Lieut.-Colonel GUINNESSasked the Food Controller whether part of a consignment of beef supplied to the group buyer in Newmarket on 22nd May was condemned by the medical officer of health of the urban district council and destroyed by the order of the Petty Sessional Court; whether the group buyer is demanding payment for this condemned meat; and whether he will take steps to prevent retailers being thus charged for the supply of bad meat for which the Food Ministry is entirely responsible?
§ Mr. McCURDYThe answer to the first two parts of the question is in the506W affirmative. The total quantity of imported meat consigned to Newmarket during the week in question was 4,000 lbs., of which 140 lbs. allocated to one butcher were condemned. Condemnation did not take place until five days after delivery, a period which considerably exceeds the time within which claims are allowed by the Ministry of Food. As no complaint was received from other retailers in Newmarket in respect of this consignment of meat, I cannot accept the statement made in the third part of the question with regard to the responsibility of the Ministry of Food.