*1. I
, 14 Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station
benzoate of soda in foods. The Board reports, `as a re-
sult of three extensive and exhaustive investigations,
that benzoate of soda mixed with food is not deleterious
or poisonous and is not injurious to health. (Italics
added.) The summary of the report of the Referee
. Board is published herewith. '
“It having been determined that jbenzoate of soda
mixed with food is not deleterious or poisonous and
‘ is not injurious to health, (italics added) no objection
will be raised under the Food and Drugs Act to the
use in food of benzoate of soda, provided that each
container or package of such food is plainly labeled
to show the presence and amount of benzoate of soda.
` “Food Inspection Decisions 76 and 89 are amended
j . accordingly."
This regulation, as you will observe, opens the door again
to benzoate of soda, in unrestricted amount in all foods, and,
unless a policy of discrimination is adopted by the Federal
Government, it will open the door to the use of the other anti—
septics, such as boracic acid and formaldehyde. For, if present
inability to detect the little traces of injury which minimum
amounts of these antiseptics may make in the digestive tract of
a healthy subject, during a period of a few.months, is to be made
the sole test, then boracic acid, formaldehyde, salicylic acid and
other antiseptics will come back into the foods to an even greater
extent than before the passage of the food laws. The three
Secretaries based their decision upon   report of a Referee
‘ Board of scientists, which report is summarized by that Board
into general conclusions as follows:
"First——Sodium benzoate in small doses (under 0.5
gram per day) mixed with the food is without de-
leterious or poisonous action and is not injurious to
health.
· “Second—-Sodium benzoate in large doses (up to 4
grams per day) mixed with the food has not been
found to exert any deleterious effect on the general
health, nor to act as a poison in the general acceptance
of the term. In some directions, there were slight
il