Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-06-28
.FOUST ASKS CLEAN
BREAKFAST FOODS
Serves Notice That a General In
spection Will Be Started by
the States Agents

Dairy and Food Commissioners
James Foust has given fair warning
that his agents will make inspections
mediately to see that only goods fit to
eat are being sold. The commission
er says that many complaints have
been made to him about lack of care
in handling goods and that to save
themselves trouble dealers had better
clear their shelves.
There is no criticism, the commits
sioner remarks, of the food quality of
the average breakfast cereal when 1t
is sold in a fresh condition to the con-
sumner. but it is we'll known to all deal
erS that these preparations are very
liable to insect attack unless the great
est care be taken to keep the stock
fresh and to store in places where the
danger of such attack is least. Past
examinations by the bureau have re-
vealed numerous cases in which the
contents of packages were simply alive
with vermin and cobwebbed with the
tissues woven by the insect larvae they
contained.
The commissioner recognizes the
conditions confronting the retailer in
keeping his stock of breakfast foods
fresh, and wholesalers who make a
careful comparison of the 100 to $50
brands of such foods on sale in the
state will find that in reality there are
only twelve to fifteen types of break
fast foods that differ at all distinctly
one from the other, and yet nearly
every week sees community after COM
munity canvassed by agents present
ing samples of some new breakfast
food, taking orders for the same and
turning them over to the local grocers
supplying these several families. with
the demand that he add this new name
to his stock, despite the fact that his
shelves are already crowded with the
one hundred other brands. And i'm
mediately thereafter the same mer-
chants are induced to stock largely
with this new named variety by reason
of quantity discounts. The demand for
the goods earlier in stock temporarily
or permanently stops, but the goods
remain on the shelves and are held
there for months, or even for years,
with the vain hope that the breakfast
food fashions may turn and the old
stock become salable. Under this con-
dition of affairs every bug has his
day."
The difficulties of the retailer under
these conditions are recognized, but
the rights of the consumer for pro-
lection against this evil cannot be
overlooked. The commissioner wants
every retailer handling cereal goods to
understand that the retail stocks in
every part of the State are to be thor
oughly sampled and sent to State Col
lese for a scientific examination and
that whenever contamination by bugs,
slugs and the like is detected prose-
CUtions will be instituted in every case
and vigorously pressed. This frank
note of warning is given so that the
retailer may have a fair opportunity
to clean UP his stock and consign to
the dump every package of cereal that
is an condition to bring him into
trouble because of its lack of fresh
ness of its location near wevilly goods,
since even fresh goods may quickly
become wevilly If stored in the neigh
borhood of old packages containing
these insects. Despite the difficulties
of these conditions the retailers have a
remedy In their own hands, and that
Is to buy in small quantities, turn the
stock often and so have little left long
enough upon their shelves to be in
serious danger of insect attack. II
the retailers. aided by judicious CO.
operation of manufacturers and Job
bers to remedy existing conditions, do
not get rid of this evil it is possible
that the people may feel it necessary
to adopt remedy proposed in other
states against the sale Of stale stocks
OF perishable goods such as these
cereal preparations, namely, that of
requiring that the package shall bear
a stamp indicating the date of manu-
facture of the goods.