Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1916-12-29


forcement of the Food and Drugs Act
d,,ring the last year. U. s. Department
of Agriculture officials analysed 29.833|
samples Of foods and drugs offered tor
interstate shipment and for import,
A physical examination was made of
samples from 76,46S shipments offered
for import. OF these foreign ship
ments. 1853 were found to violate the
law in some respects and were either
excluded from the country or admitted
only after the importers had relabeied
them to comply with the law. OF the
samples of domestic products analysed
3535, either because of the nature of
the product or because the label on it
d1d not tell the truth, were found to be
in violation of the Federal law. In
1854 cases the department recommend
ed to the department of justice that
criminal prosecution be instituted
against the manufacturers or that the
goods be. eeixed. In many cases where
there was no evidence of intention to
defraud. and where there was merely
some easily remedied flaw in the word
ing of label, the shippers. after be-
ing warned in hearings, voluntarily
took steps which made their products
fully comply with the requirements.
In all, there we're held S715 such hear
ings, many az which resulted in the
prosecutions indicated and the gather
ing of evidence for a large number of
additional cases, which will be for
warded to the department of justice
The Bureau OF Chemistry, in its an
nnal report, also calls attention to the
fact that through the system of SER
vice& and regulatory announcements
now in us6 manufacturers are given
due noticA~of the requirements and
thusstfe enabled voluntarily to make
their products conform to the law. In
this way the government achieves it's
purpose frequently without entering
into needless and very expensive liti-
cation.
In the regulatory work. special en-
phasis has been given to the control of
drug products and foods liable to
spoilage and pollution. These fre-
quently constitute serious menace to
health. The food inspectors have. been
instructed to be particularly watchful
for interstate shipment Of bad eggs,
milk. oysters. and spoiled canned
goods. and false and fraudulently la
beled medicines and spurious, syn
thetic drugs. a
CURLING Fraudulent Medicines.
Attempts to counterfeit or adulter-
ate imported drugs have been more
common since the recent high price
and scarcity Of many of thesesproducts
encouraged their limitations. Il is in.
! teresting to note that of the 1896 cases
! terminated in the courts during the
year. s198 were brought On account Of
sths, false and fraudulent 1abelfns or
medicines. In all of these An9dlral
Soaes, save five, the courts found Tor
\ ~ government, and tbis, It u be-
wed. has exercised an importaIft de-
,sHSrent effect on the vendors OF nos
rtrYms shipped from one state to
4 another.
The work Of controlling the fraudu-
labels and medicines and mineral
y wAtsrH has been greatly strengthened
\ by the establishment of a separate Of
I fee IT, deal with these matters. At the
!Treqi1esf Of the Secretary Of Agricul-
!, ture an officer of the U. s. Public
Z Health Service has been detailed to-
take charge of this work. Moreover,
:. through the close cooperation estab-
Iished with the foods and drugs of
ticials of many of the states, the de-
partment was able to direct the atten-
ton of the local authorities to the
presence of spurious drugs in their
states and, as q result, much OF these
fraudulent goods In the hands ofslocal
dealers and beyond the reach cf the
Federal authorities were destroyed by
state and municipal officers who, in
many cases, prosecutor those re-
sponsible for the local traffic.
Miiks, Eggs and Oysters.
The cooperation in the sanitary con-.
troll of the milk supply Of small cities