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THE LANCET Special Analytical Sanitary Commission ON YEAST SUBSTITUTES,
TIIE LANCET ANALYTICAL COMMISSION ON YEAST SUBSTITUTES.
562
doubt that in those instances in which several members! family successively succumbed to consumption, andl which occasioned the wide assumption of the hereditary’ mature of the disease, the fatal results were due not to inheritance but really to infection. It is now ascertained beyond question that the contagious material is contained inl the sputum of the affected persons, and that this when driedl becomes the vehicle of infection." No doubt it is well to recognise the main fact that flows from the discovery of the tubercle bacillus, but to place the idea of contagiousness in the forefront is surely going a little too’ far, and is a view, moreover, which cannot conduce to the’ It iss care or comfort of the unfortunate victims of phthisis. to be regretted that Dr. Coghill, in penning these words, did not modify their dogmatism, for no one knows better thant he that the acquirement of phthisis depends in as great a measure on inherited disposition and on environment as uponl exposure to sources of infection. We fear lest too great a, concentration of idea upon the single factor of contagiousness may lead to a neglect of other and not less important; considerations in the etiology of the disease. 1110
of
one
London, Chatham, and
agreed to issue tickets to members at the same rates as to "guests " accompanying The Secretary-General (Professor members themselves. Maragliano) has forwarded documents for identification on the journey to all enrolled members. Any members who have not yet received these should apply for passes, instructions &c. to the Secretary to the English Committee, Mr. G. H. ,
Makins, 47, Charles-street, Berkeley-square, London, W. These passes are issued only to members of the medical profession and their relatives. Gentlemen wishing to join the under Statute as 17, Congress being interested in one of the Sections, must apply directly to the Secretary-General, Eleventh International Medical Congress, Rome.
PROFESSOR BURDON SANDERSON, M.D. Edin., F.R.S., Professor of Physiology in the University of Oxford, and Mr. T. Pridgin Teale, M.B.Oxon, F.R.C.S., F. R. S., have been selected by the University Board of the Faculty of Medicine to represent the University of Oxford at the forthcoming International Medical Congress.
Waynflete
____
SVE much
to record the death, at the age of of Mr. Barnard Holt, F.R.C.S., consulting seventy-seven, surgeon to the Westminster Hospital, which occurred last Tuesday at his house in Savile-row.
regret
AT the next meeting of the Odontological Society of Great to be held on Monday, March 5th, at 40, Leicester" square, Mr. T. E. Constant will read a paper on "Pental."
Britain,
INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CONGRESS. THE South-Eastern and the Dover Railway Companies have
IT is with pleasure we note that the University of Cambridge, always alert to honour men of science, propose to grant the comparatively new degree of Doctor in Science (honoris caiisi) to Professor S. Ram6n y Cajal, Professor of Histology in the University of Madrid, and the next Croonian lecturer at the Royal Society.
THE Royal Hospital for Diseases of the Chest, City-road, London, has been presented by the Empress Frederick with a
portrait of herself.
THE
LANCET
Special Analytical Sanitary Commission ON
YEAST
SUBSTITUTES,
WITH ESPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE USE OF ALUM IN BAKING POWDERS.
OPHTHALMIA AT THE ELY SCHOOLS, CARDIFF.
ACCORDING
to the South Wales
Daily News, the children been suffering from oph.
.at the Ely schools, Cardiff, have thalmia. Those affected, who had been removed to the Cardiff workhouse, will shortly be taken to Porthcawl, at which place the guardians are stated to be negotiating for the purpose of procuring the necessary accommodation for their s’eception. It is hoped that careful treatment, combined with sea air at Porthcawl, will afford the best means of overcoming this troublesome affection.
MR. J. RYLAND WHITAKER, B.A., M.B. Lond., L.R.C.P. and L.R.C.S.Edin., late Senior Demonstrator of Anatomy, has been appointed Lecturer on Anatomy at the Edinburgh School of Medicine, Minto House. Mr. Whitaker will commence his duties on May lst, the beginning of the summer session. ___
OWING to the indisposition of the President, Mr. Arthur E. Durham, past president and treasurer, will take the chair on the occasion of the anniversary dinner of the Medical Society of London, at the Whitehall-rooms, Hôtel Metropole, on Thursday, March 8th. -
AT the Council
meetings
of the London and Counties
Medical Protection Society held since the vacation about 500 At one meeting over 150 new members have been elected. members
were
accepted.
A
large number are now awaiting
- election. ___
DR. JOHN G.
HEWITT, assistant demonstrator at the
Cambridge University Chemical Laboratory, has been appointed by the Governors of the People’s Palace to the vacant Professorship of Chemistry.
