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"goats. Questions have been raised whether the Regu"lations
apply to rabbits, poultry, fish, butter, mar"garine
and cheese. It is clear that the definition of
"meat would not include these articles, and the
"Minister thinks that Local Authorities might also
"properly treat cooked meat, lard, sausages and other
"preparations of or containing meat as outside the
"scope of the Regulations."
The Public Health Committee felt that it was
rather difficult to reconcile the foregoing statement with
the definition of meat contained in the Regulations,
which reads as follows:—
"'Meat' means the flesh of cattle, swine, sheep or
"goats, including bacon and ham and edible offal and
"fat, which is sold, or intended for sale, for human
"consumption."
If a Local Authority desires strictly to construe the
definition of meat as stated above, it is submitted that
cooked meat, sausages and food preparations which
contain the flesh of cattle, swine, sheep or goats come
within the Regulations, and if such is the case, any shop,
room, or stall in which such an article is sold, or exposed
for sale or deposited for the purpose of sale or preparation
for sale would be subject to the provisions of Parts
IV. and V. of the Regulations.
The before-mentioned provisions are designed to
prevent contamination of meat, and while it is important
that what is ordinarily known as butchers' meat
should be effectually protected from contamination, it
is equally important that similar precautions should be
taken in regard to cooked meat, sausages, brawn, meat
pastes and other similar preparations.
It has been suggested that the powers conferred
on the Council by the adoption of Section 72 of the
Public Health Act, 1925, enable them to secure that
precautions are taken against contamination of any food
intended for sale. The scope of this section is largely
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