Food Standards Act, 1974

Provisions in relation to prosecutions for offences.

6.—(1) Where it is proved in any prosecution for an offence under this Act that a person manufactured, prepared, imported, exported, transported or stored food, it shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, that the food was intended for sale for human consumption.

(2) Where it is proved in any prosecution for an offence under this Act that food was sold, it shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, that the food was sold for human consumption.

(3) Where it is proved in any prosecution for an offence under this Act that anything was found on premises used for the manufacture or preparation of food and that the thing was capable of use in or for the purposes of such manufacture or preparation, it shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, that it was being used in or for the purposes of the manufacture or preparation of food intended for sale for human consumption.

(4) If the defendant in any prosecution for an offence under section 2 of this Act in relation to food proves—

(a) that he received the food as being in compliance with the regulations under the said section 2 and with a written warranty to that effect and that he duly notified the prosecutor of the warranty and its contents before the hearing of the prosecution,

(b) that he had no reason to believe at the time when he disposed of the food that it did not comply with the said regulations, and

(c) that the food, when disposed of by him, was in the same state as when he received it,

the defendant shall be discharged from the prosecution.

(5) (a) A statement by the manufacturer, importer or seller of food in an invoice or on a label attached to the food or on the packet or container in which the food is sold that the food complies with the regulations under the said section 2 shall be deemed for the purposes of subsection (4) (a) of this section to be a warranty.

(b) A statement of the kind referred to in paragraph (a) of this subsection by the manufacturer of imported food shall be deemed, for the purposes of this section, to have been made by the importer of the food.

(6) It shall be a defence for the defendant, in any prosecution for an offence under section 2 of this Act which relates to food in the course of transport or storage but does not relate to the conditions under which or the circumstances in which the food is transported or stored, to show that the transport or storage of the food was effected by him under a contract for services between the defendant or his agent and the owner of the food or his agent.

(7) Where it appears to a person enforcing a particular provision of this Act that an offence has been committed in respect of which proceedings might be taken against some person but that that person could establish a defence under subsection (4) or (6) of this section by proving that the offence complained of was due to an act or default of some other person, the person enforcing the said provision may take proceedings against that other person without taking proceedings against the first-mentioned person.