OFFICIAL INSPECTIONS 78. 5 1 



cases of this nature, however, have not been frequent and early 

 in the investigation it was definitely decided that the retailers 

 were not wholly to blame and that evidently the clams were 

 being adulterated in the hands of the wholesalers. Accordingly, 

 charges were brought against wholesale dealers, not only as a 

 result of the analyses of samples obtained from their places of 

 business and actual observation of their methods, but for vio- 

 lations based upon the analyses of other samples taken from 

 retailers who had been supplied by these wholesale dealers and 

 to which sources the deficient samples were traced. As a result, 

 two large wholesale concerns were fined for such violations ; a 

 third concern doing a wholesale business was taken to court 

 and a fine with costs imposed, which was appealed. This case 

 was brought in the Portland muncipal court and appealed to the 

 May term of the superior court for Cumberland county but, 

 owing to the congestion of business, it was continued to the 

 September term and will probably be tried at that time. 



By virtue of the authority as collaborating official for the 

 Federal Department and with knowledge that the Federal statute 

 was being violated in shipping adulterated clams to interstate 

 points, the matter was communicated to the Federal authorities 

 at the nearest laboratory in Boston and as a result the offending 

 wholesalers were cited to hearing. 



In the settlement of the cases of violations and for the infor- 

 mation of the public, the following standards for shell fish have 

 been given ; these standards are available for distribution upon 

 application to this Bureau : 



Maine Department of Agriculture, 

 Bureau of Inspection. 

 Regulatory Announcement No. 130. 



Standards for Shell Fish. 



Authority for making rules governing the sale of any article 

 of food is given in a section of the statute quoted below : 



"Chapter 119, P. L. 1911 (As amended by P. L. 1913, chap- 

 ter 140.) Section 13: The commissioner of agriculture shall 

 make unform rules and regulations for carrying out the pro- 

 visions of this act. The said commissioner may also fix stand- 

 ards of purity, quality or strength when such standards are not 

 specified or fixed by law and shall publish them together with 



