Adulteration
the act of debasing a pure or genuine article for pecuniary profit, by adding to it an inferior or spurious article, or taking one of its constituents away. Another definition which has been given is: "The act of adding intentionally to an article, for purposes of gain, any substance or substances the presence of which is not acknowledged in the name under which the article is sold." In England, as early as the 13th century, the legislature attempted, though with but partial success, to strike a blow against it, in the Act 51 Henry III., stat. 6, often quoted as the "Pillory and Tumbril Act." In the United States, and in the principal European countries, the laws against adulterations are carefully drawn and systematically administered. See PURE FOOD LAW. Deliberate adulterations are of two classes: (1) Those which are injurious to health, and those which produce no seriously hurtful effects.
Careful investigation has demonstrated that adulterations of the latter class are comparatively rare. The articles most liable to adulteration are milk, butter, spices, coffee, syrup, and molasses, cream of tartar, honey, vinegar, jellies and jams, olive oil and canned goods. According to reports by American official analysts, most of the staple articles of common household consumption, while frequently subjected to considerable sophistication, are seldom injuriously adulterated.