asked the Minister for Agriculture if he has satisfied himself that those samples of milk referred to in reply to a recent question which failed to pass the required tests laid down by his Department were fit and safe for human consumption.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Milk Samples and Classification.
It is not a function of the Minister for Agriculture under the Milk and Dairies Act, 1935, to determine whether milk which fails to pass such tests—which are, in fact, laid down by the Minister for Health—is fit and safe for human consumption. This would be the concern of the local sanitary authority.
asked the Minister for Agriculture if he will state what action, if any, was taken against those suppliers who, as shown by departmental figures in a recent reply on this subject, were responsible for retailing milk under the false classification of highest grade milk and who claimed and obtained increased prices by virtue of so classifying the milk supplied to their customers.
Mr. Walsh
In the cases referred to where a number of samples of highest grade milk failed to pass the methylene blue and bacillus coli tests, suitable warnings were issued to the licensees concerned and special inspections of premises and production methods were made by officers of my Department with a view to eliminating the defects which led to such failures.