16 AUGUST 1924, Page 3

. The Food Preservatives Committee of the Ministry of Health

issued on Monday an Interim Report on the treatment of chilled foods by formaldehyde. They point out that formaldehyde, a 40 per cent. solution of which in water is known as formalin, is "inimical to life and to vital processes of all kinds." It is a powerful protoplasmic poison. It irritates mucous membranes and after long use appears to cause inflammatory changes in the liver and kidneys. We must, of course, agree with the unhesitating recommendation of the Committee that the addition of formaldehyde or any of its derivatives to food or drink should be absolutely prohibited.