I   S. No. 10559-a.
F. & D. No. 578.	
Issued February 8, 1910.
United States Department of Agriculture,
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY.
NOTICE OF JUDGMENT NO. 142, FOOD AND DRUGS ACT.
ADULTERATION OF ALMOND EXTRACT.
In accordance with the provisions of section 4 of the Food and?
Drugs Act of June 30, 1906, and of regulation 6 of the rules and regu??
lations for the enforcement of the act, notice is given that on the?
24th day of June, 1909, in the District Court of the United States?
for the District of Colorado, in a prosecution by the United States?
against The Midland Grocery Company, a corporation of Denver,?
Colorado, for violation of section 2 of the aforesaid act in shipping?
and delivering for shipment from Colorado to Kansas an adulterated?
almond extract, said Midland Grocery Company entered a plea of?
guilty and the court imposed upon it a fine of $10.
The facts in the case were as follows:
On August 8, 1908, an inspector of the Department of Agriculture?
purchased from the Sweet Mercantile Company, Garden City, Kan??
sas, a sample (I. S. No. 10559-a) of a food product labeled: "Mid??
land's Flavoring Extracts?Bitter Almond. Prepared by Midland?
Grocery Co., Denver, Colo." The sample was analyzed in the Bureau?
of Chemistry of the United States Department of Agriculture and?
the following results obtained and stated:
Specific gravity at 15.5? C?
   0.9405
Alcohol by volume (per cent)?
46.86
Methyl alcohol?
None.
Mtrobenzol?
None.
Hydrocyanic acid (per cent)?
     .03
Benzaldehyde (percent)?
   0.86
Almond extract, or flavor, as recognized by reliable manufacturers
and dealers, is the flavoring extract prepared from oil of bitter
24135?10
almonds, free from hydrocyanic acid, and contains not less than one?
per cent by volume of oil of bitter almonds. The analysis of the?
aforesaid sample disclosed that it contained hydrocyanic acid, hence?
the article was adulterated within the meaning of section 7 of the?
act in that it contained a deleterious ingredient, hydrocyanic acid,?
which may render the product injurious to health.
It appearing from the aforesaid analysis that the article was?
adulterated, the Secretary of Agriculture gave notice to the Sweet?
Mercantile Company, the dealer from whom the sample was pur??
chased, and also to The Midland Grocery Company, the manu??
facturer and shipper, and gave them an opportunity to be heard.?
The Midland Grocery Company being the party solely responsible?
for the adulteration of the article and failing to show any fault or?
error in the result of the aforesaid analysis and it being determined?
that the article was adulterated, on May 8, 1909, the said Secretary?
reported the facts and evidence (F. & D. No. 578) to the Attorney?
General by whom they were referred to the United States Attorney?
for the District of Colorado who filed an information against the?
said Midland Grocery Company with the result hereinbefore stated.
JAMES WILSON,?
Secretary of Agriculture.
JANUARY 10, 1910.