5F 268 .15 no. 4 Copy 1 B Oleomargarine Its Purity, Wholesomeness and Economic Importance BY J. S. ABBOTT Secretary, Institute of Margarin Manufacturers BULLETIN No. 4 Saptember 30, 1922 The object of this' bulletin is to set forth the fact that oleomargarine, also called margarin and margarine, is a clean, pure and MrKdfe^^a article of food, and that it is scientifically made^f th> f^|l|d products of American Agri- culture under goverau^qjiyt insbection. It therefore has a rightful place in ouiiii'dfet as $^1 as in our economic system. Issued by the INSTITUTE OF MARGARIN MANUFACTURERS 1212 Munsey Building Washington, D. C. Oleomargarine Its Purity, Wholesomeness and Economic Importance BY J. S. ABBOTT Secretary, Institute of Margartn Manufacturers BULLETIN No. 4 September 30, 1922 The object of this bulletin is to set forth the fact that oleomargarine, also called margarin and margarine, is a clean, pure and wholesome article of food, and that it is scientifically made of the food products of American Agri- culture under government inspection. It therefore has a rightful place in our diet as well as in our economic system. Issued by the INSTITUTE OF MARGARIN MANUFACTURERS 1212 Munsey Building Washington, D. C. IMPORTANCE OF FATTY FOODSTUFFS IN OUR DIET "An abundant supply of fat is of major impor- tance in the consideration of nutrition, whether of the individual or the nation. Not only are fats whole- some, palatable, and most useful in cooking, but many also carry fat-soluble vitamin A. "An adequate national food policy therefore re- quires that an abundant fat supply be maintained during peace times as well as during war, and there is justification for the efforts made to find new sources of food fats and to make better use of those we now have." — U. S. Dept. of Agr. Bulletin No. 1033, July 27, 1922. -y.«.^ Oleomargarine Its Purity, Wholesomeness, and Economic Importance By J. S. ABBOTT, Secretary, Institute of Margarin Manufacturers OLEOMARGARINE has been used in the United States for about fifty years. The annual consumption of it is from 100,000,000 to 400,000,000 pounds. Its composition, wholesomeness, food value, and economic importance are therefore worthy of careful considera- tion. There is no mystery about this product. The processes of man- ufacture are well known or can be easily ascertained. Its composi- tion is also well known. The government publishes annually not only the name but the quantity of each and every foodstuff used in its manufacture. By referring to Table I, it will be observed that they are fats, salt, and milk. These are pure and wholesome articles of food that are consumed in one form or another every day. Classes or Groups of Foodstuffs On the basis of their composition, foodstuffs have been divided into five classes, viz., protein, fats, carbohydrates, mineral matter, and water. In common language, according to the U. S. Food Leaflet No. 4, they are classified as follows: 1. Vegetables and fruits. 2. Milk, Eggs, Fish, Meat, Cheese, Beans, Peas, Peanuts. 3. Cereals — Corn meal. Oatmeal, Rice, Bread, etc. 4. Sugar, Sirups, Jelly, Honey, etc. 5. Fats — Butter, Margarine (also called margarin and oleo- margarine). Cottonseed oil, Olive oil, Drippings, Suet, Lard, Neutral lard, Peanut oil, Oleo oil. Com oO, Cocoa- nut oil, and many others. Functions of Fats as Food Oleomargarine belongs in that group of foodstuffs that has been designated Fats. It should always be considered on that basis and 3 with that fact in miad, for each class of foodstuffs performs a pretty definite function or functions in our bodies. The fats perform two distinct functions. They make the rest of our diet more palatable and they supply our bodies with energy, that is, heat and power to work. According to the best scientific information a pound of one kind of fat yields exactly the same amount of heat and muscular energy as a pound of any other kind of fat and one kind of fat is "digested with practically the same ease and completeness ' ' as any other kind of fat.^ See Table II. On the basis of the actual utility of a fat as a foodstuff, there is therefore no choice except in the matter of cleanli- ness, soundness, freedom from contamination, in short, safety as a food, price, convenience of handling, suitability for certain cooking purposes, and last but by no means least, palatability. Palatability of Fats Notwithstanding the fact that fats make the rest of our diet more palatable, fats themselves are not very palatable to the American people. Nobody in this country eats a fat or fatty foodstuff by itself. When eaten with the rest of our diet, the palatability of fatty food- stuffs depends upon their origin, upon the degree of their refinement, and upon the processes of their preparation. The refining processes may remove their flavor. In