8 BULLETIN 1084, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



can, and then weigh separately the fruit or vegetables after the 

 brine or sirup has been drained off ; also weigh the empty cans. 



The inspector should know the standard drained weights for the 

 various fruits and vegetables in cans of different sizes. The Bureau 

 of Chemistry has published standards of drained weight for a num- 

 ber of fruits and vegetables, copies of which may be obtained upon 

 application to the bureau. If the department in which the inspector 

 is working does not have standards of its own, the standards adopted 

 by the Bureau of Chemistry will be found useful as a guide. 



Both short weight and slack fill may be due to lack of proper 

 control of the filling operation, to carelessness in the control of the 

 filling operation, or to deliberate intention to put in short weight or 

 too much brine or sirup. Spoilage may be due to underprocessing r 

 to defective containers, or to the use of imperfect or unfit mate- 

 rials. If, in examining the finished product, the inspector finds 

 any evidence of short weight, slack fill, or spoilage, he should en- 

 deavor to ascertain the cause, if his inspection up to this point has 

 not already indicated it. 



GRADES. 



The lack of standardization of grades for fruits and vegetables 

 makes it difficult for the inspector to detect any but the more glaring 

 misstatements regarding grades. The grades for fruits and vege- 

 tables vary not only in different sections of the country but even 

 with different packers in the same section. Furthermore, one pack- 

 er's grades not infrequently vary from year to year. This is some- 

 times due to the variations in the fruits and vegetables caused by 

 differing seasons or other factors in the growing of crops. Until 

 grades have been legally standardized, the food-law official can do 

 little more than prevent flagrant misbranding in this respect. The 

 matter of variations in grade can usually be settled between buyer 

 and seller by price adjustment. 



If the fruits and vegetables in the can are good and wholesome, 

 the question of whether they are the highest grade or the standard 

 grade, under existing conditions, makes little difference, so long as 

 they are not misbranded and are sold for a price that is fair for 

 the grade in the can. Injury is done to the consumer when the 

 canner attempts to put out a standard grade for an extra fancy 

 grade, at the price of the extra fancy grade. The question of how 

 much the inspector may really do in the matter of grades depends, 

 of course, upon the terms of the law under which he is operating. 



The inspector should know how many grades are being put up by 

 the canner and how each grade is designated on the label. Watch 

 particularly for the tendency to make a lower grade appear on the 

 labels as a higher grade. Grading for size is largely done by ma- 



