By H.A. WEBER, Ph.D.
The following investigation of the condition of foods packed in tin
cans was prompted by an alleged case of poisoning, which occurred at
Mansfield, Ohio, in April, 1890. A man and woman were reported to the
writer as having been made sick by eating pumpkin pie made from canned
pumpkin. The attending physician pronounced the case one of lead
poisoning. The wholesale dealer from whose stock the canned pumpkin
originally came, procured a portion of the same at the house where the
poisoning occurred, and sent it to the writer for examination.
The results of the examination as reported in Serial No. 552, below,
showed that the canned pumpkin contained an amount of stannous salts
equivalent to 6.4 maximum doses and 51.4 minimum doses of stannous
chloride per pound. On being notified of this fact, the dealer sent a
can of the same brand of pumpkin from his stock. The inner coating of
the can was found to be badly eroded, and upon examination, as
reported in Serial No. 563, below, one pound of the pumpkin contained
tin salts equivalent to 7 maximum and 56 minimum doses of stannous
chloride.
The unexpected large amount of tin salts in such an insipid article as
canned pumpkin, and the claimed ill effects of the consumption of the
same, suggested the advisability of extending the investigation to
other canned goods in common use. Accordingly a line of articles was
purchased in open market as sold to consumers, no pains being taken to
procure old samples. The collection embraced fruits, vegetables, fish
and condensed milk. With the exception of the condensed milk, every
article examined was contaminated with salts of tin. In most cases the
amount of tin salts present was so large that there can be no doubt of
danger to health from the consumption of the food, especially if
several kinds are consumed at the same meal.