Page:Foods and their adulteration; origin, manufacture, and composition of food products; description of common adulterations, food standards, and national food laws and regulations (IA foodstheiradulte02wile).pdf/536

 terated mixture, giving the appearance of the genuine article to a certain extent to the whole.

Adulteration with Inverted Sugar.—A much more subtle form of adulteration, and therefore one much more difficult to detect, is the adulteration of honey with a sirup made from inverted sugar, that is, the product obtained from cane sugar by the action of a dilute acid. This chemical process, as has already been indicated, converts the cane sugar into a mixture of dextrose and levulose. These sugars are identical, for chemical purposes, with the natural dextrose and levulose of honey. The chemist, therefore, has a much more difficult task to perform when he attempts to diagnose the presence of artificial dextrose and levulose in a mixture of the natural product. There are, however, certain qualities of ash, as well as other chemical constituents, which guide him in his work. While his conclusions do not have that definiteness which attaches to the examination of a honey adulterated with glucose they are sufficiently distinctive in most cases to determine whether or not a sophistication has been practiced.

Adulteration with Cane Sugar.—A very simple form of adulteration and one which cannot be practiced to any extent without being easily detected is the admixture of a sirup of pure cane sugar to honey. As long as the quantity added is not sufficient to change the optical properties, so that the mixture becomes right-handed in its rotation, the admixture of a small quantity of cane sugar sirup might escape the detection of the chemist. Inasmuch, however, as cane sugar exists only in small quantities in honey the regular and persistent occurrence of much cane sugar in a honey would be a just cause for suspicion, although its occasional occurrence might be due to purely natural causes.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Mince Meat.—Under the term "mince meat" is included a large variety of mixtures used chiefly for pie making and composed of meats, fruits, evaporated fruits, spices, and sometimes alcohol in some of its forms. It is not possible to describe any particular combination which would be entitled to bear the name alone, since each housewife and each manufacturer follows a method of her and his own. A general description, however, may be given of the manufactured article which, unfortunately, has largely displaced the mince meat of domestic manufacture.

Judged by the name alone, meat of some kind would be an important constituent of this substance. This, however, is not the case. Very few of the mince meats contain more than 10 percent of meat, a large number contain less and quite a large number contain none at all. Suet and tallow are sometimes employed as a substitute for meat, which apparently satisfies the conscience of the manufacturer even if it does not suit the palate of the