Analysis of Food and Drink.

Auckland Star, Volume XVIII, Issue 152, 30 June 1887, Page 2

Analysis of Food and Drink.

(To the Editor.)

Sir,—Your timely paragraph in a recent issue of the Stau set me thinking of the real necessity for periodical examination,by analysis of the various foods and drinks vended to us—more especially drinks, you will say, and far more especially in toxica-, ting drinks, which will continue to be used by the bulk of the people, notwithstanding the vigorous crujades against their use originating from temperance societies, the members of which are, as a rule, as humane as they are sometimes illogical. These societies have done much to make drunkenness disgraceful, which is so much. Now let them put the people of this colony further in their debt by insisting upon wholesomoness in the alcoholic drinks vended to thoso who consider such drinks good or necessary for them, or who are so weak as to be unable to withstand tho temptation to drink whether good for them or not. In point of fact, insist that if the people will drink they shall have good and wholesome drink, and no other. In this you will succeed, for you will have all tho people with you, and my Lord Bung can easily afford out of his easily-gotten and enormous gains to give at least pure and wholesome liquors. Most people have heard of glucose; not a very great many know what it is. Very largo quantities of it are used in tho manufacture of beer, displacing a proportionate amount of malt. It is starch converted to a sugar by action of sulphuric acid. Ifc sometimes contains sulphuric acid, and is contaminated by copper or lead, according to the metals with which it has been in contact during conversion. Any person who deHires to know more about ifc can refer to tho experiments of Dr. J. Nessler (of Baden), of A. Sclimitz, or Dr. ttarfch, the reports of which will convince any reader that,' in the opinion of Dr. Nessler (that most patient of scientific investigators), as well as in the opinion of tho other scientists, the stufi" is detrimental to health. At any rate, those who will drink boer should have good beer, and brewers should bo compelled to use malt and hops only, with allowed quantities of beet or cane sugar if desired. Later on I j Bliall name some other articles used by brewers which would be as well omitted-.— Yours, &c, Micro.