the making of mixtures or compounds in which fats are the chief constituents, desirable flavors may be im- parted to them. On this point, Holmes and Lang^ make the fol- lowing statement: "The flavors and odors of fats are probably due to the pres- ence in them of small amounts of difficultly removable substances rather than to specific properties of the pure fats themselves, in view of the fact that flavors and odors become much less noticeable the more completely the fats are purified. The characteristic flavor of butter, for example, is due to the absorption by the fat of the sub- stances formed in the fermentation of milk and cream by lactic acid and bacteria and to the presence of small particles of curd. ' ' How Oleomargarine is Made The basis of the modern methods of making oleomargarine and fthe reasons for making it are found in the foregoing statements which may be summed up briefly as follows: The digestibility and energy value of the several kinds of fats as 1 Dr. E. V, McCollum, The Day's Food in War and Peace by the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture and the U. S. 'Food Administration, 2 A. D. Holmes and H. L. Lang, Bui. 469, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 4 food are practically the same. Fats have very little if any flavor. De- sirable flavors can be imparted to them. The liquid fats can be easily changed into soft or hard fats. The oleomargarine manufac- turer's problem and his service to humanity is that of increasing our supply of fatty foodstuffs by utilizing our less expensive but equally valuable food fats by making them more palatable and by changing them from the inconvenient liquid form to a convenient soft or hard consistency. In making oleomargarine the manufacturer ripens clean pas- teurized milk under thoroughly sanitary conditions to the point that it will impart an agreeable flavor to the fats and oils which he pre- fers to use in his product. The mixture of ripened milk and fats and oils is then agitated, chilled, and worked to remove the excess water from it. It is salted to taste, cut or moulded into prints, and packed as it appears in commerce. The whole process seems very simple, but it is in reality a very scientific one. Every ingredient must be pure and clean. Temperatures must be exactly right. Machinery, buildings, and workmen must be clean. Even the air in the build- ings must be clean. Some factories pump the air through purifying machines into the manufacturing rooms. Government Supervision of Oleomargarine Manufacture The government supervision over these factories as well as over the manufacture of the product itself was well explained in the able address of Dr. E. P. Schaffter, Inspector in Charge, Bureau of Ani- mal Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, at the third annual convention of the Institute of Margarin Manufacturers. He ex- plained in detail the government supervision over every ingredient of oleomargarine that contains animal fat from its source clear through to the labeling of the finished product. The following excerpts from his address are sufficient to indicate the thoroughness of that super- vision in connection with oleo oil, neutral lard, milk and butter, as well as with the buildings themselves. Dr. Schaffter said: "My desire is to present to you in a brief and general way the inspection of the products entering into the composition of oleomar- garine, the character of the equipment for handling the ingredients used in its preparation, and the requirements as to sanitation in the establishments that operate under inspection. 5 ''Regulations governing meat inspection in the U. S. Department of Agriculture require, primarily, that the construction of establish- ments which operate under inspection must conform to a type that will readily permit of their being maintained in a clean and sanitary condition. Abundant light, both natural and artificial, and sufficient ventilation are required in all rooms and compartments. Efficient drainage and plumbing system, and all drains and gutters should be properly installed with approved traps and vents to insure proper sanitary conditions. The rooms and compartments in which any meat or products is prepared or handled should be free from odors from the dressing rooms, toilets, etc. * * * ''The water supply shall be ample, clean and potable. Equip- ment and utensils used for preparing, processing and otherwise han- dling meat or meat products shall be of such materials and construc- tion as will make them susceptible of being readily and thoroughly cleaned. Special reference is made to the need of properly con- structed equipment for pumping or otherwise conveying milk or cream or a mixture containing milk and cream through pipes or open con- ductors. The pumps, pipes, conductors and fittings