THE uncertainty of the action and quality of leaven or yeast doubtless gave rise to the idea of the use of other materials to effect, by means of the evolution of carbonic acid gas, a desirable degree of porosity in bread, pastry, &c. It is well known that in the time-honoured method of bread-making, in which yeast is used as a ferment, if at a certain point in the process the dough is not straightway placed in the oven a heavy loaf results ; that is to say, if the first fermentation be allowed to proceed too long a second (acid) fermentation sets in, which gives an undesirable quality to the bread, acetic, butyric, and lactic acids being formed, which impart to it an unpleasant taste. Badly made bread is probably often the cause of derangement of the digestive tract ; the fermentative changes induced in the course of preparation continue in the stomach with generation of carbonic acid gas, and consequent flatulence, heartburn, and acid eructations." Although the substitution of a good baking powder would avoid with certainty all risk of objectionable changes of this kind, yet the flavour of bread well and properly made with reliable yeast is decidedly preferable to that of bread in which baking powder alone has been used. This important difference as regards flavour is due probably to the complex action of .the yeast in converting part of the carbohydrates of the dough into carbonic acid and alcohol; besides, it may also impart an acceptable flavour characteristic of itself, as, for instance, in the case of brewer’s yeast. The fact that part of the soluble constituents (the carbohydrates) of the dough is converted into carbonic acid gas and alcohol, which are of course dissipated during cooking, has afforded an argument in favour of the use of baking powder because it does not effect any change in the composition of the bread, although doubtless the mineral substances which result from the decomposition of the powder contribute unfavourably to the taste and character of the cooked product. It may be of interest to mention that it has been computed that the annual loss of alcohol in bread-making
TIlE LANCET ANALYTICAL COMMISSION ON YEAST SUBSTITUTES. due to the action of yeast on the sugars and dextrine of the dough amounts to about 300,000 gallons, all attempts to recover which have been fruitless. When, as has been sugof is mixed with the dough, ammonia bicarbonate gested, to effect a porous loaf, or when, as in the Dauglish process, carbonic acid is forced into the dough by pressure from without, no residual products are of course produced in the loaf, for in the former case the ammonia salt decomposes completely into ammonia and carbonic acid gases, while in the latter the carbonic acid gas is simply expelled by the heat of the oven. It may not be generally known that Dauglish’s process can be fairly well imitated by kneading the dough with ordinary soda water freshly opened. There is no reason to suppose that the use of a good baking powder is unwholesome. Whatever may be said for or against the use of baking powder, one thing is clear, which is that this convenient form of yeast substitute is now very largely used in the preparation of certain forms of food (e.g., bread, pastry, and cakes), and especially by the poorer classes. This being so, it is highly desirable that the purity and wholesomeness of yeast substitutes, seeing that they are exclusively used for one distinct purpose-viz., that of incorporating with food in the course of preparation, in order to make it light and porous-should be as far beyond reproach as true yeast itself, or any other substances used in the preparation of food. Indeed, so extensively has baking powder come to be used in the place of yeast that greater attention should be given in order to secure it against the resources of the unscrupulous manufacturer. Apart from the possible adulteration of baking powder with injurious materials, the general introduction of this class of preparation was apparently not anticipated by those who were responsible for the passing of the Food and Drugs Act, or else it was entirely overlooked by them, since it was ruled in a case which was recently heard in the Court of Appeal, after two years’ litigation in inferior courts, that baking powder could not be viewed as an article of food within the meaning of that statute. According to this ruling, therefore, the employment in baking powders of objectionable ingredients such as alum, which is substituted for the more expensive tartaric acid for the purpose of effecting the disengagement of carbonic acid from bicarbonate of soda, does not constitute a legal offence. As we pointed out in a notice of this case in THE LANCET, the arguments upon which this judgment was based were as follows : (1) That the sale of alum in itself is not an offence, even though the seller may know that the buyer is going to mix it with bread, and therefore the fact of the alum being sold mixed with other things does not alter the position; (2) that the presence of ground rice (a common constituent of baking powders) does not make the powder a food, the rice being merely used as a vehicle; and (3) that the purchaser, if he afterwards mixes such powder with food with intent to sell, may commit an offence, although the vendor would not be committing one; and, again, for his own use, anybody may employ baking powder containing alum, and, that being so, it would be strange for the vendor to be liable to penalties. We only accept this decision on the legal aspects of the case, for it is generally admitted, and was even admitted by the court, that alum is injurious. We go a step further and maintain that the presence of alum in baking powder is objectionable because its addition to food renders certain essential ingredients (soluble albuminoids and phosphates) inert and indigestible. Obviously there is only one use for baking powder, and that is for the purpose of mixing with certain food materials with the object of rendering the final product porous and light. Its ultimate destination, therefore, is the human stomach ; but although per se it is not a food, yet it is used to fulfil an office in food comparable with that of pepper, mustard, or salt. Thus, while baking powder ministers to the appearance of food, condiments add to or develop its taste. The decision, therefore, as it now stands, allows the use of an admittedly injurious salt as a fit and suitable constituent of baking powder. The absurdity of the position is manifest, since, as baking powder is not an article of food within the meaning of the statute, it opens up the possibility of manufacturers adding with impunity substances of even a worse or more objectionable kind. In that case, the sooner baking powder comes within the meaning of the Act the better, and the more satisfactory will it be for the public. In the meantime it is right and advisable, we think, that THE LANCET, Jan 27th, 1894
563
public should know the names of the manufacturers who professedly place on the market baking powder free from alum; but the public have no ready means of arriving at a decision for themselves as to whether a baking powder isdevoid of objectionable materials or not, and it was a knowledge of this fact that prompted us to invite " all firms professing to supply baking powder free from alum to submit. their names to us," after which we would " procure in the open market specimens of the goods and submit them to analysis in THE LANCET Laboratory, placing the results in due course before our readers. The results then promised, and since obtained, are the subject of the present report. Of twenty specimens of baking powder examined thirteen the
"
sent in response to our invitation. The names of themakers of these specimens are as follows : 1. G. Borwick and Sons, 24, Chiswell-street. 2. Allen and Co., 441, New Cross-road. 3. Freeman and Hildyard, Dover-road, Borough, S.E. 4. W. G. Dunn and Co., 21, Mincing-lane. 5. Goodall, Backhouse, and Co., Leeds. 6.* H. D. Thatcher and Co. (New York) : Potter and Sacker, 80, Fenchurch-street, E. C. 7. Harvest, Dowgate Dock, Upper Thames-street, E.C. 8. B. Soddy, 243, Walworth-road, S.E. 9.S. Chivers and Sons, Histon, Cambridge. 10. * Wrights, the Humber Packing Company, Wilmington,. Hull. 11.* Joseph Lingford and Sons, Bishop Auckland. 12.** Sutcliffe and Bingham, Manchester (Kkovah brand). 13.*J. Farquhar and Sons, Castleford, Yorks. * Those marked with an asterisk could not be procured independently, since they are produced and sold exclusively in the provinces or elsewere
where,
but not in London.
