No. 6 DEPARTMENT UF AGRICULTURE. 63 



storage warehouse and the cold storage process could be devised. On 

 the other hand, none of the substitutes which have been brougliL to 

 consideration of this office provides so adequately for the protection 

 of the people against the sale of cold storage foods as fresh, nor so 

 well provides for the tracing of cold storage foods from the wai-ehouse 

 to the consumer. The advantages of the present law in these two par- 

 ticulars are certainly very marked. 



The inspection of warehouses as to their equipment and sani- 

 tary condition continues to reveal a very satisfactory state of affairs. 

 The warehousemen show entire willingness to meet promptly any 

 reasonable suggestion in respect to sanitary conditions. The exam- 

 inations of cold stored foods have been very numerous, and the ex- 

 aminations of such foods by chemical experts were one hundred and 

 eight. Seventy-six cases were terminated for violation of the Cold 

 Storage Act of 1915; three because the foods were stored beyond 

 the legal limit; sixty-seven because the stamping requirements were 

 not observed; and five because cold storage eggs were sold as and 

 for fresh eggs. The difficulties of detection of cold stored eggs im- 

 ported from other states as fresh eggs have been, in part at least, 

 removed as the result of the investigations made by experts of this 

 Department. 



One hundred and sixty-eight examinations of market eggs were 

 made, of which one hundred and twenty-three represented fresh eggs 

 in shell, and the remainder either frozen, canned or opened stock. 

 The experts of the Bureau have given special attention to the means 

 of distinguishing between fresh eggs, held eggs, and cold storage eggs. 

 Especial recognition should be given to the work of Dr. F. T. Aschman 

 and Professor Charles H. La Wall in this relation. Seventeen cases 

 were terminated : fourteen of which were because of the sale of eggs 

 unfit for food purposes and three because of the having in possession 

 of rotten eggs not properly denatured. The conditions of the egg 

 supply in the markets and bakeries of our larger cities continue to 

 exhibit very marked improvement as the result of the enforcement 

 of the egg laws. 



From what has been stated above, it is very manifest that most of 

 the offenses charged under the Act of 1913 have been due to neglect of 

 the stamping requirements. There was found in the cold storage 

 warehouses a very much smaller amount of foods unfit for human 

 consumption, than was present at the time the law went into force. 

 The cold storage warehousemen cannot properly be held in equity 

 as wholly responsible for the overstorage of foods. This is clear when 

 it is recalled that the function of the warehouseman is simply to 

 rent clean, cool space. The overstorage of foods is chiefly the fault 

 of the renter. The fault is exclusively that of the warehouseman 

 only in those cases of which he is the owner of the food stuffs 

 stored. 

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