21520. Misbranding of   Dr.   Sells   Vitalizing   Blood   Purifier.     U.   S.   v.   23
Bottles of Dr. Sells Vitalizing Blood Purifier. Default decree of 
destruction.     (F. & D. no. 30954.    Sample no. 42796-A.)
Examination of the drug preparation involved in this case disclosed that it 
contained no ingredient or combination of ingredients capable of producing 
certain curative and therapeutic effects claimed on the bottle and carton labels. 
Analysis also showed that the article contained considerably less alcohol 
than 15 percent, the amount declared.
On or about August 18, 1933, the United States attorney for the Western 
District of Missouri, acting upon a report by the Secretary of Agriculture, 
filed in the district court a libel praying seizure and condemnation of 23 
bottles of Dr. Eells Vitalizing Blood Purifier at Kansas City, Mo., alleging 
that the article had been shipped on or about March 30, 1933, by Dr. F. Eells 
& Son Co., from Centerville, Iowa, and charging misbranding in violation 
of the Food and Drugs Act as amended.
Analysis of a sample of the article by this Department showed that it 
consisted essentially of magnesium sulphate, sodium chloride, extracts of 
plant drugs including a laxative drug, sugar, and water, flavored with methyl 
salicylate and sassafras oil.
It was alleged in the libel that the article was misbranded in that the 
statement, " Contains fifteen percent of alcohol", on the carton and bottle 
labels, was false and misleading, since analysis showed that the article 
contained considerably less than that amount of alcohol. Misbranding was 
alleged for the further reason that the package failed to bear upon its label 
a statement of the quantity or proportion of alcohol contained in the prepara- 
tion, since the declaration was incorrect. Misbranding was alleged for the 
further reason that the following statements regarding the curative and thera- 
peutic effects of the article, appearing on the bottle label, and substantially 
the same statements on the carton, were false and fraudulent: " Vitalizing 
Blood -Purifier * * * recommended by us in the treatment of sick head- 
ache * * * skin eruptions, indigestion and disorders arising from un- 
healthy condition of the stomach, liver and bowel * * * as will produce a 
natural evacuation from the bowels."
On September 25, 1933, no claimant having appeared for the property, 
judgment was entered finding the product misbranded and ordering that it be 
destroyed by the United States marshal.
M. L. WILSON, Acting Secretary of Agriculture-