The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-12-14
an important factor In tmpressing pa
trtottc lessons,
sin pA,JaEo OATS.

| nnent In regard to the departments
I attitude toward the shipment In In
| terstate commerce of oats bleached
with sulphur dioxid or mixed with
barley and other grains. the secre-
| tarv Of agriculture has defined the
! departments position IN regard TO
! three questions These are: Cd the
| addition of moisture to oats IN the
| course Of treatment with 50 phur
! diosIG; (2) whether oats bieached
| with sulphr Hoxid are adulterated
within the meaning OF the federal
| food and drugs act because, as re-
/ suit OF the treatment, damage or in
/ feriority Is concealed; and t3) the
extent to which the mixing OF barley
and other grains with oats Is uniaw-
! full. On these points the secretary
! states that the departments views
are as follows:
| First-Oats which, at the time of
I shipment in interstate or foreign
| commerce, contain moisture which
has been added, by bleaching or other
artificial treatment, are aduiterated
| under the food and drugs act In con-
sidering whether any lot of oats con-
tains added moisture the department
fs guided by the facts relating to that
particular lot and not by the mois-
! ture content OF other individual lots,
nor by the average moisture con-
| tents Of the crop Of oats for that
entire year. It is, however, not the
practice of the department to recon-
mend seizures or prosecutions on &C
count Of added moisture in oats as a
result OF bleaching unless such added
moisture exceeds one percent
Second-The changing OF the color
or appearance Of oats by treatment
ton as to the application on the part
OF paragraph four of section OF the
| food and drugs act, "in case OF food,
by which articles of food are de-
/ clared to be adulterated if they be
| mixed, colored, powdered, coated or
! stained in manner whereby damage
or inferiority is concealed"
This provision is not a general pro-
hibition against coloring. Under it,
only those oats are adulterated which
are damaged or Of Interior dualit'
and which have the damage or in
ferior quality concealed by the
bleaching.
The department Is informed that
the bleaching of oats does not al
ways conceal damage, but sometimes
makes it apparent. In other cases, II
is claimed that the bleaching OF dam
aged or inferior oats serves to re
move the damage or inferiority rather
than to conceal it. Whether or not
the bleaching Of oats as commonly
practiced conceals damage or infer
iority, cannot be finally decided or
the facts now available. 1nyestiga
tions are being conducted, however
with the object of obtaining adequate
1 information on which the depart
ment may reach a conclusion as tc
! whether the bleaching Of oats con
ceaIus damage or inferiority unde'
all conditions, or, if not under al
conditions, under what conditions
Pending the conclusion Of these in
yestigations and the announcement
of the results thereof, the depart
ment will not recommend proceeding!
under the food and drugs act solelI
upon the ground that oats which have
been bleached with sulphur fume!
have been colored or stained In
manner whereby damage or inferior
ity Is concealed, provided that in thu
case OF bulk shipments Of oats. thu
!. fact that they have been bleachet
with sulphur dioxid is shown on in
voices, bills Of lading. and inspectio,
certificates, whenever such certh
| Gates are issued, by using the term
t"Bleached with sulphur dioxid,' "Su
Dnur D1ecCUet, vi
in the case of shipments in bags, tn
? bags are plainly marked to the sam
effect. The terms purified pur1
ned with sulphur process and tn
, like, are misleading and are, there
Z fore, not regarded as being prope
, designations Of these products. Tn
: department will not hesitate. no"
ever. to recommend proceedings ur
t der the act, without notice, ii 1t ar
' pears that the conditions herel
specified are not complied with, or
It appears that the bleaching or oat
results in actual fraud
i Third-The department is OF tn
l.. opinion that oats containing nc
;, over 5 percent Of barley or othe
| grain which has not been added [
. the oats after they were harvested
;, but which was present with the oat
!. in the field. may be designated oats
:, The department is further or tn
opinion that oats with which barle
Il or other grain has been mixed afte
harvesting, are adulterated and mil
s branded If they are labeled and sol
e as oats. Such mixture should b
J. sold, billed (including all railwa
a records), invoiced and labeled,
a case a label Is used, as mixture {
d oats and added grain. 1t Is believe
that the names OF the grains preser
d in the mixture should be given In tn
d order OF their weights beginnin
X with that which Is present in the la
% gest amount.