62. Lieut.-Colonel PINKHAMasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture whether representations have repeatedly been made by local authorities responsible for the administration of the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts, pointing out that the present state of the Law does not permit of the punishment of persons guilty of adulteration of milk where they are able, as they are in the majority of cases, successfully to plead a warranty under Section 25 of the Sale of Food and Drugs Act, 1875, and Section 20 of the Sale of Food and Drugs Act, 1899; whether such representations have urged that the warranty defence should be abolished and the retailer made liable for the penalties imposed by the Acts in all cases of adulteration, leaving such retailer to his remedy at Common Law against the person from whom he obtained his supply; and, if he will say whether he contemplates introducing amending legislation at an early date on the lines indicated in such representations?
§ Commander EYRES - MONSELL (Treasurer of the Household)Representations have been made as to the effect of the warranty defence provisions of the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts in the case of milk, some of them on the lines suggested in the question. The hon. and gallant Member will be aware that those provisions have already been amended by the Milk and Dairies (Consolidation) Act of 1915. That Act was suspended during the War and it is proposed to introduce legislation to amend it in certain particulars before bringing it into operation.