THE CHEMICAL WORLD THIS WEEK
Lloyd Hall, Griffith Laboratories, Inc., program chairman for the IFT meeting; Charles N. Frey, Standard Brands, Inc., new IFT president-elect; and Paul F< Sharp, California Experiment Station, new I F T president
Research a n d Control I m p o r t a n c e E m p h a s i z e d before IFT C & E N REPORTS: I n s t i t u t e of Food Technol ogisfs
CHICAGO.—More emphasis on research and careful attention to control were urged on the food industry by speakers before the Decennial Conference of the Institute of Food Technologists, which drew its record crowd of more than 1,200 here May 21 to 26. Food research and its applications in industry have been phenomenally successful, said Carl Fellers, University of Massachusetts, in his presidential address. This country leads the world in that respect, he said, with more persons engaged in scientific and technological research in foods than all other countries combined, and this has been responsible for leadership by the United States and Canada in food technology. Still, he said, the amount of private money actually spent for research in the food businesses is pitifully small. Dr. Fellers called for protection of the professional heritage of. the food technologist and the keeping out of unscrupulous people of low standards. He also urged the support of scientific publications, particularly the scientific abstracts, which are so fundamental to research progress. The responsibility for special attention which must be given problems relating to public health was described as one of the principal links between t h e pharmaceutical and food industries by Ernest Volwiler, Abbott Laboratories, ACS President, who spoke before the food technologists. He suggested that the two industries work together more often, keeping the way open for further exchange of ideas to benefit both in the effort to promote the general welfare of the American public. As a matter of public health, both industries are concerned with the safety of their products in the hands of the ultimate consumer, Dr. Volwiler emphasized. The pharmaceutical industry long has 1924
been accustomed to filing extensive research data with the Food and Drug Administration. Similar research is becoming increasingly important in the food industry, he said, as more and more new chemical ingredients are looked upon as possible food ingredients. The Food and Drug Administration will require even more comprehensive research on the food manufacturers than they do of t h e drug firms, he suggested, as there is less control over the consumption of the food products than over drugs which have a limited use under prescribed conditions. Chemical Agents in Foods Careful control was the measure emphasized in a symposium on chemical agents and residues in foods. Michael F. Markel, Washington, D. C , dealt with this problem from the viewpoint of the law. He pointed particularly to action at a conference under the auspices of the Food Nutrition Board of the National Research Council, held last December, where the chairman was requested to appoint a committee looking toward the creation of a body to provide scientific guidance, with respect to the use of the newer chemicals in foods. He also called special attention to a resolution approved by the Rules Committee of the U. S. House of Representatives calling for investigation of the adulteration of food products by the use of new chemicals. Each state has its own health laws, said Mr. Markel, but it was his observation that with a few exceptions state officials follow federal recommendations and the tendency to do so is increasing. He then considered the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and also the Meat Inspection Act and the Economic Poisons Act. The law, he stated, closes the channels of interstate commerce to a food "if it bears or contains any poisonous or deleteCHEMICAL
rious substance," subject to certain conditions. If a food is not "poisonous or deleterious," he said, then it need only be squared with the economic adulteration provisions. The definition of "poisonous or deleterious," however, is not defined in the statute, he pointed out, nor has an interpretative définition been issued by the regulatory officials. He indicated that on the basis of past action, decisions on such matters are usually based on the layman's understanding of the term poisonous—that is, whether the substance, when consumed as such, in a quantity reasonably capable of ingestion, will cause harm. Mr. Markel said that, while there are some who would have us believe we are well on the way to being relegated to a • diet of adulterated and poisonous foods unless drastic legal steps are taken, he did not think that this view is wholly shared by the responsible public officials. These officials have recommended legislation, h e explained, which, if adopted, would compel every member of the food industry to exercise that degree of care in trying out new ingredients which those of this industry exercise who seek the services of food technologists. Their