All these were found to be free from alum or any objectionable constituents, while the ingredients concerned in theproduction of carbonic acid were of ascertained purity. In addition to the above we were able to procure seven other specimens, two of which were found to contain alum, so that, judging from this inquiry, the chances of obtaining baking powders in which alum is a constituent are at present 2 in 20, or 10 per cent.; but in view of the recent decision we may reasonably anticipate an increase in the number of alum powders offered for sale. The following samples of powders. obtained by purchase, which also proved on analysis to be free from alum and to be composed of ingredients of acceptable quality, bore upon the packets the following names :14. Yeatman & Co., Denmark-street, E. 15. Ray’s Leaven (address could not be ascertained). 16. Bird, Devonshire Works, Birmingham. 17. Hales’ Baking Powder, Hales, 100, Drury-lane. 18. Empire Baking Powder (address could not be ascer-
tained). According to the results of this investigation, good baking powder may be divided into two classes-viz. (1) those in which tartaric acid (H2C4H406) is used to displace carbonic: acid from the bicarbonate of soda (NaHC03) ; and (2) those in which acid tartrate of potassium (KHC4H4Oü) is made In the former case the to perform the same office. following equation serves to illustrate the reactiona: HCJOg+2:NaHC03= Na2C-lH406 + 2HO+2CO, while in the latter tlte change may thus be represented : KHC4H406 + NaHC03 = KNaC4H406 (Rochelle salt) + CO2 + H20. Freetartaric acid was present in twelve of the twenty specimens examined, and cream of tartar (acid tartrate of potassium) in six. The former generally yielded a larger volume of carbonic acid gas and with greater rapidity, a result which is doubtless due to the comparatively quick solubility of tartaric acid. The disengagement of gas from the alum powders was, however, very slow, the change taking placebeing represented by the following equation (assuming that. potash alum is used): EA(SO+6NaHCOg=KSO3Na2SO4 + Al2O3 + 6CO2 + 3H2O. The salts remaining behind in alum powders on the completion of the reaction are therefore the sulphates of potassium and soda, with alumina, or probably hydrated oxide of aluminium. The quantity of carbonic acid given off by the tartaric acid powders ranged from 54 to 11 times the volume of the powder, the average amount being 25 volumes of gas. Similarly the cream of tartar powders yielded from 20 to 9 times their volume of carbonic acid, the average being 13. The alum powders. yielded respectively 7 and 11 volumes of carbonic acid gas. Although these great variations occur in the amount of gas evolved, yet the quantity of powder recommended to. be used is the same in the majority of cases-viz., one heapecl
THE INTERNATIONAL SANITARY CONFERENCE.
564
’easpoonful to one pound of flour. In all the specimens analysed the end reaction was decidedly alkaline, so that carbonate of soda is generally in slight excess. Except in one instance (Thatcher), in which sugar of milk is evidently substituted, starch (commonly rice) is a usual constituent of baking powders, and is doubtless employed as an excipient. The results, of which our readers will need no interpretation, are of interest in affording a fairly comprehensive account of the chief variations in the composition and nature of the baking powders which are commonly sold to the public in this country. We commit them to publication in the earnest hope that the proper authorities will soon recognise the necessity for immediate legislative action in this matter. It is an utterly illogical condition of things that, while the Act provides against the use of alum in bread, it offers no remedy against the employment of the same agent in baking powder, since the latter is used for one, and on1y one, purpose-viz., that of mixing it with certain food materials with the object of rendering the cooked product attractive in appearance, porous, and light. THE LANCET LABORATORY.
INTERNATIONAL SANITARY CONFERENCE. (FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.)
