TWENTY-FIRST ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART VI 481 



CLEAN FOODS. 



When sanitary laws were first proposed many people considered it a 

 fad of short life but time has demonstrated that there was real need for 

 this sort of legislation. One can easily remember seeing candies spread 

 out in great array upon long counters unprotected from flies, dust and 

 the fingers of customers. 



Bakery goods were likewise displayed in the open where the flies flew 

 from the dirt in the street or neighboring dung hill and fed upon unpro- 

 tected foods which we were compelled to buy. Screens were often miss- 

 ing upon doors and windows of many places where foods were offered for 

 sale. 



Contrast these conditions with what we find today. Candy and bakery 

 goods, meats and all foods, unprotected with a rind, are in clean glass 

 cases away from the flies and dust, reducing the danger of spreading 

 disease to the minimum. It will also be noticed that street displays are 

 raised at least two feet from the sidewalks. The open barrels and boxes 

 of food have vanished from the grocery stores and appear in inviting 

 sanitary containers uncontaminated with the dust of the street and store 

 and the vermin of cats, rats and mice. The slaughter house where our 

 meat is prepared has changed from the tumble-down shack to a real 

 building, with cracks sealed and screens on the doors and windows and 

 the awful stench of decaying waste is not noticeable. The health of the 

 public is safeguarded by this law and the old order has gone never to 

 return. 



EGG INSPECTION. 



The Iowa Egg Law is generally conceded to be one of the best in the 

 country. While its requirements are extremely moderate, they are never- 

 theless rigidly enforced as is attested by the fact that no fewer than 

 fifty-eight dealers were prosecuted for its violation during the past year 

 and a half. This law differs very little from the so-called Uniform Egg 

 Law which has been agitated for some time. Missouri, South Dakota and 

 Illinois have also adopted similar laws, and when the other states have 

 followed suit, it will greatly facilitate the regulation of eggs entering into 

 interstate commerce. 



The high price of eggs during the last two years has caused the ap- 

 pearance on the market of so-called egg substitutes under various trade 

 names. This department has ruled that the word "egg" can not be used 

 on packages of these products unless they contain at least 50% of dried 

 egg. Our examination has shown that most of them contain little or no 

 dried egg but are composed principally of corn starch with small amounts 

 of rice flour, dried milk and sometimes baking powder. In the majority 

 of cases they are a fraud as they are in no sense a substitute for eggs. 

 If the housewife wishes this kind of a mixture she has most of the in- 

 gredients in her kitchen. As long as these preparations are properly 

 labeled, the department cannot prevent their sale. 



While reliable information showing the number of eggs produced is 

 not available, Iowa probably ranks flrst as an egg producing state. The 



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