Section 16: Offences

16. Offences (1) (a) No person shall import, prepare, supply or sell any food unless such food is of merchantable quality. (b) For the purposes of paragraph (a), “merchantable quality” means fitness for the purpose for which the food is sold as it is reasonable to expect, having regard to all the relevant circumstances. [Issue 1] F18 – 10 Revised Laws of Mauritius (2) Any person who— (a) obstructs, impedes, molests or assaults any authorised officer in the course of his duty or prevents the execution by the authorised officer of his duty in any manner; (b) fails to furnish his name and address or who knowingly makes any false or misleading statement either verbally or in writing to any authorised officer engaged in carrying out his duty; (c) being the owner, occupier or person in charge of any premises to which an authorised officer has gained access under section 4, or any person found therein who does not give to the authorised officer such reasonable assistance or furnish him with such information as he may reasonably require; (d) fails to comply with a request or notice under this Act; (e) fails to comply with an order of the District Magistrate or of the Permanent Secretary under this Act, or removes the copy of an order affixed under section 10 (6) (b); (f) in respect of any food sold by him as principal or agent, gives to the purchaser a false warranty or written statement, unless he proves that when he gave the warranty he had reason to believe that the statements or descriptions contained therein were correct; or (g) otherwise contravenes any provision of this Act or any regulations made under this Act, shall commit an offence. (3) Any person who imports, prepares, supplies, distributes or sells any food which— (a) is poisonous, harmful or injurious to health; (b) contains any foreign matter; (c) is unfit for human consumption; (d) is the product of a diseased animal or an animal which has died otherwise than by slaughter; (e) is the product of a decomposed vegetable or vegetable substance; or (f) is adulterated, shall commit an offence. (4) For the purposes of this section, any food shall be deemed to be adulterated where a Government Analyst, a food microbiologist or an authorised officer, as the case may be, certifies that— (a) it contains or is mixed or diluted or blended with any substance which diminishes its nutritive value or its beneficial properties, or alters its natural state, when compared with the food in a pure, normal and undeteriorated condition; F18 – 11 [Issue 1] Food Act (b) any substance or ingredient has been extracted or omitted therefrom, and by reason of the extraction or omission, the nutritive or other beneficial properties of the food are less than those of the food in its normal and undeteriorated condition; (c) it contains or is mixed or diluted or blended with any substance of lower commercial value than the food in a pure, normal and undeteriorated condition; (d) it contains any substance, the addition of which is not permitted under this Act or any regulations made under this Act; (e) it contains a greater proportion of any substance than is permitted in regulations made under this Act; (f) it is mixed, coloured, powdered, coated, stained, prepared or otherwise treated in a manner whereby damage or inferiority may be concealed; (g) it is in a sealed package form, and the package is damaged by insects, rodents and other pests; (h) it is in a sealed package form, and the package is so damaged as t which is not permitted under this Act or any regulations made under this Act; (e) it contains a greater proportion of any substance than is permitted in regulations made under this Act; (f) it is mixed, coloured, powdered, coated, stained, prepared or otherwise treated in a manner whereby damage or inferiority may be concealed; (g) it is in a sealed package form, and the package is damaged by insects, rodents and other pests; (h) it is in a sealed package form, and the package is so damaged as to be no longer able to ensure the protection of its contents from contamination and deterioration; (i) it is in a package, and the original contents of the package have been removed in whole or in part and other contents placed instead; (j) it is exposed to contamination by micro-organisms, dust, flies, rodents and other pests; (k) it does not comply with any standard or specification prescribed by regulations made under this Act; (l) though not unfit, it is prohibited from being imported, or sold for human consumption; or (m) it contains abnormal levels of micro-organisms likely to cause food intoxication.