The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1917-01-19
GUARDS SUPPLYOf
FOOD and DRUGS
Uncle Sam Protects People From
ImpOSltiOns on Part Of
Manufacturers.
MANY SAMPLES ARE TESTED
Thousands Of Shipments offered for
Import Found to Violate Law
and Are Excluded From
Country.

II any person in the United States
is sold adulterated food or drugs IL Is
not because Uncle Sam does not do bis
utmost 20 prevent II. Government Off
clals In charge of the enforcement of
the federal food and drugs act never
relax their vigilance and their efforts
In thousands of cases have prevented
impositions upon the people at the
hands of manufacturers.
During the last year United States
department Of agriculture officials an
alyzed 29,833 samples Of foods and
drugs offered for Interstate shipment
and for import. A physical examina'
| ton was made of samples from 16,46S
shipments offered for import. OF these
foreign shipments, 6,353 were found to
violate the law in some respects and
were either excluded from the country
or admitted only after the importers
had relabeled them to comply with the
| law. OF the samples of domestic prod
ucts Analysed $685., either because Of
the nature of the proGuct or because
the label on 1t did not tell the TRUTH
were found to be In violation of the
federal law. In 1864 cases the depart
ment recommended to the department
of justice that criminal prosecution be
instituted against the manufacturers
or that the goods be seized. In many
cases, where there was no evidence Of
intention to defraud and where there
was merely some easily remedled flaw
in the wording of a label, the shippers,
after being warned in hearings, volun'
tarily took steps which made their
products fully comply with the require
ments. In all, there were held S,71J
such hearings, many of which resulted
in the prosecutions indicated and the
gathering of evidence for large num-
ber of additional cases.
The bureau of chemistry, in its an.
nual report, also calls attention to the
fact that through the system Of service
and regulatory announcements now in
use, manufacturers are given due no
tice of the requirements and thus are
enabled voluntarily to make their
products conform to the law. In this
way the government achieves its pur-
pose, frequently without entering into
needles and very expensive litigation
- In the regulatory work, special en-
phasls has been given to the control of
drug products and foods liable to spoil
age and pollution. These frequently
constitute a serious menace to health
The food inspectors have been i'll
structed to be particularly watchful for
interstate shipments of bad eggs, milk,
oysters and spoiled canned goods, and
false and fraudulently labeled medi-
cines and spurious, synthetic drugs.
curbing Fraudulent Medicines.
Attempts to counterfeit or aduIter-
ate imported drugs have been more
common since the recent high price
and scarcity of many of these products
encouraged their imitation. 1t is in
teresting to note that of the 103G
cases terminated in the courts during
the year, 1913 were brought on account
Of the false and fraudulent labelling of
medicines. In all of these medical
cases save five the courts found for the
government, and this, it is believed
has exercised an important deterrent
effect on the vendors of nostrums
shipped from one state to another.
The work of controlling the fraudu~
lent labels Of medicines and mineral
waters has been greatly strengthened
by the establishment of separate Of
ice to deal with these matters. At the
request of the secretary Of agriculture
IN officer of the Unite9 States public
health service has been detailed to
take charge of this work. Moreover
through the close cooperation estab-
ished with the foods and drugs Off
,ials Of many of the states, the depart
nent was able to direct the attention
# the local authorities to the presence
If spurious drugs in their states and,
is a result, much Of these fraudulent
foods in the hands of local dealers and
,eyond the reach of the federal au-
horities were destroyed by state and
officers who, in many cases,
those responsible for the
ocal traffic.
Extend Milk Control.