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47
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE (GRADING AND MARKING) ACTS, 1928 AND 1931.
The above-mentioned Acts have been administered during the year with little real
difficulty beyond that of persuading affected parties to conform to the requirements. This
is readily understandable in areas like the City of London, where there are so many casual
street vendors with little or no knowledge of the requirements of the law. Those regularly
engaged in the work associated with these Acts of Parliament, having once been acquainted
by the Inspector of their obligations, readily remedy any omission ; defect is almost invariably
due to the failure of assistants to carry out the instructions of the proprietor.
During the year 3,287 shops and stores and 801 street traders were interviewed. There
were, in all, 30 minor offences. There was one offence against the law which necessitated
the institution of legal proceedings, and in this case the defendants were fined.
Thirteen new orders were issued under the Agricultural Produce (Grading and
Marking) Acts, 1928 and 1931, and one new order under the Merchandise Marks (Imported
Goods) Act, 1926.
FERTILISERS AND FEEDING STUFFS ACT, 1926.
The work in connection with the above Act has been carried on as usual, and 105 visits
to firms dealing with material controlled by the Act made by your officer. Twenty-seven
special enquiries instituted on behalf of other authorities in connection with delivering
samples and obtaining statutory statements from registers, and only small technical errors
have been occasionally discovered, and rectified immediately.
The quarterly returns to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries have been made in
the usual way.
MERCHANDISE MARKS (IMPORTED GOODS) No. 7 ORDER.
MERCHANDISE MARKS (IMPORTED GOODS) EXEMPTION DIRECTION No. 1, 1935.
On the 28th February, 1935, the marking of overseas meat for sale and for exposure
for sale became compulsory and general under the Merchandise Marks Imported Goods
No. 7 Order. On importation, indication of origin must now be borne by all foreign meat,
branded, stamped, stencilled or stained conspicuously and durably in letters of \ in. in height,
unless otherwise specifically stated. The indication for complete carcases of chilled beef,
frozen mutton or lamb and frozen pork is depicted in the Order. Each portion of such
carcase shall bear its respective portion of the required ribbon mark or marks. Boneless
beef and veal, salted beef and pork and edible offals must be marked on the container or
package.
The indications for sale or exposure for sale, whether by wholesale or retail, are as
follows :—
For chilled beef, frozen mutton, lamb, or pork, where the joint or cut would in preparation
avoid the prescribed importation marks, a ticket or label is required for each cut and
so for boneless meat, salted meat or offals, a ticket or label must be placed on each piece
or on each package or container. Frozen beef and frozen veal must be similarly indicated.
There are, however, important provisos. In case of a tray, slab or rail containing
joints of boneless meat, salted meat or offals, which are of Empire origin only or oi foreign
origin only, a ticket conveying the origin or adequately identifying the meat on the tray,
slab or rail suffices. In case a shop deals solely in Empire or solely in foreign meat, two
2-foot square notices, bearing the words " All meat in this shop is imported meat of (Empire),
(Foreign), as the case may be, origin in 2 ins. high letters is regarded as an adequate indication.
Further, in shops dealing solely in Empire or solely in foreign meat, indication of
origin may be given on sale or on an invoice note, and where a portion of meat is duly marked
on exposure for sale, a purchaser in the shop needs no further indication.
The Merchandise Marks (Imported Goods) Exemption Direction No. 1, 1935, later
issued on representations from the South African Union, prescribes that the marking of
meat from South Africa shall not bear the words " Empire " or " Foreign," but
" Union
South
Africa "
in ribbon form.
The Sale of Food Order, 1921, which traversed the above-mentioned Orders, has been
revoked.
From experience gained during the year one may say that the prescribed indications of
origin are not difficult of application, nor are the provisions of the Orders difficult of execution.
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