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and Dairies (Consolidation) Act or the Merchandise Marks Act,
1887, the Public Health Committee gave permission to the Food
Inspector to proceed as a Common Informer under the Merchandise
Marks Act, 1887. Three such summonses have been taken out for
this type of offence. On one occasion the defendants were fined
£2 and £7 7s. Od. costs for selling milk under a false trade description;
on another occasion, £1 on a summons for selling milk under
a false trade description and £1 for having in possession for the
purpose of sale milk under a false trade description and £2 costs
as regards the last two summonses, which were taken together. It
is obviously undesirable that a Food Inspector should be required
to act in this way, even from the point of view alone that the
payment of costs by the Council as the result of an unsuccessful
action might be questioned by the auditor. The Ministry of Health
were accordingly asked to take appropriate steps to enable local
authorities to take proceedings under the Merchandise Marks Act,
1887. The Ministry replied in June, 1934, enclosing an extract
from the Merchandise Marks Committee Report, 1919-20, which
set out that in the opinion of the Committee, local authorities
should have the power to take proceedings under the Merchandise
Marks Acts. The Ministry stated that these recommendations
would be given every consideration when an opportunity occurs of
considering regulations to amend the Merchandise Marks Acts.
Proceedings also have been taken, by the way, under the 1887
Act by the Food Inspector, acting as a Common Informer, with the
consent of the Public Health Committee, as regards fraudulent
labelling of imported meat in two cases concerning foreign meat
labelled as English. The Court imposed penalties of £5 and £1,
with £3 3s. Od. and £1 1s. Od. costs respectively.
Notification of Unsound Food.—Such proceedings as "making
over," rebottling, repotting, relabelling and sorting of food stuffs,
in fact, all manipulation of dirty and damaged foodstuffs for re-sale
should be controlled, not only by the same powers of registration
that obtain in the milk trade, but also by requiring notification of
possession of unsound food, as suggested by the Poplar Borough
Council in 1927. Section 47 of the Public Health (London) Act,
1891, is inadequate and it has been suggested that the powers contained
in this section should be extended by a clause in a London
County Council (General Powers) Bill. As the law stands at
present, a manufacturer, wholesaler, or other dealer in foodstuffs,
is not required to give notice to the sanitary authorities of the
presence of unsound food upon his premises, and it is often a matter
of chance if such unsound food is discovered by a Sanitary Inspector.
A case was heard at Poplar in 1927, before a Police Court Magistrate,
where it appeared that although some unsound food was
actually displayed for sale on a stall, and no difficulty arose as