whole milk or of milk and cream, and thus a deliberate deception is perpetrated. The consumer of cheese should demand that artificial coloring of all kinds be omitted from cheese products.
Moreover, these colors may of themselves be deleterious in character and there is no restriction, so far as I know, at this time in the United States to prevent a manufacturer, if he so desires or through his ignorance of the use of coloring materials of a poisonous character, from using any amount.[1] The coal tar dyes are cheaper and produce faster and more natural looking tints than the vegetable colors such as annotto and saffron, and hence, unless they are prohibited by law, they are almost universally employed. All of these dyes in a concentrated form are highly poisonous and injurious and several instances are on record of death, especially in the case of young children, from eating concentrated colors. The fact that a poison of this kind is diluted by the cheese is no excuse for its use. The only protection which the consumer has, which is reliable in all cases, is the prohibition of coloring matter in cheese.
By Act of Congress of June 6, 1896, coloring matter is permitted to be used in cheese in the United States and doubtless it will continue to be used under this authority until that portion of the Act is repealed or until the consumer demands an uncolored article. The pure, natural color of the cheese is universally acknowledged to be best, most palatable, and most desirable.
Preservatives.—Fortunately there is little to be said in regard to preservatives in cheese because they are almost unknown. The addition of a preservative to a cheese at the time of its production would so seriously interfere with the ripening process as to defeat the purpose of storage altogether. Hence in so far as preservatives are concerned there is little danger of adulteration.
Impure Raw Materials.—If cheese be made of standard milk as provided for by the commissioners it must be made of pure, wholesome material. On the contrary, inasmuch as there is no official inspection of cheese factories, it is entirely possible through carelessness, ignorance, or design to use in the making of cheese milk which may itself be infected. Cheese made from such milk of course would carry the infection of the milk. This is a sort of adulteration which can only be excluded by careful sanitary inspection of cheese factories.
Filled Cheese.—Formerly there was a very considerable adulteration of cheese by manufacturing it from skimmed milk and supplying from an artificial source the necessary fat. Cottonseed oil, lard, and other edible oils are used for this purpose.
Composition of Filled Cheese (Circular No. 11, Bureau of Animal Industry).—Neutral lard is the principal fat which is substituted for milk fat in filled cheese. It is used to the extent of two or three pounds for every 100 pounds of skimmed
- ↑ Written before the passage of the food-bill.
