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91
A sample of green pea soup was genuine. It bore a label
stating that "This soup contains valuable protein food,"
which probably has helped its sale among the unsophisticated,
who might think that something much more valuable
than ordinary cheap green pea flour was present. The
statement is not false, but is merely of the catch-penny
type.
The occurrence of copper in tomato products seems to be
more frequent than formerly. It may be due to the practice
of spraying the growing tomato plant with copper fungicides,
or more likely, perhaps, to preparation in copper
vessels. However the metal gets in, its presence is contrary
to the provisions of the Public Health (Preservatives, &c.,
in Food) Regulations. Ingenious defences of this contravention
of the Regulations have in the past been put
forward, based on the known natural occurrence of relatively
large amounts of copper in certain crustacea and of
small amounts in such fruits as the tomato. It has been
said that minute amounts of copper are actually necessary
for health in the human subject. That is no reason, however,
why we should regard kindly the practice of manufacturers
in giving us this extra copper, since it is possible
to have too much of a good thing and the ordinary person
would no doubt prefer to take his daily minute trace of
copper in the way that unassisted nature gives it him.
Copper is a cumulative poison and therefore undesirable in
the relatively massive doses in which it occurs in these
tomato preparations.
Cocoa, Coffee, Tea, &c.
Eleven samples of cocoa, two of coffee and six of tea
were reported genuine. All the cocoas were specially
examined for arsenic, but with negative results.
Of five specimens of coffee and chicory one was reported
adulterated on account of the presence of an excessive
proportion of chicory—72 per cent.—whilst the other
samples were genuine, the chicory therein being under
50 per cent. In the view of your Analyst such a high