6 MAINE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. I908. 



lawful to use sodium bezoate in quantites not exceeding one- 

 tenth of one per cent in such food and food products as it has 

 been generally used in the past. The label must distinctly state 

 that it has been so preserved. The list of the coal tar dyes 

 which can be lawfully used are also given in F. I. D. 76. 



In order to learn to what extent this law was being complied 

 with, samples of sausages, salt fish, opened oysters and clams 

 were purchased in the fall of 1907. It was found in a few 

 instances that boric acid was being used in salt fish. Corres- 

 pondence led to the agreement of the packers that they would 

 stop this practice. In a few cases opened oysters were found to 

 carry boric acid. This matter was taken up by correspondence 

 and affidavits were obtained from the dealers and packers that 

 the practice would be stopped. The sausages were for the most 

 part found to be free from preservatives, but many of them 

 carried starch showing that a cereal had been used in their 

 manufacture. In some instances these were properly branded 

 and in other cases they were not. Correspondence led to the 

 obtaining of affidavits which promised that in the future the 

 goods would be true to name and lawfully branded. 



The tables on pages 7 to 14 give the results of the analyses of 

 the samples of salt fish, clams, oysters, scallops and sausages 

 examined. 



