, one sample
contained 7.42 grains, and another 12.39 grains of boric acid per
pound); chicken and ham paste (one sample contained 20.82 grains
per pound); ham and tongue, one sample contained 4.2 grains per
pound; German sausage, one sample contained 5.81 grains, and
another 13.63 grains per pound; salmon and shrimp paste, two
samples, each contained 17.35 grains per pound; mustard 4; oatmeal
3; olive oil 5 (two inferior); pepper 4; rice 9 (8 adulterated
by the process known as "facing," which is done with talc
powder, so as to give the rice grain a lustrous appearance); tartaric
acid 4 (two inferior); vinegar 10 (two samples contained extraneous
water in the proportions of 1 per cent. and 5 per cent.
respectively); gin 2 ; rum 3; whisky 7.
The "facing" of Rice.
This method of treating rice so as to improve the appearance
of the grain is done by means of talc (French chalk) or
steatite in the form of a white powder, a substance which contains
a considerable percentage of silica and other adventitious
mineral matter. The rice, after milling, is subjected to a glazing
process by means of which appreciable quantities of mineral matter
adhere to the finished article. Other methods used in the sophistication
of rice for the purpose of giving a bleached and pearly
appearance to the grain are by treating it with colouring matters,
e.g., ultramarine and Prussian blue, and with oil, usually petroleum.
The practice is one which is not devoid of risk of injury
to health, especially when, as is frequently the case, considerable