A Treatise on Adulterations of Food, and Culinary Poisons potx

carefully avoided citing any, except thosewhich are authenticated in Parliamentarydocuments and other public records.To render this Treatise still more useful, Ihave also animadverted on

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on Adulterations of Food, and

Culinary Poisons, by Fredrick Accum

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ATREATISE

EXHIBITING

OIL, PICKLES,

AND OTHER ARTICLES

EMPLOYED IN DOMESTIC

ECONOMY.AND

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY

AB'M SMALL

1820.

This Treatise, as its title expresses, isintended to exhibit easy methods ofdetecting the fraudulent adulterations offood, and of other articles, classed eitheramong the necessaries or luxuries of thetable; and to put the unwary on their guardagainst the use of such commodities as arecontaminated with substances deleterious

to health

Every person is aware that bread, beer,wine, and other substances employed indomestic economy, are frequently metwith in an adulterated state: and the lateconvictions of numerous individuals for

counterfeiting and adulterating tea, coffee,bread, beer, pepper, and other articles ofdiet, are still fresh in the memory of thepublic.

To such perfection of ingenuity has thesystem of counterfeiting and adulteratingvarious commodities of life arrived in thiscountry, that spurious articles are everywhere to be found in the market, made up

so skilfully, as to elude the discrimination

of the most experienced judges

But of all possible nefarious traffic anddeception, practised by mercenarydealers, that of adulterating the articlesintended for human food with ingredientsdeleterious to health, is the most criminal,and, in the mind of every honest man, mustexcite feelings of regret and disgust

Numerous facts are on record, of humanfood, contaminated with poisonousingredients, having been vended to thepublic; and the annals of medicine recordtragical events ensuing from the use ofsuch food.

The eager and insatiable thirst for gain, isproof against prohibitions and penalties;and the possible sacrifice of a fellow-creature's life, is a secondaryconsideration among unprincipled dealers.However invidious the office may appear,and however painful the duty may be, ofexposing the names of individuals, whohave been convicted of adulterating food;yet it was necessary, for the verification

of my statement, that cases should beadduced in their support; and I have

carefully avoided citing any, except thosewhich are authenticated in Parliamentarydocuments and other public records.

To render this Treatise still more useful, Ihave also animadverted on certainmaterial errors, sometimes unconsciouslycommitted through accident or ignorance,

in private families, during the preparation

of various articles of food, and ofdelicacies for the table

In stating the experimental proceedingsnecessary for the detection of the fraudswhich it has been my object to expose, Ihave confined myself to the task ofpointing out such operations only as may

be performed by persons unacquaintedwith chemical science; and it has been mypurpose to express all necessary rules and

instructions in the plainest language,divested of those recondite terms ofscience, which would be out of place in awork intended for general perusal.

The design of the Treatise will be fullyanswered, if the views here given shouldinduce a single reader to pursue the objectfor which it is published; or if it shouldtend to impress on the mind of the Publicthe magnitude of an evil, which, in manycases, prevails to an extent so alarming,that we may exclaim with the sons of theProphet,

"THERE IS DEATH IN THE POT."

For the abolition of such nefariouspractices, it is the interest of all classes ofthe community to co-operate

FREDRICK ACCUM.LONDON.

1820

employed in Domestic Economy 33

Chemical Constitution of the

Waters used in Domestic

Economy and the Arts

in Common Water, and Tests

by which they are detected

48

Method of ascertaining the

Quantity of each of the

different Substances usually

contained in Common Water

Method of detecting Lead,

when contained in common

Specific Differences, and

Easy process of ascertaining

the Quantity of Brandy

contained in various sorts of

Wine

92

Tabular View, exhibiting the

Per Centage of Brandy or

Alcohol contained in various

kinds of Wine and other

Method of detecting the

Presence of Alum in Bread 108Easy Method of judging of the Goodness of Bread-Corn and

Bread-Flour

110

Adulteration of Beer 113

List of Druggists and

Grocers, prosecuted and

convicted for supplying

illegal Ingredients to Brewers

for Adulterating Beer

119

Strength and Specific

Differences of different kinds

of Porter

125

List of Publicans prosecuted

and convicted for

adulterating Beer with illegal

Ingredients, and for mixing

Table Beer with their Strong

Beer

129

Illegal Substances used for

Ingredients seized at various

Breweries and Brewers'

