1*"40!    Adulteration   and   misbranding   of   olive   oil.      V.   S.   v.   Benedetto   A. 
"       '        Vpntonra    and    Cairli    Begani     (Ventoura    &    Begani).       Pleas     of 
guilty.    Fine, $100.     (F. & D. No. 15855.    I. S. No. 9245-t.)
On June 19, 1922, the United States attorney for the Southern District of 
New York, acting upon a report by the Secretary of Agriculture, filed in the 
District Court of the United States for said district an information against 
Benedetto A. Ventoura and Cairli Begani, copartners, trading as Ventoura & 
Begani, New York, N. Y., alleging shipment by said defendants, in violation 
of the food and drugs act as amended, on October 2, 1920, from the State of 
New York into the State of Florida, of a quantity of olive oil which was 
adulterated and misbranded. The article was labeled in part: " Olio La Viva 
Italia Brand * * * Superior in Quality Purity Economy & Flavor To Olive 
Oil. Fine Edible Salad Oil Blended With Pure Olive Oil A Compound- 
Packed In New York Net Contents 1 Gallon Ventoura & Begani New York 
U. S. A."
Analysis of a sample of the article by the Bureau of Chemistry of this 
department showed that it consisted of cottonseed oil. Examination of ten 
cans by said bureau showed an average volume of 0.939 gallon.
Adulteration of the article was alleged in the information for the reason 
that a substance, to wit, cottonseed oil, had been mixed and packed therewith 
so as to lower and reduce and injuriously affect its quality and had been sub- 
stituted in part for olive oil, which the said article purported to be.
Misbranding was alleged for the reason that the statements, to wit, " Olio La 
Viva Italia," "Olive Oil," and "Net Contents 1 Gallon," together with the 
design and device of an Italian scene, borne on the cans containing the article, 
were false and misleading, in that they represented that the said article was 
olive oil, that it was a foreign product, to wit, an olive oil produced in the 
Kingdom of Italy, and that each of said cans contained 1 gallon net of the 
article, and for the further reason that it was labeled as aforesaid so as to 
deceive and mislead the purchaser into the belief that it was olive oil, that it 
was a foreign product, and that each of said cans contained 1 gallon net of the 
said article, whereas it was not olive oil but was a mixture composed in large 
part of cottonseed oil, it was not a foreign product but was a domestic product, 
to wit, an article produced in the United States of America, and each of said 
cans did not contain 1 gallon net of the article but did contain a less amount. 
Misbranding was alleged for the further reason that the statements, design, 
and device borne on the said cans purported the article to be a foreign product 
when not so. 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 package.
On July 26, 1922, the defendants entered pleas of guilty to the information, 
and the court imposed a fine of $100.
R. W. DUNLAP, Acting Secretary of Agriculture.
On February 26, 1924, the United States attorney for the Southern District 
of California, acting upon a report by the Secretary of Agriculture, filed in the 
District Court of the United States for said district an information against 
Max Part, Los Angeles, Calif., alleging shipment by said defendant, in viola- 
tion of the food and drugs act, on or about November 29, 1922, from the State 
of California into the State of Colorado, of a quantity of walnut meats which 
were adulterated.    The article was labeled in part: "Dark Amber Meats 50
Net."
Examination by the Bureau of Chemistry of this department of 2. samples 
of the product showed that the said samples contained 19.25 per cent and 
23.62 per cent, respectively, of inedible nuts, consisting of wormy, moldy, rancid, 
or decomposed nuts.
Adulteration of the article was alleged in the information for the reason 
that it consisted in part of a filthy and decomposed vegetable substance.
At the March, 1925, term of court the defendant entered a plea of guilty to 
the information, and the court imposed a fine of $50.
R. W. DTTNLAP, Acting Secretary of Agriculture.