Show SULPHURED OATS in response to requests for a statement in regard to the departments part ments attitude toward the shipment in interstate iner state commerce e of oats bleached with sulphur dioxide or mixed with barley and other grains the secretary of agricultural has defined the departments part ments position in regard to three questions these are arel l 1 the addition of moisture to oats in the course of treatment with sulphur dioxide 2 whether oats bleached with sulphur dioxide are adulterated within the meaning of the federal food and drugs act because as a result of the treatment damage or inferiority is concealed and 3 the extent to which the mixing of brley and other grains with oats is unlawful on these points the secretary states that the departments views areas are as follows first oats which at the time of shipment in interstate or foreign commerce contain moisture which has been added by bleaching or other artificial treat ment are adulterated under the food and drugs act in considering whether any lot of oats contains added moisture the department part ment is guided by the facts relating to that particular lot and not by the moisture content of other individual lots nor by the average moisture contents of the crop of oats for that entire year it is however not the practice of the department to i recommend seizures or prose cautions on account of added mol moisture 1 s in oats as a result of bleaching unless added moisture exceeds one per cent seconds second the changing of the color or appearance of oats by treatment with sulphur fumes presents a question as to the application of the part of paragraph four of section 7 of the food and drugs act in case of food by which articles of food are declared to be adulterated if they be mixed colored powdered coated or stained in a manner whereby damage or inferiority is concealed this provision is not a general pi prohibition against coloring under it only those oats are adul aerated which are damaged or of inferior quality and which have the damage or inferior quality concealed by the bleaching the department is informed that the bleaching of oats does not always conceal damage but sometimes makes it apparent in other cases it is claimed that the bleaching of damaged or inferior oats serves to remove the damage or inferiority rather than to conceal it whether or not the bleaching of oats as commonly practiced conceals damage or inferiority can not be finally decided on the facts now available investigations are arc be ing conducted however with the object of obtaining adequate information on which the department part ment may reach a conclusion as to whet whether lier the bleaching of oats conceals damage or inferiority under all r conditions ons or if not under all conditions under what conditions pending the conclusion of these investigations and the announcement of the results thereof the department will not recommend proceedings under the food and drugs aca t solely upon the ground that oats which have been bleached with sulphur fumes have been colored or stained bained in manner whereby damage or inferiority is concealed aed provided that in the case of ol 01 bulk bulk shipments of oats the fact that they have been bleached with sulphur dioxide is shown on invoices bills of lading and inspection spec tion on certificates whenever such certificates are issued by using the terms bleached with mith sulphur dioxide 11 sulphur bleach ed or sulphured and in the case of shipments in bags the bags are arc plainly marked to the same effect tho the terms purified purified with sulphur process and the like are misleading and are therefore not regarded as being proper designations of these products the department will not hesitate however to recommend proceedings under the act without Arit hout notice if it appears that the conditions herein specified are arc not complied with or if it appears that ahalt the bleaching of oats results in actual ft fraud aud third the department is of the opinion that oats containing not no over 5 per cent of barley or other grain which has not been added to the oats after they were vere harvested but which was present with v the oats in the field may be designated oats the department part ment is further of the opinion that oats with which barley or other grain has been mixed after harvesting are adulterated and misbranded if they are labeled and sold as oats such a mixture should be sold billed including all railway records P invoiced and labeled in case a label is used as a mixture of oats and the added grain it is believed that the names of the grains present in the mixture should be given in the order of their weights beginning with that chih is s present in the lagest amount |