shall be of sani- tary construction. * * * "The scope of inspection of the products entering into the com- position of oleomargarine in reality begins with the ante-mortem in- spection and continues throughout its various phases of processing and handling until it has reached that stage where the label is applied to the container and the product is ready for shipment. But we will refrain from dealing with the general subject of inspection except as it directly applies to the products used in the manufacture of oleo- margarine. "The fats principally used in the production of oleo oil (which is used in making oleomargarine) and stearin are the caul and ruffie fats of the beef. One of the first operations in the dressing of the beef carcass is to make the incision along the median line, laying back of hide and the removal of the caul fat. This fat is placed immedi- ately in a metal receptacle, separate for the purpose of identification, and held until the final inspection of the carcass is completed. * * * After the fats are removed they are placed in receptacles with cold water and chilled until the animal heat is removed. "The product is now ready for the manufacture of oleo oil stock and stearin. The fats are then transferred from the chilling tanks to the enterprise hasher. In order to prevent unnecessary handling of the fats, this hasher is made portable so that it can be stationed near the steam jacketed melting tank so as to allow the fat to drop directly into the tank. This tank is equipped with mechanical agi- tators and the fat is melted at a temperature ranging between 145 and 155 degrees F,, agitating it all the while it is melting. When the melting process is nearly finished, it will be noted that the animal tis- sue is slowly sinking to the bottom leaving the clear oil or stock on top. * * * "When the oil has been thoroughly settled out, it is drawn off through a steam pipe arranged near the top of the tank and drawn into the super settling tanks and allowed to settle and dry out to in- sure against moisture and tissue. * * * 6 "The oleo oil expressed from the stock runs off through a small metal trough connected with the press into a receiver and transferred from this receiver directly into new tierces at a temperature of about 90 degrees F. and allowed to remain in these receptacles until the temperature has lowered to about 65 or 70 degrees before being placed in the cooler. * * * "Neutral lard is one of the principal ingredients employed in the manufacture of oleomargarine. The manufacture of this product is similar to that of oleo stock, except for the temperatures and pressing. Chilling is also different. This lard is one of the best varieties of lard. It is made of the fat derived from the leaf fat of slaughtered animals (pork) in perfectly fresh state. It is taken immediately after the slaughtering and before the carcass is cold. ' ' The rendering tank or agitator used in the manufacture of neu- tral lard is an equipment, the construction of which renders it readily and easily maintained in a clean and sanitary condition, but because of its being used usually at varying periods of time, there is a possi- bility of its corroding or becoming rusty. The tank should be flushed thoroughly with hot water and thoroughly dried and rubbed on the inside with a cloth saturated with a pale paraffin oil. This has the effect of preventing rustiness. "Dairy products used in the manufacture of oleomargarine are required to be pasteurized. Proprietors and operators are required to give to the Bureau advance information of the source of supply of butter intended for use in preparing oleomargarine so that the mat- ter of pasteurization can be checked against the official list. It is the desire of some official establishments to pasteurize the butter by heating it to a temperature not less than 180 degrees F. This treat- ment of the finished butter for use in preparing oleomargarine is ac- ceptable to the Bureau in lieu of the requirement that such butter should be made from pasteurized products. Milk and cream used in the preparation of oleomargarine should be pasteurized and the butter used for this purpose should be made only from pasteurized products. ^ w tF "After the product is packed and ready for shipment, the pack- age is required to bear either a stencil or a label showing the name of the product, the inspection legend and the establishment number. "I have endeavored throughout the course of this paper to show the important part the Bureau occupies in the recommendation of the character of the equipment that is required to be used, the inspec- tion of the fats to be assured that none but those which are clean and sound enter into the composition of these products, a constant super- vision over the various processes of handling and