PART IV. 

 FROM FACTORY TO CONSUMER 



CHAPTER XVI. 

 STAMPING 



Every well regulated condensing factory, selling condensed 

 milk in hermetically sealed tin cans, employs some system of 

 marking the cans. This is important for future reference. 



When defective condensed milk is returned to the factory, 

 the marks on the cans tell the manufacturer the date of manu- 

 facture, and his own record on file in the factory shows the con- 

 ditions under which the defective milk was made. In this way 

 defects can usually be traced to their causes and the recurrence 

 of similar trouble can be avoided. 



In some factories the batches of condensed milk are num- 

 bered from one up, and the cans are stamped with the respective 

 batch number. This method is simple but may prove undesirable, 

 since it informs the competitors also of the date of manufacture 

 of competing brands. In most factories a code of letters and 

 figures is used, designating the factory, the date, and the number 

 of the batch of each day. Thus for instance : a concern has three 

 factories, A, B and C. X stands for the current year, the letters 

 E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P indicate the twelve months 

 of the year, respectively, the figures 1, 2, 3, 4, etc., represent the 

 day of the month and also the batches of condensed milk made 

 in one day. 



Example : A can of condensed milk belongs to the second 

 batch made April 9, 1918, at factory B. The can would be 

 stamped as follows : B 9 H X 2. 



The cans are usually stamped on the bottom, that is, on the 

 end which carries the cap. The stamping is done by the sealer. 

 Small interchangeable rubber letters and figures are used. The 

 stamping ink should contain a drier and be waterproof. In small 

 factories the stamping is done by hand. It can be done very 



