SCOTLAND YARD OF TRADE

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 62, 6 December 1930, Page 27

SCOTLAND YARD OF TRADE

How Foreign Food Frauds are Revealed.

The uncanniuess of a witch’s cauldron and the mystery of medieval alchemy are combined In a little-known Government department with a staff of fewer than two hundred, which can claim to be the most efficient chemical laboratory in the world (states the “Sunday Express”). Thousands of pounds’ worth of diamonds pass through the laboratory for tests under the infra-red ray, and Sir Robert ,Robertson, the chief chemist, tackles them with the same detachment as he and his assistants handle samples of soap and sheep-dip. These twentieth-century alchemists, modestly concealed in an unassuming building in a little lane off the Str.and, are less concerned with the still unsolved problem of turning base metals into gold than in exposing fake and adulteration in the commodities of commerce. The laboratory is the headquarters of the Scotland-yard of British trade.

In the past twelve months 545,422 samples have passed through the test tubes, and the crucibles of the laboratory.

The Admiralty and the War Office submit thousands of samples of food every year. Everything they buy is submitted to scrutiny — even metal' polish, oilskins, and the. gold braid of an admiral’s epaulettes.

The evidences of fraud and adulteration in food imported from foreign countries are amazing. . • Two samples labelled “butter” were found to be a low-grade margarine heavily impregnated with boric acid. Eight samples of milk powder, guaranteed to be made from full milk, were found to have been deprived of all their fat in the process of manufacture. One-third of the foreign cheese samples tested was found to be made from skimmed or partially-skimmed milk.

Eggs sold as “British new-laid” were submitted, to tests which showed that a foreign mark of origin had been obliterated and a British stamp in different ink substituted. Thirty-two samples of beer contained

arsenic in excess of the limit laid down by the Royal Commission on Brewing. Sixty-one samples of tinned fruit and vegetables were found to contain sulphur dioxide, benzoic acid, and other dangerous preservatives. Among 3480 samples of imported chocolates hundreds were found to contain spirits and liqueurs rendering them liable to spirit duty. Hundreds of samples of foods, drugs, and liquors from shops, night clubs, and onium dens were tested for the police In connection with prosecutions.

The laboratory was the means of proving in the law courts the existence of an extensive conspiracy at Somerset House for the fraudulent use of old Inland Reveipe stamps..

The pigments and gums used for postage stamps and insurance cards are systematically examined for deleterious substances. Eighteen samples of the gums used for cigarette-papers were tested.

The samples examined for the Ministry of Agriculture included sea water from oyster beds. The Ministry of Health submitted wine and liquid eggs.

Samples of air from the House of Commons were tested for dust, and the Office of Works submitted soap-powder and weed-killer, ■ .

Inks used by the Treasury were exaimed for permanency, and the Post Office submitted a new ink made from a flower for the printing of postage stamps. 1 ’ In a year 200 milligrams of- highgrade radium salt has been recovered from decayed luminous paint, reconditioned, and retubed for research purposes. Even the-National Gallery has had recourse to the laboratory for the detectionl of fraud. The pigments of the naint of some of the nation’s most famous and costly pictures have been submitted for chemical and microphotographical examination 'to ensure their genuineness. The Air Ministry sent samples of naturaj gas from South Africa to' be examined on their suitability for airships, but they, were found to contain only negligible traces of helium.