Druggists, for adulterating

Beer

136

List of Brewers prosecuted

and convicted for

adulterating Strong Beer with

Table Beer

143

Old, or Entire Beer; and New

List of Brewers prosecuted

and convicted for receiving

and using illegal Ingredients

in their Brewings

151

Method of detecting the

Method of ascertaining the

Quantity of Spirit contained

Per Centage of Alcohol

contained in Porter, and

other kinds of Malt Liquors

Method of detecting the

Adulterations of Brandy, Rum, and Malt Spirit

195

Method of detecting the

Presence of Lead in Spiritous

Liquors

202

Method of ascertaining the

Quantity of Alcohol contained

in different kinds of Spiritous

Liquors

203

Table exhibiting the Per

Centage of Alcohol contained

in various kinds of Spiritous

method of detecting it 234

Adulteration of Lozenges, and

method of detecting them 236

Poisonous Olive Oil, and method

Adulteration of Mustard 241Adulteration of Lemon Acid, and

method of detecting it 243Poisonous Mushrooms 246

Poisonous Soda Water, and method

Food Poisoned by Copper Vessels,

and method of detecting it 252

Food Poisoned by Leaden Vessels,

and method of detecting it 257

TREATISE

ON

OF FOOD,

ANDCULINARY POISONS.

OBSERVATIONS.

Of all the frauds practised by mercenarydealers, there is none more reprehensible,and at the same time more prevalent, thanthe sophistication of the various articles offood

This unprincipled and nefarious practice,increasing in degree as it has been founddifficult of detection, is now applied toalmost every commodity which can beclassed among either the necessaries orthe luxuries of life, and is carried on to amost alarming extent in every part of the

United Kingdom.

It has been pursued by men, who, from themagnitude and apparent respectability oftheir concerns, would be the leastobnoxious to public suspicion; and theirsuccessful example has called forth, fromamong the retail dealers, a multitude ofcompetitors in the same iniquitous course

To such perfection of ingenuity has thissystem of adulterating food arrived, thatspurious articles of various kinds areevery where to be found, made up soskilfully as to baffle the discrimination ofthe most experienced judges

Among the number of substances used indomestic economy which are now verygenerally found sophisticated, may be

distinguished—tea, coffee, bread, beer,wine, spiritous liquors, salad oil, pepper,vinegar, mustard, cream, and other articles

of subsistence

Indeed, it would be difficult to mention asingle article of food which is not to bemet with in an adulterated state; and thereare some substances which are scarcelyever to be procured genuine

Some of these spurious compounds arecomparatively harmless when used asfood; and as in these cases merelysubstances of inferior value aresubstituted for more costly and genuineingredients, the sophistication, though itmay affect our purse, does not injure ourhealth Of this kind are the manufacture offactitious pepper, the adulterations of

mustard, vinegar, cream, &c Others,however, are highly deleterious; and tothis class belong the adulterations of beer,wines, spiritous liquors, pickles, saladoil, and many others.

There are particular chemists who make it

a regular trade to supply drugs ornefarious preparations to the unprincipledbrewer of porter or ale; others perform thesame office to the wine and spiritmerchant; and others again to the grocerand the oilman The operators carry ontheir processes chiefly in secresy, andunder some delusive firm, with theostensible denotements of a fair andlawful establishment

These illicit pursuits have assumed all theorder and method of a regular trade; they

may severally claim to be distinguished as

a n art and mystery; for the workmen

employed in them are often whollyignorant of the nature of the substanceswhich pass through their hands, and of thepurposes to which they are ultimatelyapplied

To elude the vigilance of the inquisitive,

to defeat the scrutiny of the revenueofficer, and to ensure the secresy of thesemysteries, the processes are veryingeniously divided and subdividedamong individual operators, and themanufacture is purposely carried on inseparate establishments The task ofproportioning the ingredients for use isassigned to one individual, while thecomposition and preparation of them may

be said to form a distinct part of thebusiness, and is entrusted to anotherworkman Most of the articles aretransmitted to the consumer in a disguisedstate, or in such a form that their realnature cannot possibly be detected by the

unwary Thus the extract of coculus indicus, employed by fraudulentmanufacturers of malt-liquors to impart anintoxicating quality to porter or ales, is

known in the market by the name of black extract, ostensibly destined for the use of

tanners and dyers It is obtained by boilingthe berries of the coculus indicus in water,and converting, by a subsequentevaporation, this decoction into a stiffblack tenacious mass, possessing, in ahigh degree, the narcotic and intoxicatingquality of the poisonous berry from which

it is prepared Another substance,composed of extract of quassia andliquorice juice, used by fraudulentbrewers to economise both malt and hops,

is technically called multum.[1]