THE
Paris, Feb. 26th. International Sanitary Conference is only now approaching the more knotty and delicate questions which it ]has to decide. Thus, one of the two subcommittees or sections that were appointed to study the dangers caused by the pilgrimages to Mecca via the Persian Gulf has practically terminated its labours. It recommends that there should be a system of medical inspection on the landing of pilgrims at the ports of the Persian Gulf. But the section does not explain how this port sanitary authority is to be established or controlled. It has proclaimed, as a matter of principle, that such an authority should exist. This is well and good in its way, but the whole difficulty rests in its appointment. As yet Persia has done nothing, and what little has been attempted by the Turkish Government has certainly not been very successful. This is amply shown by the condition of the Camaran quarantine station, which is in itself another and also a very delicate matter before the Conference. So far as Persia is concerned, that country is represented by able delegates, who have shown that they possess great local knowledge. Unfortunately, they are exceptionally reticent whenever there is any need for suggestions. As the question under discussion especially affects their own country, it was hoped that the Persian delegates would have some proposals to make ; as yet, however, while everyone else is agreed that sanitary authorities should be established in Persian ports, they give no indication as to how and by whom these port sanitary authorities are to be appointed. To speak frankly, it must also be said that, on the other hand, no great confidence is felt in either the Turkish or Persian authorities. The Turk have shown their incompetence, while the Persians have not yet proved their competence. It is not easy to propose the establishment in Persian ports of European sanitary authorities. Even if such a foreign intervention were accepted by the Persian Government, which of the various European Powers would undertake the work, and would that Power be acceptable to the other Powers ?7 An international sanitary committee might, it is true, be appointed to organise defensive measures on the Persian Gulf; but that, again, is a proceeding not devoid of complications and inconveniences. The French representatives at the Conference, who are chiefly responsible for the drawing up of the programme of discussion, are in the main preoccupied with the sea route. This is, perhaps, a mistake, for there is greater danger by the land route. The persistence of cholera in the Yemen should be a subject of special study. It will be remembered that Turkish troops were sent to this province in order to quell an insurrection, and that they suffered greatly from cholera. There were, at the same time, pilgrims from the Yemen who went to Mecca. Hardly any control is exercised over these pilgrims, who travel by land. With regard to the sea route, the attitude of the British delegates is simple and unchangeable. Their principle is that to stop healthy passengers and a healthy ship does THE
but actually creates danger. Dr. L. Arnaud’s of the quarantine station at the island of Camaran in the Red Sea amply proves this assertion.He " boldly states that this island is simply a "dep6t of cholera," where healthy crews and passengers are infected. As already related, the accommodation is so bad that disease is engendered. The retention of passengers here greatly increases the danger, and there have been more epidemics since the opening of this quarantine station than there were previously. Short of detention, however, the British representatives are ready to accept any reasonable precaution, such as, for instance, a rule to prevent anyone embarking at an Indian port with dirty linen. M. Henri Monod delivered a very remarkable speech on the sanitary condition of India and, as mentioned last week, submitted to the members of the Conference a diagram setting forth how cholera had increased. To this he has added two other diagrams, one on the general mortality, and the other on the mortality from fevers. By the side of these three diagrams there are calculations showing that the mortality increases by periods of years. Thus the general mortality during the four years 1881 to 1884 amounted to an annual average of 4,769,496. During the second period of four years (1885-88) it rose to 5,198,761, and during the third period of only three years (1889-92) it was 5,640,434 The annual average of deaths from fevers was for these periods 3,113,599, 3.458,456, and 3,803,340 respectively. The cholera statistics, going further back, have enabled the French delegates to make a calculation for three periods of five years each, comprising the fifteen years from 1877 to 1892. During the first five years the average number of deaths from cholera in India was 243.901, during the second 323,909, and during the :third 456,724. Surgeon-General Cuningham will reply to these criticisms, and, of course, he will be able to point out that the population of India has greatly increased and that with the progress of years the statistics have been more fully and accurately collected. While the Conference was discussing what measures should be taken to prevent pilgrims from conveying cholera from place to place, one of the representatives of the United States of America struck a new keynote. He inquired whether the Conference could not establish a set of rules by which emigrants could be watched, examined, or controlled in such a manner as should prevent them from carrying over to the United States the germs of cholera, small-pox, and kindred diseases. It was all very well (he said) to impose medical inspection on Mahommedan pilgrims embarking for Mecca, but why not take similar precautions with respect to emigrants embarking for America? It is not yet known how this question will be answered by the Conference, but the speech of the United States delegate created a considerable sensation, and doubtless the representatives of the other Powers will take some time to consider the matter. The members of the Conference have been entertained in the most lavish manner. They meet in the morning at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, close to the Legislative Chambers on the Quai d’Orsay. In the case of the discussions being prolonged into the afternoon a most elaborate lunch is served to them and there is always at hand a plentiful supply of refreshments of every description, both simple and costly. Almost every evening there is some entertainment awaiting them. They were invited to a magnificent ball given at the Palace of the Elysee by the President of the Republic, M. Carnot. They were received at another great ball organised by the Paris Municipality at the Hotel de Ville. Then a State dinner was given in their honour by M. Dupuy, the President of the National Assembly. But perhaps the most remarkable entertainment of all was the dinner given by M. Raynal, the Minister of the Interior. Not only was the menu a triumph of gastronomy, but it was followed by an entertainment at which the most celebrated artists of Paris played, sang, a,nd recited. For two to three hours the delegates were able to see and hear actors, actresses, singers, and musicians whose reputation has spread to all parts of the world and whose talents help to render Paris the most attractive capital of Europe. M. Carnot has also placed the Presidential box at the Grand Opera at the disposal of the delegates to the Sanitary Conference for the duration of their stay in Paris. The British delegates, I imagine, must regret that in London nothing so sumptuous and yet so refined could possibly be offered by the Government to its guests; on the other hand, they have doubtless not
prevent description
1
THE
LANCET, Feb. 17th,
1894.
