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MILK ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1950

MILK ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1950 - LONG TITLE

An Act to make provision with respect to the sale of milk and for
improving the quality of milk sold; and for other matters incidental
thereto{1}.
[21st December 1950]
Licening of production and sale of milk.

MILK ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1950 - SECT 1

1.(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, a person shall
not, either by himself or by any servant or agent sell or offer
or expose for sale any milk, except under the authority of and in
accordance with the terms of a licence issued by the Ministry of
Agriculture (in this Act referred to as "the Ministry") under this
Act.

(2) Subject to the succeeding provisions of this section, and to
the provisions of section three of this Act, the Ministry shall, by
licence issued by it under this section, authorise the sale, offer
or exposure for sale of milk in accordance with the terms of the
licence.

[(3) Licences shall be of the following classes:

<[(a)licences (to be called "farm bottling licences" or such other title as may be prescribed) for

(i)the production and sale of milk which is of a description in
relation to which a designation is prescribed under the succeeding
provisions of this Act and which complies with any prescribed
requirements as to the production of such milk, including
requirements as to the bottling or other packaging thereof on such
premises as may be prescribed; and

(ii)the production of milk which is intended for use in the making
of cream for sale and which complies with such requirements as to
the production thereof as may be prescribed; and

<(iii)the production and, subject to section 3, the sale of milk which is surplus to that required for the production of milk such as is described in sub-paragraph (i) or of cream, and which complies with such standards as may be prescribed;]

(b)licences (to be called "milk licences") for the production and,
subject to section three, the sale of milk, other than [milk such
as is described in paragraph (a)], which

(i)is produced from cows which are healthy and clean; and

(ii)shall comply with such standards of quality as may be
prescribed;

(c)licences (to be called "distributors' licences") for the purchase
and, subject to section three, the re-sale of milk whether by
wholesale or retail].

Subs.(4) rep. by SLR (NI) 1954; 1967 c.15 (NI) s.19(1) sch.2 Pt.II

(5) Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-section (1) of this
section, any person who purports to sell, offer or expose for sale
as being in accordance with the terms of a licence issued under
this Act any milk of a quality inferior to that authorised to be
sold by such licence shall be guilty of an offence against this
Act.

(6) A licence granted under this section shall be in such form and
subject to such conditions as may be prescribed.

(7) It shall be the duty of the person to whom a licence has
been granted under this Act to comply with the terms of the
licence and with any conditions applicable or prescribed in respect
thereof and with such directions as may be given by or on behalf
of the Ministry with respect to

(a)the cows from which the milk is produced;

(b)the premises at which the milk is produced; or

(c)the methods of treatment and handling of milk.

(8) The holder of a licence under this section shall keep such
records and furnish such returns as the Ministry may prescribe for
the purposes of this section and shall permit those records to be
inspected at all reasonable times and extracts to be taken therefrom
by any authorised officer of the Ministry.

(9) Any person who acts in contravention of this section or of any
directions given or conditions applicable or prescribed under or by
virtue thereof shall be guilty of an offence against this Act.

(10) This section shall not apply to sales of milk by a producer
to his servants [nor shall it apply to sales of milk by a
catering business where the milk is consumed on the premises.]

MILK ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1950 - SECT 2
Issue and revocation of licences.

2.(1) An application for a licence under this Act shall be in such
form as the Ministry may determine.

(2) The Ministry on receiving an application for a licence may
before issuing a licence cause an inspection to be made by an
authorised officer of the premises or, in the case of a licence
other than a distributor's licence, the herd proposed to be used
for the purposes of the trade or business in respect of which the
application is made.

(3) An application duly made for the issue of a licence may be
refused on the grounds that

(a)the applicant is at the time a former licence holder whose
licence has been revoked or proposes to carry on business for or
on behalf of, or at premises still owned or occupied by, any such
former licence holder;

(b)the applicant is a person who has been convicted of an offence
under this Act in respect of milk, or under any of the enactments
mentioned in section fourteen of this Act; or

(c)the Ministry is not satisfied that the premises proposed to be
used for the purposes of the trade or business comply with such
requirements as shall be prescribed.