The quantities of coculus indicus berries,

as well as of black extract, imported intothis country for adulterating malt liquors,are enormous It forms a considerablebranch of commerce in the hands of a fewbrokers: yet, singular as it may seem, noinquiry appears to have been hithertomade by the officers of the revenuerespecting its application Many othersubstances employed in the adulteration ofbeer, ale, and spiritous liquors, are in asimilar manner intentionally disguised;and of the persons by whom they are

purchased, a great number are totallyunacquainted with their nature orcomposition.

An extract, said to be innocent, sold incasks, containing from half a cwt to fivecwt by the brewers' druggists, under the

name of bittern, is composed of calcined

sulphate of iron (copperas), extract ofcoculus indicus berries, extract of quassia,and Spanish liquorice

It would be very easy to adduce, insupport of these remarks, the testimony ofnumerous individuals, by whom I havebeen professionally engaged to examinecertain mixtures, said to be perfectlyinnocent, which are used in very extensivemanufactories of the above description.Indeed, during the long period devoted to

the practice of my profession, I have hadabundant reason to be convinced that avast number of dealers, of the highestrespectability, have vended to theircustomers articles absolutely poisonous,which they themselves considered asharmless, and which they would not haveoffered for sale, had they been apprised ofthe spurious and pernicious nature of thecompounds, and of the purposes to whichthey were destined.

For instance, I have known cases in whichbrandy merchants were not aware that thesubstance which they frequently purchase

under the delusive name of flash, for

strengthening and clarifying spiritousliquors, and which is held out asconsisting of burnt sugar and isinglass

only, in the form of an extract, is in reality

a compound of sugar, with extract ofcapsicum; and that to the acrid andpungent qualities of the capsicum is to beascribed the heightened flavour of brandyand rum, when coloured with the above-mentioned matter

In other cases the ale-brewer has beensupplied with ready-ground corianderseeds, previously mixed with a portion of

nux vomica and quassia, to give a bitter

taste and narcotic property to thebeverage

The retail venders of mustard do notappear to be aware that mustard seedalone cannot produce, when ground, apowder of so intense and brilliant acolour as that of the common mustard of

commerce Nor would the powder of realmustard, when mixed with salt and water,without the addition of a portion ofpulverised capsicum, keep for so long atime as the mustard usually offered forsale.

Many other instances of unconsciousdeceptions might be mentioned, whichwere practised by persons of upright andhonourable minds

It is a painful reflection, that the division

of labour which has been so instrumental

in bringing the manufactures of thiscountry to their present flourishing state,should have also tended to conceal andfacilitate the fraudulent practices inquestion; and that from a correspondentramification of commerce into a multitude

of distinct branches, particularly in themetropolis and the large towns of theempire, the traffic in adulteratedcommodities should find its way through

so many circuitous channels, as to defy themost scrutinising endeavour to trace it toits source

It is not less lamentable that the extensiveapplication of chemistry to the usefulpurposes of life, should have been

p e r v e r te d into an auxiliary to thisnefarious traffic But, happily for thescience, it may, without difficulty, beconverted into a means of detecting theabuse; to effect which, very little chemicalskill is required; and the course to bepursued forms the object of the followingpages

The baker asserts that he does not putalum into bread; but he is well aware that,

in purchasing a certain quantity of flour,

he must take a sack of sharp whites (a

term given to flour contaminated with aquantity of alum), without which it would

be impossible for him to produce light,white, and porous bread, from a half-spoiled material

The wholesale mealman frequentlypurchases this spurious commodity,(which forms a separate branch ofbusiness in the hands of certainindividuals,) in order to enable himself tosell his decayed and half-spoiled flour.Other individuals furnish the baker withalum mixed up with salt, under the

obscure denomination of stuff There are