562
doubt that in those instances in which several members! family successively succumbed to consumption, andl which occasioned the wide assumption of the hereditary’ mature of the disease, the fatal results were due not to inheritance but really to infection. It is now ascertained beyond question that the contagious material is contained inl the sputum of the affected persons, and that this when driedl becomes the vehicle of infection." No doubt it is well to recognise the main fact that flows from the discovery of the tubercle bacillus, but to place the idea of contagiousness in the forefront is surely going a little too’ far, and is a view, moreover, which cannot conduce to the’ It iss care or comfort of the unfortunate victims of phthisis. to be regretted that Dr. Coghill, in penning these words, did not modify their dogmatism, for no one knows better thant he that the acquirement of phthisis depends in as great a measure on inherited disposition and on environment as uponl exposure to sources of infection. We fear lest too great a, concentration of idea upon the single factor of contagiousness may lead to a neglect of other and not less important; considerations in the etiology of the disease. 1110
of
one
London, Chatham, and
agreed to issue tickets to members at the same rates as to "guests " accompanying The Secretary-General (Professor members themselves. Maragliano) has forwarded documents for identification on the journey to all enrolled members. Any members who have not yet received these should apply for passes, instructions &c. to the Secretary to the English Committee, Mr. G. H. ,
Makins, 47, Charles-street, Berkeley-square, London, W. These passes are issued only to members of the medical profession and their relatives. Gentlemen wishing to join the under Statute as 17, Congress being interested in one of the Sections, must apply directly to the Secretary-General, Eleventh International Medical Congress, Rome.
PROFESSOR BURDON SANDERSON, M.D. Edin., F.R.S., Professor of Physiology in the University of Oxford, and Mr. T. Pridgin Teale, M.B.Oxon, F.R.C.S., F. R. S., have been selected by the University Board of the Faculty of Medicine to represent the University of Oxford at the forthcoming International Medical Congress.
Waynflete
____
SVE much
to record the death, at the age of of Mr. Barnard Holt, F.R.C.S., consulting seventy-seven, surgeon to the Westminster Hospital, which occurred last Tuesday at his house in Savile-row.
regret
AT the next meeting of the Odontological Society of Great to be held on Monday, March 5th, at 40, Leicester" square, Mr. T. E. Constant will read a paper on "Pental."
Britain,
INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CONGRESS. THE South-Eastern and the Dover Railway Companies have
IT is with pleasure we note that the University of Cambridge, always alert to honour men of science, propose to grant the comparatively new degree of Doctor in Science (honoris caiisi) to Professor S. Ram6n y Cajal, Professor of Histology in the University of Madrid, and the next Croonian lecturer at the Royal Society.
THE Royal Hospital for Diseases of the Chest, City-road, London, has been presented by the Empress Frederick with a
portrait of herself.
THE
LANCET
Special Analytical Sanitary Commission ON
YEAST
SUBSTITUTES,
WITH ESPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE USE OF ALUM IN BAKING POWDERS.
OPHTHALMIA AT THE ELY SCHOOLS, CARDIFF.
ACCORDING
to the South Wales
Daily News, the children been suffering from oph.
.at the Ely schools, Cardiff, have thalmia. Those affected, who had been removed to the Cardiff workhouse, will shortly be taken to Porthcawl, at which place the guardians are stated to be negotiating for the purpose of procuring the necessary accommodation for their s’eception. It is hoped that careful treatment, combined with sea air at Porthcawl, will afford the best means of overcoming this troublesome affection.
MR. J. RYLAND WHITAKER, B.A., M.B. Lond., L.R.C.P. and L.R.C.S.Edin., late Senior Demonstrator of Anatomy, has been appointed Lecturer on Anatomy at the Edinburgh School of Medicine, Minto House. Mr. Whitaker will commence his duties on May lst, the beginning of the summer session. ___
OWING to the indisposition of the President, Mr. Arthur E. Durham, past president and treasurer, will take the chair on the occasion of the anniversary dinner of the Medical Society of London, at the Whitehall-rooms, Hôtel Metropole, on Thursday, March 8th. -
AT the Council
meetings
of the London and Counties
Medical Protection Society held since the vacation about 500 At one meeting over 150 new members have been elected. members
were
accepted.
A
large number are now awaiting
- election. ___
DR. JOHN G.
HEWITT, assistant demonstrator at the
Cambridge University Chemical Laboratory, has been appointed by the Governors of the People’s Palace to the vacant Professorship of Chemistry.