(4) A licence may be revoked or suspended by the Ministry on any
ground on which the Ministry could have refused to grant the
licence, or by reason of the non-compliance of the holder of the
licence with the terms of the licence or the conditions applicable
or prescribed in respect thereof or with any directions given under
this Act.

(5) The holder of a licence revoked or suspended by the Ministry
under this section may within twenty-eight days of the posting by
the Ministry of a registered letter duly addressed to him informing
him of such suspension or revocation serve on the Ministry in
accordance with rules of court a notice of appeal to quarter
sessions against the suspension or revocation as the case may be,
and such appeal shall be heard and determined by the court of
quarter sessions for the district in which the holder resides ....

(6) A licence shall, unless suspended or revoked or surrendered by
the licence holder, remain in force until such date next after the
date on which it is granted, as shall be prescribed, but shall be
renewable annually or at such longer periods as may be prescribed
and the provisions of this Act shall apply to the renewal thereof
as they apply to the grant thereof.

MILK ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1950 - SECT 3
Provisions as to quality of milk sold.

3.[(1) Provision may be made by regulations for prescribing, in
relation to milk of any description which complies with such
requirements (including requirements relating to origin, treatment,
handling and packaging) as may be prescribed, such designation as
the Ministry considers appropriate.

(1A) Subject to the succeeding provisions of this section, no person
shall, either by himself or by any servant or agent,

(a)sell or offer or expose for sale by retail for the purpose of
human consumption; or

(b)use, or have in his possession for use, for the purposes of a
catering business,

(2) For the purposes of this section, milk which is not expressly
sold or offered or exposed for sale for purposes other than human
consumption shall, unless the contrary is proved, be deemed to have
been sold or offered or exposed for sale (as the case may be) for
the purpose of human consumption.

(3) Where the Ministry has reason to believe that any milk is
infected with any disease communicable to human beings, the Ministry
may, without prejudice to any other provision of this Act, direct
that such milk shall not be sold or shall be sold only after
[such treatment as the Ministry may direct].

(4) The Ministry may

(a)authorise in writing the sale by retail of milk produced by the
holder of a milk licence in any area where it is satisfied that
[no milk of a designation prescribed under sub-section (1)] of this
section is available; and

(b)impose conditions subject to which any such sale by retail may
be made.

Subs.(5) rep. by 1963 c.11 (NI) s.6

(6) Any person who acts in contravention of any of the provisions
of this section or of any condition imposed under or by virtue
thereof shall be guilty of an offence under this Act.

(7) This section shall not apply to sales of milk by a producer
to his servants.

MILK ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1950 - SECT 4
Conditions for handling and transporting milk.

4.(1) The Ministry may make such regulations under this Act as
appear to the Ministry to be necessary for prescribing requirements
to be observed in handling and transporting milk.

(2) Any person who fails to comply with the provisions of any
regulations made as aforesaid shall be guilty of an offence under
this Act.

Ss.5,6 rep. by SLR (NI) 1954; 1963 c.11 (NI) s.6

S.7 rep. by 1963 c.11 (NI) s.6

MILK ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1950 - SECT 8
Inspection of premises and examination of cows and milk.

8.(1) Any officer of the Ministry authorised in that behalf by the
Ministry shall have power

(a)to enter and inspect at any reasonable time, and on production
of his authority, any land or premises on which cows are kept for
the production of milk for sale or which he has reason to believe
are used by any person in connection with the business of such
person as a producer or distributor of milk;

(b)to examine any cows kept, or milk found, on any such land or
premises, or any equipment used thereon in connection with milk;

(c)to inspect or examine any milk in the course of its distribution
by any person under the authority of a producer's licence or a
distributor's licence;

(d)to take without payment, for the purposes of examination, and
examine reasonable samples of any milk he is entitled to inspect or
examine under this section.