manufacturing, and in fact a constant supervision until the product is prepared for ship- ment. During the entire course of their preparation, you will note that the inspector has insisted in avoiding all possible chances of con- tamination of the products entering into the manufacture of oleomar- garine by contact with the arms and hands of the workmen. This has resulted almost entirely in the use of mechanical means for handling these products. * * * 7 The Milk Used in Oleomargarine Not only must the milk and butter that are used in the manu- facture of oleomargarine be pasteurized as Dr. SehaflEter said, but the dairies themselves from which the milk is obtained must be inspected and must conform to the sanitary requirements of the government. This double precaution is taken to make it doubly certain that oleo- margarine shall be a pure and wholesome product. The importance of a safe milk supply in the manufacture of milk products will be evident after reading the following paragraph on the subject by Dr. Lafayette B. Mendel, Milk and Its Products, The Day's Food in War and Peace. He said: "It is unfortunate that a food as valuable as milk is one of our most perishable foods, and one which needs the most careful han- dling to keep it safe for use. We avoid dirty milk when we can see the dirt, but the existence of invisible dirt is sometimes forgotten. From the air (from contaminated water, from ill-cared-for utensils, from unclean hands the organisms called bacteria may find their way into the milk. Some of them are useful ; without certain kinds, butter and cheese would not have their distinctive flavors. Some kinds cause milk to turn sour, though it still remains wholesome ; others may form from it unwholesome, even poisonous products ; still others may be disease germs that make milk a carrier of such maladies as infectious sore throat, diphtheria, typhoid fever, and tuberculosis. The only way to present danger is to see that everything connected with milk is kept as clean as possible and that neither the milk nor anything connected with it is handled by anyone who has come in contact with these diseases." The milk used in every pound of oleomargarine made in the United States is produced and handled under the most sanitary con- ditions and finally pasteurized. It is therefore unquestionably safe in every respect. The animal and vegetable fats and oils that are used in the manufacture of oleomargarine are likewise pure and safe arti- cles of food. The Purity of Oleomargarine The purity, wholesomeness, cleanliness, safety, and food value of oleomargarine as it leaves the factory cannot be questioned. It is always a convenient, palatable, and safe article of diet. There is therefore no public health problem involved in it. It is the only article of food except meat and meat products that is under govern- ment inspection and supervision. The Bureau of Animal Industry even controls the labeling of every pound that contains any animal fat. The Bureau of Internal Revenue controls the labeling of every 8 pound of it regardless of its composition. The Bureau of Chemistry also has authority to prevent any adulteration or misbranding of it. More than 95 per cent of olemargarine is now packed in clean sanitary- cartons and thus protected from contamination on its journey to the consumer. By every test, oleomargarine is a clean, safe, nutritious fatty foodstuff that performs all of the functions of the Fats group of foodstuffs. The Color of Oleomargarine The largest part of the oleomargarine sold in this country is white or nearly so. The ingredients used in its manufacture do not contain a sufficient amount of color to impart a yellow color to it. Some States prohibit the sale of oleomargarine of any shade of yellow. If it is artificially colored yellow, it is subject to a federal tax of 10c per pound. No such tax has ever been levied upon any other article of food. The manufacturer is not permitted to complete the manufac- turer's job and color his oleomargarine to suit the eyes of the house- wife. She must do that herself or learn to eat a white product. A little capsule of color therefore goes with each retail package of mar- garine or will be given to the customer on request. The housewife may color the margarine with it. Vitamines So much has been written on Vitamines that it would be unnec- essary to mention this subject in this connection were it not for the fact of so much false advertising in connection with this new doctrine. The only vitamine that has anything to do with oleomargarine, butter, or any one of the other numerous fats is vitamine A, commonly called "fat-soluble vitamine," because it is more soluble in fats than in water. The other vitamines are not present in fats in important quantities. So far as is now known, plant life is the primary