asked the Minister for Health if he will state whether any traders in the City of Dublin have been prosecuted recently under the Food and Drugs Acts in respect of imported foreign butter supplied to them for sale to the public; and, if so, the number of traders so prosecuted, the grounds for each such prosecution and the country of origin of the butter the subject of the charge in each case.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Food and Drugs Act Prosecutions.
Major de Valera
Dublin Corporation prosecuted two retailers under the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts during the quarter ended 31st March, 1951, in respect of the sale of butter which was non-genuine by reason of the excess water content, amounting in one case to 2.8 per cent., and in the second case to 2.7 per cent. One of these cases came before the district court on the 2nd April, 1951, and it is understood that the second case will come before the court on the 12th April, 1951.
As it is not the practice of the food and drugs inspectors of Dublin Corporation to specify a type of butter when purchasing samples for the purposes of the Sale of Food and Drugs Act, the source of origin of the butter would not be relevant to the prosecution. It is understood, however, that in the course of the court proceedings on the 2nd April it was stated that the butter in question was of Danish origin.