FOOD AND DRUG INSPECTION. 5 



sale of^commercial feeding stuffs; the Maine law regulating the sale of commercial 

 fertilizers; the Maine law regulating the sale of agricultural seeds.)" 

 Tojae signed, etc., as under (1). 



The; Work of the Inspector. 



From July I, 1907, to the end of the year, most of the time 

 of the inspector was used in connection with food and drug 

 inspection. During this time he visited the dealers at least once 

 in about 175 of the cities and larger towns of the State. There 

 are in the neighborhood of 5,000 dealers in the State handling 

 foods and drugs. Approximately two-thirds of these places 

 have been visited by the inspector. There is, of course, a large 

 amount of misunderstanding on the part of dealers regarding 

 the law and doubtless there are many goods on the shelves of 

 retailers that are being unlawfully sold. There is, however, a 

 gratifying disposition on the part of the great majority of the 

 trade to conform strictly to the requirements of the Maine Food 

 and Drug Law so far as they are understood. The inspector 

 has reported approximately 450 violations. These, however, 

 were for the most part technical and the matter has been cleared 

 up and adjusted by correspondence and either the goods were 

 withdrawn from sale or were properly branded. 



The inspector has during the past six months taken about 600 

 samples of foods of which about two-thirds have been analyzed. 

 Most of the analyses so far as they are completed, are reported 

 in the present bulletin. Following up the reports of the 

 inspector has taken a large amount of office time and involved 

 the writing of more than 1,500 letters. There have been no 

 prosecutions as yet and only in a few instances has it been neces- 

 sary to appoint private hearings as a preliminary step to the 

 prosecution, as outlined in section 7 of the law. 



Dyes, Chemicals and Preservatives in Food. 

 By the law and by the different food inspection decisions of 

 the U. S. Secretary of Agriculture which have been adopted 

 for Maine, no drug or chemical may be used in foods. Com- 

 mon salt, sugar, wood smoke, potable distilled liquors, vinegar 

 and condiments may be used. Pending further investigation, 

 the use of saltpeter is allowed and in certain cases (See F. I. D. 

 j6) sulphur dioxide may be used. In the pack of 1907 it w T as 



