UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



jdfy^&su 



BULLETIN No. 



Contribution from the Bureau of Chemistry 

 W. G. CAMPBELL, Acting Chief 





Washington, D. C. 



PROFESSIONAL PAPER 



December 16, 1921 



VOLUME VARIATION OF BOTTLED FOODS. 



By H. Rtjnkel, Assistant Chemist, and J. C. Munch, Junior Chemist. 



CONTENTS. 



Purpose of investigation 



Some causes of variation in volume 



of food in bottles 



Bottle manufacture 



Bottle filling 



Types of bottles 



" Good commercial practice " in 



bottling 



Calculated maximum variation in 

 the volume of bottled foods 



Page. 



Page. 



Experimental results 12 



Variation in capacity of bottles_ 12 

 Variation in volume of bottled 



foods 14 



Relation between the calculated 

 maximum variation and tem- 

 porary methods of meeting 



the declared volume 17 



Practical application of results 19 



Summary 19 



Literature cited 20 



PURPOSE OF INVESTIGATION. 



The amount of variation which occurs in the volume of bottled 

 foods packed under conditions of "good commercial practice" is 

 often the subject of controversy among the bottler, the food official, 

 and the bottle manufacturer. The Bureau of Chemistry has made a 

 number of investigations on this subject. Some of these investiga- 

 tions have been somewhat disconnected, but the gaps existing in the 

 information thus obtained have been filled in, so far as possible, by 

 supplementary investigations. The prevalence of various methods 

 of packing bottled foods, prevalence of the various types of bottles 

 used for foods, prevalence of the different types of bottles manufac- 

 tured, types of filling machines, methods of manufacture, com- 

 mercial methods of purchasing and testing bottles, variations in ca- 

 pacity of bottles, variations in volume of contents of bottles of food, 

 and allied subjects have been studied to determine the difficulties 

 involved in packing bottled foods with a uniform quantity of con- 

 tents. Precaution has been taken to observe the obligations of the 

 bottler, the bottle manufacturer, and the food official to the consumer. 



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