The Great Butter Fraud: Seattle’s First Taste of Food Safety
A local grocer is fined for selling imitation butter, while city inspectors uncover a wave of adulterated vinegar and baking powder in retail stores.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
OLEO IS FINED $25 AND COSTS FOR SELLING ALLEGED IMITATION BUTTER
McDonald is conducting the inspection and analysis of products under the Food and Drugs Act. Prices are now offered for sale in this market. He has been extending his work over various portions of the state. While visiting the lumber camps along the Kettle Falls and Monte Cristo railroad, he observed one of these 'oleo' men and arrested him. The man was tried before the Justice of the Peace at Grant's Pass and found guilty and fined $25 and costs.
The imitation butter, which has been sold as good butter, is now being prosecuted. Recent analysis of store samples selected from Seattle retail stores shows that they do not state a true reflection of the new law, and after July 1, prosecutions will begin against wholesale dealers handling such impure goods. One of the trunks is from a well-known firm and is labeled 'Cider Vinegar.' Mr. McDonald expressed the opinion that as good vinegar could be had from other sources than half what was being paid for the adulterated vinegar of the reputable firm.
Several samples of baking powder were also analyzed, but as no standard for baking powder can be fixed under the present law, it is doubtful if prosecutions will take place for the sale of injurious baking powders. Mr. McDonald says he is glad to know that the better class of wholesale dealers are doing all they can to enforce the law.
In 1906, Seattle was grappling with the early enforcement of food safety laws, a precursor to the FDA. The article highlights a common consumer fear of the era: that everyday staples like butter and vinegar were being diluted or faked for profit. This mirrors modern anxieties about 'natural' labeling, organic certifications, and the trust consumers place in regulatory bodies to ensure what they buy is what it claims to be.
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