§ Mr. Thorneasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he can give any information in connection with the charge made against A. W. Bruckshaw, of Mount Pleasant Road, Tottenham, for selling a sugar substitute with a false trade description and adulterated saccharine tablets?
§ Mr. E. BrownI have been asked to reply. I have made inquiries and am in-formed that A. W. Bruckshaw of 283, Mount Pleasant Road, Tottenham, sold to a retailer an article labelled as being a substitute for sugar, the packet being stated to contain £ oz. and to be equal to 3 lbs. of sugar. A sample packet as sold by Bruckshaw, was found in fact to contain 0.38 oz. and the sweetening power to be equal to only 0.3 lb. of sugar. The authority then brought two charges against Bruckshaw; one under the Food and Drugs Act, 1938, for giving a label falsely describing the article as to its nature, substance, and quality; and the other under the Merchandise Marks Act, 1887, for selling an article to which a false trade description, namely the statement 1923W that the weight was ¼ oz., was applied. A fine of 10s. was imposed by the magistrates in respect of the offence under the Food and Drugs Act, and a sentence of three months imprisonment, in respect of that under the Merchandise Marks Act. An appeal was made to quarter sessions against the latter sentence, but it was confirmed.