INSPECTION OF COMMERCIAL FEEDSTUFFS 



By Philip H. Smith > 



This Feed Control Bulletin, the forty-fourth published, summarizes the work 

 of feed control service for the year beginning September 1, 1937. The results of 

 the inspection indicate an average high quality for the goods offered. The fact 

 should be borne in mind, however, that inferior feeds may be sold which con- 

 form to every requirement of the feeding stuffs act, and that about all the act 

 can expect to accomplish is, through correct labeling, to furnish the purchaser 

 with information which will enable him to purchase wisely for his needs. 



During the past season, acting in cooperation with the Federal Food and 

 Drugs Administration, eight cars of feed consisting for the most part of ground 

 oats and oat products were seized and withdrawn from the market on account 

 of suspected adulteration. The case against the shipper is still pending. 



In order to determine the Vitamin A potency of alfalfa and alfalfa leaf meal 

 found in dealers' stocks, some thirty samples were drawn by our inspector and 

 subjected to tests by the nutrition laboratory. The results are published in this 

 bulletin. Wide variations were found. Due to the fact that these products 

 may be entirely satisfactory when originally shipped and then through age and 

 improper storage lose much of their vitamin value, the names of the shippers 

 are not given. 



Recent research has indicated that a deficiency of manganese in chick rations 

 may give rise to slipped tendons and other poultry disorders. For this reason 

 many manufacturers are now adding small amounts of manganese sulphate to 

 their feeds. We have made an attempt to discover the normal manganese con- 

 tent of commercial poultry rations and have also determined the manganese 

 content of the ingredients ordinarily used in making such rations. Our results 

 are found elsewhere in this bulletin. As so much depends upon individual con- 

 ditions under which chicks are raised, it is not believed to be possible to state 

 with any degree of accuracy the minimum manganese content necessary in a 

 ration. 



A considerable proportion of the cottonseed meal found was off in color and 

 did not therefore conform to the grade of the National Cottonseed Products 

 Association under which it was sold. While dark color in cottonseed meal may 

 not indicate an injurious product if the color is due to causes other than rotting 

 and fermentation, the fact remains that a National Association has established 

 recognized grades in which color is one of the factors which should be recognized, 

 not only in dealings between individual members of the Association, but by 

 other jobbers and dealers to whom they sell. "Off color" meal is or should be 

 sold at a discount. 



Much feed is sold in Massachusetts mixed to formula furnished by the buyer. 

 Competition is keen and occasionally such mixtures are sold at a price which 

 allows nothing for profit or overhead if the ration is prepared as ordered. Buyers 

 should beware of such prices. The Massachusetts Feeding Stuffs Act affords 

 no protection to the purchaser of mixed-to-order formulas except as to basic 



1 The following staff members assisted in the in:-pection: Albert F. Spelman, John W. Kuzmeski 

 and Leo V. Crowley, chemists; Frederick A. McLaughlin, micoscopist ; James T. Howard, in- 

 spector; Cora B. Grover, clerk. 