(2) On any prosecution for an offence under this Act in relation
to milk, the production of a certificate purporting to be signed by
the person to whom any sample of milk taken under this section has
been submitted for examination shall be sufficient evidence of the
facts stated therein, unless the defendant shall have given to the
prosecutor at least three days' previous notice in writing that he
requires that such person shall be called as a witness.

(3) Any person who obstructs or impedes an authorised officer in
the exercise of his powers under this section shall be guilty of
an offence under this Act.

MILK ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1950 - SECT 9
Regulations.

9.(1) The Ministry may make regulations prescribing anything which is
to be prescribed, and providing for any matter in regard to which
regulations may be made, under this Act, and generally for carrying
this Act into effect.

[(1A) Regulations such as are described in section 22(2A) of the
Food and Drugs Act (Northern Ireland) 1958 shall be made with the
concurrence of the Ministry of Health and Social Services.]

(2) All regulations made under this Act shall, so soon as may be
after they are made, be laid before each House of Parliament. If
either House of Parliament, within the statutory period next after
any regulation made as aforesaid has been laid before such House,
resolves that the regulation shall be annulled, the regulation shall,
after the date of the resolution, be void, but without prejudice to
the validity of anything previously done thereunder or to the making
of a new regulation.

MILK ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1950 - SECT 10
Offences, prosecutions and application of sums.

10.(1) Any person guilty of an offence under this Act, other than
an offence under the next succeeding sub-section, shall be liable on
summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding in the case of
a first offence, [#20], and in the case of a second or any
subsequent offence, fifty pounds.

(2) Any person who

(a)in connection with an application for the issue of a licence
under this Act, makes any statement or furnishes any information
which to his knowledge is in any material respect false or
misleading; or

(b)forges or fraudulently alters or uses, or permits to be
fraudulently altered or used, any licence or other document issued
under this Act;

(3) A warranty or invoice shall be available as a defence in a
prosecution for an offence under this Act in any case where a
warranty or invoice would be so available if the prosecution had
been taken under the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts (Northern
Ireland), 1875 to 1939, in respect of the sale of an article of
food, and section twenty-five of the Sale of Food and Drugs Act,
1875, and section twenty of the Sale of Food and Drugs Act, 1899,
shall apply accordingly.

(4) When any offence under this Act committed by a body corporate
is proved to have been committed with the consent or approval of,
or to have been facilitated by any neglect on the part of, any
director, manager, secretary, or other officer of the body corporate,
he, as well as the body corporate, shall be deemed to be guilty
of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and
punished accordingly.

S.11 rep. by SLR 1980

MILK ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1950 - SECT 12
Interpretation.

12.(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, the
following expressions have the meanings hereby assigned to them, that
is to say:

Definition rep. by 1963 c.11 (NI) s.3(a)

["catering business" means the business or undertaking (whether or
not carried on for profit) of an inn, public house, hotel,
restaurant, cafe9, buffet, coffee-stall, snack bar, milk bar or other
premises or place of refreshment open to the public, or of any
club, boarding-house, guest house, refreshment contractor or canteen
and includes a mobile canteen or other vehicle or stall from which
refreshments are served to the public;]

"contravention" in relation to any provision of this Act or to any
condition applicable or prescribed or direction given thereunder,
includes a failure to comply with that provision, condition or
direction (as the case may be);

Definition rep. by 1967 c.15 (NI) s.19(1) sch.2 Pt.II

"milk" means cows' milk;

"the Ministry" has the meaning assigned to it by sub-section (1) of
section one of this Act;

"prescribed" means prescribed by regulations made by the Ministry
under this Act;

["sale by retail" includes a sale to a catering business.]

Subs.(2)(3) rep. by 1954 c.33 (NI) s.48(1) sch.

Short title.

MILK ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1950 - SECT 16

16. This Act may be cited as the Milk Act (Northern Ireland),
1950.

Schedule rep. by SLR (NI) 1954