19712. Adulteration and Misbranding of olive oil.     V. S. v. Anthony Mag- 
gie (Oriental Products Co.). Plea of guilty. Fine, $200 and 
costs.     (F. & D. No. 26683.    I. S. Nos. 17266, 17267, 17268.)
This action was based on interstate shipments of quantities of a product 
invoiced as Roma oil, billed and labeled on the case " Olive Oil," and bearing 
on the can labels statements in the Italian language and a picture of the 
Colosseum at Rome. Examination showed that the article consisted largely 
of cottonseed oil with little, if any, olive oil present. The article was in 
quart, half-gallon, and gallon containers, samples of each of which sizes were 
found short of the declared volume.
On November 10, 1931, the United States attorney for the Northern District 
of Ohio, acting upon a report by the Secretary of Agriculture, filed in the Dis- 
trict Court of the United States for the district aforesaid, an information 
against Anthony Maggiore, trading as Oriental Products Co., Canton, Ohio, 
alleging shipment by said defendant in violation of the food and drugs act 
as amended, from the State of Ohio into the State of Michigan, in part on or 
about December 15, 1930, and in part on or about February 4, 1931, of quan- 
tities of alleged olive oil that was adulterated and misbranded. The article 
was billed as olive oil and was labeled: (Case) "Roma Olive Oil Packed by 
Oriental Products Co., New York;" (can) "Olio Sopraffino Ter Use Tavola 
E Medicinale Roma [design of Colosseum at Rome] II Famoco Antico Anfite- 
atro D ltalia Net Contents One Quart [or " Half Gallon " or " Gallon "] Quest 
Olio Roma E Impaccato Dalla Stessa Ditta Che Impacca L Olio Pure D Oliva 
Marca Iberia, E Che Imports II Famoso Olio D Oliva Porto Maurizio Italia."
It was alleged in the information that the article was adulterated in that a 
substance, cottonseed oil, had been mixed and packed therewith so as to reduce 
and lower and injuriously affect its quality and strength and had been substi- 
tuted in part for olive oil, which the article purported to be. Adulteration 
was alleged for the further reason that the article was sold under a name rec- 
ognized in the United States Pharmacopoeia, and differed from the standard of 
strength, quality, and purity as determined by the test laid down in the said
pharmacopoeia official at the time of investigation, since it was sold as olive 
oil and was composed in large part of cottonseed oil; and its own standard of 
strength, quality, and purity was not plainly stated on the cases and cans 
containing the article.
Misbranding was alleged for the reason that the statement " Olive Oil," borne 
on the cases, and the statements in Italian translated into English, " Extra 
fine oil for table and medicinal use—Roma * * * This Roma is packed 
by the same firm that packs Iberia, and which imports the famous olive oil 
from Porto Maurizia, Italy," together with the pictorial design of the Colosseum 
at Rome, and the statements in English, "Net Contents One Quart," "Net 
Contents Half-Gallon," and "Net Contents One Gallon," borne on the can 
labels, were false and misleading; and for the further reason that the article 
was labeled as aforesaid so as to deceive and mislead the purchaser, since the 
said statements and design represented that the article was olive oil, that it 
was an imported foreign product and that the cans contained 1 quart, one-half 
gallon, or 1 gallon of the said article, whereas it was not olive oil, it was not 
an imported foreign product, and each of a number of the cans from each 
size contained less than labeled. Misbranding was alleged for the further 
reason that the article was an imitation of another article, to wit, olive oil, 
and in that it was offered for sale under the distinctive name of another article, 
to wit, olive oil. Misbranding was alleged for the further reason that the 
article was food in package form and the quantity of the contents was not 
plainly and conspicuously marked on the outside of the packages, since each 
of a number of the cans of each size contained less than labeled.
On April 23, 1932, the defendant entered a plea of guilty to the information, 
and the court imposed a fine of $200 and costs.
HENEY A.  WALLACE,  Secretary of Agriculture.