REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE. 51 



tions promulgated for the enforcement of the act, since the condi- 

 tions prescribed by them are necessary to insure the wholesomeness 

 of meat and meat food products designed for interstate shipment. 

 Wherever the words "Inspected and Passed" and "Inspected and 

 Condemned " appear in the statute, they should be changed to read 

 " U. S. Passed " and " U. S. Condemned," respectively, in order to 

 distinguish the Federal inspection marks from those of State and 

 municipal authorities; and wider discretion regarding the disposi- 

 tion of fats and meat food products condemned for causes other than 

 disease should be given, so as to permit their utilization for indus- 

 trial purposes under proper regulations. The department also should 

 be authorized to follow and reinspect products bearing the Federal 

 mark of inspection after they have left the official establishments in 

 which they were first examined and to cancel the marks if it is 

 found that the continuance of their use would be misleading or an 

 instrumentality of deception or fraud; and paragraph 545 of the 

 tariff act of October 3, 1913, which now prohibits the importation 

 of the classes of meat covered by the meat inspection act except 

 under conditions prescribed by the department, but which provides no 

 penalty for its violation, should be reenacted as a part of the meat 

 inspection act, thus bringing it under the general penalty provisions. 

 Other amendments of equal importance should be made, and a full 

 statement of them will be presented to the Congress. 



THE VIRUS-SERUM-TOXIN ACT. 



In the case of the virus-serum-toxin act, a number of amendments 

 are desirable in order more effectivel}^ to prevent the preparation and 

 shipment in interstate and foreign commerce of virus, serums, and 

 toxins which are worthless or contaminated. The law should be 

 extended to cover articles which enter foreign commerce, and defi- 

 nite provision should be made for the destruction of worthless, 

 contaminated, dangerous, or harmful products. Specific authority 

 should be given to withhold the issuance of licenses to persons 

 who refuse to permit inspection of their establishments, or to 

 conduct them in accordance with the regulations, and a violation of 

 the regulations at any time should be declared tS be sufficient cause 

 for the revocation or suspension of a license. It would be desirable, 

 also, to provide that a license may be suspended temporarily, in 

 critical cases, without the necessity of affording an opportunity for 

 a hearing, and that all containers must bear the name of the product, 

 the date of its manufacture, and such marks or labels as will clearly 

 identify it and indicate its potency. The counterfeiting or falsifying 

 of identification marks prescribed by the regulations should be pro- 

 hibited; the shipment of samples of virus, serums, toxins, etc., 



