The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-12-18
W. f. Jensen Talks About New
Pure Food Law.
Leaves for Washington to Enter
Protest.
STANDARD TOO HIGH.
Kansas Cows Can Not Reach
Butter Fat Minimum.
Also Has a Word to Say About
Pound Packages.

Mr.. w. F. Jensen Of the Continental
Creamery company left Monday for
Washington. D. c., where. together
with Prof Err of the dairy department
OF the Kansas Agricultural college of
Manhattan. and delegates from Ore
ron. Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, Mis-
souri, and all other dairy states, a meet
ing with the secretary of agriculture
and the secretary Of the treasury Will
be held.
This meeting is in the interests Of
the western creamery products deal
ers The western states as whole
object to a recent estimate made by
experts concerning the dairy products
of the United States. It is probable
that a sweeping reform. in the pure
food" line, will be made during TINS
session of congress. The grading OF
food products will in all probability be
left to this secretaries or commerce anu
labor. agriculture and the treasury
Several years ago a meeting OF ma
tional chemists was held in Washlng-
ton and they recommended certain
standards for fOods-among others a
standard for milk and butter products
They decided that milk should contain
l. per cent of butter fat and 81 y
per cent for butter The chances are
that these recommendations Will in
fuence the pure food laws to be pass
ed this winter, unless the delegation
can show that they are set too hlgn
aAs a matter of fact. said Mr..
Jensen today. "the average butter fat
found in Kansas milk today is only
per cent Very little western InilK
comes I'D to 4 per cent This is be-
cause the west breeds cattle for both
beef and milk. This IS a discrimina-
ton against the Holstein. the Durham
and several other breeds of milk cows
The Jersey is practically the only COW
living which can come UP to this X
per cent standard. The Holsteln ana
other hardy cattle can be fed 10 ad-
vantage in this county lhey eat
KafHr corn and other rough feeds,
while the Jersey is practically worth
less in 81 country where rough feed is
necessity. In buying milk, we ma that
at least one-third tests below Z per
cent butter Fat. and Il Is very otten
below 3 per cent. Three per cent IS
the point # should be set at by law
IF the standard recommended by that
board Of chemists Is introduced llt9 ~ ~
pure food laws, it Will work a hardship
On the mixers of many breeds cT COWS
and there are very few Jerseys IN
the west No other breed OF cattle viii
be on the safe side
= butter standard which IS entirely too
high They said that butter shoulo
ccrtain S215 per cent of tat AS
matter of fact, all butter VIII snow
81 to 50 per cent. and seldom more
If the standard is set at 81 Il 1t would
mean that the manufacturers OF but
Ter. to be safe and avoid arrests and
convictions for unintentionaI Nlolaolohs
would have to raise the standard per
cent from S4 to So, which IS prac-
4icallv impossible in marketable butter
The butter. with a higher per cent OF
TAT. would be too drv. and the puohc
would refuse to buy II.
.srThe average of farmers butter IN
June July and August. is 81 per cent
butter fat. The balance Of the year II
a farmer sells his butter to a country
merchant and that merchant sells 1t TO
a customer. He must, under q pure
food law with this per cent embodied.
cuarantee the amount of fat contained
in that butter. If a test shows that ne
has rnisrepresented. he Will be subJect
TO prosecution How can he do TINS
without machinery to test the butterE
s.The delegation which Will meet IN
Washington for that purpose this week
Will try to have the standard for but
standard at 3 per cent, which is alb
eolfItely fair. and will to a certainty
exclude all fakes and butterine. No
one can adulterate milk IN any way
and keep milk up to 3 per cent butter
fat. What we will ask is the standard
OF practically all the European coun-
tries together with Australia, New
Zealand. Canada ana Argentine
s.Au heavy producers Of butter at the
1resent time. turn out a product con-
tanning from 81 to 50 Per cent Of but
ter fat This is true all over the world.
Butter with a higher per cent Is too
dry and q poor seller. This company,
the Continental. for example, manufac-
lures II. .OOO 900 rounds OF butter per
year. 1t sells less than l per cent OF
that butter in the state of Kansas. An
fnter-conmerce law, therefore, would
be q hardship on this company. II the
standard for butter fat was raised 21z
rer cent we could sell no butter in
states where the law prevailed. 1t
xvoslId mean that producers of this state
would lose I have figured il out that
4l7a coW-4nflxers of this state would
the reduction we would have to make
Al the purchase Of milk to meet the
necessary raise in butter fat per pound
IF butter. The Continental exports an
nuafly 1000, 600 pounds of butter. There
fore. any raise in the butter fat stand
ard will throw that business to foreign
countries where cows are stable fed
bred I'D to the highest milk standard
Another argument we will put be-
fore the secretaries at our hearing:
THE National process which has been
followed for years. produces creamery
butter at an average OF 80 to 50 per
cent fat and country butter at 77 to
g21~ Der cent. AS low as 10 per cent
has been found in country butter. which
notch. and a practical impossibility as
.s,T.le changes asked for have been
endorsed by the Kansas Dairy assOcia-
fion. as well as all the dairy associa-
fions of the west. These drastic laws
have not been passed and we do no;
want them passed. with the standard
set by those chemists We want a pure
food anything in reason. A SEN
sfbIe pure food law, backed by the
Tinted States government, would be a
henaft to this company. as we'll as all
other creameries IN the United States
Another thing. which has nothing to
DO with butter fat: There is some talk
Of passing a law 80 regulate weights,