Tenth annual convention of the Association of State and National Food and Dairy Departments, held at Hartford, Connecticut, July 17-20, 1906.

  • Association of State and National Food and Dairy Departments 1906 : Hartford, Connecticut)
Date:
1907
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Tenth annual convention of the Association of State and National Food and Dairy Departments, held at Hartford, Connecticut, July 17-20, 1906. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Dr. Wiley: I said nothing of the kind. It is bad enough for Professor Liebreich to misquote me, let alone you, who have been sitting right here listening to me. I said it was a question worthy of consideration by this Association as to whether wines could or could not be made without the use of it. Mr. Harris: I beg your pardon, Doctor, if I misquoted you. It was not my intention to do so. In reference to the extensive use of borax and boric acid: the Pacific Coast Borax Company sell hundreds of carloads every year to the pork-packers, who are shipping meat, hams, bacon, and shoulders to England. The English nation demand meats packed in borax, and by its aid it obtains milder, sweeter, more easily digested articles of food than it possibly could do with the use of salt alone. The hams put up for the American market are not edible until they are soaked or parboiled. This process extracts much of the albumen, which is the nutriment; consequently salt-cured articles should be deemed adulterated on account of depreciating the nutritive value of the article preserved with it. As I said before, the Pacific Coast Borax Company do not ob- ject to labelling all articles preserved with boric acid, so that the people can learn by their own palates the benefit of borax or boric acid on food products. DISCUSSION. Secretary Allen : What percentage of the business of the Pacific Coast Borax Company would be lost if boric acid were by law excluded from food products? Mr. Harris: If it were prohibited in food products, I presume the loss would be about 10 per cent. The pork-packers would still continue to use it on meats prepared for the English market. The enamelling concerns of the country also use a large quantity of borax. Secretary Allen : Why is it that if the sale of meats and nsh when preserved with boric acid is greater than when put up with salt, the large packers are giving up the use of borax? Mr. Harris: I beg your pardon, Mr. Secretary, but I know that the sale of borax to the large packers is greater than ever before in the history of the world.