UNITED STAGES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
« BULLETIN No. 1009 | 
Y^S^* Contribution from the Bureau of Chemistry % 
J&? m< $&U W. G. CAMPBELL, Acting Chief J&£'<$&U 
Washington, D. C. 
PROFESSIONAL PAPER 
December 16, 1921 
VOLUME VARIATION OF BOTTLED FOODS. 
By H. Runkel, 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 
tbe volume of bottled foods 
Pago. 
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. 
68708°— 21 1 
