102 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



ENFORCING NEW MEAT LEGISLATION. 



The Dairy and Food Bureau received various complaints during the year 

 from correspondents, (many of them writing anonymously), about the al- 

 leged deplorable condition of local slaughter-houses, and the fact that they 

 were a menace to the health of the people residing in the locality in which 

 they were located, etc. Some of these allegations, apparently, were well 

 founded. 



While the large packing plants doing an interstate business are under di- 

 rect government supervision and inspection, the smaller establishments are 

 not under such inspection, nor were they under direct State or county super- 

 vision. 



The offal was usually disposed of by depositing it in an adjoining corral 

 where it soon became a breeding place for vermin and flies. No provisions 

 were made for a proper cooling and refrigeration of the meat, while during 

 the warm season, both dirt and flies covered the meat. The most serious 

 evil, perhaps, consisted in the unwelcome truth that diseased cattle were too 

 often slaughtered and sold to the unsuspecting patron as well-fed and healthy 

 beef. Whe:her the animal was filled with tubercular bacilli or a victim of lump- 

 jaw, (actinomycosis), was immaterial, so long as there was sale for the 

 abominable stuff. Under these conditions, there was but little surprise when 

 drastic laws were introduced into the legislature, providing for the regular 

 and careful Inspection of slaughter-houses and their products, neither was 

 there any doubtful question as to such proposed laws being passed and ap- 

 proved. Dr. Leonard Pearson, Secretary of the State Livestock Sanitary 

 Board was largely instrumental in securing the much desired legislation, and 

 as His Excellency, Governor Stuart, w'as in entire sympathy, we now have on 

 our statute books laws that have already completely revolutionized the fresh 

 meat trade of the State. 



The supervision of these establishments has wisely been placed under the 

 care of the State Livestock Sanitary Board, and with a corps of intelligent 

 veterinarians serving as Special Agents, a rigid inspection and corresponding 

 good for the public health and welfare is fully assured. Consumers already 

 notice the marked change in the meat supplies, and unite in their praise and 

 commendation for the good that is being accomplished, while the complaints 

 that now reach the Dairy and Food Bureau are rare. In bringing about these 

 gratifying changes in the m.eat trade, the State Livestock Sanitary Board 

 and the Dairy and Food Bureau have always co-operated most heartily and wil- 

 lingly. 



IMPROVED BEEF SUPPLY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



With the dynamic energy of the agents of the State Livestock Sanitary 

 Board making a thorough inspection of the slaughter and packing houses of 

 Pennsylvania to prevent the sale of diseased meat and meat products, and 

 with the special agents of the Dairy and Food Bureau constantly on the alert to 

 prevent the sale of chemically preserved meat products, and both agencies 

 working together harmoniously for the protection of the health of the public, 

 no state m the Union can boast of a better meat supply than Pennsylvania. 

 The people of Pennsylvania are enjoying business prosperity, and notwith- 

 standing prevalent high prices, the demand for good, clean beef and meat 

 products generally, is the largest in the history of the trade. 



While some objected to an enforcement of the laws which prohibited the 

 use of chem.ical preservatives in meats for preserving or brightening its ap- 

 pearance, the best portion of the trade are of the unanimous opinion that 

 the law is a wise one, and that with its impartial enforcement, no harm can 

 come to any legitimate dealer or business interest. The agents of the National 

 Bureau of Animal Industry are also inspecting the Pennsylvania establish- 

 ments, transacting an inter-state business, and it was soon found that many 

 of the smaller butchering establishments in some of the smaller cities and 

 towns M'ere perhaps the most willful or indifferent violators of the laws, so 

 far as the use of sulphites was concerned. 



The Dairy and Food Bureau joined in this work most heartily, not to break 

 dow-n our business interests, but to give the trade still greater prestige, until 

 the beef products of the State can only stand synonymous for cleanliness, 

 purity and healthfulness. 



THE MEAT SUPPLY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



Singular as it may appear, unconfirmed reports have reached the Dairy and 

 Food Bureau at various times alleging that horse-meat was being palmed upon 

 the public in certain sections of Pennsylvania for beef. It was claimed that 

 horse-meat was being smoked and sold as dried beef, at a price considerably 

 below that of the genuine article. While little credence was attached to such 

 reports, special agents of the Bureau were detailed to make an investigation 

 with the invariable result that reports came back to the effect that the infor- 

 mants had been deceived or misinformed. 