THE uncertainty of the action and quality of leaven or yeast doubtless gave rise to the idea of the use of other materials to effect, by means of the evolution of carbonic acid gas, a desirable degree of porosity in bread, pastry, &c. It is well known that in the time-honoured method of bread-making, in which yeast is used as a ferment, if at a certain point in the process the dough is not straightway placed in the oven a heavy loaf results ; that is to say, if the first fermentation be allowed to proceed too long a second (acid) fermentation sets in, which gives an undesirable quality to the bread, acetic, butyric, and lactic acids being formed, which impart to it an unpleasant taste. Badly made bread is probably often the cause of derangement of the digestive tract ; the fermentative changes induced in the course of preparation continue in the stomach with generation of carbonic acid gas, and consequent flatulence, heartburn, and acid eructations." Although the substitution of a good baking powder would avoid with certainty all risk of objectionable changes of this kind, yet the flavour of bread well and properly made with reliable yeast is decidedly preferable to that of bread in which baking powder alone has been used. This important difference as regards flavour is due probably to the complex action of .the yeast in converting part of the carbohydrates of the dough into carbonic acid and alcohol; besides, it may also impart an acceptable flavour characteristic of itself, as, for instance, in the case of brewer’s yeast. The fact that part of the soluble constituents (the carbohydrates) of the dough is converted into carbonic acid gas and alcohol, which are of course dissipated during cooking, has afforded an argument in favour of the use of baking powder because it does not effect any change in the composition of the bread, although doubtless the mineral substances which result from the decomposition of the powder contribute unfavourably to the taste and character of the cooked product. It may be of interest to mention that it has been computed that the annual loss of alcohol in bread-making
TIlE LANCET ANALYTICAL COMMISSION ON YEAST SUBSTITUTES. due to the action of yeast on the sugars and dextrine of the dough amounts to about 300,000 gallons, all attempts to recover which have been fruitless. When, as has been sugof is mixed with the dough, ammonia bicarbonate gested, to effect a porous loaf, or when, as in the Dauglish process, carbonic acid is forced into the dough by pressure from without, no residual products are of course produced in the loaf, for in the former case the ammonia salt decomposes completely into ammonia and carbonic acid gases, while in the latter the carbonic acid gas is simply expelled by the heat of the oven. It may not be generally known that Dauglish’s process can be fairly well imitated by kneading the dough with ordinary soda water freshly opened. There is no reason to suppose that the use of a good baking powder is unwholesome. Whatever may be said for or against the use of baking powder, one thing is clear, which is that this convenient form of yeast substitute is now very largely used in the preparation of certain forms of food (e.g., bread, pastry, and cakes), and especially by the poorer classes. This being so, it is highly desirable that the purity and wholesomeness of yeast substitutes, seeing that they are exclusively used for one distinct purpose-viz., that of incorporating with food in the course of preparation, in order to make it light and porous-should be as far beyond reproach as true yeast itself, or any other substances used in the preparation of food. Indeed, so extensively has baking powder come to be used in the place of yeast that greater attention should be given in order to secure it against the resources of the unscrupulous manufacturer. Apart from the possible adulteration of baking powder with injurious materials, the general introduction of this class of preparation was apparently not anticipated by those who were responsible for the passing of the Food and Drugs Act, or else it was entirely overlooked by them, since it was ruled in a case which was recently heard in the Court of Appeal, after two years’ litigation in inferior courts, that baking powder could not be viewed as an article of food within the meaning of that statute. According to this ruling, therefore, the employment in baking powders of objectionable ingredients such as alum, which is substituted for the more expensive tartaric acid for the purpose of effecting the disengagement of carbonic acid from bicarbonate of soda, does not constitute a legal offence. As we pointed out in a notice of this case in THE LANCET, the arguments upon which this judgment was based were as follows : (1) That the sale of alum in itself is not an offence, even though the seller may know that the buyer is going to mix it with bread, and therefore the fact of the alum being sold mixed with other things does not alter the position; (2) that the presence of ground rice (a common constituent of baking powders) does not make the powder a food, the rice being merely used as a vehicle; and (3) that the purchaser, if he afterwards mixes such powder with food with intent to sell, may commit an offence, although the vendor would not be committing one; and, again, for his own use, anybody may employ baking powder containing alum, and, that being so, it would be strange for the vendor to be liable to penalties. We only accept this decision on the legal aspects of the case, for it is generally admitted, and was even admitted by the court, that alum is injurious. We go a step further and maintain that the presence of alum in baking powder is objectionable because its addition to food renders certain essential ingredients (soluble albuminoids and phosphates) inert and indigestible. Obviously there is only one use for baking powder, and that is for the purpose of mixing with certain food materials with the object of rendering the final product porous and light. Its ultimate destination, therefore, is the human stomach ; but although per se it is not a food, yet it is used to fulfil an office in food comparable with that of pepper, mustard, or salt. Thus, while baking powder ministers to the appearance of food, condiments add to or develop its taste. The decision, therefore, as it now stands, allows the use of an admittedly injurious salt as a fit and suitable constituent of baking powder. The absurdity of the position is manifest, since, as baking powder is not an article of food within the meaning of the statute, it opens up the possibility of manufacturers adding with impunity substances of even a worse or more objectionable kind. In that case, the sooner baking powder comes within the meaning of the Act the better, and the more satisfactory will it be for the public. In the meantime it is right and advisable, we think, that THE LANCET, Jan 27th, 1894
563
public should know the names of the manufacturers who professedly place on the market baking powder free from alum; but the public have no ready means of arriving at a decision for themselves as to whether a baking powder isdevoid of objectionable materials or not, and it was a knowledge of this fact that prompted us to invite " all firms professing to supply baking powder free from alum to submit. their names to us," after which we would " procure in the open market specimens of the goods and submit them to analysis in THE LANCET Laboratory, placing the results in due course before our readers. The results then promised, and since obtained, are the subject of the present report. Of twenty specimens of baking powder examined thirteen the
"
sent in response to our invitation. The names of themakers of these specimens are as follows : 1. G. Borwick and Sons, 24, Chiswell-street. 2. Allen and Co., 441, New Cross-road. 3. Freeman and Hildyard, Dover-road, Borough, S.E. 4. W. G. Dunn and Co., 21, Mincing-lane. 5. Goodall, Backhouse, and Co., Leeds. 6.* H. D. Thatcher and Co. (New York) : Potter and Sacker, 80, Fenchurch-street, E. C. 7. Harvest, Dowgate Dock, Upper Thames-street, E.C. 8. B. Soddy, 243, Walworth-road, S.E. 9.S. Chivers and Sons, Histon, Cambridge. 10. * Wrights, the Humber Packing Company, Wilmington,. Hull. 11.* Joseph Lingford and Sons, Bishop Auckland. 12.** Sutcliffe and Bingham, Manchester (Kkovah brand). 13.*J. Farquhar and Sons, Castleford, Yorks. * Those marked with an asterisk could not be procured independently, since they are produced and sold exclusively in the provinces or elsewere
where,
but not in London.
