In Re McNeal

The petitioner was convicted of a misdemeanor committed by selling loaves of bread to which labels or trademarks designating the manufacturer thereof were not attached, contrary to the provisions of section 8 of the Sanitary Bakery Law of California. (Stats. 1921, p. 1191, and amendment of 1931, p. 250; 1 Deering’s Gen. Laws of 1937, p. 192, Act 610.) The petitioner was imprisoned as a penalty for that offense, and now seeks to regain his liberty by means of habeas corpus.

It is contended the act is unconstitutional for the reason that it imposes onerous burdens on the business of manufacturing bread, and because it unlawfully discriminates between “loaves of bread” as a class, and rolls, buns and bis cuits, by requiring labels or trademarks identifying the manufacturer thereof to be attached to the loaves, but fails to compel the identification of the baker of the latter class in that manner.

The bakery statute was enacted under the police power of the state to enforce sanitary conditions and to procure the use of pure, wholesome ingredients in the manufacturing of bread and pastry. Bread is the chief article of food consumed by the human race. The days of home-made bread have…