I move that the Bill be now read a Second Time. The object of the Bill is to further correlate the provisions of the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts in relation to milk with recent milk legislation and to amend and clarify certain provisions of these Acts. Thus, Section 2 confers the powers of a sampling officer under the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts on a sampling officer of a sanitary authority for the purposes of the Milk and Dairies Act, 1935. Inasmuch as the sanitary authorities are charged with the duty of securing the purity and wholesomeness of the milk supply, it is desirable that the powers possessed by sampling officers under the Milk and Dairies Act, to take and submit samples of milk for bacteriological examination, should be extended to include the taking of samples for analysis as to chemical content under the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts.
Again, Section 3 enables the Minister to prescribe the manner of sampling and the amount of the sample. The purpose of this section is to ensure uniformity in the operations of sampling officers which has already been achieved in connection with samples taken under the Milk and Dairies Act. It will be appreciated that the result of an analysis of milk depends to a considerable extent on the method of sampling, and it has been brought to the notice of my Department that serious discrepancies have been found in the results obtained by public analysts and the State chemist, due largely, it is felt, to a lack of uniformity in sampling. It is essential, therefore, to ensure proper administration that uniformity of procedure in the collection of samples should be achieved. The effect of Section 4 is to rectify an error in Section 2 of the Act of 1935. The remaining sections are purely technical.
