The War on Milk Adulteration
An editorial demanding harsh punishment for milk vendors using formaldehyde as a 'preservative' to prevent spoilage.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
It is the time of year when the formaldehyde fiend begins to get in his deadly work on infants by embalming the milk which he has for sale. He uses a 'preservative' to keep the milk from souring, thereby making his profit. Little does he care that a virulent poison is spread throughout the community, killing off tender little children and causing grave diseases among those of more mature years. Any fiend who is caught selling poisoned milk in Tacoma should receive the full penalty of the law. A mere fine does little good. Formaldehyde fiends will take their chances with milk inspectors and occasional fines, but the jail jars on their nerves. Jail them, every time.
“He is as much a murderer as the man with revolver or knife, who attacks his fellow man and slays him.”
Before modern food safety regulations, 'embalming' milk with formaldehyde was a genuine public health crisis. The rhetoric of the 'fiend' underscores how desperate the fight for basic food safety was in the early 20th century.
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