All these were found to be free from alum or any objectionable constituents, while the ingredients concerned in theproduction of carbonic acid were of ascertained purity. In addition to the above we were able to procure seven other specimens, two of which were found to contain alum, so that, judging from this inquiry, the chances of obtaining baking powders in which alum is a constituent are at present 2 in 20, or 10 per cent.; but in view of the recent decision we may reasonably anticipate an increase in the number of alum powders offered for sale. The following samples of powders. obtained by purchase, which also proved on analysis to be free from alum and to be composed of ingredients of acceptable quality, bore upon the packets the following names :14. Yeatman & Co., Denmark-street, E. 15. Ray’s Leaven (address could not be ascertained). 16. Bird, Devonshire Works, Birmingham. 17. Hales’ Baking Powder, Hales, 100, Drury-lane. 18. Empire Baking Powder (address could not be ascer-
tained). According to the results of this investigation, good baking powder may be divided into two classes-viz. (1) those in which tartaric acid (H2C4H406) is used to displace carbonic: acid from the bicarbonate of soda (NaHC03) ; and (2) those in which acid tartrate of potassium (KHC4H4Oü) is made In the former case the to perform the same office. following equation serves to illustrate the reactiona: HCJOg+2:NaHC03= Na2C-lH406 + 2HO+2CO, while in the latter tlte change may thus be represented : KHC4H406 + NaHC03 = KNaC4H406 (Rochelle salt) + CO2 + H20. Freetartaric acid was present in twelve of the twenty specimens examined, and cream of tartar (acid tartrate of potassium) in six. The former generally yielded a larger volume of carbonic acid gas and with greater rapidity, a result which is doubtless due to the comparatively quick solubility of tartaric acid. The disengagement of gas from the alum powders was, however, very slow, the change taking placebeing represented by the following equation (assuming that. potash alum is used): EA(SO+6NaHCOg=KSO3Na2SO4 + Al2O3 + 6CO2 + 3H2O. The salts remaining behind in alum powders on the completion of the reaction are therefore the sulphates of potassium and soda, with alumina, or probably hydrated oxide of aluminium. The quantity of carbonic acid given off by the tartaric acid powders ranged from 54 to 11 times the volume of the powder, the average amount being 25 volumes of gas. Similarly the cream of tartar powders yielded from 20 to 9 times their volume of carbonic acid, the average being 13. The alum powders. yielded respectively 7 and 11 volumes of carbonic acid gas. Although these great variations occur in the amount of gas evolved, yet the quantity of powder recommended to. be used is the same in the majority of cases-viz., one heapecl
THE INTERNATIONAL SANITARY CONFERENCE.
564
’easpoonful to one pound of flour. In all the specimens analysed the end reaction was decidedly alkaline, so that carbonate of soda is generally in slight excess. Except in one instance (Thatcher), in which sugar of milk is evidently substituted, starch (commonly rice) is a usual constituent of baking powders, and is doubtless employed as an excipient. The results, of which our readers will need no interpretation, are of interest in affording a fairly comprehensive account of the chief variations in the composition and nature of the baking powders which are commonly sold to the public in this country. We commit them to publication in the earnest hope that the proper authorities will soon recognise the necessity for immediate legislative action in this matter. It is an utterly illogical condition of things that, while the Act provides against the use of alum in bread, it offers no remedy against the employment of the same agent in baking powder, since the latter is used for one, and on1y one, purpose-viz., that of mixing it with certain food materials with the object of rendering the cooked product attractive in appearance, porous, and light. THE LANCET LABORATORY.
INTERNATIONAL SANITARY CONFERENCE. (FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.)
