Evening star., 1926-04-18

fetal directing agency of our pure
food and drug laws. This bureau is
a source, Of invaluable new scientific
, methods which aid manufacturers,
producers and consumers.
A mere recital in comprehensive de-
tail Of all the activities in which this
branch OF the Government engaged
during the last IL months would oc-
"upy all the space OF this page. The
scope of the research. experimental
and reinforcement work is Stupen-
dols. The complete story Of the
Bureau OF Chemistry would fill to
"apaclty the many pages of a large
book.
The task of inspecting our yearly
imports OF foods and drugs is in it
self record Job. Add this to dozens
or other assignments, some less and
some more Important, and you Will be
able to vista i!ze what occupies the
'iailt docllets OF the best and largest
oHSaniz&tion of technically trained
'heinists IL creation.
You nay not know it but the bakery
tf@sd '"-lc1 YOU eat may contain
'Css fso,l China. The Chinese offer
f93@h 1ca",ei"r eggs than the pro
'''icerS e his country. The eggs
SO drjec, ~cduced to a powder and
t&nn1ed - ali parts of the world.
Where D-9rerly produced this pow
20, .S' as satisfactory and sanitary as
heit eggs @n'- bakery uses. But, sub
@cnen, 10 he enactment of our pure
t'rod ana drug laws. the national
SCIENTISTS found that the Chinese egg
powder contained varying amounts
"a zinc as an impurity. This came
from the utensils used in preparing
ne material for commerce. The
Chlnese forthwith changed their pro.
auction methods. The American ex-
port trade was too much of q, golden
nugget to be lost
some wears ago Uncle Sam ascer-
talned that Smyrna figs were being
prepared for market in insanitarv
ways. 1mportations OF SMYRNA. figs
were immediately prohibited unless
'hey were Known to have been pro
1uced under sanitary conditions. The
Cnlted states consul sent a certificate
Win eacn invoice stating that the figs
were produced according to American
standards. This drastic action revo.
Iutionized fg-handling methods. The
Iar'reaching hand of Washington sci.
ence taught Smyrna growers and mer.
cnants new methods. Education here
runcttoned as the first lieutenant of
the law.
is physically Impossible for the
limited force of federal INSPECTORS To
give every package of food or drugs
imported into the United States the
official "onoe-over." Careful tab how.
ever, is kept on the most suspicious
frticles-those that are most likely
to be nlisbranded, short in measure
chemically or sanitarily impure or
otherwise unfit for human use. The
inspection OF imported foods really
begins before the cargoes clear from
their ports OF origin. Every shipper
of food 20 the United States has TO ap-
pear before the nearest United States
consular officer IN order to make 81
'tdavit that the products are not
aduiterased or. mtsbranded and that
they correspond in every particular to
the requirements of the American
pure food and drug laws. Often the
consular officer writes notation on
the Invoice which supplies valuable
data about that particular shipment
The invoice Of every consignment of
food or drugs that is imported into
these United States is examined by
Government specialists and Instruc.
tons are issued by these scientists
for physical inspections OF the cargoes
% be made on the docks or floors OF
the appraisers stores IL cases OF all
products which are apt 20 be adui-
terated or n!sbranded .------ ..-..
A rapid examination of bulk ship.
ments of such materials as nuts or
fruits is often sufficient. Samples of
olive oil. jellies, tomato paste and SIM
liar imported materials have to be
examined in the laboratory under the
microscope or chemical test. Tea Is
examined painstakingly as to quality
and purity. How would you Ike to
work as a tea-taster Yes. there are
Expert Government employees VINO
specialize day after day in tasting I'M
ported tea in order TO insure that
YOUR Oolong, Ceylon, Indian or other
teas are perfectly pure and salts
tsctory
The United States. despite that it
ranks as one OF the leading food
producing nations. is also a heavy
importer of those foods which foreign
Countries can produce in cheaper or
better form or in greater abundance.
Great quantities Of foodstuffs are inn
ported to cater to the cravings of our
foreign.born population, which hank
ers after the cheeses, fruits, nuts,
meats, sweets or soft drinks of the
lands OF their nativity. Tea, coffee
and certain spices will not grow here.
and hence all that we consume Of
these materials is shipped in from
abroad
Approximately three -fourtl1s of our
imported foods enter the United
states through the port of New
York. A small army Of inspectors
',eeps careful tab on the quality and
condition os this vast variety of COM
modities.
All foods or drugs which are found
adulterated or unsuitable for our use
are condemned and denied entrance to
this country. The foreign shipper has
a grace period Of 90 days to export
these condemned materials to some
other country. for our Federal food
and drug legislation does not en-
power the authorities to destroy the
. goods II they are removed from the
United States within three months
after their arrival. However. ship
ments which remain after that time
limit has expired are seized and de-
Stroyed by the Government. I'M
porters WHO can gectify The 1nlSbrand-
ing of goods by tEe attachment of cor
rect labels are allowed TO Go SO, as IN
Eases where the goods are not marked
TO show exactly how much each pack
age contains. Time was when this
country was a land of discard, where
inpure foods of foreign countries
could be dumped at random. Today.
AS a result of our efficient food and
drug laws, no other country In the
world is more rigid in requirements
which prevent fraud and misbranding
or the distribution of foods and drugs
unfit for use.
= x 4 X
MORE than $4,000. .OO0, 600 worth of
AVA food products are manufactured
annually in this country. four times
the value Of the total output of all
our iron and steel plants. These
foods do not include such farm prod.
ucts as milk fruit; vegetables and
grain, and meat crops. which are
valued at several additional billions
Of dollars. Our total food production
and consumption make the World