Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-03-23
UNWHOLESOME BUTTER
Charging Violation of the
Pure Food Law.

Saturday afternoon, in Justice of the
Peace Dana T. Smiths court, City
Food inspector Frazier filed complaints
against the Elgin Dairy. Creamery
and Supply company and the Faust
company charging them with violat-
ing the pure food law. The complaints
allege that the companies had in their
possession unwholesome butter aud
Intended selling the same. 1t is also
charged that the defendants were
selling unbranded butter. and that the
Elgin company was selling butter at
, short weight.
The matter was called up in court
late In the afternoon and 1t was agreed
to try the cases on April 4.
l. y. PARKER's STATEMENT.
/. n. Parker, manager of the Elgin
| company, has given out the following
statement in connection with the COM
| plants filed.
III by Inisbranded butter the inspec-
tor means that we sell butter we do
not make ] am perfectly willing to ad-
nit the correctness of the charge. we
surely do sell some butter that we
| do not make. Some of IL is of the high
est grade and some is of a second
| grade And the prices are made ac-
| cordingly But all Of the butter is
| absolutely pure and wholesome and we
| are willing to be responsible for II.
"Of course we handle our own butter
| In preference to all other butter, and
have u contract for the surplus of only
| one creamery. We have never shipped
| out a pound of butter to any dealer in
Utah or elsewhere and had it returned,
condemned or deprecated in any man
| ner.
"Nlnety-fve per cent of the local
| ttn lar make "a Mound
| butter, nor have they any connection
| directly or indirectly, with any cream
| cry. They sell thousands of POUNDS
of butter every day under their own
| wrappers We contend that there is IN
this no violation of the law. / wish to
make It clear that the dealer who sells
the butter is responsible for that but
ter. He must deliver TO his customers
a first class article or he cannot hold
his trade. He must guarantee the
product to be as represented,
No machine has yet been Invented
| that Will make any number OF pound
prints of butter that will each weigh
exactly II pound. The reason for this
is that exactly the same amount OF
butter cannot always be pressed into
n one-pound mould. Sometimes there
| is a little more moisture, sometimes a
| little less. In order to be on the safe
side we always stamp the weight OF
our prints of butter at fifteen and one
half ounces. Even then some of the
prints may be a little under weight
by the time they get to the consumer
There is always a little drying out
between the time the butter leaves the
creamery and the time it reaches the
houskeeper.
"As to the unwholesome butter
charge, about all | care to say on that
point IL to enter an absolute denial.
The Elgin company has at no time had
/ in its possession unwholesome butter
with intent to sell 1t or for any other
purpose. We have never sold a pound
of butter here or elsewhere that was
not exactly as represented. The city
food inspector very well knows, OF
grades OF butter. We handle three OF
them. Our circular Issued every week
for the past three months contains
quotations on three different grades OF
butter-fresh creamery, second grade
and storage.
There is a range Of 5 or cents ir
the prices of these grades, We handle
| during the course of a year many
thousands of pounds of butter, some
of which Is storage butter None OF
the storage butter, however comes
from amy state other than Utah anC
, Idaho, and it Is always of the hlghes
! quality. Many people prefer this e
the fresh butter. The Elgin company
makes no secret Of handling It,.
Henry j Faust Of the Faust compa
ny entered a general denial OF the Fra
1 zier charges and endorsed the attitude
taken by Mr.. Parker.