7549. Adulteration   and   misbranding;   of   olive   oil.     U.   S.      *      *      *     v.   93
1-Gallon Cans and 25 J-Gallon Cans of Olive Oil (so-called). Con- 
sent decree of condemnation and forfeiture. Product ordered re- 
leased on bond. (F. & D. No. 10859. I. S. Nos. 14224-r, 14225-r. S. No. 
E-1633.)
On July 8, 1919, the United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, 
acting upon a report by the Secretary of Agriculture, filed in the District Court 
of the United States for said district a libel for the seizure and condemnation 
of 93 1-gallon cans and 25 i-gallon cans of olive oil, remaining unsold in the 
original unbroken packages at Waterbury, Conn., alleging that the article had 
been shipped on or about June 26, 1919, by the Southern Importing Co., New 
York, N. Y., and transported from the State of New York into the State of 
Connecticut, and charging adulteration and misbranding in violation of the 
Food and Drugs Act, as amended.    The article was labeled in part:   (Gallon
cans) "Finest Quality Table Oil Tipo Termini Imerese Cottonseed oil slightly 
flavored with olive oil Oicilia-Atalia One Gallon Net * * * " (picture of 
natives gathering and packing olives); (half-gallon cans) "Finest Quality 
Table Oil Cottonseed salad oil flavored slightly with olive oil * * * ? Gal- 
Ion Net " (picture of natives gathering and packing olives).
Adulteration of the article was alleged in the libel for the reason that there 
had been mixed and packed with the product contained in the gallon cans 
another oil, to wit, soya bean oil, so as to reduce, lower, and injuriously affect 
its quality and strength, and that soya bean oil had been substituted almost 
wholly for olive oil, which the article purported to be. Adulteration was 
further alleged in that there had been mixed and packed with the product 
contained in the half-gallon cans another oil, to wit, cottonseed oil, so as to 
reduce, lower, and injuriously affect its quality and strength, and had been 
substituted almost wholly for olive oil, which the article purported to be.
Misbranding of the article was alleged in substance for the reason that the 
labels on the cans bore certain statements, words, and devices regarding the 
articles which were false and misleading, and which statements, words, and 
devices were intended to be of such a character as to induce the purchaser to 
believe that the product was olive oil, when, in truth and in fact, it was not, 
said false and misleading impression not being corrected by the words which 
appeared in inconspicuous type, " Cottonseed salad oil flavored slightly with 
olive oil," and for the further reason that it purported to be a foreign product, 
v:hen, in truth and in fact, it was a product of domestic manufacture packed 
in the United States, and for the further reason that ?t was an imitation of, 
and was offered for sale under the distinctive name of^another article, to wit, 
olive oil. Misbranding was alleged for the further reason that the respective 
labels bore the statement, to wit, "One Gallon Net" and "& Gallon Net," 
which represented that the cans contained, respectively, 1 gallon and one-half 
gallon of the article, whereas there was an average shortage in each purported 
gallon of' 3.8 per cent and in each purported one-half gallon of 12.15 per cent. 
Misbranding of the article was alleged for the further reason that it was food 
in package form, and the quantity of the contents was not plainly and con- 
spicuously marked on the outside of the package in terms of weight, measure, 
or numerical count.
At the October, 1919, term of said District Court Giuseppe Battaglia, New 
York, N. Y., claimant, having consented to a decree, judgment of condemnation 
and forfeiture was entered, and it was ordered by the court that the product be 
delivered to said claimant upon the payment of the costs of the proceedings 
and the execution of a bond in the sum of $1,000, in conformity with section 10 
of the act.
E. D. BALL, Acting Secretary of Agriculture.