Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-07-28
MEAT INSPECTION LAW.
A Number of Inspectors Ready to
 Begin Work Next Week.

Washington, D. C.. July 2S.-Sec-
 retary Wilson, of the department of Agriculture, is 'devoting his entire at- tention just now to preparations for the enforcement of the meat inSpec- tion law. By the first of August he will have five hundred qualified in spectors ready to begin their work in the various packing housces in the country which do an interstate con- merce business. It has been made clear by Secretary Wilson that his in spectors will have nothing whatever to do with meats which do not enter into interstate commerce. If the packing house company sells meat within the state where it is slaughter ed, the inspection of the product does. not devolve upon the federal govern ment. That inspection, if made at all. must be made by the state or municipal authorities.
 It must be borne in mind, too, that the recently enacted law applies as well to foreign-packed meat products as to meats of domestic packing. If the foreign meats are not up to the standard required of domestic pro- ducts. they will be excluded from in- tsrstate commerce in this country. This is the position taken by Secre- tary Wilson and the department will proceed on that line until the law shall have been construed otherwise by the courts.
 It is pointed out by the experts of the agricultural department that there is practically no danger of the impor- tation of impure or deleterious meat products into the United States. as the penalties are too strict to make it desirable for importers to take any chances.
 For some time Secretary Wilson, through his inspectors, has been care cully scrutinizing the meat importa- tions from foreign countries. In fact all food products are being carefully examined as they may arrive in the United States from other countries. Under a law in Germany. dogs may be slaughtered for human food. the law providing that only the intestines of the canines shall not be offered for sale as a food. As soon as it became generally known in America that dog meat Is used as food in Germany there probably will be a perceptible diminution in the consumption by people of the United States of Ger man sausage. frankfurters. pate de foi gras and similar 'delicacies."
 Secretary Wilson frankly admits that even the expert chemists of his department might not be able to de- tect dog meat in sausage. as there are some Limitations even on the science of chemistry: but he would not permit its importation into this country if he could pervent it. No food products that may. be treated with unwho!e- some chemicals are allowed to come into the country from abroad. and. incidentally. it may be said. they are not allowed to enter into interstate commerce even though they he man. ufactured in this country. Every ef- fort is being made by Secretary Will son and his corps of able assistants to insure pure food tO the American people and assurance is given that there will be no relaxation of the viz ilance Of the officials in this regard. Only recently. the agricultural off cials put a stop tO the importation from China of duck eggs in bulk that had been treated with boracic acid. The eggs now are being pickIed in salt. but they are not of good grade. They are used largely by bakers of a thrifty Kind who put them in cakes and pastry.
 Secretary Wilson says tiae the American consumer can be assured absolutely that he is getting what he pays for by insisting on seeing the federal inspection tag or label at- tacheI to the article which he buys. The perfect purity and wholesome ness of the article bearing the Uni tel States inspection tag may be as sumeI with certainty of it's accuracy.