eggs,” “Strictly fresh eggs,” “Fancy eggs,” are amusing, but they bespeak an unnatural state of things.
As our business methods have created conditions beyond the control of the individual consumer it follows that we must take concerted action, and make and enforce whatever laws are necessary. This is done partly through the Federal government, and partly through state laws and municipal ordinances. Thus, while we may not know the actual conditions in which food is produced, we may through legislation seek to insure that the food we buy shall be
(1) what it purports to be in kind and amount,
(2) free from deterioration or unwholesome conditions,
(3) possessed of full nutritive value.
The Federal Food and Drugs Act of June 30, 1906, commonly known as “The Pure Food Law,” and on which subsequent legislation by most of the states has been largely based, defines the main types of adulteration and misbranding, but, except in the case of confectionery and of habit-forming drugs, does not name the specific substances which are to be prohibited or restricted in use, nor does the law itself contain standards of composition for foods.
According to this law a food is deemed adulterated:
(1) If any substance has been mixed or packed with it so as to reduce or lower or injuriously affect its quality or strength.
(2) If any substance has been substituted, wholly or in part.
(3) If any valuable constituent has been wholly or in part abstracted.