KPORT ON THK EXTENT AND CHARACTER OF FOOD AND DRUG 



ADULTERATION, 



By ALEX. .7. WEDHERBURN. 



INTRODUCTORY, 



The discussion of food adulteration in this country and the couse- 

 uent agitation of the subject have drawn the attention of foreigners 



the fact that adulteration exists among us to a greater or less 

 .egree, and the result is that the foreign competitors of our manufactur- 



1 s of food products have used the fact to their own advantage, and 

 America to-day occupies the unenviable position of being one of the 

 ery few countries of Christendom that fail to require by law the 

 i roper branding of their manufactured food and drugs. Whether such 

 equirements would accomplish the desired result is beyond the power 

 f anyone to say, but the evil would no doubt be mitigated by whole- 

 oine legislation, and this belief is sustained by the results of the food 

 iiws of England and other foreign countries, as well as of the various 

 Kates. The concurrent testimony of State officials charged with the 

 mforcement of State and local laws is that a national law is necessary 

 K) secure the proper enforcement of State laws. No well-informed 

 institutional lawyer will dispute the fact that so long as the " origi- 

 itil -package" decision stands as law, it will be impossible for any 

 State, no matter how stringent its laws, or how efficient its officers, to 

 ally execute them. If this be true, and the fact be established that 

 idulterations exist to any considerable extent or that they are harmful to 

 aealth, morals, or industry, and the writer believes the facts sustain the 

 assertion, then the need for a Federal law is imperative. There can be 

 no doubt that the effort to purge the country of this crime is doing 

 ?ood and aids in keeping down the adulteration of the products we 

 Consume, but each year brings to light new articles in which some 

 intelligent "artist" has discerned a method to improve the profit if not 

 the quality of the article sold. 



That almost every article of food and drug used in our country is 

 adulterated to a greater or less extent is proved most conclusively by 

 i vast amount of information gathered upon the subject by the Divi- 

 sion of Chemistry of the Department of Agriculture, and referred to 



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