WHAT WE EAT.

Prompt Actionof the New York and Brooklyn Boards of Health.

ALUM IN OUR BREAD.

A Chemical Examination of Baking Powders and its Results—The Useof Alum and its Deleterious Effects—Opinions of Medical Experts—Prompt Action of the New York and Brooklyn Boards of Health,etc.

In order that the people of the country may fullyunderstand the causes of the present excitement asto the use of alum in baking powders, a history ofthe agitation is necessary:

In the Scientific American of November 16, ap-peared an article by an eminent chemist of NewYork, showing the presence of alum in large quan-tities in a number ofbaking powders.

This article was copied into many newspapers,creating great excitement in every household wherebaking powder was used. The popular feeling grewso strong that in the early part of December, at ameeting of the Brooklyn Board of Health, on mo-tion of President Crane, the Sanitary Superintend-ent was directed to procure samples of the variouskinds of baking powders sold in Brooklyn, havethem analyzed, and make a report thereon to theBoard.

Sanitary Superintendent Raymond, M.D., haspresented to the Board of Health substantially thefollowing report on baking powders and cream oftartar, and the effects of alum as an adulterantupon the human system :

“The digestibility ofbread depends in great mea-sure upon its being porous. Ifit is compact andheavy, the digestive juices are unable to act uponit, and it remains in the alimentary canal undigest-ed, giving rise to those disagreeable sensations allknow as indigestion. This porosity is given tobread by the carbonic acid gas liberated in theprocess of bread making, forming throughout theloaf little vesicles of gas which are held by thegluten of the flour until the bakinghas solidified themass and made permanent the spaces originallyproduced by the carbonic acid gas. This gas isincorporated with the dough in various ways. Itmay be forced in as is done in the “aeratedbread;” or the gas may be formedby fermentation.For this purpose yeast, a mass of minute veget-able cells, is employed; this acts upon the sugar ofthe flour, converting it into carbonic acid gas andalcohol; or again, the carbonic acid gas may beliberated from some salt holding it in combination.This is the principle involved in the use of bakingpowders.

“Without going in detail into the constitutionof baking powders, it will only be necessary tosay that they are made with bicarbonate of sodaor carbonate of ammonia and cream of tartar, che-mically known as the bitartrate ofpotassa. Thesepowders are especially used in making biscuits andcakes. Before the days of baking powders, andeven now in many families, the cream of tartar andbicarbonate of soda were purchased separately fromthe grocer, and a baking powder extemporized ineach kitchen; but the lack of skill resulting in lumpsof soda in the product led manufacturers to as-certain the proper proportion of these two salts andto mix them, selling the compound as a baking

powder. These manufacturers claim that the creamof tartar sold in the shops is very variable and thatnothing short of chemical analysis will determinethe amount of cream of tartar in each sample; thatthis the householder cannot do for himself, andtherefore is unable to combine with it the properproportion ofsoda. This variability in the quality ofcream of tartar needs the chemist to detect it, andthe extensive use of baking powders would seemto indicate that there is a popular demand for them,due to the inability of the average cook to makeher biscuits and cakes successfully when she herselfmixes the cream of tartar and the soda." We havebeen unable to find in any drug store or grocerygood cream of tartar sold at retail for less than 60cents a pound, while in some places it was as highas 85 cents. Some of the manufacturers, in orderto supply a cheap baking powder, have introducedalum as an ingredient, and this seems to be the onlysatisfactory reason for its use that can be given.Bicarbonate of soda is used in these alum powders,as in the others, and carbonic acid gas is similarlyproduced.

“ In many countries alum has long been used bybakers in bread making. It is claimed that thebread is whiter, and that an inferior quality of flourcan by its use be palmed off on the public as of thefirst quality. The effects of alum on the humanbody are well known, and are beyond doubt injuri-ous when taken in large quantities, or in smallquantities often repeated. All authorities agree inthis, and there is no room for discussion.”

The report of the Brooklyn Board concludesas follows: “ From a careful examination, Iam satisfied that the weight of evidence isagainst the use of alum in baking powders, andthat the risks incurred in its use are too great tobe incurred for the sake of cheapness alone. Themucous membrane of the stomach and the intestinalcanal is a delicate structure, and materials whichwould produce no effect on the outside skin mightirritate and inflame these organs.”

