458 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AORICULTURE. 



labeled in this manner Avere detained and rcciuired to be relabeled 

 before entry. As a result, the labelin<i of these ])rodncts has been 

 fhanp:ed, so that thev no lonjjer comey the impression that the 

 l)roduet is made in Coijiiac when such is not the case. 



It was also noted durin<^ the past year that certain kinds of canned 

 fish contained excessive amounts of tin. Especially was this true 

 of the kippered herring, smoked sardines in bouillon or tomato sauce, 

 fish in mustard sauce, etc. In some cases nearly all the tin on the 

 inside of the can would be dissolved and the product would contain 

 from 5 to 8 strains of tin per pound. The corroded appearance of 

 the inside of the can in such cases is readily noted. Many shipments 

 of this class of products were refused entry, and it seems probable 

 that the method of packing these goods must be changed. The 

 examination of fish, sardines, etc., put up in oil shows that, as a rule, 

 they do not contain tin to any extent, the oil acting as a protecting 

 coating to the tin. 



A survey of the work of the year shows that certain forms of 

 adulteration common at the beginning of the inspection work are 

 noAv exceedingly rare, such as the mixture of olive oil with other oils, 

 for instance, only one sample being found thus adulterated. Cheeses 

 made from skim milk are now generally properly labeled, and the 

 nse of boric and salicylic acids as preservatives has been practically 

 eliminated, only one case being reported. 



EXAMINATION OF DAIRY PRODUCTS UNDER THE LAW. 



Of the dairy products entering into interstate commerce, special 

 attention has been given to various brands of cheese of domestic 

 origin labeled as a foreign article. Many instances of this form of 

 misibranding have been brought to the attention of the manufacturer, 

 and the necessary changes made in the labels. In one case where the 

 label of an Austrian variety of cheese was made use of on a domestic 

 product, the foreign label has been discarded entirely, while others 

 have only modified the wording of their labels, substituting English 

 for foreign words. 



Consideration has also been given to the subject of short weights 

 in the case of the American Cheddar variety of cheese. It appears to 

 be the universal custom of the trade to pay for cheese on the basis of 

 the marks of boxes, which represent the weights at the time of ship- 

 ment from the factory; unless the consignee uses the precaution to 

 reweigh or check these weights a considerable shortage is often shown, 

 due to shrinkage while in storage. Improvement has been made in 

 this form of misbranding, in that most consignments of cheese are re- 

 weighed at the time they enter interstate commerce. Considerable 

 deception is still practiced in labeling whole milk cheese as " cream 

 cheese." One company making a well-known variety has removed 

 the word cream from their labels. 



The examination of fresh marketed milk entering interstate com- 

 merce has been continued during the year. Milks marketed in Boston 

 and Cincinnati were examined in collaboration with the inspection 

 laboratories in the cities named. The adulteration of milk by water- 

 ing for city consumption is found to be still prevalent, though a 

 marked imjprovement from a chemical standpoint is noted in the 