source of vita- mines. Animal tissue, especially the fats, contains vitamine A pro- vided the food which the animal eats contains it. The fats of cattle on green pasture in the spring time are rich in vitamine A. They contain less of it in the winter time when their feed is poor in it. Steenbock^ says the vitamine content of butter varies with the breed and feed of the cqw. He reported one experiment in which the butter fat of a cow fed exclusively on alfalfa hay did not contain any 3 Dr. H. Steenbock, The Science Press, Vol. 50, p. 352, 9 fat-soluble vitamines. Dutcher* says, "In addition to seasonal varia- tions in the vitamine content of milk, we have observed marked ef- fects of climatic conditions. Periods of drouth, followed by brown- ing of the pastures and drying of the grass, are reflected in the growth curves of the experimental animals. Halliburton and Drum- mond^ found by experiment that some margarins contain sufficient quantities of vitamine A to produce growth, reproduction, and the rearing of the young of animals. They also found that some of them do not. Daniels and Loughlin*' found that rats fed on a ration from which all fat-soluble vitamines had been removed except what was in the lard of the ration grew normally, reproduced, and reared their young. They got the same results with cottonseed oil. This subject might be one of serious concern if there were only two or three sources of vitamine A. Fortunately there are, according to Eddy, The Vitamine Manual, some sixty and odd different foodstuffs that contain this vitamine. The chances of a failure to get all of it we need in a varied diet are therefore negligible. The following para- graphs of a press notice issued by the U. S. Department of Agricul- ture, June 19, 1922, is a sane, unselfish opinion on this subject: ' ' Ever since the discovery of the presence in certain foods of those mysterious beneficial substances now known as vitamines, it has been thought that they were to be found in animal tissues most abundantly in certain of the internal organs, especially the heart, liver, and kid- neys, but the Bureau of Animal Industry of the United States De- partment of Agriculture now announces that they exist in the muscle fibre of beef, veal, mutton, lamb, and pork, and that pork is particu- larly well supplied with them. This new evidence on the distribution of vitamines in meats should not lead to the conclusion that certain meats are of low nutritive value because they are deficient in vita- mines. Meat is one of our most important foods and would continue to be so even though it contained no vitamines. ' ' A similar statement is applicable to any other foodstuff. The vitamine doctrine is yet in its infancy and our present information relating to it may be greatly modified by new discoveries in a short time. It is apparent therefore that it is not necessary to try to buy vitamines. Economic Importance of Oleomargarine and of the Foodstuffs of Which it is Made Every civilized country is spending money in researches on the production and utilization of fats and oils. The political and economic 4 Dr. E, A. Duteher, The Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, December, 1921. 5 The Journal of Physiology, Sept. 1917. 6 Journal of Biological Chem., Vol. 42, No. 3. 10 life of a nation may depend upon these products. In an instructive and able address which he delivered at the Convention of the Institute of Margarin Manufacturers, Dr. W. W. Skinner, Assistant Chief of the Bureau of Chemistry of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, said: "A failure to fully appreciate the essential importance of a sup- ply of fat in the daily diet was one of the miscalculations of the Ger- man militarists in preparation for the great war. The Germans for years were mobilizing their agricultural and industrial resources in preparation for ' the day ' and it seems now rather strange that, when so much energy and thought were expended in this direction, the po- tent fact of a deficiency in oils and fats should be ignored or dis- counted, especially since some of the foremost German scientists had pointed out the necessity for the growing of oil bearing plants and the domestic production of oils and fats to relieve the country from its undesirable condition of dependence upon foreign countries for an adequate supply. Shortly after the beginning of the war it became evident what an important aspect an adequate supply of oil was to as- sume. The Germans undoubtedly thought animal fats could be de- pended upon to furnish their needs, since German agricultural development for years had been deliberately and purposely devoted to the production and development of crops rich in carbohydrates. The error was soon discovered but try as they might the Germans never were able to supply