proposal, he opined, is nothing more than that some properly qualified agency examine a new and untried food chemical before it is offered to tlie public in general. Antibiotic Canning The use of subtilin and mild heat in the canning of a number of vegetables, including peas, corn, and wax beans, was reported by A. A. Anderson, H. D. Michener, and G. S. Bohart, Western Regional Research Laboratory, to give good results against spoilage and even such microorganisms as Bacillus stearothermopliilus and Clostridium botulinum. Concentrations of subtilin up to 20 p.p.m., based on the total contents of the can, were made with the usual canning brine. The vegetables processed appeared to be sterile. Limited experience indicated that spores which do not succumb to subtilin at room temperature and which are not readily killed by mild heat are quickly destroyed in the presence of subtilin at 185° to 212° F. Animals as Chemical Fabricators A highlight of the Wednesday morning symposium on by-products of the packing house industry was the discussion by S. W. Hier, Wilson Laboratories, of pharmaceuticals derived from animal organs. Besides the now familiar products such as liver extract, thyroid, insulin, and pituitary extract, and the recently publicized ACTH, the packing house supplies many other basic materials, said Dr. Hier. From the brain and spinal cord of cattle comes cholesterol, of vital impor-. tance in the manufacture of vitamin Da and the steroid hormones. The anterior pituitary lobe of hogs is'a rich source of ACTH, the sheep anterior pituitary is AND
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rich in gonadotropic hormone, and beef anterior is rich in growth hormone. The posterior lobe of all three species is rich in the oxytocic principle, now used ex tensively in obstetrics to reduce hemor rhaging after birth. The stomach of hogs supplies pepsin, useful in the treatment of dyspepsia, mucin, widely used in the treatment of peptic ulcers, and a substance called the "intrinsic factor," which is important in the oral treatment of pernicious anemia. •Jhe latter substance, if taken in conjunc tion with liver extract, reduces the per nicious anemia patient's requirements from about 40 liver capsules a day to 8 or 9. Injectable preparations available today from pork and beef liver permit completely normal lives for anemia pa tients given two 11-ml. injections or less per month. Such patients would have to eat 20Ο to 400 g. of fresh liver daily to survive, Dr. Hier said.
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Research Investigations A new use of anion exchange resins in the isolation of tannins from peach extract was described b y Gestur Johnson of the Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station. Polyphenolic or tanninlike substances in peaches are important from the stand point of astringent flavor and enzymatic browning, Dr. Johnson said. One of the main difficulties in identification of such compounds in fruit tissues has been the lack of satisfactory methods of isolation. A suitable method has been developed on the basis and adsorption of the tan nins on Duolite A-2 or A-4 resin, followed by characterization and identification through, paper chromatography and ultra violet absorption techniques. The isolated materials contained D-catechin, a reddish brown substance probably catechin poly mers, a cafïetannin which greatly resembles chlorogenic acid, and an anthocyanin pigment. A. I. Schepartz and B. F. Daubert, University of Pittsburgh, reported on the isolation and identification of the flavor components in reverted hydrogenated soybean oil- Qualitative tests indicated that the flavor components were mainly α,/3-unsaturated carbonyls, three of which were identified as maleic dialdehyde, di-npropylketone, and 2-heptenal. Hydro génation of fractions possessing flavor destroys the carbonyls as well as the flavor, it was revealed. According to H. Y. Yang and Ε. Η. Wiegand of Oregon State College, it is possible to maintain the free sulfur di oxide content i n wine by placing in the wine a sealed polyethylene bag containing potassium metabisulfite. Sulfur dioxide, continuously evolved by the metabisulfite, diffuses slowly through the polyethylene film, which is gas-permeable but moistureproof. Sulfur dioxide is the sole legal preservative for wine, added to stabilize against secondary fermentation, particu larly during warm seasons. V O L U M E
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The Invisible Trade-mark cannot print, stamp nor paint on powders and liquids, so our trade-mark or name cannot appear on our products in use—only on containers. But our old customers know, and new ones discover, that the quality of our chemicals is die unseen symbol of our service to industry and agriculture. Έγ this we have been known since we built the first electric furnace for production of phosphorus in America.
OLDBURY E L E C T R O - C H E M I C A L COMPANY Plant and Main Office : NIAGARA FALLS, NEW YORK JSrav York Office: 19 RECTOR STREET, NEW YORK 6, N.Y.
JUNE
5,
1950
1925
