The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1911-08-23
DEFECTIVE MEAL
TO BE CLEANED OUT
commissioners Watson is Making War
on the Poor Quality of Meal Being
Shipped into This State.


Shipped into This State.
Columbia. August 17-With two in
spectors In the city of Columbia, and
three in other portions of the State,
all busily engaged in taking and send
ing in to the laboratories samples of
corn meal now being sold for human
food, it is evident that most deter
mined campaign is we'll under way to
eliminate from South Carolina the
spoiled and highly dangerous meal,
ut is believed, has been sold in large
quantities. In addition to these five
2Snspectors, a special man left at z
o'clock this morning for other States,
where he will examine into the source
of the supply of this meal
Prosecutions May Result.
inspectors today" said Commits
sloner e. j. Watson, "are taking sam
pies of corn meal in every retail,
Wholesale and distributing house in
Columbia, and sending them to the
laboratories" Wherever spoiled corn
meal has been found, orders have been
Immediately given, withdrawing it
from sale, pending final determina-
tion OF what action will be taken with
regard to the sellers and manufacture
ers. This final action will depend to
a large extent, it is stated upon the
report of the inspector, who is nves-
tgating the factories from which the
impure stuff was sent out. If it is
found that spoiled corn was used as
basis of manufacture, it is prooa-
low
Only Recently Discovered.
The fact that spoiled corn meal has
been sold throughout the State in
large quantities, was certainly discov-
cred only quite recently commission
er Watson received day or two ago
reports from the chemical analysis OF
samples of corn meal, which had been
taken by inspectors in eleven points
in the State. These analyses all show
ed that the acidity ran far above the
normal and safe limits.
Since these first eleven samples
came in, the inspectors have been talk
Ing samples promiscuously through
out the State and the laboratories are
kept busy analyzing them. When the
report is received, and shows the
meal to be unsafe, orders are being
given which, will prohibit the sale of
any corn meal goods in that particu-
lar store manufactured by the com
pany whose goods have thus been
shown to be unsafe for use Thus a
large portion of the stock is tied up
in each of the communities where in
vestigation has shown bad meal.
Acidity too High.
Meal showing a high percentage of
acidity. and therefore unfit for food,
has been found at Union, Chester.
Clinton, Nilfety Six, Bath, Batesburg
Calhoun Falls, Lancaster and Colum-
bia. Samples from number of other
points have been received also, and
are now being examined. 1t is stated
that large lot came in this morning
from towns in the Piedmont section
Nothing can be learned for several
days as to the result Of the investiga-
tion in Columbia, although some bad
meal has been found here already
The normal acidity for good corn
meal is Ia or Is per cent In meal
where the acidity runs higher than
so per cent, 1t is stated, the stuff is
unfit for use. OF large lot of spoil
ed meal the percentage varied all tire
way from 32 per cent to 60 and higher
Manufactured Outside State.
All of the meal which has been
found to be spoiled, it is stated, has
been manufactured outside of this
State. There is a heavy penalty fixed
both by the State laws and by the Fed
eral laws prohibiting the sale of corn
meal unfit for use and the matter is
very serious one, indeed, with the
manufacturers OF other .Satcs who
have been thus sending spoiled meal
into this State for sale-News and
rourier.