THE FILLED MILK ACT of 1958

Transcription

1 262 THE FILLED MILK ACT of Eliz. 2 No. 76 An Act to Prohibit the Manufacture and Sale of Filled Milk, and for other purposes [Assented to 19 December 1958 J 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as 'The Filled Milk Act of 1958." 2. Meaning of terms. In this Act, unless the context otherwise indicates or requires, the following terms shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them, that is to say:- "Analyst"-An analyst under this Act; "Butter fat"-the fat of cow's milk; "Cocoa butter"-the solid fat expressed from the roasted seeds of theobroma cacao; "Filled milk"-any liquid or powder containing the non-fat solids of milk with which has been incorporated or to which has been added any fat other than butter fat or cocoa butter, whether described as filled milk or by any other name and whether or not intended as a substitute for milk or for whole milk powder; "lnspector"-an inspector under this Act; "Manufacture"-Includes prepare and process; "Milk"-Cow's milk; "Package"-Includes every means by which goods may be cased, covered, contained or packed; and "to pack" and its derivatives have corresponding interpretations; "Place"-Includes any building, premises, land, vehicle, aeroplane or boat; "Sale"-Includes barter, exchange, deal in, agree to sell, offer or expose for sale, have in possession for sale, send, forward or deliver for or on sale or authorise, direct, cause, suffer, permit or attempt any of the foregoing; and "to sell" and its derivatives have corresponding interpretations. 3. Prohibition of manufacturing and packing filled milk. ( I) No person shall manufacture or pack filled milk. (2) Any person who manufactures or packs filled milk shall be guilty of an offence against this Act and shall be liable in the case of a first offence to a penalty of not more than four hundred dollars and jn the case of a second or subsequent offence to a penalty of not more than six hundred dollars. Decimal currency references substituted pursuant to section 7 of Decimal Currency Act of As to exemption from the operation of the Act in certain circumstances, see s. 14.

2 FILLED MILK ACT OF 1958 ss Prohibition of the sale of filled milk. (1) No person shall sell filled milk. (2) Any person who sells filled milk shall be guilty of an offence against this Act and shall be liable in the case of a first offence to a penalty of not more than four hundred dollars and in the case of a second or subsequcnt offence to a penalty of not more than six hundrcd dollars. Decimal currency references substituted pursuant to section 7 of Decimal Currency Act of As to exemption from the operation of the Act in certain circumstances, see s Inspectors. Every person appointed (whether before or after the passing of this Act)- (a) An inspector; or (b) An analyst, pur,uant to section five of "The Dairy Produce Acts, 1920 to 1952," shall at all times during the continuance of that appointment and without further or other appointment whatsoever be an inspector or, as the case may be, an analyst under this Act. Act referred to: Dairy Produce Acts to 1963, title DAIRY PRODUCE. Vol. 4, p (I) General powers of inspectors. An inspector may at any reasonable time- (a) Enter and search any place where filled milk is manufactured, stored, packed or sold or is suspected by the inspector to be manufactured, stored, packed or sold; (b) Inspect any filled milk or other substance suspected by the inspector to be filled milk and any plant, machinery, apparatus or utensil in or upon any such place; and (c) Without payment take samples of any such filled milk or other substance and for that purpose open or cause to be opened any package which contains or which the inspector suspects to contain tilled milk or which contains any substance suspected by the inspector to be filled milk. (2) Dealing with samples. When an inspector takes any such sample he shall- (a) Divide the sample into three approximately equal parts; (b) Place each such part in a separate package and seal or fasten each such package; (c) Attach to each such package a label stating, so far as known to him, the name of the occupier of the place where the sample was taken; (d) Deliver one of the parts to the person in charge or apparently in charge of that place; (e) Retain one of the parts for future comparison; and (f) Forward the other part to an analyst for analysis. 7. Powers of inspectors in respect of books, etc. For the purposes of this Act any inspector may at any reasonable time enter any place where he suspects that any accounts, books or documents relating to filled milk or to any fat, oil, powder or other substance of any kind commonly used in the manufacture of filled milk are kept, and may inspect, make copies of, and take extracts from, any such accounts, books or documents.

