Bogus Food In Germany

Consul General Guenther Tells of Some Adulterations.

Richard Guenther, United States consul general at Frankfort, under date of July 7, sends the following report on food adulteration in Europe to the department of state, says the New York Times:

An article on the adulteration of food products is going the rounds of the German press. It is stated, for instance, that an ordinary liver patty is made into fine "Strassburger" pate de foie gras by means of borax or salicylic acid and of finely chopped and cleverly distributed pieces of black silk, representing truffles.

Cosmos, a German paper, guarantees the fact that under the label of canned lobsters the soft parts of the cuttlefish and crabs are sold.

In Paris snails are of late very popular, and the adulterators mix them with lungs of cattle and horses. Even entirely artificial snails are manufactured. The shells, recoated with fat and slime, are filled with lung and then sold as "Burgundy" snails.

Lovers of fresh rooster combs are imposed upon by a substitute cut out of hogs' intestines. Chopped artificial truffles are made of black rubber, silk or softened leather, and even whole truffles are made out of roasted potatoes, which are given a peculiar flavor by adding ether. They are said to sell well.

Fish spoiled in spite of ice and borax is treated with salts of zinc aluminium and other metals. Rubbing the fish with vaseline to give It a fresh look and covering the gills with fresh blood or resin - a coal tar color - is resorted to. The latter is also used to intensify the red color of inferior crabs. Imparting a greenish color to oysters is another adulteration. An oyster requires about one month in the beds to acquire the greenish color. As this is too long a time, the dealers help them along with an artificial color.

The chemists in the Paris municipal laboratories have shown that tomato jelly is adulterated with turnips, and powdered pepper contains a large mixture of powdered hard tack.