The Devils Lake world and inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1915-1920, 1919-12-24
MUST Be FAIR
WITH CONSUMER
Substitutes for Sugar Must Be
Declared on Labels Of
Food Packages.
ALLOW Only HARMLESS ONES

MQW UhlY HARMLESS UNS
Regulations Of Food and Drug Act Ar
Very strict-RequIre That Con-
sumner Be Informed 40 TO What
He 10 Getting.
prepared by the United States Depart
ment Of Agriculture.)
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. for sugar
or for other normal ingredients Of
foods should be declared on the labels
Of the packages of food in which they
are used, If the packages are shipped
within the Jurisdiction Of the federal
food and drugs act, say the officials
Of the bureau Of chemistry, United
States department Of agriculture, who
are charged with the enforcement Of
that act. Only substitutes which are
harmless are permitted in foods un-
der the terms Of the law, and those
that are permitted should be stated
clearly on the labels.
The object Of the regulation re-
curing that substitutes be declared
On the labels Is not to limit in any
way the use of wholesome substitutes,
the officials state, but to let the con-
sumers know what they are getting. A
purchaser Of any food product Of
which sugar is a normal ingredient,
will naturally expect to get sugar in
that product unless advised to the con
trary. As the substitutes are usually
cheaper than the substance for which
they are used, 1t Is only fair, both
from the standpoint Of the purchaser
and from that Of fair trading, that a
clear distinction be made on the Ia
bells between foods that contain all
the normal ingredients and foods in
which one or more of the normal ingre.
dents is replaced by a cheaper sub
stance.
Substitutes That May ee Used.
There are q number of substitutes
for sugar which can very properly be
used in manufactured foods, such as
jams, jellies, marmalades, pops. soda
water, connections, and the like. Among
substitutes that may be used, If prop
erly declared on the labels, are maple
sugar strip. glucose, corn sugar, corn
strip, honey, and high-grade refners'
strip.
Saccharin, a coal-tar product which
has been widely advertised by it's
manufacturers al . sugar substitute,
is not q proper or legal substitute,
since 1t is held to be injurious to
health, and as it has no food value
whatever, it lowers the quality Of. the
food In which it replaces sugar, which
has a high food, value. The use Of
saccharin, whether or not declared
on the labels, In foods coming within
the jurisdiction Of the federal food
and drugs act, is prohibited. The laws
or regulations Of most of the states
also prohibit the use Of saccharin in
foods A number Of food manufac-
turers have been convicted for chip
ping into interstate commerce foods
%adulterated with saecharin. A Grim
inal prosecution is now pending against
one Of the manufacturers Of saccharin
for shipping it labeled as harmless
within the Jurisdiction Of the federal
food and drugs act.
Liable to Seizure.
Foods in which harmless substi.
tutes have been used and no mention
Of the substitutes made on the labels
II shipped within the Jurisdiction OF
the federal food and drugs act, are
subject to seizure and the party re
sponsible for the violation Of law Il
liable to prosecution. Manufacturer
Of foods in which substitutes are uset
should e that the substitutes an
stated on the labels In order to avoi(
violations Of the federal or state laws
Regulation Is. issued under the fed
eFal food and drugs act, provides II
part as follows:
"When a substitute Of q recognized
quality commonly used in the prepare
ton Of q food OK drug product is re
placed by another substance not in
furious to health, the name Of the sub
sdtuted substance shall appear upoz
the Label"