The N. Y. Evening Post has beengiving this sub-ject some attention, and has published the result ofsome remarkable investigations, which are worthythe close attention ofthoughtfulpeople.

From its recent exposure of the use of burntalum in some brands of baking powders, in placeof cream of tartar, the following extracts are mainlytaken:

Pursuing the investigation of the quality of thefood sold in this city, the representative of theEvening Post took up baking powder as one of thearticles in most general use in our households. Itis used by nearly every family in the city, and itis naturally of great importance to those who eatthe food made with it to know whether it containsanything injurious to health.

There are certain constituents of good baking

oowder which maybe regarded as entirely freefrom danger. They consist of pure grape creamof tartar, bicarbonate of soda, and carbonate ofammonia. The cream of tartar unites with theother two ingredients, and carbonic acid gas isthrown off, producing the same effect as yeast in amuch shorter time. It has been found, however,that alum will also unite with the other two ar-ticles, and carbonic acid gas will be produced. Asalum costs less than three cents, while cream oftartar costs more than thirty cents a pound, it iseasy to see why alum is substituted for the latterby some baking powder manufacturers. It is ad-mitted by all medical authorities, that cream oftartar leaves no injurious substance in the bread;alum, on the other hand, is in itself an astringent,and there is wide and deep-seated prejudice againstits use. In England and other countries the adul-teration of food with alum is forbidden by lawunderheavy penalties. The chemical effect of alumused in bread to whiten it is to form two salts ofalumina—the sulphate and the phosphate of alum-ina. When used in baking powder the alum formsa third salt, the hydrate of alumina, as well as theother two. This hydrate of alumina is far moreeasily soluble than the other two ; hence any ob-jection that may exist as to the use of alum alonein bread applies with greater force to its use inbaking powder. This fact can be proven by thefollowing named authorities:

Parke is the leader of the new school of hygienein England. In his “Treatise on Hygiene,” hesays; “Looking then to the positive evidence,and the reasonableness of that evidence, itseems to me extremely likely that strongly alumedbread does produce the injurious effects ascribedto it.” These effects, as he previously states, areindigestion, griping, constipation, and kindredtroubles resulting from irritation of the mucousmembrane, produced by the astringent propertiesof alum.

Persons who have not strong constitutions, grow-ing girls, young children, and nursing mothers, areparticularly liable to the evil effects produced by thisuse of alum. Heartburn and the prevalent formsof indigestion are often solely traceable to the ac-tion of alum on the delicatecoats of the stomach.

To make sure of knowing the action of alum, theEvening Post’s representative obtained the follow-ing expressions of opinion as to its effect whenused in baking powder from some physicians ofNew York of the highest reputation and ability :

Dr. William A. Hammond, formerly Surgeon-General United States, of No. 43 West Fifty-fourthstreet, expressed himself as perfectly certain ofthe injurious effects of alum, whether used aloneto whiten bread, or as an adulterant ofbaking pow-der. Alluding to the claim advanced that the alumwas neutralized and changed into an insoluble salt,he said that this was a wholly improbable assump-tion, since such a perfect change could not takeplace unless the amounts of the alum and thebicar-bonate ofsoda were combined in the exact chemicalratio necessary for each toabsorb all of the other.Not only was this impossible in the manufacture oflarge quantities of baking powder, but the homo-geneous character of the compound could not beexactly maintained throughout the whole mass,and therefore there would be sure to be a certainamount of free alum in any bread made with analum baking powder. But even if the exact pro-portion were maintained, the salts formed wouldretain their injurious properties, as they would bedissolved in the gastric juice. The gastric juice

contained not only lactic acid, but a largeamount ofhydrochloric acid, and both the sulphate andhydrate of alumina would be dissolved. The phos-phate might not be, but in that case the breadwould be deprived of one of its most desirable in-gredients, making the use of alum not only dan-gerous to the stomach, but deteriorating to the food.

“The hydrate of alumina,” Dr. Hammond said,“would certainly be injurious to the mucous mem-brane. It would inevitably tend to constipate thebowels and interfere with digestion ; and anythingthat tends to render the albumen of the bread inso-luble, and therefore takes away from its nutritivevalue,is injurious.”

Dr. Wihard Parker said that if alum was substi-tuted for cream of tartar in baking powder, inhisopinion such powder would be injurious tohealth.

