Rensselaer Union, Volume 9, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 December 1876 — Adulteration of Wine in France. [ARTICLE]

Adulteration of Wine in France.

A sort of panic has been caused here (Paris) on the subject of the adulteration of wine, and lam able, from personal knowledge, to say that there is good ground for the alarm. A. M. Grandeau, who is an authority on such matters, has just written an interesting report on fuchsine, which is now generally used for the coloring of wine, and which is most deleterious. „ According toM. Grandeau, wine has for many years been the object of frauds of various Kinds. No one will attempt to contradict M. Grandau in this, but he adds that at no epoch have adulterations been so numerous as at present, and so injurious to the public health. Wine used to be doctored with brandy and to be colored with matters having a vegetable origin ; but now a fictitious color is produced more cheaply by the employment of fuchsine, which contains arsenic, and is extremely hurtful. An almost microscopic quantity of this dangerous substance will give a gallon of water the appearance of red Bordeaux dr Burgundy; it is cheap, and M. Grandeau knows houses which spend between £4OB i

ried. in consequence of serious conf* plaints made at Nancy M. Ritter, a professor at the Medical College, was directed to examine several samples of wine, and the analysis proved that the employment of fuchsine Is very general all through the South. In some instances the wime was found to contain such quantities of this arsenical matter that any one drinking it would have felt seriously ill after a couple of days. M. Ritter mentions the case of a man having taken some of this adulterated wine, and a quarter of an hour afterwards his ears became exceedingly red and his gums slightly tumefied. M. Grandeau tells us how, with the aid of ether and vinegar, people may analyse their own wine.— Pall Mall Gasstte.