the deficiency, and the lack of fats and oils had a direct and important influence as one of the factors in the final outcome. ' ' The lesson in this is for us to reach a full realization of the im- portance of fats in our economic development, and to fully appreciate the dependence of the national welfare both in peace and war upon an abundant and ever increasing supply of fats and oils. The im- portant role, therefore, of fats and oils in our agricultural and eco- nomic development is the justification for the Department of Agricul- ture maintaining in its Bureau of Animal Industry a unit for investi- gational and research work upon animal fats, for maintaining in the Bureau of Plant Industry a unit for the study and development of our native oil bearing plants, and for the introduction and study of foreign plants which give promise of adding to our commercial sources of oils and fats, and for maintaining in the Bureau of Chem- istry a research laboratory devoted exclusively to the consideration of chemical and physical problems of fats and oils especially those of vegetable origin, peculiarly important because of their relation to our food supply." The discovery of the process of making oleomargarine was a dis- tinct contribution to science and to the welfare of man. Millions of pounds of milk and of animal fats and oils, products of agriculture, are now being utilized in convenient and palatable form rather than in a crude and unpalatable form. The economic importance of oleo- margarine has been referred to in a most interesting and accurate 11 way by Mr. Associate Justice Field of the Supreme Court of the United States as follows : "Upon first impressions one would suppose that it would be a matter for congratulations on the part of the State that in the prog- ress of science a means had been discovered by which a new article of food could be produced equally healthy and nutritious and less ex- pensive than one already existing, and for which it could be used as a substitute. Thanks and rewards would seem to be the natural re- turn for such a discovery, and the increase of the article by the use of means thereby encouraged. But not so thought the Legislature of the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I have always supposed that the gift of life was accompanied with the right to seek and pro- duce food by which life can be preserved and enjoyed in all ways not encroaching upon the equal rights of others. I have supposed that the right to take all measures for the support of life, which are inno- cent in themselves, is an element of that freedom which every Ameri- can citizen claims as his birthright. The right to pursue one 's happi- ness is placed by the Declaration of Independence among the inalien- able rights of man, with which all men are endowed, not by the grace of emperors or kings or by force of legislative or constitutional enact- ments, but by their Creator, and to secure them, not to grant them, governments are instituted among men. The right to procure healthy and nutritious food, by which life may be preserved and enjoyed, and to manufacture it is among these inalienable rights which, in my judgment, no State can give, and no State can take away, except in punishment for crime. It is involved in the right to pursue one 's hap- piness. ' ' Oleomargarine is manufactured and sold in every civilized coun- try. The number of oleomargarine factories in the important coun- tries of the world, so far as the information is available, are given in Table III. Many leaders in agriculture throughout the world have been courageous enough and impartial enough to recognize the rights of consumers and of farmers in relation to this product. In this con- nection the remarks of Hon. S. F. Tolmie, Minister of Agriculture of Canada, will be worth considering. He was discussing a bill in the Canadian Parliament to prohibit the manufacture and sale of oleo- margarine. The bill was overwhelmingly defeated. He said : "While the National Dairy Council (of Canada) is an organiza- tion which is doing a great deal of good, an organization which may represent to a considerable extent the dairy interests of this country, still we must not forget there are hundreds of thousands of beef cattle in this country raised on the ranch and on the farm, and that the men who produce these cattle have every right to market their products to the very best possible advantage. In the average beef steer slaughtered in our packing houses there are ten or twelve pounds of oleo oil, and some tallow. The stearine is usually used for short- ening in baking and the oleo oil is at present being used in the manu- facture of oleomargarine. All this manufacture is carried on under 12 the most careful supervision, and this oleo is secured only from what are known as the