3 264 MILK Vol Purchaser of filled milk to state name and address of vendor. (1) Any inspector may at any time require the purchaser of any filled milk to state the name and address, or name or address, of the vendor from whom he purchased the filled milk. (2) Any person who when so required- (a) Does not state the name and address, or name or address, of the vendor; or (b) States a name and address, or name or address, which is false or misleading, shall be guilty of an offence against this Act. 9. Obstructing inspector. Any person who- (a) Prevents or attempts to prevent any inspector from exercising any power conferred on him by or under this Act; or (b) Hinders or obstructs any inspector in the exercise of any such power, shall be guilty of an offence against this Act. 10. (1) Power to inspector to seize filled milk, etc., in certain cases. Any inspector may seize, detain or remove any filled milk which he has re.,son to believe has been manufactured or packed in contravention of this P.::t or in respect of which he has reason to believe an offence against,his Act has been committed. (2) Duties of inspector upon seizure. Where any filled milk is so seized, detained or removed by an inspector he shall forthwith- (a) Give notice of the seizure, detention or removal to any person apparently in charge thereof; or (b) If there is no person apparently in charge thereof, give notice of the seizure, detention or removal to any person appearing to be the consignor or owner thereof by any name or address attached thereto or to any package containing the same if such address is a place in Queensland and ot~erwise to the importer or consignee or his agent. (3) Claims to filled milk seized. Any person claiming any filled milk so seized, detained or removed may within forty-eight hours after such seizure, detention or removal complain thereof to a justice and the complaint shall be heard and determined by a stipendiary magistrate who (after hearing the evidence) may either confirm wholly or in part or disallow the seizure, detention or removal and may make an order accordingly. (4) If no such complaint is made, or if the seizure, detention or removal is confirmed then to the extent of such confirmation, the filled milk seized, detained or removed shall become the property of the Crown and shall be destroyed or otherwise disposed of. (5) No inspector who has so seized, detained or removed any filled milk shall be liable for any costs, expenses or damages on account of such seizure, detention or removal if he acted under a reasonable belief that such filled milk had been manufactured or packed in contravention of this Act or that an offence against this Act had been committed in respect of such filled milk.

4 FILLED MILK ACT OF 1958 ss Offences. (1) Every person who contravenes or fails to comply with any provision of this Act shall be guilty of an offence against this Act. (2) Every person guilty of an offence against this Act for which no penalty is specifically provided shall be liable to a penalty of not more than two hundred dollars. (3) All offences against this Act may be prosecuted in a summary way under "The Justices Acts, 1886 to 1958." Decimal currency reference substituted pursuant to section 7 of Decimal Currency Act.of Act referred to: Justices Acts, 1886 to 1965, title JUSTICES, Vol. 8, p Regulations. The Governor in Council may from time to time make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, prescribing all matters and things which by this Act are required or permitted to be prescribed or which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing provisions of this section, in particular- (a) Prescribing the methods of analysis of any filled milk for the purposes of this Act; (b) Prescribing the chemical and physical criteria for the fatty portion of any kind of filled milk, which may constitute the basis of proof for the purposes of this Act that any fat in such filled milk is or is not of a particular nature; and (c) Forms under this Act and the respective purposes for which such forms shall be used. 13. Publication of regulations, etc. (1) Every regulation made under this Act shall- (a) Be published in the Gazette; (b) Upon its publication in the Gazette, be judicially noticed and such publication shall be conclusive evidence of the matters contained therein; (c) Take effect from the date of such publication, unless, in the case of any such regulation, a later date is specified in that or any other regulation for its commencement when in such event it shall take effect from that later date; and (d) Be laid before the Legislative Assembly within fourteen sitting days after such publication if the Legislative Assembly is in session, and if not, then within fourteen sitting days after the commencement of the next session. (2) If the Legislative Assembly passes a resolution of which notice has been given at any time within fourteen sitting days after any such regulation has been laid before it disallowing such regulation or part thereof, that regulation or part shall thereupon cease to have effect, but without prejudice to the validity of anything done in the meantime or to the making of a further regulation. 14. Advisory Committee. (1) The provisions of this Act shall not apply with respect to any product specified by the Minister for the time being administering the Department of Agriculture and Stock (hereinafter in this section referred to as the "Minister") by notice published in the Gazette as a product exempted from the operation of this Act.

5 266 MILK Vol. 12 (2) The determination whether or not any product shall be so exempted shall be made by the Minister in his discretion after consideration of a report and recommendation in respect of the product concerned by the Advisory Committee hereinafter referred to. (3) The Advisory Committee shall consist of three persons appointed by the Minister of whom- (a) One, who shall be chairman of the Committee, shall be a representative of the Department of Agriculture and Stock; (b) One shall be a representative of the Department of Health and Home Affairs nominated by the Minister for the time being administering that Department; and (c) One shall be a person nominated by the governing body for Queensland of the British Medical Association. (4) If the governing body of the British Medical Association fails, within one month after the receipt of a request in writing in that behalf from the Minister, to nominate a person for appointment to the Advisory Committee the Minister may without such nomination appoint a suitable person to be a member thereof. (5) Appointment of deputies. If any member of the Advisory Committee is at any time prevented by absence, illness, or otherwise from performing the duties of his office, the Minister may appoint another person to act in that office during such time as the member is so prevented from performing such duties, and the person so appointed, whilst so acting, shall have and may exercise all of the powers, authorities and functions, and shall perform all of the duties of the member in whose place he acts. (6) Members of the Committee shall hold office for such respective terms, not exceeding three years, as are fixed by the Minister before their appointments but upon the expiration of those terms shall be eligible for re-appointment if then qualified. (7) A quorum of the Committee shall consist of two members one of whom shall be the chairman. (8) At all meetings of the Committee the chairman or in his absence a member elected by the members present to be chairman of the meeting shall preside. (9) The decision of the majority of members present at a meeting shall be the decision of the Committee, and in the event of an equality of votes the question shall be resolved in the negative.