30955. Adulteration and misbranding of elixir of iron, quinine, and strychnine; 
Misbranding of carbolic ointment. IT. S. v. Sexton Drug Store. Plea 
of guilty.    Pine, $10.    (F. & D. No. 40808.    Sample Nos. 12466-D, 12470-D.)
The elixir of iron, quinine, and strychnine differed from the standard 
established by the National Formulary in that it was deficient in certain 
essential ingredients and contained other ingredients not found in the formu- 
lary product. It contained a smaller proportion of alcohol than that declared 
on its label. The carbolic ointment was labeled to indicate that it was ointment 
of carbolic acid, namely, phenol ointment, a product recognized in the United 
States Pharmacopoeia. It contained a smaller proportion of phenol than the 
pharmacopoeia product and was not effective as an antiseptic when used as 
directed.
On January 23, 1939, the United States attorney for the District of Massa- 
chusetts, acting upon a report by the Secretary of Agriculture, filed in the 
district court an information against the Sexton Drug Store, a corporation, 
Springfield, Mass., alleging shipment by said company in violation of the Food 
and Drugs Act on or about March 7, 1938, from the State of Massachusetts 
into the State of Connecticut, of a quantity of elixir of iron, quinine, and 
strychnine that was adulterated and misbranded, and a quantity of carbolic 
ointment that was misbranded. The articles were labeled in part: "G. Fox & 
Co., Inc., Distributors    *    *    *   Hartford, Conn."
The elixir of iron, quinine, and strychnine was alleged to be adulterated 
in that it was sold under a name recognized in the National Formulary but 
differed from the standard of strength, quality, and purity laid down therein 
since the formulary requires that the article consist of 125 cc. of tincture of 
ferric citrochloride, 8 grams of quinine hydrochloride, 175 milligrams of strych- 
nine sulfate, 10 cc. of compound spirit of orange, 240 cc. of alcohol, 300 cc. of 
glycerin,   and  a  sufficient   quantity  of distilled  water  to  make  the  product
measure 1,000 cc.; whereas the article contained ingredients other than those 
mentioned in the formulary, namely, soluble iron phosphate, sugar, and sac- 
charin; it contained rib glycerin; its alcohol content was 9.3 percent by 
volume; and the quantities of iron and alkaloids (i. e., quinine and strychnine 
including cinchonine, not an ingredient described in the formulary), were only 
approximately one-third of the quantities prescribed in the formulary. It 
was alleged to be misbranded in that the statement on the label, "Alcohol 16%," 
was false and misleading, since it contained not more than 9.3 percent of 
alcohol by volume.
The carbolic ointment was alleged to be misbranded in that the statement 
"Carbolic Acid" on the label, when used to designate and identify an article 
that was represented to be a valuable and safe antiseptic dressing for wounds, 
cuts, bites of insects, barber's itch, etc., was false and misleading in that it had 
the same significance as that of "ointment of carbolic acid," a name recognized 
in the United States Pharmacopoeia as a synonym for "phenol ointment," a drug 
defined in said pharmacopoeia, which requires that phenol" ointment shall 
contain not less than 1.8 percent of phenol, namely, carbolic acid; whereas the 
article was not ointment of carbolic acid as prescribed in said pharmacopoeia, 
since it contained a smaller proportion of phenol than that prescribed—the 
percentage in 5 of the units examined varying from 0.442 percent to 1.34 
percent. It was alleged to be misbranded further in that the statement "a 
valuable and safe antiseptic" was false and misleading, since the article was not 
effective as an antiseptic when used as directed.
On November 14, 1939, a plea of guilty having been entered on behalf of the 
defendant, the court imposed a fine of $10.
GROVES B. HILL, Acting Secretary of Agriculture.