IMITATION BUTTER, OLEOMARGARINE, ETC.

Almost every State and Territory in the Union has a special provision in its laws regarding imitations of butter. Many of these provisions are highly elaborate. In more than half of the States it is declared that imitations of butter must be wholly free from coloration. Most of the great dairy States have this provision. A common form of the law is to prohibit the manufacture or sale of any compound of fats, in imitation of butter, not produced wholly from pure milk or cream, with the proviso that oleomargarine may be sold in separate form, in such manner as to advise the consumer of its true character, free from coloration or from any ingredient which makes it look like butter. In other States it is declared that no person shall mix any combination of fats not produced from pure milk or cream with annatto or other coloring substances or with genuine butter, so as to make the product resemble butter.

A large proportion of the States which thus provide that imitations of butter shall be free from coloring add further that they shall be labeled distinctly to show their true character. In some cases the label must be "substitute for butter;" in other cases "oleomargarine," while a few States allow various alternative phrases to be used. Such labels must be placed conspicuously upon the original package, often in two or more places, and retail sales must be accompanied by a wrapper or label of a similar character. The size of type is generally prescribed where labels are required. A half dozen of the States which forbid the coloring of imitation butter content themselves with a further prohibition upon the sale of imitation butter as genuine, without distinctly prescribing the method of marking it.

Vermont, South Dakota, and West Virginia require oleomargarine to be colored pink. In 13 States, the most important of which are California, Indiana, and Michigan, the law does not prohibit the coloration of imitation butter but merely requires it to be labeled properly. The provisions regarding these labels correspond closely with those already referred to. Of these 13 States, California, North Carolina, and Michigan further require the names of the ingredients of imitation butter to be placed upon the label. And there is a similar requirement in Ohio, where the coloration of oleomargarine is also prohibited.

Two or three States merely prohibit the sale of imitations of butter without more specific provisions. It is probable that these laws would be construed to permit the sale of oleomargarine in distinct form.

More than two-thirds of the States which have laws directed against the manufacture and sale of imitation butter add a provision that keepers of hotels, boarding houses, and other places of public entertainment, who use or serve such imitation, must give notice of the fact to their guests, either verbally or by printing upon the bill of fare or by posting a conspicuous notice in prescribed type, or sometimes by all of these methods. In California, New York, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Wisconsin it is unlawful to use imitation butter or cheese in any institution receiving State support. Several States, notably Connecticut, Massachusetts, Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin, further require that all places where oleomargarine or similar substances are sold shall maintain conspicuous notices to that effect. Pennsylvania and Nebraska require manufacturers and dealers in imitation butter to obtain a State license, paying fees of considerable amount. In Connecticut, New York, Minnesota, and one or two other States the law declares that the words "butter," "dairy," "creamery," or any name or representation of a breed of dairy cattle, shall not be used in connection with imitations of butter.

California, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin have recently enacted laws regarding what is known as "process butter" or boiled buttermade by melting down original stock butter, usually of an inferior character,

and mixing it with milk and reworking it into the form of butter. These States require that butter produced in this way shall be conspicuously labeled "process butter" or "renovated butter."

IMITATION AND FILLED CHEESE.

Laws regarding the adulteration or imitation of cheese are less generally found than those regarding imitation butter. In eight of the States the laws already described regarding imitation butter embrace also imitation cheese; it is thus unlawful to color any imitation to resemble genuine cheese, and labels of imitations are required. In six other States there are separate provisions prohibiting the sale of imitation cheese as genuine, while two States require that it shall be conspicuously labeled as such. 'Imitation" in these States seems usually to include what is elsewhere defined as "filled" cheese. Several of the leading dairy States, notably Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin, prohibit the sale of "filled cheese," that is, cheese into which melted butter or animal fats or oils have been introduced. In Ohio and New Hampshire filled cheese may be sold if labeled conspicuously as such.

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BRANDING OF CHEESE.

