The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-05-12
LAW
 REDUCES FALSE
 LABELS ON FOOD


 opinion of the officials, it was neces- sary to prosecute the party respon- sible or seize the goods in order to check the practice. Thousands of other forms of minor misbranding, say the officials, have been corrected by serving notices on the parties re- spOnsible without recourse to formal legal action. The food industries in many instances voluntarily have changed trade practices of long stand ing.
 The violations of the act on which the court actions were based cover nearly every food product from ali mentary paste to zwieback, including soft sardines from Maine, as well as spoiled salmon from Washington; frozen oranges from California, as well as sweated grapefruit from Por- to Rico. Prosecutions on patent medi- Cines range from so-called sure cures" for tuberculosis and influenza to candy cathartics and castor oil. In the beverage line, cider as well as champagne, grape juice as well as gin, water as well as wine, hAYe been called to the bar-of the Federal courts-to show why they should not be poured into the sewer and thus diverted from the alinentary canal
 Finding Foods Adulterated.
 Contamination is one form of adul- eraion which covers a large nunsber of violations, and is due principally to carelessness or lack of knowledge of proper methods for preparing, handling, shipping. and storing per ishabIe foods, as is the case with milk having a high bacterial count; spoiled fish, rotten eggs, sweIled can ned goods, decomposed tomato plup, and putrid meat
 The food specialists have done ex- rensive experimental work in devel- oping methods for preparing and handling perishabIe foods, and in aiding manufacturers, shippers, and dealers to apply those methods in rnent in the methods of handling perishable foods during recent years has been due, in the opinion of the food officials. a6 much to the expert mental and educational work as to the regulatory action under the Food and Drugs Act.
 Substituting a cheaper article of food in whole or in part for a more expensive one is a favorite form of adulteration which in some instances relieves the pocketbook without in jury to health, and leaves the pur- chaser none than wiser In many instances of this form of aduleration, however, the substituted ingredient has less food value or nutritive ma terial than the genuine article. Such forms of substitu ton include the ad- dltiOn of ground pepper shells to pep per; chicOry to coffee; dilute acetic acid to cider vinegar; distilled vine gar to cider or sugar vinegar; glue ito geIatine; and artificial extract to vanilla flavor. The milk man is not the only visitor to the pump or hy- drant. Added water or excessive moisture has been found in oysters. fruit juices, canned goods, vinegar, and grains, and even in dried apples as well as in other food products
 Tho cases in which it was charged that insre dients harmful to health had been deliberately added. to the foods are few in number. The Fed eral Food and Drugs Act specifically prohibts the addition of such ingred- tents to food products. The use of harmful preservatives is unnecessary and few manufactures care to risk prosecution or injury to the reputa- ton of their product by adding sub stances held to be harmful to health Harmful ingredients in food are us ually acquired by the development Of harmful bacteria from contamina- ton, or harmful ingredients acci- dentally acquired during the process of manufacture, as, for instance, zinc, copper, and arsenic from utensils or materials used in the manufacture of geIatine.
 Food Falsely Labeled.
 The forms of rnisbranding range from a. deliberate statements as to the nature of the product, as, for in stance, labelling Iow-grade, cheap coffee with the name of higher and | more expensive grade, such ag Mocha or Java, to subtle designs and devices, as the placing on a can of cottonseel oil labeled merely Salad Oil" the | picture of an olive tree and a map of 1 Italy, in order to convey the impres- ! sion that the product is olive oil from l Italy.
 1 Among other forms of misbranding 1 of foods may be mentioned the label | ing of distilled vinega~ as apple cider 1 vinegar; the labelling of macaroni as 1 being of foreign manufacture when il l was made in the United States; the labelling of apples as New York State | apples when they were grown in other States; the labelling of synthetic methyl sa1icylate as oil of birch; the | n1isbrandtng of lake herring as white 1 fish; the labelling of preserves as be ] ing composed of Ioganberries ant sugar syrup, when the product act ually contained approximately 25 pel cent of glucose; and the labelling O an artificial flavor as pure as vanilla extract.
 Foods in package form are aIst nlisbranded as to the quantity in tn, packages. Shortage in weight of mea
 sure as stated on the labels, or tn, absence of any statement regard ing the quantity of the contents, wa!
 the basis Of a charge for misbrand ing in several of the food cases.
 Misbranding in it's various form Is aimed usually to convey the i'm pression that the article is of a high
 CT grade or more expensive than i 1 actually is. As a dishonest cIothini
 merchant will sometimes brand-a I all wooHcloth which is a mixture o wool and cotton, so the dishonest foos
 manufacturer or merchant at time
 tries to pass off his cheaper food under the name of higher price
 ones Misbranded foods which ar
 not aduterated may be wholesor
 and nutritious, but the purchaser
 are nisled as to the quality O | Ra