The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1907-10-31
FRAUD in FOODS
Short Weight and Measure Are
a Crying Evil
PERFORATED ALL OVER
Latest Bulletin of Commissioner
Slater On the Subject of Adul-
terated Foods

terdtcd fO0dS
Commissioner Slater OF the food de-
partment has issued circular calling
attention to the matter of short weight
and measure in food stuffs and asserts
that it is the greatest fraud perpetrated
in that line. The circular follows:
Undoubtedly the greatest fraud now
being perpetrated in the sale OF food
stuffs in this state, as we'll as in nearly
every other state in the Union, is the
short weight and short measure fraud.
The laws of the state prohibit mis-
branding of food products and when
a container is labeled giving the net
weight the statement must be true.
The law requires a statement OF the
net weight on few products, but does
not require such statement on great
number of staple articles
The manufacturer or packer simply
does not label the package he puts upon
the market and the purchaser buys it
thinking he is getting pound, five
pounds, quart or gallon, as the case
may be. The practice is quite general
and is the rule in the case of many
products and not the exception.
The manufacturer of the packages
makes them short weight or short
measure according to the orders of the
packer, who is to fill them with his
products.
One very noticeable short weight
fraud is the practice of selling butter in
lars. The common half gallon butter
jar is known by the trade as "fve
pound JAR" but when it is filled level
full with butter it will generally hold
less than five pounds of butter. 1t is
not difficult to find GIVE pound jars"
of butter on the market containing only
{4I) four and one-half pounds OF
butter The customer who buys one
of these jars of butter for $3.50 thinks
he is getting butter at Sc cents per 10.
while in fact he is paying just 40 cents
per Id.
This department is powerless to COM
pei statement of the net weight on
all food packages, as there is no law
requiring such labelling, but until
such law is enacted there is no re-
lief in sight except that the individual
purchaser can protect himself by
weighing the goods he buys and in
sisting on receiving what he pays for.
Producers of and dealers in eggs
are again warned against selling or
offering for sale eggs, which are not
fresh and wholesome. Inspectors OF
this department are instituting prose-
.cutions against violators of the law
in every section of the state and the
lowest fine that can be assessed by
any court is $50 90 and costs.
Among the analyses reported from
the laboratory recently are the follow
ing:
Lab. lS40-Extract OF Almond,
:" puritan" manufactured by Wright
.Clarkson Mercantile Co., Duluth.
Illegal, labeled 2 o., exact measure
N OF.
Lab. 708-Imitation Fruit Jelly,
manufactured by Berry Mayburn Co.,
Chicago. Illegal, marked Is lbs,
exact net weight 1917 lbs.
Lab. 1193-Ground Cinnamon,
manufactured by j. p. Dieter Co.,
Chicago. Illegal, labeled n h.,
exact net weight 90 OF.
Lab. 1176-Black Pepper, manu-
featured by DR.. Ward Med. Co.,
iWinona. Illegal, labeled 8 o., exact
net weight ~ OF.
Lab. 1165-White Pepper, manu-
factured by II. B. Strait & Co., st.
Paul. Illegal, sample is adulerated
with ground cocoanut shells and con-
tains considerable amount OF
: starchy matter.
Lab. A-Boiled Linseed Oil.