The Feildiug Poisoning Case.

Feilding Star, Volume XVII, Issue 162, 11 January 1896, Page 2

The Feildiug Poisoning Case.

The following letter appeared in last j evening's Manawatu Times : Sir,— ln a paragraph of your issue of yesterday you referred to the fact that no official analysis of the food and drink pari taken of by the sufferers from the poisoning case at Feilding has yet been made. In a previous issue you quoted from the Feilding Star to the effect that Dr Sorley had detected arsenic in the raspberry syrup partaken of by the sufferers, and which had been purchased at thd door the previous day, This, if true, is very significant, and points to a hidden danger which might at any time cause fatal re suits. It is wel I- known that the coal tar derivative, fuchsine or rosanihne, also known to dyers as magenta, and to cordial makers as roseine, is of late years largely used as a colouring for raspberry syrup not made from tbe fruit, also for jellies. But it is not well known that ■ ordinary roseine contains arsenic. Mr W. Martindale, m his Extra Pharmacopoeia, says ; " For internal use it (roseine) should be prepared free from arsenic, otherwise it always contains the poison in variable quantity, owing to tbe process of its manufacture." Herein is indicated tbe probable cause ot many yet to come if a warning note- is not widely sounded. Probably the risk is minimised in proportion, as the trade in cordials lies in tbe hands of well-estab lished manufacturers who have a character to ' maintain, but, considering that not a little of it has fallen to itineraut irresponsible vendors, the menace to public life and health should be duly estimated and some stringent measure taken to bar the uso of commercial roseine in drink and food. Such a measure would be the quickest means of bringing into the market a specially prepared roseine, the use of which would be compatible with pubhc health. - 1 am, &c, R. Leary Palmerston.