Mustard is seldom sold unadulterated. The common adulterant being flour or some similar farinaceous product, the fraud can usually be detected by means of iodine, which reveals the presence of starch by yielding an intense blue coloration. The microscope, too, is useful in examining mustard.
Pepper, cinnamon, and other spices are adul terated with a variety of substances, the presence of which can usually be detected by the use of the microscope. Substances passing for pepper have sometimes been found to contain no pepper at all, and to be made up entirely of mustard husks, powdered capsicum, starch, gypsum, sand, etc.
Beer has been found to contain potash, vitriol, alum, licorice, linseed, tartar, poppy heads, chamomile, pine sprouts, chicory, henbane, wild cherries, picric acid, salicylic acid, etc., some of these substances being more or less injurious to health. The deleterious qualities of poor beer have often been masked by the addition of sali cylic acid. The latter substance itself is com paratively harmless, though large amounts of it may be very injurious; its use in Germany has been prohibited by law, mainly because it serves to conceal the properties by which foul beer may otherwise be readily recognized. Arsenic, too, bas been found in samples of beer, and in Manchester, England, several deaths have been reported due to beer thus adulterated.
Wines are adulterated with a variety of sub stances, most of which, it must be observed, are harmless. The addition of such substances as water, alcohol, glycerin, salicylic acid, potato syrup, artificial flavoring substances, natural as well as artificial coloring substances, cream of tartar, gypsum, etc., is extensively practiced. Sugar is often added to the must, so as to increase the amount of alcohol in the resulting wine. The most injurious' of these adulterants are salicylic acid (if present in large quantities —as is often the case) and gypsum. Salicylic acid is added so as to prevent the wine from souring. Gypsum is added for the purpose of precipitating out certain organic substances, the presence of which may in time cause the wine to become turbid. The harm done by the addi tion of gypsum is due to the transformation of this substance into acid potassium sulphate, considerable quantities of which are injurious to health. Natural coloring substances like
cochineal. Imekleberry juice, cherry juice, etc., are mostly harmless. On the other hand, arti ficial coal-tar colors like fuchsine and magenta, which are sometimes detected in wine, may be quite injurious to health. The presence of such colors may he suspected if a piece of woolen fabric (lipped in the wine is dyed pink, though this may also be effected by the harmless cochi neal. Adulteration of wines may be detected by chemical analysis, the principal steps of which consist in determinations of alcohol and of the total acidity, and in an examination of the residue left on evaporating a known quantity of wine.
Spirituous liquors. Whisky, brandy, and rum are sometimes made by entirely artificial processes. Rum, for instance, is made by mix ing dilute alcohol with sugar, caramel, and an artificial "rum-ether:" brandy is made not from wine, but by mixing dilute alcohol with caramel and a little syrup, etc. An injurious ingredient often left by careless or unscrupulous manufac turers, in genuine as well as in artificial spirits, is the well known fusel oil, whose presence may be revealed by the peculiar odor observed on evaporating a few drops of impure spirits on the palm of the hand.
Oils and fats. The adulteration of butter has already been noted above. Olive oil is often adulterated with cottonseed oil, sesame oil, ground-nut oil, etc. The presence of these oils may be revealed by two methods: (1) the addi tion of strong sulphuric acid to a given quantity of oil causes a smaller elevation of temperature in the ease of pure than of adulterated olive oil; (2) the addition of nitric acid to adulterated olive oil produces a distinct coloration, while pure olive oil remains unaffected. With some experience on the part of the operator, these tests are quite reliable.
Vinegar is often adulterated by the addition of water and of cheap mineral acids, like sulphu ric or hydrochloric. The fraud may be readily detected chemically.