286 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Federal authorities. At the request of the chief of the Seattle station 

 the food officials of A'^ancouver kept the salmon under surveillance. 

 It was reshipped in 1921 to cities in the central and eastern parts of 

 the United States. The Seattle station ascertained the destination 

 of the cars and so advised the central and eastern inspection districts. 

 The food officials of Tennessee rendered most valuable assistance in 

 locatino; and effecting seizure of the cars of the spoiled salmon 

 shipped to that State. 



Otlier sea food. — Work on oysters is a major project in the eastern 

 district where a very large proportion of the oysters consumed in the 

 United States is produced. The central and" western districts also 

 conduct work on oysters, but the quantity of oysters produced in those 

 districts is relatively small. The three types of violation encountered 

 in connection with fresh oysters are pollution, adulteration with 

 water, and short measure. Pollution of oysters may be caused by the 

 condition of the water from which they are taken, which in some 

 places is polluted with sewage, or from insanitary practices in shuck- 

 ing and handling. The most eifective control of pollution from the 

 beds from which the oj^sters are taken consists in making a sanitary 

 survey of the various commercial oyster beds and permitting oysters 

 to be taken only from beds which are not polluted. Cooperative 

 work on the part of the Public Health Service, Federal, State, and 

 municiparfood officials has made it possible to check commerce in 

 oysters from polluted beds. Very great improvement has been made 

 in the sanitary conditions under which oysters are shucked and 

 handled. The most recent reports from the eastern district show 

 that the shipment of polluted oysters from that section has been prac- 

 tically abandoned, and that the practice of adulterating with water 

 and shipping short-measure oysters has been greatly restricted, being 

 confined largely to a few concerns against whom prosecutions are 

 pending. 



Equally effective work was done during the year in checking the 

 shipment of scallops adulterated with water. Large quantities of 

 scallops are shipped from North Carolina to the eastern cities. 

 Through a process of soaking in fresh water the scallops are made 

 to absorb water and so increase in bulk. Through the cooperative 

 efforts of the eastern inspection district and the North Carolina Fish- 

 eries Commission this practice has been practically discontinued. 



Attention was given during the year to controlling the shipment 

 of short-weight and misgraded crab meat. This industry is centered 

 around Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. A survey showed that 

 sanitary conditions in the packing houses are good, but that keen 

 competition and relatively high prices of the product led a number 

 of shippers to pack short-weight cans and to misgrade the product. 

 As a result of work by the eastern district, which led to s:)me prose- 

 cutions, a marked improvement was noted during the year in this 

 industry. 



Jams and jellies. — Considerable attention was given during the 

 year by all inspection districts and by a staff laboratory in Wash- 

 ington to jams and jellies and especially to the use of added pectin. 

 By the use of added pectin and water it is possible to make a rela- 

 tively large quantity of jelly with a comparatively small quantity 



