Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1917-01-12
label Legend BARRED
Uncle Sam Prohibits Misleading
Guaranty on Packages.
Under New Plan Familiar Statement
Regarding Food and Drugs Act
Cannot Be Used on Containers.

The legend, so familiar in the past
On food and drug packages, "Guaranz
teed by manufacturer under the food
and drugs act, June 80, 1906, serial
number 265, ,424." IS disappearing from
iabeis. A method for guaranteeing
Goods and drugs which will be less
misleading to the public has been pro-
vided by Uncle Sans officials in
charge Of the enforcement of the food
and drugs act. Under she new plan
manufacturers may guarantee their
products on the invoice or bill of sale,
or by certain other methods, but ae-
cording to a food inspection decision
which became effective on November 1,
1916, t.ley may not make any statement
regarding the guaranty or serial num-
Der on the label of packages of foods
or drugs which enter interstate or
foreign commerce.
Originally it was provided in the
rules and regulations that the manu-
facturer or wholesaler who desired to
guarantee that his products complied
with the food and drugs act might
Tile general guaranty with the depart
ment of agriculture to the effect that
the foods or drugs he shipped into in
terstate commerce were not adulter-
ated or misbranded within the mean
ing of that act. Upon the receipt of
a properly executed guaranty the de-
partment assigned a serial number to
the manufacturer or wholesaler who
filed the guaranty. The manufacturer
or wholesaler was authorized to
use this number on his labels to
indicate that the guaranty which be
had fled with the department Gov
cred the products on which the number
was used. After this method had been
| in operation for some time it was
found that the guaranty legend on the
label was misleading to the public. Il
was incorrectly assumed by consumers
generally and some retail dealers that
the guaranty legend on the label meant
that sample Of the product had beer
examined by the United States depart
ment of agriculture, and that in effect
the United States department of agri
culture actually guaranteed the prod
uct.
The food and drugs act provides thai
no dealer shall be prosecuted undel
the provisions of that act when he car
establish a guaranty signed by tht
wholesaler, iol,ber, manufacturer, o.
other party residing in the Unitet
states, from whom he purchased arti
cles of food and 'irugs. The object O.
this provision 10 to make the manu-
facturer or wholesaler or person wht
knows the composition of the foot
and drug produ:ta responsible for thei
compliance wi.e the provisions o
the law. s. In mauy cases a dealer doe
not know the composition Of the prod
| ucts he sells, ar,i cannot afford the ex
pense CT having an analysis made il
order to determine it for himself. /
provision, therefore, was inserted il
the law to the effect that, if the deal
er secured a guaranty from the manu-
facturer or whole saler or other persol
from whom he purchases, the part
making the g'la -anty would be re
sponsible under the law, and the deal
er would be relieved Of responsibility
The guaranty wes never intended t
be, and never has been, in any sense
guaranty by the department of agr
culture.