Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-07-27
TO GUARD PUBLIC HEALTH
Rules Regarding Sanitary Conditions
of Packing Houses.
USE OF DECEPTIVE LABELS
Stringent Injunctions Regarding the
Products Intended for Export

Secretary Wilson today made
public the regulations under the
new law governing the inspection
of meat products for interstate and
foreign trade. They do not, how
ever, cover the subject of interstate
transportation of meat or the mi-
croscopic inspection of pork for ex-
port. Regulations on these sub
jects, it was stated, will be issued
later. The regulations issued to-
day are stringent throughout and
are in line with the best authorities
on the subjects of sanitation, pre-
servatives, dyes, chemicals and
condemnation of diseased car
casSes.
The general regulations provide that the
scope of the inspection shall cover all
slaughtering, packing. meat canning. salt
ing, rendering or similar establishments
whose meats meat food products, in
whole in part. enter into interstate or
foreign commerce. unless exempted from
inspection by the Secretary of Agriculture.
Under the law, the only establishments
which may be exempted by the secretary
retail butchers and retail dealers sup
plying their customers in interstate or for
eign trade. but even these exempted classes
are required 10 submit to the Secretary an
application for exemption.
All animals, carcasses and meat pro-
ducts will be subjected to rigid inspec-
necessary.
Sanitary Regulations.
The sanitation regulations require the es-
adjustments In which animals are slaugh-
tered, or meat and meat food products are
prepared, cured, packed, stored or handled.
to be suitably lighted and ventilated, and to
be maintained in sanitary condition All
work in such establishments must be per-
formed in cleanly and Sanitary manner
All portions of the buildings must be white
washed or painted or, where this is i'm
practicable. they must be washed, scraped
or otherwise rendered sanitary; old floors
and old equipment which cannot be made
sanitary must be removed and replaced Sy
suitable materials. All trucks, trays,
saws, cleavers. and all utensils and ma
chinery used in handling meats must be
thoroughly cleansed daily.
Employees of the establishments must
wear outer clothing of a material that is
easily cieansed and made sanitary and all
toilet rooms. urinals and dressing rooms
are required to be entirely separate from
apartments in which carcasses are dressed.
or meat and meat food products are pre-
pared. Managers of establishments will
not be permitted TO employ any person af-
fected with tuberculosis in any of the de-
partments where carcasses are dressed,
meats handled or meat food products pre-
pared. Butchers who dress diseased car
casses are required TO cleanse and dIsfn.
md rnra1ar
touching healthy carcasses. Employees who
are unciean and careless of person will not
be allowed to handle meats.
Weekly reports on sanitation are to he
made by the employees in charge of the va
rious departments TO the Inspector in
charge of the station, who in turn must re-
port weekly to the chief of the bureau of
animal industry at Washington but IL any
insanitary conditions are detected by any
department employe, such conditions must
be reported Immediately to the inspector in
charge, who will report to Washington
Use of Dyes and Drugs.
The provision relating to dyes, chemicals
and preservatives is stringent. No meat or
meat food product for interstate commerce
shall contain any substance which lessons
its wholesomeness. nor any drug, chemical
or dye unless specifically provided for by
a federal statute or any preservative other
than common salt, sugar. wood smoke vim
egar, pure spices and. pending further in
products for export may contain preserva-
tiyes in proportions which do not conflict
with the laws of the foreign country to
which they are exported, but all meats or
meat-food products so prepared for ex-
port must be treated and kept in COM
partmenrs of the esta ablfshulent senarata
and apart from those in which meats and
meat-food products are prepared for inter-
state commerce. specially labeled and GER
titled and stamped with the word "Spe-
cfai" Such meats may not enter domestic
trade under any circumstances.
Inspection Before Slaughter.
The inspection of animals before slaugh-
ter, designated in the regulations as the
ante-mortem inspection. is changed to con-
form to the ne wlaw and to give the Secre-
tary of Agriculture authority to require
that all animals suspected of disease on this
ante -mortem inspection shall be slaughtered
separately and apart from all other ant-
mails under the careful supervision of fed
eral inspectors Heretofore the ante-mortefl
inspection has been made in the stockyards
at the time the animals arrived and has
covered animals which were to be slaugh-
tered at establishments where inspection
was maintained and those which were
slaughtered for local trade.
The new law does not authorize inspection
of animals for local trade 1t came to the
attention fthe department that specula-
tors were taking advantage of this form of
inspection and the farmers who shipped
the animals to market were thereby losing
several nundfed thousand o0tars a year.
Under the new form of inspection the ship
per will be absolutely protected and viii
receive full price for all animals which pass
the inspection
Destruction of Condemned Meats.
Special provision IS made for the destruc-
tfon for food purposes OF ali carcasses and
parts of carcasses and meat food products
which. upon inspection. or reinspection,
prove to be unclean, unsound, unhealthful.
unwholesome or otherwise unfit for human
feed All such meat viii ba nIacad In =