be deemed adulterated, and what articles of each shall be deemed misbranded. It is provided that:

"The term "misbranded" as used herein, shall apply to all drugs, or articles of food, or articles which enter into the composition of food, the package or label of which shall bear any statement, design or device regarding such article, or the ingredients or substances contained therein which shall be false or misleading in any particular.'

"And further, if the package fail to bear a statement on the label of the quantity or proportion of any alcohol,' and other specified substances contained therein. Counsel insist that these provisions do not directly require a label, and that, in order to warrant prosecution, the provision should have been, in effect:

"For the purposes of this Act an article shall also be deemed to be misbranded: In cases of drugs

if

the package or other container thereof fail to bear a label.' "I think this is too technical, even under the strict rules. governing the construction of criminal statutes. Suppose the provision had read, 'if the package fail to bear a statement on a label of the quantity of alcohol,' etc., would it not as well meet the view of counsel? A label is defined by Webster to be a slip of paper, parchment, etc., affixed to anything, and indicating the contents, ownership, destination,' etc. The use of the word itself, therefore, carries the meaning that it is a descriptive paper affixed to the package, and in express terms the Act requires the descriptive matter borne by the paper to include the statement of how much alcohol, etc., is contained in the package. It does not seem to me that the ruling in the case of United States v. Twenty Boxes of Corn Whisky1 can be made at all applicable here. There an entirely different character of statute was being construed. It did not attempt to bar from interstate commerce the article unbranded, but only to bar the shipment 'under any other than the proper name or brand known to the trade,' of spirituous or fermented liquors or wines. This statute was unquestionably passed to prevent fraud upon the revenue, 1 133 Fed. 910, 67 C. C. A. 214.

and not as a regulation of interstate commerce. It follows that the first ground of defense must be unavailing.''

"The following is an extract from a letter recently received:

'We do not understand the requirements of the regulations respecting the arrangement of labels; that is, the order in which the various features of the labels should be arranged.'

"To meet the requests for the opinion of the Department regarding the proper arrangement of a label, the following order is suggested:

"1. Name of substance or product.

"2. In case of foods, words which indicate that the articles are compounds, mixtures or blends, and the word 'Imitation,' 'Compound' or 'Blend,' as the case may be.

"3. Statements designating the quantity or proportion of the ingredients enumerated in the law, or derivatives and preparations of same,1 as mentioned under Regulation 28; also statements of other extraneous substances whose presence should be declared, such as harmless coloring matter, or any necessary statement regarding grade or quality.

"(The statements specified in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 should appear together, without any intervening descriptive or explanatory matter.)

"4. Name of manufacturer (if given).

"5. Place of manufacture (if given, when required in case of food mixtures or compounds bearing a distinctive name). "It is stated in Regulation 17 that if the name of the manufacturer and place of manufacture be given they should appear upon the principal label. Although the law does not require that the name of the manufacturer be given, or the place of manufacture, except in case of food mixtures and

2 United States v. Knowlton Danderine Co., 170 Fed. 449; N. J. 284; affirmed 175 Fed. 1022.

1 Attention is called to the fact

that the declaration of alcohol and its derivatives is not required in foods.

compounds having a distinctive name, it is held that if they are given they must be true, and should be placed with the required information on the principal label. The arrangement of the label is the same for both food and drug products, and an example of each is given.

"Any descriptive or explanatory matter that may appear on the principal label, therefore, should be placed at the bottom of the label, or between No. 3 and No. 4, and should be clearly separated from other features of the label by means

of a suitable line or space. Statements regarding the reason for using alcohol, artificial coloring matter, and other extraneous substances, come under the head of descriptive or explanatory matter, and should not be interspersed with the declarations required under Nos. 2 and 3.

"The information called for under No. 3 should be so worded as to give only the required information, as, for example, 'alcohol 17 percent' or 'artificially colored.' All numbers used in expressing quantity or proportion of substances required to be stated (see Regulation 28) should be expressed in the Arabic notation.

"Each substance required to be declared under No. 3 should be printed on a separate line and in type specified in Regulation 17 (c)."

§ 263. The Package to Be Labeled.

The provisions of the Act concerning labeling applies directly to the original package, which is the case, box, barrel, in which cans, bottles, cartons or other retail packages are shipped from the manufacturer, producer or packer to the jobber, wholesaler or retailer, or from the jobber or wholesaler to his customer. They also apply to individual cans, bottles, cartons and other packages enclosed in a case, box, barrel or outer package. This is unquestionably true of food products or drugs shipped into or out of the District of Columbia or into or out of any Territory.

§ 264. Approval of Labels.

"Numerous requests are referred to this Department for the approval of labels to be used in connection with articles of food and drugs under the Food and Drugs Act of June 30, 1906. This Act does not authorize the Secretary of Agriculture nor any agent of the Department to approve labels. The Department therefore will not give its approval to any label. Any printed matter upon the label implying that this Department has approved it will be without warrant. It is

1 F. I. D. 52.

believed that with the law and the regulations before him the manufacturer will have no difficulty in arranging his label in harmony with the requirements set forth. If there be questions on which there is doubt respecting the general character of labels, decisions under the Food and Drugs Act will be rendered, of a public character, and published from time to time, covering such points.""

§ 265. Substance Named on Label Not the Leading One in the Article.

If the substance named on the label is not the leading one in the article of food, and is so small a part thereof as to constitute but a very small fraction of such article, then it is misbranded, for the manufacturer has no right to thus deceive the public. Such would be the case with extract of lemon, where the lemon juice was but a small fraction of the total amount of the product. In one of the food decisions it was said: "It is further held that the use of an ingredient in small quantity simply for the purpose of naming it in the list of ingredients would be contrary to the intent of the law, and therefore that the ingredients must be used in quantities which would justify the appearance of their names upon the label.1

§ 266. Distinctive Names of Foods.

Any mixture or compound of food which does not contain any added poisonous or deleterious ingredient can not be deemed misbranded if under its own "distinctive name,' "and not an imitation of or offered for sale under the distinctive name of another article, if the name be accompanied on the same label or brand with a statement of the place where said article has been manufactured or produced."

1 F. I. D. 41.

1 F. I. D. 42; F. I. D. 99; F. I. D. 98.

But if the dictum in United States v. American Druggists' Syndicate, 186 Fed. 387, is to be fol

lowed, these rulings of the Agricultural Department may be regarded as of doubtful soundness. See Section 405.

1 Section 8.