BORIC ACID IN FOOD

Evening Star, Issue 20054, 20 December 1928, Page 3

BORIC ACID IN FOOD

“ DISCRETION OUTRUN" VALUABLE PROPERTIES IX TEA. Sir James Crichton-Brownc, speaking at the annual dinner of the Institute of Certificated Grocers, referred to tho subject of food preservatives. Ho said tho Ministry of Health had done good service to the country, for preservatives, which had been subject to abuse in the past, required to bo jealously safeguarded. In one respect the Ministry had allowed zeal to outrun discretion. “ I am not at all satisfied that it lias been established that boric acid in small quantities is at all injurious to health. I am not at all satisfied that the employment of certain small percentages of boric acid in a certain prescribed number of provisions may not be a protection to tho public health. Wc are all dependent to a certain extent on preservatives.” Ho pointed out that in the case of an enormous proportion of tho population of liondon its staple food of life—water—had been subject to treatment by chemical preservatives. “Wo sec,” Sir James continued, “from time to time warnings as to tho injurious effects of excessive consumption of lea. No doubt if you .substitute tannin for tea it is injurious. No doubt excess of anything, of cold water oi ginger beer, and of more exhilarating beverages is injurious, but I do not believe that in one case in ten thousand is the slightest harm done by what our diatetic Pharisees would call an excessive use of tea. Its effects are generally beneficlent, conducive to contentment, clear thinking, and sobriety. It is tho best of cocktails. (Cheers). I hope that our consumption of lea will never ho reduced, but at the same time I hope for a large increase in the consumption of coffee.”

Dr Andrew Rutherford, Lecturer on Pathology to the Edinburgh Medical School, states that food poisoning attacks have actually been fewer this year than previously, and in Scotland there have been none. The illnesses wero neither new nor mysterious to pathologists or to medical advisers of tbs Government, and they had nothing whatever to do with the presence 01 absence of weak chemicals like boric acid as preservatives in food. Much stricter cleanliness was certainly neccs sary in the handling, storage, and cooking of food. The prohibition of pre servatives in tood was a step in thy right direction. It was sheer nonsense to suggest that because boric acid or such like chemicals were absent food would become tainted and cause poisoning.