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289
[1913
Dairy products are now more adulterated than any other foods, but even their
adulteration are only to be discovered, as a rule, in poor neighbourhoods,
where it is practised by vendors of low class. The adulteration of drugs is
almost unknown, for drugs are now generally prepared by large wholesale
manufacturers who make them in large quantities and sell them to chemists.
If these manufacturers were now to sell adulterated articles—which they
would only do so as to sell them cheaply—they would soon be discovered,
because other manufacturers, finding themselves undersold, would at once
examine samples, and quickly expose the fraud.
Confectionery, which was once coloured with very dangerous, even
poisonous chemicals, is now treated with harmless and sometimes beautiful
dyes which were unknown fifty years ago, so that they are much more
attractive than formerly. Occasionally, such an indigestible substance as
paraffin wax is found in them, while the substitution of glucose for cane
sugar, which alone was formerly used, is not uncommon. This substitution is
also very usual in jams, but the trade allege that it is used only to prevent
crystallization, which, they say, would otherwise occur. This, however, is
nonsense, for every one knows that in former days the home-made jams kept
well, as do those made by certain manufacturers whose names have been
household words for years. Some jam manufacturers also add apple juice
and pulp to their products, for the purpose, they say, of improving it. It is
probable, however, that this addition has been made with a fraudulent intent,
and is a practice introduced from the United States. Now that the fraud has
been detected they sometime place small labels on their products to indicate
that it has been added for the purpose of improving the article; and this
enables them to escape penalties. Labelling food-stuffs has become far too
common, and, indeed, if the practice is allowed to develop much more it will
be difficult to obtain pure articles of food. It is quite time that legislation
stepped in to put an end to it, or to only allow it in very exceptional circumstances.
Our food-stuffs also require to be defined or standardized, so that
our traders may know what it is they are required to sell and the
buyers know what they expect to get. Substitution is practised far
too largely, and it is quite time it was ended. It is not alleged that the
substituted articles are injurious to health, usually they are not. But
frequently the same charge is made for them as for the genuine articles, and,
therefore, the buyers are robbed to the extent of their difference in price, just
as much as if the money had been stolen from their pockets. The shameless
manner in which poor people are sometimes robbed in the matter of butter is
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