18259. Misbranding of apple butter,  vanilla  extract, lemon  extract, and
vinegar. U. S. v. Louis MauU Co. Food Products Co. Plea of 
guilty. Fine, $250 and costs. (F. & D. No. 25693. I. S. Nos. 05034, 
05038, 05039, 09378, 09390, 09466, 015062, 015063, 015065, 019743.)
Examination of the products described herein showed that a portion of 
the apple butter had been made from dried apples, was artificially colored, and 
contained sodium benzoate and that the remainder was artificially colored; 
the vanilla extract contained vanillin and coumarin and was artificially colored 
with caramel; the lemon extract consisted of a dilute terpeneless imitation 
product deficient in lemon oil and citral, was artificially colored, and contained 
less alcohol than declared on the label; and the vinegar consisted principally 
or entirely of corn sugar vinegar and a portion thereof was deficient in acidity.
On January 30, 1931, the United States attorney for the Eastern District 
of Missouri, acting upon a report by the Secretary of Agriculture, filed in the 
District Court of the United States for the district aforesaid an information 
against the Louis MauU Co. Food Products Co., a corporation, St. Louis, Mo., 
alleging shipment by said company in violation of the food and drugs act, 
between the dates of March 22, 1929 and August 9, 1929, from the State of 
Missouri in part into the State of Kansas, and in part into the State of Illinois, 
of quantities of apple butter, vanilla extract, lemon extract, and apple-cider 
vinegar which were misbranded.
The articles were labeled in part, variously: " MauU's Fancy Apple Butter; " 
" Somore Brand * * * Pure Apple Butter;" "' MauU's Pure Vanilla 
Extract;" " MauU's Pure Lemon Extract 94 Per Cent Alcohol;" " Top Notch 
* * * Apple Cider Vinegar;" " Top Notch * * * Vinegar Apple Cider 
Reduced to 4% Acid Strength;" and were further labeled " Manufactured [or 
" Packed "] by L. Maull Co. Food Products Co., St. Louis, Mo."
It was alleged in the information' that the articles were misbranded for 
the following reasons: The statement " Fancy Apple Butter " on the label of 
a portion of the apple butter was false and misleading, since it represented 
that the article was fancy apple butter, whereas it was not, but was a product 
made from dried apples and which contained undeclared artificial color and 
sodium benzoate; the statement " Pure Apple Butter " on the label of the re- 
mainder of the apple butter was false and misleading in that it represented 
that the article was pure apple butter, whereas it was not, but was an artifi- 
cially colored product, which artificial color was undeclared; the statement 
"Pure Vanilla Extract" on the labels of the vanilla extract was false and 
misleading in that it represented that the article was pure vanilla extract, 
whereas it was not, but was a product containing vanillin, coumarin, and an 
artificial coloring substance, namely, caramel; the statements, "Pure Lemon 
Extract" and " 94 Per Cent Alcohol," on the label of the lemon extract, were 
false and misleading in that they represented that the article was pure lemon 
extract and contained 94 per cent of alcohol; whereas it was not pure lemon 
extract, but w-as a dilute, terpeneless, imitation product deficient in citral and 
lemon oil and was artificially colored with an undeclared color, namely, tar- 
trazine, it contained little if any lemon oil, it was not labeled to show that it 
was an imitation, and contained approximately 44.2 per cent of alcohol; the 
statements, "Apple Cider Vinegar" or " Vinegar Apple Cider," on the labels 
of the vinegar, and the further statement " Reduced to 4% Acid Strength " on 
the label of a portion thereof, were false and misleading in that they repre- 
sented that the article was vinegar made from apple cider and that the acid 
strength of the said portion was 4 per cent; whereas the greater part of the 
said vinegar consisted principally or entirely of corn-sugar vinegar, and a 
portion consisted of a mixture of corn-sugar vinegar and water with an acid 
strength of less than 4 per cent. Misbranding was alleged for the further 
reason that the articles were labeled as aforesaid so as to deceive and mislead 
the purchaser. Misbranding was alleged with respect to the said vanilla and 
lemon extracts for the further reason that they were imitations of other 
articles, and were not so labeled, and in that they were offered for sale under 
the distinctive names of other articles.
On April 4, 1931, a plea of guilty to the information was entered on behalf, 
of the defendant company, and the court imposed a fine of $250 and costs.
ARTHUR M. HTDB, Secretary of Agriculture.