Dr. Alonzo Clark considers that alum has itsuses, but should not be ignorantly taken into thestomach in food. A substance whichcan derangethe stomach, and in certain cases producevomiting,should not be tolerated inbaking powder.

Dr. Le Grand N. Denslow, of No. 225 WestTwenty-third street, gave the following as hisopinion on this subject: “ Bread containing thesalts of alum, which are freely soluble in the gas-tric juice, is undoubtedly prejudicial to health, thesalts acting as irritants to the stomach.

Other great authorities, such as Carpenter,Thompson, Gibbon, and Normandy, all agree thatthe continued use of bread containing alum willbring about dyspepsia and other troubles.”

Dr. Sayre, former President of the Board ofHealth, said to one of the representatives of theNew York press :

“ After the experiments in thisline by Liebig and other distinguished chemists,and vivisectors with alum on cats, dogs, andother animals, with the published results, we maywell ask what is the use of such experiments if wedo not apply them to practice in the preservation ofhumanlife and health ? The Boardof Health shouldsee to this.”

Dr. Waller, Chemist for the New York Board ofHealth, when asked by a Sun reporter as to theinjurious effects of alum, replied: “You knowwhat the effect of alum is when you take some of itin your mouth; well, that is just the effect it hasupon the coats of the stomach.”

The analysis of the various baking powders, asofficially reported by the Brooklyn Board, revealsonly two brands containingalum being sold in thatcity—Dooley’s and Patapsco.

As to the cream of tartar powders, the same re-port mentions the Royal Baking Powder as freefrom alum or any other substance injurious to lifeor health.

There are probably more than five hundred kindsof baking powder manufactured in this country,and, while some of them are sold from the Atlanticto the Pacific, the majority have only a local salenear their respective places of manufacture.Through Dr. Henry A. Mott, Jr., the well-knownchemist, one of the most competent, trustworthy,and careful experts of this country, the followinganalyses were obtained, showing the presence ofalum in large quantities in many of the bakingpowders having a wide sale. Dr. Mottkindly fur-nished not only the results ofhis own analyses, butalso those of several chemists of high professionalstanding, including Professor Henry Morton,President Stevens Institute of Technology; Pro-fessor R. W. Schedler; Dr. Stillwell, of Walz faStillwell, analytical chemists, this city.

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Dr. Mott’s report is as follows;Dear Sir—ln accordance with your request, I herewithem-

body the results of the analysis of bakingpowders procuredduring the past three months, in all of which alum was foundas an ingredient:“DOOLEY’S,” Contains Alum

(Dooley & Brother, New York.)“PATAPSCO,” Contains Alum

(Smith, Hanway &Co., Baltimore, Md.)“CHARM,” - - ; Contains Alum

(Rohrer, Christian & Co., St. Louis.)ANDREWS’ “REGAL,” . Contains Alum

(C. E. Andrews & Co., Milwaukee.)“QUEEN,” Contains Alum

(Bennett& Sloan, New Haven, Ct.!“VIENNA,” Contains Alum

(Church & Co., New York City.)“ORIENT,” > Contains Alum

(Crouse, Walworth &Co., Syracuse, N Y.)“AMAZON,” _ _ Contains Alum

(.Erskine & Erskine, Louisville, Ky.)“GULLET’S,”. Contains Alum

Gillct. McCulloch & Co., Chicago.“TWIN SISTERS,”. _ _ .. Contains Alum

(Union Chemical Works, Chicago, III.)“INVINCIBLE,” ContainsAlum

(Snyder Brothers & Co., Cincinnati.)“KING,” Contains Alum“WHITE LILY,”. Contains Alum

(Jewett & Sherman Co., Milwaukee, Wis. I“MONARCH,” .. ....

... Contains Alum(Ricker, Crombie & Co., Milwaukee, Wis.)

“ONESPOON,” . Contains Alum(Taylor Manufacturing Co , St.Louis, Mo.)

“IMPERIAL,” Contains Alum(Sprague, Warner & Griswold, Chicago.)

‘ HONEST,” . . Contains Alum(Schoch & Wechsler, St. Paul, Minn.

“ECONOMICAL,” Contains Alum(Spencer Bros. & Co., Chicago, 111. )

“EXCELSIOR,” ContainsAlum(L. E. Taylor, Chicago, Hi.)

“CHARTRES,” Contains Alum(Thomson & Taylor, Chicago.)

