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50
The following is a summary of the principal recommendations
of the Committee:-
1. That in districts other than county boroughs, where, the
local authorities fail to put the Acts in force, the county council
should, by their own officers, take samples for the purposes of the
Acts.
2. That in connection with the sale of mixed articles it should
be obligatory upon the vendor to supply the purchaser with a
label setting forth that the article is mixed.
3. That the statement of admixture on labels should be legibly
and distinctly printed and so as not to be obscured by other
printed matter, and that existing labels should be subject to the
proviso mentioned in the concluding paragraph of the section of
this Report headed " labelling and sale of mixed articles."
4. That, subject to the limitations indicated in the Report,
invoices and equivalent documents should have the force of
warranties in the cases of all articles to which the Sale of Food
and Drugs Acts apply.
5. That the Commissioners of Customs be authorised to examine
and take samples of all food imports at the port of entry with a
view to subsequent action, as indicated in the body of the
Report.
6. The dealers who obtain supplies of foods from abroad should
be required to submit to the Customs guarantees of purity given
by the foreign vendor, together with evidence that they have
taken measures to see that the goods are such as they are
guaranteed to be.
7. That retailers should be empowered to refuse to sell an
article otherwise than in a manufacturer's unopened labelled tin
or packet.
8. That the powers of Section 3 of the Sale of Food and Drugs
Act Amendment Act, 1879, as to the taking of samples of milk in
transit, should be extended to other articles.
9. That the maximum penalty for refusal to sell a sample to
the authorised officer be increased.
10. That the division of the sample after purchase and delivery
of a portion to the vendor should be compulsory.
11. That samples should be divided into four instead of three
parts, and that one of these parts should be at the disposal of
the wholesale dealer.
12. That the provisions of Section 5 of the Margarine Act,
1887, as to the exemption of an employer from penalty in
certain cases, and punishment of an assistant, should be extended
to offences under the Sale of Food and Drugs Act.
13. That it should be obligatory upon the magistrates or court
to refer articles to the Government Laboratory for analysis
when such course is desired by either of the parties to the case,
14. That a defendant who proposes to rely upon the warranty
defence should be required to intimate this to the prosecutor
within a reasonable time of the service of the summons.