edible fats of the animal carcass. We do not permit the manufacture of oleomargarine in the ordinary creamery or dairy, because it would be quite impracticable; we would have to maintain an army of inspectors to carry on that necessary inspection and super- vision. The maufacture of oleo is permitted only in the packing houses of the country where we maintain a corps of skilled meat in- spectors who see that all the various operations are properly carried out. In addition to the inspection of the oleo and of the fats from which the oleo is made, there is also the inspection of the vegetable oils. The milk and butter used in the manufacture of oleo must either come from tested cows, showing that the animals are free from tuber- culosis according to the tuberculin test, or must be pasteurized, show- ing that there is no possibility of the oleo being contaminated by the use of tuberculous milk or butter in its manufacture. * * * **Now, with regard to the imported oleo, the animal oleo comes in here with a certificate from the Bureau of Animal Industry at Washington, D. C, U. S. A., which is the same as our Health of Ani- mals Branch here, showing that the product has been manufactured under careful supervision. Vegetable oleos made from straight oils are accompanied by a certificate from the Bureau of Chemistry at Washington showing that these articles have been prepared under proper conditions. So that this oleo (oleomargarine) is perfectly safe from a health standpoint ; it is considered very wholesome indeed, and by the addition of butter it is made more palatable. * * * Now, the following is the result of the application of the law by the inspectors of the Health of Animals Branch and the Dairy Branch during the years 1919 and 1920. In 1919 there were 8 convictions under the oleo law, and 111 convictions for the manufacture of bad butter. In 1920 there were 12 convictions under the oleo law and 128 convictions for the manufacture of bad butter, showing that the maker of good butter has not so much to fear from the oleo manufac- turer as he has from the man who tries to sell inferior butter. ''I do not see that this House [of Parliament] has any right to interfere with the choice of the individual with regard to its pur- chase. There is entirely too much interference with personal liberty at present, and I have no particular commodity in mind when I say that. If the housewife desires to use oleomargarine that is her right. ' ' Every state in the Union as well as the federal government has a law or laws designed to prevent adulteration and misbranding of foodstuffs. In addition to these general food laws there are special laws prohibiting the adulteration and misbranding of oleomargarine. Nearly all of the large cities have similar laws and machinery for their administration. On January 17, 1921, this Institute addressed a letter to the law enforcing officials of the several States of the Union, asking for the number of persons that were prosecuted in their respec- tive States during each of the preceding five years for the sale of oleo- margarine as butter. The replies were that there were only sixty-five (65) prosecutions of that kind in the whole country, or an average of 13 13 prosecutions per annum. During that period there was an average of about 300,000,000 pounds of oleomargarine sold per annum. The federal government could not furnish similar information, but the Annual Report of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue for the year 1920 contains the following statement with reference to violations of the oleomargarine and butter laws : "The receipts from the tax on oleomargarine and the tax on the business of persons engaged in the handling of this product during the last two fiscal years were as follows : Receipts from — 1919 1920 Oleomargarine taxed at 10 cents a pound $ 680,351.45 $1,194,720.17 Oleomargarine taxed at 1^4 cent a pound. 852,888.80 930,343.25 Manufacturers' special tax 38,175.00 50,124.51 Wholesale dealers' special tax 445,366.49 494,961.92 Retail dealers' special tax 775,049.34 1,058,126.20 Total $2,791,831.08 $3,728,276.05 "Violations of the oleomargarine law to the number of 161 cases were reported during the year. Of this number 123 cases were com- promised and the remainder were either prosecuted or dismissed. In addition innumerable technical violations, due mainly to ignorance or carelessness as to requirements were discovered. As no hostility to enforcement of the law and regulations was apparent, the offenders were admonished by field officers and the cases dropped. "The receipts from the tax of 10 cents a pound on adulterated butter and the occupational taxes imposed upon manufacturers of, and wholesale and retail dealers in, adulterated butter amounted to $57,023.34, a decrease of $15,264.58 from