16992. Adulteration of  canned  tomatoes.     XI.   S.  v.   1097  Cases   of  Canned
Tomatoes.     Consent decree of condemnation, forfeiture, and de- 
struction.    (F. & D. No. 23879.    1. S. No. 01161.   S. No. 2070.)
On or about July 16, 1929, the United States attorney for the Western Dis- 
trict of Oklahoma, acting upon a report by the Secretary of Agriculture, filed 
in the District Court of the United States for said district a libel praying 
seizure and condemnation of 1,097 cases of canned tomatoes at Altus, Okla., 
consigned by the Rio Grande Valley Canning Co., Pharr, Tex., June 12, 1929, 
alleging that the article had been shipped in interstate commerce from Pharr. 
Tex., to Altus, Okla., and charging adulteration in violation of the food and 
drugs act. The article was labeled in part: " Rio, Grande Brand Hand-Packed 
Tomatoes * * * Packed by Rio Grande Valley - Canning Company, Pharr, 
Texas."
It was alleged in the libel that the article was adulterated in violation of 
section 7 of the act, paragraph 6, in that said article showed decomposition.
On November 12, 1929, the court having found that the product was unfit for 
food, and the claimant having consented to the entry of a decree, judgment of 
condemnation and forfeiture was entered, and it was ordered by the court that 
the product be destroyed by the United States marshal.
ARTHUR M. HYDE, Secretary of Agriculture.