THE
Paris, Feb. 26th. International Sanitary Conference is only now approaching the more knotty and delicate questions which it ]has to decide. Thus, one of the two subcommittees or sections that were appointed to study the dangers caused by the pilgrimages to Mecca via the Persian Gulf has practically terminated its labours. It recommends that there should be a system of medical inspection on the landing of pilgrims at the ports of the Persian Gulf. But the section does not explain how this port sanitary authority is to be established or controlled. It has proclaimed, as a matter of principle, that such an authority should exist. This is well and good in its way, but the whole difficulty rests in its appointment. As yet Persia has done nothing, and what little has been attempted by the Turkish Government has certainly not been very successful. This is amply shown by the condition of the Camaran quarantine station, which is in itself another and also a very delicate matter before the Conference. So far as Persia is concerned, that country is represented by able delegates, who have shown that they possess great local knowledge. Unfortunately, they are exceptionally reticent whenever there is any need for suggestions. As the question under discussion especially affects their own country, it was hoped that the Persian delegates would have some proposals to make ; as yet, however, while everyone else is agreed that sanitary authorities should be established in Persian ports, they give no indication as to how and by whom these port sanitary authorities are to be appointed. To speak frankly, it must also be said that, on the other hand, no great confidence is felt in either the Turkish or Persian authorities. The Turk have shown their incompetence, while the Persians have not yet proved their competence. It is not easy to propose the establishment in Persian ports of European sanitary authorities. Even if such a foreign intervention were accepted by the Persian Government, which of the various European Powers would undertake the work, and would that Power be acceptable to the other Powers ?7 An international sanitary committee might, it is true, be appointed to organise defensive measures on the Persian Gulf; but that, again, is a proceeding not devoid of complications and inconveniences. The French representatives at the Conference, who are chiefly responsible for the drawing up of the programme of discussion, are in the main preoccupied with the sea route. This is, perhaps, a mistake, for there is greater danger by the land route. The persistence of cholera in the Yemen should be a subject of special study. It will be remembered that Turkish troops were sent to this province in order to quell an insurrection, and that they suffered greatly from cholera. There were, at the same time, pilgrims from the Yemen who went to Mecca. Hardly any control is exercised over these pilgrims, who travel by land. With regard to the sea route, the attitude of the British delegates is simple and unchangeable. Their principle is that to stop healthy passengers and a healthy ship does THE
but actually creates danger. Dr. L. Arnaud’s of the quarantine station at the island of Camaran in the Red Sea amply proves this assertion.He " boldly states that this island is simply a "dep6t of cholera," where healthy crews and passengers are infected. As already related, the accommodation is so bad that disease is engendered. The retention of passengers here greatly increases the danger, and there have been more epidemics since the opening of this quarantine station than there were previously. Short of detention, however, the British representatives are ready to accept any reasonable precaution, such as, for instance, a rule to prevent anyone embarking at an Indian port with dirty linen. M. Henri Monod delivered a very remarkable speech on the sanitary condition of India and, as mentioned last week, submitted to the members of the Conference a diagram setting forth how cholera had increased. To this he has added two other diagrams, one on the general mortality, and the other on the mortality from fevers. By the side of these three diagrams there are calculations showing that the mortality increases by periods of years. Thus the general mortality during the four years 1881 to 1884 amounted to an annual average of 4,769,496. During the second period of four years (1885-88) it rose to 5,198,761, and during the third period of only three years (1889-92) it was 5,640,434 The annual average of deaths from fevers was for these periods 3,113,599, 3.458,456, and 3,803,340 respectively. The cholera statistics, going further back, have enabled the French delegates to make a calculation for three periods of five years each, comprising the fifteen years from 1877 to 1892. During the first five years the average number of deaths from cholera in India was 243.901, during the second 323,909, and during the :third 456,724. Surgeon-General Cuningham will reply to these criticisms, and, of course, he will be able to point out that the population of India has greatly increased and that with the progress of years the statistics have been more fully and accurately collected. While the Conference was discussing what measures should be taken to prevent pilgrims from conveying cholera from place to place, one of the representatives of the United States of America struck a new keynote. He inquired whether the Conference could not establish a set of rules by which emigrants could be watched, examined, or controlled in such a manner as should prevent them from carrying over to the United States the germs of cholera, small-pox, and kindred diseases. It was all very well (he said) to impose medical inspection on Mahommedan pilgrims embarking for Mecca, but why not take similar precautions with respect to emigrants embarking for America? It is not yet known how this question will be answered by the Conference, but the speech of the United States delegate created a considerable sensation, and doubtless the representatives of the other Powers will take some time to consider the matter. The members of the Conference have been entertained in the most lavish manner. They meet in the morning at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, close to the Legislative Chambers on the Quai d’Orsay. In the case of the discussions being prolonged into the afternoon a most elaborate lunch is served to them and there is always at hand a plentiful supply of refreshments of every description, both simple and costly. Almost every evening there is some entertainment awaiting them. They were invited to a magnificent ball given at the Palace of the Elysee by the President of the Republic, M. Carnot. They were received at another great ball organised by the Paris Municipality at the Hotel de Ville. Then a State dinner was given in their honour by M. Dupuy, the President of the National Assembly. But perhaps the most remarkable entertainment of all was the dinner given by M. Raynal, the Minister of the Interior. Not only was the menu a triumph of gastronomy, but it was followed by an entertainment at which the most celebrated artists of Paris played, sang, a,nd recited. For two to three hours the delegates were able to see and hear actors, actresses, singers, and musicians whose reputation has spread to all parts of the world and whose talents help to render Paris the most attractive capital of Europe. M. Carnot has also placed the Presidential box at the Grand Opera at the disposal of the delegates to the Sanitary Conference for the duration of their stay in Paris. The British delegates, I imagine, must regret that in London nothing so sumptuous and yet so refined could possibly be offered by the Government to its guests; on the other hand, they have doubtless not
prevent description
1
THE
LANCET, Feb. 17th,
1894.