The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-05-15
ABOLISH GUARANTY
 AND SERIAL NUMBER
 ON FOODS AND DRUGS
Are Deceptive and Misleading to the Public, the Three
 Secretaries Find.
Prohibition to Take Effect May 1, 1915-No More Serial Numbers to Be Issued
 After That Date.

Washington, May 15.-The legend Guaranteed Under the Food and Drugs Act is held to be misleading and deceptive. and the use of serial number food and drugs is pro- hibited after May 1, 1915, by a Food l Inspection Decision signed May 9th by the Secretaries of the Treasury. Agriculture and Commerce. The talk ing effect of the new regulation is postponed until May 1. 1914, in order to give rnanufacturers an opportun- ity to use up their present stocks of labels.
 After May I, 1915, guarantees of compliance with the law should be given by manufacturers directly to dealers, and should be incorporated in the invoice or bill of sale specifying the goods covered. This guaranty should not appear on the label or package of the product.
 Reasons for Action- l The reasons for the action of the l three Secretaries, as given in the de- cision, are as follows:
 "(a). It having been deternin ed that the legends Guaranteed under the Food and Drugs Act, June 30, 1906,' and Guaranteed by (name of guarantor) under the Food and Drugs Act, June 30. 1906.' borne on the la l bels or packages Of food and drugs, accompanied by serial numbers giv- en by the Secretary of Agriculture. are each misleading and deceptive. in 1 that the public Is induced by such legends and serial numbers to believe that the articles to which they relate have been examined and approved 1 by the Government and that the Gov ernment guarantees that they com ply with the law. the use of either llegend, or any similar legend, on Ia bels or packages should be discon- 1 tinued.
 'Inasmuch as the acceptance by the Secretary of Agriculture for fling and dealers and the giving by him of serial numbers thereto contribute I to the deceptive Character of legends on labels and packages, no guaranty lin any form shall hereafter be flied with and no serial number shall | thereafter be given to any guaranty by the Secretary of Agriculture- All g1aranties now on file with the Secre- 1 tary Of Agriculture shall be stricken from the files, and the serial numbers assigned to such guaranties shall be 1scancelled.s's
 t Many reputable eamanufacturers have used the legend and serial number in I good faith solely as g convenient way of notifying dealer that they as sumed full legal responsibility for 1 their goods. Other manufacturers have employed this legend in such way as to lead the public to believe I that their product had been passed lubon and certified by the Department Of Agriculture. The widespread de- { ceptfon of the public resulting ne- I Acessitated aboIishing the Depart Il ment's practice of accepting guaFan- sl ties for filing and Issuing serial mum :. Il bers.
 The Food and Drugs Act does not prescribe any guaranty legend or ser ial number. nor has any manufactur- CT ever been required to file guar H anty or to use serial number or the st legend. The appearance of the ser E ial number and the guaranty legend on the products, moreover. has been II of no material assistance to the Gov ernment in detecting or prosecutiEig lvioIations of the Food and Drugs Act, 'f nor has it promoted the manufacture and sale of pure foods or drugs. The <, presence of the number and legend on an adulterated or rnisbranded product I does not enable Federal officers; to secure any heavier penalty for viola sI tions than if the goods were not so ll labeled. although in many such cases it made deception of the public more certain.
 The only mention of q guaranty in the Food and Drugs Act is Section. 9. which provides that where a dealer can show a guaranty from the maker E of goods that they comply with the
 law, the manufacturer. and not the
 dealer, shall be amenable to prose
 cution.
 History of the Guaranty Legend
 The manufacturers believed it te Ibe commercially inconvenient to give
 a separate guaranty as part of ths
 bill of sale or invoice te every dealer
 with every interstate shipment o their goods, and soon after the pas
 sage of the Act in 1906, asked tht committee, appointed by the three
 Secretaries to draft regulations, tt i 11I fr, Ia a. 1<af ran
 to dealers at Washington under Whicf the makers of goods would assurn.
 full legal responsibility for all good
 manufactured by them and shipped into interstate commerce. This guar anty was not in any sense to be Iguaranty to or by the Government
 but was merely to be a guaranty pro
 tecting the dealer from prosecution il
 accordance with Section of the Foos : and Drugs Act. This permission wa 1 granted and the Department assign
 ed serial number to each of tn,
 guaranties so fled The manufac
 turer was then allowed to use tfi
 serial number on this label in con
 under the Food and Drugs Act. Jun
 30, 1906.,' There was no require
 ment. however, that any n,anufactur
 CT should file such guaranty.
 A large proportion of the publi took these words to mean that tn
 Government in some way guarantee
 the article. In an endeavor to mak it clear that the guarantee was no
 the guarantee of the Government, tn 1 legend was amended Dec. 8, 1908 t
 read 'tGuaranteed by (name of guar
 antor) under the Food and Drugs Ac
 June 30. 1eo6.'' The public, however
 persisted in taking these words, eve
 after the amended form was employ
 ed, to mean that the Federal Gov
 ernment had actually analyzed an
 found the product so labeled to b
 pure and wholesome and of standar l quality. This misinterpretation O.
 the part of the public was, in som cases, encouraged by manufactures. l and th ere is no 6uestinn taaf tta scr