hahabogus wrote:
> (Little Malice) wrote in news:fmjast$8m08c_004
> @news.avvanta.com:
>
> > And asparagus! Not only the fresh stuff, but lots of canned (ugh). The
> > prices seemed a bit high for 1910 though or am I off base on that..?
> >
>
> Around 1910 there was trouble with canned goods. The wrong kinds of metals
> were being used and people were getting poisoned. Things like corn in a
can
> was coming out black. Consumer protection wasn't around...Hell we didn't
> even have income tax at least in Canada.
Dangerous alduterants like copper were used to enhance the colours of things
like canned peas (in the link provided there is a note from a 1912 Michigan
publication about this)...
Income tax here in the States began around 1913 IIRC...
The US Food and Drug Administration was a - born around that time
AFAIK,
lots of brouhaha about unsafe foodstuffs early in the century (_The
Jungle_), and also things like cocaine were commonly sold over - the -
counter everywhere The government wanted all this stuff regulated and
standardised, and some stuff (cocaine) banned outright...
--
Best
Greg