SALE OF FOOD AND DRUGS. (Hansard, 20 May 1914)

§ Sir PHILIP SASSOON

I beg to move, "That leave be given to introduce a Bill to consolidate, with Amendments, the Food and Drugs Acts, 1875 to 1890, the Margarine Act, 1887, and the Butter and Margarine Act, 1907."

In presenting this Bill to the House, I should like to preface my remarks by a reference to the Bill brought in the other day by the President of the Local Government Board. To some extent the objects of that Bill and of the one which I desire to submit for your approval are the same. Both aim at the improvement of the health of the general public by safeguarding them from one of its greatest dangers—the sale of impure or contaminated' food stuffs. But while the right hon. Gentleman's Bill deals only with the regulation of the sale of milk and the sanitary condition of dairies, the Bill which I have the honour to introduce seeks to cover the whole field of the contamination and adulteration of articles of public consumption. Hon. Members will he aware that the present law upon such subjects lies concealed, often very successfully concealed, in a number of different Statutes. The inevitable result is that for the layman, who is, after all, most interested in the observance of the law, it is extremely difficult to discover what he may do or may not do, what are his rights and what his duties. The Bill of the right hon. Gentleman, if it becomes law, will only add one more to an already inconveniently lengthy list. The object of 1966 the present Bill is to consolidate into one consistent and comprehensive whole all the existing statute-law governing the subject with which it deals.

I do not think that at this stage in legislative progress I need labour the advantages of consolidating Acts. We have had within recent years a number of most successful examples of such Acts. There can be no doubt that they add immensely to the safety and convenience of the general public, and the ease and expenditure with which justice is administered. I shall say nothing further, therefore, on that score; but, besides consolidation, the Bill also introduces certain amendments of the existing law. At present the powers of officers under the Food and Drugs Acts to purchase or take samples of articles of food or drugs for the purpose of analysis are restricted to articles or drugs which are or have been actually exposed for sale. The present Bill gives power to take samples for analysis at any time after the process of manufacture or preparation for consumption is completed. Further, the powers now possessed by the Local Government Board of fixing by regulations the standards of purity of, and use of, preservatives in certain articles are extended to all articles affected by the Bill. An even more important change is a proposal to set up a Committee of fifteen persons of a representative character to advise the Board in the passing of such last-mentioned regulations. The existing provisions relating to the defence of warranty have also been revised with the intention of making it more difficult for the seller of an impure or adulterated article to escape the proper consequences of his act. Additional innovations deal with the compulsory registration of vendors of milk and butter, the infliction of imprisonment for repeated offences, exemption of officers from the necessity of entering into recognisances and the granting of analysts' certificates. I have said enough, I think, to explain the general scope of the Bill, and to show that it does not necessarily conflict with any Bill already before the House. It is in the belief that the changes it introduces are for the public benefit that I move that it be now read the first time.