California, Colorado, Michigan, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin, all important dairy States, provide for the branding of cheese. Full cream cheese is defined in some of these States as that made from milk from which no cream has been removed, or milk conforming to the legal standard. In other States it is defined as cheese containing a certain percentage of fats to total solids or to total weight; these percentages differ materially. Nearly all the States named authorize and some of them require the branding of full cream cheese as such, usually with the name of the State added. Stencils for this purpose are in many cases furnished by State authorities. In four of these States it is required that cheese made from skimmed milk shall be conspicuously labeled "skimmed cheese," and there is a similar provision as to skimmed cheese in two or three States which have no other restrictions on this subject. California and Pennsylvania establish several different grades of cheese according to the percentage of fat, and require them to be labeled as such.

PURITY OF MILK.

Nearly all of the States have laws prohibiting the adulteration of milk, or the sale of adulterated milk, and most of them add a prohibition against the sale of impure or unwholesome milk. In many States detailed definitions are given as to what constitutes adulterated or impure or unwholesome milk. Thus milk is considered adulterated if water or any other foreign substance is added to it. It is considered unwholesome if taken from cows having diseases, sores, etc., or within 15 days before or 4 or 5 days after parturition, or from cows which are fed upon any substance in a state of putrefaction or otherwise tending to produce unwholesome milk. A number of the States specially declare that milk from cows fed on brewery or distillery waste shall be considered unwholesome. A smaller number of States have laws prohibiting the keeping of cows which are used to produce milk for sale in stables which are crowded or otherwise unhealthy, and further prohibiting the sale of milk from cows kept in such conditions, while two or three also forbid the sale of milk exposed to exhalations, etc., from persons having contagious diseases.

In several States the sale of skimmed milk or milk from which the strippings have been withheld is prohibited, though it is possible that the courts would interpret this provision to mean that such milk must not be sold as pure. The

laws of several other States contain such a modifying provision, declaring that skimmed milk may be sold only with notice to the purchaser of its character. In fully half of the States, including most of the leading dairy States and those containing large cities, skimmed milk may be sold only from cans or vessels conspicuously marked, in prescribed type, with the words "skimmed milk." The New York law especially declares that skimmed milk shall not be sold at all in Greater New York, but may be sold as such in other parts of the State.

About half of the States, including the most populous and important ones, define the standard of milk in terms of the proportion of butter fat and of total solids to the entire weight of the milk. The most common requirement is that milk shall contain not less than 3 per cent of butter fat, but the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Minnesota require 3.5 per cent, while Massachusetts requires 3.7 per cent. The standard for total solids including fat is 11.5 per cent in 1 State, 12 per cent in 4 States, 12.5 per cent in 6 States, and 13 per cent in 3 States (Massachusetts, Minnesota, and New Hampshire).

Several of the leading dairy States have provisions also regarding creameries and cheese factories, regulating the method of testing, weighing, and accounting for milk, and prohibiting the conversion of milk or its products, when received in trust for manufacture for the benefit of the owner, to the use of any other person. In a few cases the law declares that creameries and utensils used in connection with them must be kept in a clean and sanitary condition.

The enforcement of the law regarding the purity of milk is often placed in the hands of local inspectors or boards of health, even in States having central dairy officers. In California State inspectors of milk are provided for, while in Iowa, Minnesota, and Washington persons selling milk in cities are required to obtain licenses from the State authorities, which are also charged with the enforcement of the laws as to milk. The dairy laws of Connecticut, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island authorize or require local governments to appoint inspectors of milk and prescribe the powers of these inspectors. In several of these States it is further provided that keepers of dairies must obtain licenses or permits. It should be noted also that the laws regarding municipal corporations frequently contain provisions authorizing them to regulate the adulteration and sale of milk, and to inspect it.

CHEMICAL PRESERVATIVES IN DAIRY PRODUCTS.

Several States (Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin) expressly prohibit the use of certain enumerated or other injurious chemicals in milk, butter, or other dairy products. These chemicals are mostly such as are used for preserving these products.

I. TABULAR SUMMARY OF LAWS OF THE STATES AND TERRITORIES

RELATING TO THE ADULTERATION OF FOODS GENERALLY.