COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE 97 



Our experiment in sending out notifications for violations in 

 cases where it did not consist of an adulteration with harmful 

 ingredients, instead of referring the facts to the Attorney-General 

 for prosecution, has given favorable results. The dealer has 

 either removed 1'roni his stock and sale the article in question, or 

 has been furnished with labels by the manufacturers correcting 

 misbranded articles. It has also benefited much by drawing out 

 information from manufacturers which could not be easily 

 obtained otherwise. 



RESULTS OBTAINED THROUGH ENFORCEMENT OF FOOD LAW 



While a majority of the samples taken are purchased from the 

 retail dealers, as they are the last to distribute directly to the con- 

 sumer, the manufacturer usually assumes the responsibility in 

 case an action is brought against the retailer for the illegal sale 

 of an article of food sold to the consumer in original packages. 

 Therefore, to-day it is safe to say that nearly every substance 

 which is being manufactured and placed upon the markets of this 

 state is properly labeled to show the constituents of the com- 

 modity within the container. Some of the articles worthy of men- 

 tion, which were previously sold under misleading and fraudulent 

 labels, are table syrups which were sold for maple syrup and did 

 not bear a label showing the character and constituents of the 

 article. Preserves, jellies and jams were formerly sold under 

 deceptive labels. For instance, an article composed of apple 

 juice or boiled cider, glucose, sugar, timothy seed and an arti- 

 ficial color and flavor, with some preservative, was sold under the 

 name of ''strawberry jam," the purchaser having no knowledge 

 of the contents from the label. Such an article sold to-day will 

 bear a label setting forth the ingredients under the name of 

 " jam." The adulteration of spices with cereals, ground cocoa- 

 nut shells, terra alba, yellow ocher and buckwheat shells was a 

 common practice. These goods put up in original packages to-day 

 are free from adulteration. Some adulterations have been found 

 in bulk goods. Canned vegetables were formerly colored with 

 copper. We have failed to find a single case of the domestic 

 vegetable containing color or preservative during the past year. 

 Tomato catsup previous to the enforcement of the food law was 

 4 



