| Water, | 75.50 | percent |
| Dry matter, | 24.50 | „ |
| Oil and fat, | 1.26 | „ |
| Cellulose, | .79 | „ |
| Ash, | .93 | „ |
| Salt, | .23 | „ |
| Protein, | 3.51 | „ |
| Sugar and starch, | 17.58 | „ |
These data were obtained on samples bought in the open market, some of which had been artificially sweetened and to some of which starch had probably been added. The analysis of the fresh green corn is given on [page 227].
Adulteration of Canned Corn.
—Unfortunately many adulterations have been practiced in connection with the canning of Indian corn which, while not extensive or applicable to the great mass of material, have cast an unjust suspicion on the unadulterated product. The trade in this canned product would be vastly increased if the consumer could be assured that all forms of adulteration had been eliminated from the industry. The principal adulterants used are mentioned on [page 228], but the following additional statements are pertinent:
Adulteration with Starch.
—In order to make a more creamy liquid in the can the addition of starch has been largely practiced. There are two objections to the addition of starch to canned corn. In the first place it unbalances the ration and makes it more or less unwholesome. Starch itself is an unbalanced food product, but Nature has so distributed the starches in various foods as to present them in the most favorable form for digestion and assimilation, and when this natural balance is disturbed by artificial means the result is more or less injurious to the organs of digestion. There are many persons to whom starchy foods are not nutritious nor easily digested, and when persons of this kind consume canned Indian corn to which starch has been added their health may be injured. The addition of starch, therefore, is reprehensible for hygienic reasons. In the second place it is objectionable because it is deceptive, since the canned product has a richer and better appearance to the eye by this addition than it otherwise would have, and because more water can be used in the can.
Adulteration with Sugar.
—It seems strange to speak of adulterating with sugar, and yet the addition of sugar without notice to canned Indian corn may become an adulteration. It has already been mentioned that the nature of Indian corn for canning purposes depends very largely upon its natural sugar content, and when corn of the proper sweet variety is selected the addition of other sweetening material is unnecessary. The use of sugar, therefore, in connection with canned Indian corn serves to cover up the defects of a corn whose natural sweetness is below the standard and thus the consumer is deceived. In addition to this, attention is also called to the fact already stated that no artificial sweetening, even with sugar, can produce that delicate and desired saccharine quality which the natural sweet corn possesses. The addition of sugar, therefore, to canned Indian corn without the notice thereof being plainly stated on the label is not to be encouraged.
Addition of Saccharin.
—The use of benzoic sulfinid, or, as it is commonly known, saccharin, to canned corn unhappily is too often practiced. This body, which has no relation chemically or hygienically to sugar, which is not a food, which is wholly indigestible, and which the majority of experts regard as harmful to health, should never be placed in canned Indian corn, even if its use is notified upon the label. It produces an intense, but not agreeable, sweet taste and yet one which the unwary consumer would naturally attribute to the sugar present in the corn itself. Thus the consumer is deceived, and at the same time he is consuming a drug which has valuable uses in medicine but which should only be administered with the consent and by the advice of a physician. It is believed that under the scrutiny of municipal, state, and national inspection the use of saccharin in food products will disappear. Moreover, the name saccharin itself is misleading. It is an application of a word which by common usage is attributed to natural sugar substances to a substance which has no relation of any kind to sugar. The use of a word of this kind is evidently objectionable. The canner himself who uses this product often buys it under another name, which gives no indication of its true character.