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107
Here, again, the seller appeals to the business instincts of the trader on the
question of cost, and the results promised above, the maker endeavours to
accomplish by an ordinary mixture of borax, boric acid and common salt.
With regard to the general use of preservatives in foodstuffs, I am strongly
of opinion that there is absolutely no justification for their presence whatever,
inasmuch as articles of food so treated may, before treatment, be in an
advanced state of decomposition, the appearance of which is masked by the
preservative, and the directions issued with regard to the use of 515a in the
manufacture of sausages, bears directly upon this point. "The required
quantity varies according to the class of the article, a superior article
requiring less than an inferior one." The term "inferior," as applied to
material from which sausages are made, obviously only refers to condition
qua decomposition, and the above quoted passage is nothing more nor less
than a direct hint that tainted meat can be used if a larger amount of the
preservative be added. It is well known that the presence of boron
preparations mask the signs of decomposition in meat, and as already
mentioned, 515a is only a mixture of boric acid and borax. It will be of
interest to quote in this connection the deductions arrived at by Dr. Bernstein,
Lecturer in Bacteriology at the Westminster Medical School, in experiments
conducted at the instigation of the Medical Officer of Health for the City of
Westminster.
"(a) That it did not prevent decomposition proceeding, but that it
"prevented the development of odour, so that it prevented
"persons detecting that the meat was bad."
"(b) The growth of harmless organisms was checked, while the
"harmful ones were allowed to grow and produce harmful
"products."
"(c) When boric acid was added to meat which was beginning to
"smell, the odour was diminished, and the meat might have
"been used without detection for making sausage meat."
"(d) Very large quantities of boric acid would be required to check
"the growth of bacilli [Professor Max Gruber, International
"Congress of Hygiene, 1907, reporting on the subject, stated
"(Vol. II., Proceedings, p. 286), that boric acid is an
"inadmissible preservative for meat, because even in large
"amounts (2 to 5 per cent.) it is not able to inhibit the toxin
"producing organisms to kill them.]"
"(e) By the addition of (0.3 per cent.) boric acid stale meat can be
"used—even after some weeks—for the making of sausages
"and also meat which has already begun to putrefy, without
"the consumer being able to tell by the sense of taste or smell
"that the sausage was a source of danger."