DIRTY MILK.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 6 August 1925, Page 9

DIRTY MILK.

RAW FRA V KIN DO R FI N FD. TEIAIPOR AR Y SUPPLY IJLAME I). Charged with Selling milk till a t did nob wan ply with the regulations under the .s.iile of Foods -and Dings Act., John P. Craig, a. ni.il k vendor of Haivera, appeared at the AlagLstrute d Count today, and, pleading guilty, was fined £7 10s and costs. Sergeant Henry, ior the. police, said that at 0.45 a.m. on May 26 last' Air. Coleman, the local health officer at Rawei a, took a sample oi the milk being delivered by Craig. The sample was went to the Government analyst, and the report returned wais to the effect. that the milk contained 120 parts of dirt per million. The. regulations provided that the milk must he clean, but ft was often .sold containing less than ten per million. Air. .Bayley, ior the defendant, said that Craig had been a milk vendor in Hawena. tor the past live years, and he had not! prevtiously been before the Court. • Samples had hecn taken from hi.s an ilk supply on at least thirty occasions before. " Craig had bought; out another milk vendor's round, and on two mornings ho had used this other man’s supply. It was on the second and last occasion that he had used this other vendor’s supply that the sample had been taken. This particular source of supply was not used now. The milk had been brought in late at night by a farmer, and Craig bad taken it out in the early hours of Ibo morning. Air. llavley contended that’ as far as Craig’s actions were concerned, dirty milk wa.s not as bad as watered milk.

Sergeant Henry Maid that he could iK;b agree with Air. Bay ley .in this contention, and stand that from a health point of view dirty milk w.ais worse than watered milk.

Air. Bay ley said he was not speaking from a health point of view, but from the point of view of Craig's honesty. The vendor had not made the milk dirty.

The Magistrate (Air. J. S. Barton, S.M.) isaicl that the Act was to protect those who could not help themselves, laind therefore the law placed the absolute liability on the vendor. Heavy penalties had to be. imposed in order to keep the trade up to .standard. However, there was no hardship, because the law provided that the vendor could take a warranty that the article was up to standard from the man who supplied the .milk. In isuoli. a case court proceedings would pass over the milk vendor, and. would be directed against the man who supplied the milk and gave .the warranty. Mr. Bay ley said that farmers would not give this warranty, and milk vendors had to either take the supply or leave it, knowing that if they took it, it would have to be without any protection.

The Magistrate: Then the milk vendors must he- prepared to take the risk. A line of £7 10s and costs was inflicted, tlio total coming to £8 9s fid.