the previous year. "Practically all these receipts represent the tax collected on creamery butter containing abnormal quantities of moisture found on the market and held to be adulterated, under the act of May 9, 1902, and occupational taxes also collected. There are but three regularly qualified manufacturers of adulterated butter under that act, all of whom produce that product for foreign markets and withdraw for export without the payment of tax. ' ' It should be understood that the 161 cases of violations of the fed- eral oleomargarine law were not all for selling oleomargarine as but- ter. Doubtless only a very small per cent were in that category. The law and the regulations for its administration are so complex that it is extremely difficult to comply with them. The Iowa law requires that oleomargarine be labeled "a substitute for butter," The Min- nesota law specifically forbids that label. Margarin manufacturers have been prosecuted for using the word "churned" in advertise- ments describing the method of manufacture of oleomargarine, not- withstanding the fact that the milk and fats are put into a sure 14 enough butter churn which is revolved exactly as it is when cream is churned for butter. The reports, red tape, etc., which margarin dealers have to comply with, as with no other product, in marketing it, are difficult to comply with and many of the 161 violations men- tioned were in that category. The United States of America is the only country that has placed heavy burdens not only as taxes but unnecessary laws and adminis- trative regulations for their enforcement upon this product of agricul- ture. The sort of taxes are indicated in the report of the Commis- sioner of Internal Revenue as quoted above. These hardships are to a degree a prohibition of the manufacture and sale of oleomargarine, for they actually limit the consumption of it by limiting the number of producers and dealers in the industry and by prohibiting manu- facturers from imparting to the product those qualities which the consumer demands. Many great thinkers believe that one nation has a right to pro- tect its own industries by levying taxes upon the products of the com- petitive industries of foreign countries or even by outright prohibition of the importation of such products. But no one has ever advocated the policy of prohibiting the sale of any useful and necessary consum- able commodity to protect another commodity produced under the same flag. Oleomargarine is not only a wholesome foodstuff, safe from the standpoint of public health, an economic necessity, but it is manu- factured and sold as oleomargarine in compliance with most stringent and even unfair laws. Had it not been for the fact that it competes with other products its invention would be more generally emphasized as one of the great scientific contributions to human welfare. 15 TABLE I Materials Used ii^ the Manufacture of Oleomargarine, Year ended June 30, 1921. Pounds Cocoanut oil 103,111,916 Milk 79,715,584 Oleo oil 49,675,749 Neutral oil 29,267,960 Salt 25,365,499 Cottonseed oil 18,532,860 Peanut oil ; 16,332,498 Vegetable oil 6,559,034 Oleo stearine 4,857,972 Oleo stock 2,065,231 Pounds Butter 1,498,625 Corn oil 925,999 Soya-Bean oil 461,129 Edible tallow 233,227 Mustard-seed oil 109,748 Coloring 25,915 Miscellaneous 3,216,742 Total 341,955,688 TABLE II Digestibility and Energy Value of Edible Fats Digestibility Oleomargarine 97% Butter 97 Cocoanut oil 97 Olive oil 98 Peanut oil 98 Oleo oil (Prepared from beef fat) 97 Hog fat 97 Cottonseed oil 97 Energy Value About 3,500 calories per pound About 3,500 calories per pound 4,080 calories per pound 4,080 calories per pound 4,080 calories per pound 4,080 calories per pound 4,080 calories per pound 4,080 calories per pound TABLE III The Number of Oleomargarine Factories, the Per Capita Consumption, and the Production of Oleomargarine in the Most Importan,t Countries of the World Countries United States . . Number of Margarin Factories 63 United Kingdom 24 England Ireland Scotland Wales Belgium 10 Holland 24 Norway and Sweden 34 Denmark 51 Germany 120 France 12 New Foundland 4 Austria 10 Havana 4 Italy 13 Czecho-Slovakia 5 Switzerland 12 Finland 6 Poland 1 Per Capita Consumption Per Annum Pounds 1.5 in 1913 3.8 in 1920 14.5 in 1918 11.0 in 1917 47.0 in 1914 34.0 in 1913 42.0 in 1916 6.0 in 1912 Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknovra Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Total Annual Production Pounds 1913 1920 145,227,862 391,283,143 187,651,520 728,000,000 28,000,000 123,000,000 106,000,000 93,166,396 220,000,000 Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown 55,440,000 Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown 16 vr. B. c. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 000 891 366 3