Milk fit for a corpse
Before there were government regulations to set safety standards for food, the consumer was at the mercy of those who sold what people ate. And in the late 19th century, the dairy industry in America was particularly shocking for selling low-quality and even dangerous milk to consumers.
There were three basic problems. First, lack of sanitation led to bacterial contamination, causing the spread of disease. Second, milk was diluted with cheaper ingredients, such as water and chalk, or even calf brains.
Finally, if the milk was threatening to sour, dairymen added formaldehyde, an embalming compound, to stop the decomposition, also relying on its slightly sweet taste to improve flavour.
In the late 1890s, formaldehyde was so widely used by the dairy and meat-packing industries that outbreaks of illnesses related to the preservative were routinely described by newspapers as "embalmed meat" or "embalmed milk" scandals. (Via undark.org)
