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regarded by law as a criminal offence when he may be doing so in
perfectly good faith and with no thought of prejudicing or
misleading anybody. It is for this reason that the practice of
negotiating with possible offenders in the first place is one
which is becoming increasingly common and it is this practice
which has been employed with great success in the Borough of
Sutton and Cheam.
The enforcing Authority is frequently faced both in and out
of Court by the excuse that the alleged offence, when It relates
to the sale of an article of inferior quality, cannot have been
committed because there is no legal standard for the article
concerned. It cannot be too frequently stressed that It has
never been the policy In this country to create legal standards
foralarge variety of foods and, although the number of standards
is slowly increasing, it Is doubtful whether we shall ever
cover in this way more than a few articles. Other foods have to
be Judged on their merits and to a large extent on the basis of
reputable commercial practice, and the fixing of standards for
such foods has purposely been left If necessary to the local
Courts to decide on such evidence as may be produced,, Fortunately
it is rarely necessary to take matters as far as this, and in
this Borough we have found that on the whole co-operation by
manufacturers has been readily forthcoming. Where a large number
o f manufacturers are Interested in establishing a reasonable
standard of quality and description for the same article, there
has been a tendency for Trade Organisations to take the matter
up on behalf of individuals, and, In this way, following
considerable pressure by the enforcing Authorities and by
agreement with the Association of Public Analysts, it has been
found possible In one or two Instances to arrive at an unofficial
standard mutually satisfactory to both sides. Perhaps this
tendency will develop In future years.
There is one useful function of Food and Drug Sampling which
is not always appreciated and that is the elimination of articles
of food which have deteriorated through long storage in shopso
The retailer still has a responsibility to turn over his stock,
in such a way as to satisfy himself that the article he sells is
of a satisfactory quality of freshness, and that It has not
undergone deterioration as to render it no longer fit for sale.
We are often able to draw a line here which, although It might
not satisfy the fastidious, is a reasonable safeguard for the
average purchaser.
MILK SUPPLY
food and Drugs Act, 1955
Milk and Dairies Regulations 1949-1953
The Milk (Special Designation) (Raw Milk) Regulations 19U9-195U
The Milk (Special Designation) (Pasteurised and Sterilised Milk)
Regulations 1919-1953
The Borough of Sutton and Cheam Is a specified area for the
purpose of the Milk (Special Designations) (Specified Areas)
Order 1951, therefore all milk sold in the Borough is designated
milk
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