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this matter, and, at the same time, pointed out that the Council's Officers
are fully alive to the possibilities of the committal of fraud in the
manner indicated by the Company in their letter and that they act with
precaution in every case accordingly.
Attempts on similar lines are sometimes made in connection with
unsound fruit or vegetables.
The Use of Formaldehyde for Preserving Meat.—The Staff of the
Local Government Board are continuing their inquiries on the use of
preservatives in foodstuffs with a view to regulations being drawn up by
the Board, and a report has just been published dealing with Formaldehyde
and Formalin in this connection. Dr. Buchanan states that it
may be safely presumed that where formalin or its preparations are
offered to or used by dealers in perishable foods, the intention is to
employ the solution as a disinfectant or deodorant, i.e., to conceal
incipient decomposition and to hide any smell of staleness or putrefaction.
A trade circular advertising a preservative (which was found to contain
formalin) held out the inducement that it would arrest deca}7 and was
"non-poisonous and non-acid." A testimonial from a provision merchant
accompanying the circular stated "It is only right that you should know-
that the treatment you gave my bacon and cheese with which were
previously unfit for food are now saleable articles." It is also applied
to fresh meat, fish, eggs, milk, and other products to increase keeping
powers in hot weather. Formaldehyde is applied in solutions, sprays, or
in gaseous form in specially constructed safes.
There are substantial reasons, the Inspectors of the Local Government
Board think, for objecting to the presence of formaldehyde in
foodstuffs, for it has been definitely shown that it may retard digestion
even when present in the food in comparatively large dilution, while it
is well known that it readily combines with the protein constituents of
foods, forming a compound which is less digestible than the original
substance. These objectionable properties were recoguised by the
Departmental Committee on Preservatives and Colouring Matters in
Food in 1901, which recommended that the use of formaldehyde or its
preparations in foods and drinks be prohibited absolutely.
Some difficulty existed in discovering the presence of formaldehyde
in meat, but Dr. Schryver has devised a satisfactory method whereby he
has been able to show that it was possible to recover formaldehyde not
only from various parts of a forequarter of beef taken from the hold of
a vessel which had been treated with formaldehyde gas, but from parts
below the surface, especially where the muscular tissue was not covered
by connective tissue or fat. Portions of the beef were also tested after
ordinary cooking, when it was found that boiling and roasting appeared