“GRANT’S,” Contains Alum(J. C. Grant, Philadelphia.)

“GIANT,” Contains Alum(W. F. McLaughlin, Chicago.)

“QUEEN,” Contains Alum(Star Chemical Works, Chicago.)

Yours, very truly,HENRY A. MOTT, Jr., Ph.D., E.M.

New York, Jan. 5, 1879.Having obtained the foregoing, the reporter

called at the office of the Royal Baking PowderCompany, No. 171 Duane street, the manufacturersof the Royal Baking Powder, a brand which thereport of the Brooklyn Health Board revealed tobe pure. Mr. J. C. Hoagland, President of theCompany, gave the following replies :

Reporter. “ What is the cause of the presentexcitement about baking powders ?”

Mr. Hoagland. “ It is due to the substitutionof alum for cream of tartar by some manufac-turers.”

REPORTER. “ Have you ever used any alum inthe Royal Baking Powder?”

Mr. Hoagland. “ No, sir.”Reporter. “ But I find that it is used by others.

What is it used for ?”

Mr. Hoagland. “I presume because it ischeaper than cream oftartar, which it replaces.”

Reporter. “ You would, therefore, obtain alarger profit by .using alum than by using cream oftartar ?”

Mr. Hoagland. “ Yes, for a time such substi-tution would more than double our profits.”

Reportkr. “Why, then, do you not use it?”Mr. Hoagland. “ For two reasons: first, the

authorities on this point are so positive and con-clusive that the continued use of alum in this wayis dangerous to health, that we could not conscien-

tiously use it; if others choose to take risks on thepublic health, we shall not follow them, preferringto continue the use of pure grape cream of tartar,which is demonstrated to be wholesome; second,our experience during twenty years has satisfied usthat that which is best for the public is best forus. We cannot afford to peril the reputation of theRoyal Baking Powder.”

Reporter. “Can you give me any informationin regard to cream of tartar, how and where youprocure it ? ”

Mr. Ploagland. “Certainly! There are sev-eral substitutes or patent ‘ cream of tartars ’ on themarket, made principally from terra alba or burntbones, the latter being treated with strong corro-sive acids, but the cream of tartar vve use is afruit acid—it exists naturally in the Grape-—andduring fermentation of the tart wines in France, itis deposited on the sides and bottom of the casks.In its unrefined state it is called crude tartar orargols, and is taken from the cask after the winehas been drawn off. Each farmer has his crop ofit according to the amount of wine he has produced.This company is the largest user of cream oftartarin the world, and we have our agents in variousparts of Europe, collecting the crude material. Itis imported into this country as argols, and thensubjected to a higher process ofrefining, by whichit is purified especially for our purposes, formingpure white crystals, which we grind to powder, andin this form we use it as an ingredient of our Bak-ing Powder.”

Other interviews were had, all to the same gene-ral effect, namely, that alum is used by many man-ufacturers to cheapen their powder, and enablethem to undersell their competitors. Many ofthem are probably ignorant of the evil effects ofalum on the system, while others are indifferent solong as they make money, and no one can be saidto have dropped dead from taking their powder.

By this exposure of the injurious effects of alumin Baking Powder, the public must not be fright-ened from using baking powders when properlymade. In the report ofProfessor Elwyn Waller, As-sistant Health Inspector of New York Board ofHealth, on Baking Powder in 1872, the public arerecommended to purchase one of the well-knownbrands of baking powder, in preference to purchas-ing the cream of tartar separately, as this substancewas found in all cases to be adulterated with sul-phate of lime, commonly called terra alba, and tosuch an extent that in most cases the cream oftartar was really terra alba to which a small quan-tity of cream of tartar had been added. Theinspector further states that when the mixture ismade on a larger scale in a factory, and the bakingpowder is put up in packages ready for use, themanufacturer experiences no difficulty, in the firstplace of securing good materials free from adulter-ation, and secondly in mixing these materials inthe proper proportions.

Dr. Mott, the Government chemist, in his reviewof the subject in the Scientific American, makesspecial mention ofhaving analyzed the Royal Bak-ing Powder, and foundit composed of wholesomematerials. He also advises the public to avoid pur-chasing baking powders as sold loose or in bulk, ashe found by analyses of many samples that theworst adulterations are practiced in this form. Thelabel and trade-mark of a well known and respon-sible manufacturer, he adds, is the best protectionthe public can have.