INSPECTION OF COMMERCIAL FEEDSTUFFS 



By Feed Control Service Staff: 



John W. Kuzmeski, Research Professor, Official Chemist 



Albert F. Spclman, Associate Research Professor 



C. Tyson Smith, Associale Research Professor, Microscopisl 



Robert T. 'Vetherbee, Assistant Research Professor 



Joseph Bai., Research Instructor 



Bertram Ge sten, Research Instructor 



Joseph Conklin. In'^pector 



Edward F. Vlach, Technical Assistant 



Cora B. Grover, Principal Clerk 



INTRODUCTION 



From time to time in past issues of this bulletin the changing pattern of feed 

 control work has been discussed. It has been pointed out that feeds now must be an- 

 alyzed for nutritional and disease prevention factors unknown only a few years ago. 



Present nutritional knowledge extends far beyond the crude protein, fat, and 

 fiber stage. Yet most mixed feed tags, so far as quantitative guarantees are con- 

 cerned, still reflect only the nutritional facts known in the "horse and buggy" 

 days of forty or fifty years ago. It is true that the tags contain a qualitative listing 

 of all the recently discovered nutritional and other factors now being put into feeds. 

 This is no insurance, however, that these factors are present in the proper amounts. 



Under present tag requirements it is possible for a feed containing the essentia' 

 factors in amounts far below those recommended by nutritionists to indicate truth- 

 fully on its tag exactly the same guarantees and list of ingredients as those carried 

 on the tag of a feed mixed in strict accordance with nutritional recommendations. 

 Obviously such tag information is of little value to the purchaser in helping him to 

 distinguish between a good and an inferior feed. Equally obvious is the fact that 

 the situation can be remedied by requiring that the tag contain either the quanti- 

 tative declaration of the more important nutritional factors or a statement that the 

 feed meets the minimum nutritional requirements established by either the National 

 Research Council or a similar organization. 



Under such a system the qualitative listing of some of the ingredients at present 

 would be unnecessary. In time, as the frontiers of nutritional knowledge are 

 pushed back still farther, perhaps the listing of most ingredients eventually may be 

 omitted. If it is known that all essential factors are present in the proper amounts 

 it is relatively unimportant to know what ingredients are used to furnish these 

 factors. This would not only allow the manufacturer more freedom in the selec- 

 tion and substitution of ingredients but would work to the advantage of the farmer 

 by enabling the manufacturer to take full advantage of price fluctuations in the 

 cost of ingredients. 



POISON CASES 



The cases described here do not include all those submitted to the Control 

 Service during the past year. The first three have been selected because they 

 illustrate best that most instances of livestock poisoning can be prevented if farm- 

 ers and others are a little more careful in handling and disposing of insecticides, 

 weed killers, lead paint, etc. 



