REPOET OF THE SECEETARY. 205 



jmrity and bring them up to a standard that will be in harmony with 

 the law. 



Among the important scientific investigations which have resulted 

 in direct action under the food and drugs act may be mentioned that 

 of the shellfish industry. In collaboration with the Oyster Packers' 

 and Growers' Association, a number of experimental shipments were 

 made on a commercial scale, oysters being taken from several locali- 

 ties of the United States and shipped by the different methods in 

 ordinary practice. Chemical and bacteriological examinations were 

 made of the oysters before and after shipping. Action was taken to 

 stop practices in washing, packing, and shipping which were shown 

 to be detrimental to the product. Extended investigations have also 

 been made of the pollution of oyster beds from sewage, and action has 

 been taken to prevent the shipment of oysters from such beds. 



The efTect of cold storage on various food products has been the sub- 

 ject of extended study, and much valuable data have been secured. 



As a result of other investigations, seizures and prosecutions have 

 been made of a long line of food and drug products, among which 

 may be mentioned eggs well advanced in decomposition which are 

 broken and sold in bulk in a frozen condition, figs, olives, and 

 various kinds of dried fruit, and flour badly infested with insects. 

 Coffee glazed with chrome yellow, macaroni colored with a poisonous 

 coloring matter for the purpose of simulating the rich color given 

 by eggs, and flour bleached by nitrogen peroxid for the purpose of 

 simulating the white color of the patent flour from certain wheats 

 are other examples. 



The milk supply received from neighboring States has been in- 

 vestigated in a number of large cities, and several successful prosecu- 

 tions have been maintained for "the shipment in interstate commerce 

 of milk adulterated by watering, skimming, or prepared in such in- 

 sanitary surroundings that it was not suitable for consumption. 



Important work has been done toward prohibiting the shipment 

 in interstate commerce of misbranded and adulterated stock feed, 

 mineral waters, flavoring extracts, dairy products, sugar and 

 molasses, medicated soft drinks, vinegar, drugs, fake cures, and 

 poisonous colors. The few illustrations suggest the many lines along 

 which the work is directed. 



CONSTRUCTIVE SCIENTIFIC FOOD WORK. 



It has been found that by far the larger number of food manu- 

 facturers and dealers desire to comply fully with the law and to 

 handle only pure and standard products. Many of them, however, 

 owing to lack of technical knowledge or suitable equipment or ad- 

 verse local conditions, have experienced difficulty in reaching the 



