(1)A person shall not carry on the business of curing bacon unless he holds a licence (in this Act called “a curing licence”) for that purpose granted under this section, and any person who carries on or attempts to carry on the said business in contravention of the provisions of this section shall be guilty of an offence under this Act.
(2)Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Ministry shall have power to grant, revoke and suspend curing licences authorising the persons named therein to carry on the business of curing bacon.
(3)The Ministry shall, on application being made in the prescribed manner, and on payment of the fee specified in sub-section (4), grant to any person, upon such conditions as may be prescribed, a curing licence for the purpose aforesaid but may refuse to grant a curing licence to an applicant—
(a)who was formerly licensed under this section or under section four of the Agricultural Produce (Meat Regulation) Act (Northern Ireland), 1930 [1930 c.23] , but whose licence has been revoked or the renewal of whose licence the Ministry has refused; or
(b)where the Ministry is not satisfied that, regard being had to the supply of pigs available or likely to become available and to the facilities already existing and to the facilities at that time planned with the Ministry's approval to be provided for the curing of bacon, any additional facilities for such curing are needed.
(4)F1 The fee for the granting or renewal of a licence under this section shall be a sum of ten pounds payable upon the granting or renewal of the licence.
(5)The Ministry may refuse to renew a curing licence where it is satisfied that the holder thereof has not, at any time during the two years preceding the date of the application for the renewal, carried on the business of curing bacon.
F1Power to vary or abolish fee, 1968 c. 8 (NI)
(1)Subject to the provisions of this section, the Ministry shall have power to regulate the production of pig products by determining from time to time the number of pigs of such description as the Ministry shall determine which may be used by a licensed bacon curer or other producer of pig products for the purposes of his business as such bacon curer or producer and a determination so made in relation to a licensed bacon curer shall be deemed to be a condition applying to any licence for the time being held by him.
(2)Where a bacon curer was a licensed bacon curer on the first day of November, nineteen hundred and thirty-four, the minimum number of pigs which the Ministry may determine under sub-section (1) for use by him during any period shall be—
(a)the number of pigs used by him in the corresponding period of the twelve months immediately preceding that date; or
(b)where he has, in the corresponding period of the twelve months immediately preceding the date of the determination under sub-section (1), used a lesser number of pigs than that specified in paragraph ( a), such lesser number;
but where such bacon curer's method of cure has to any extent changed since the said first day of November, the said minimum number of pigs may be reduced to such number as the Ministry, having regard to the extent to which the method of cure has so changed, may determine.
(3)Before fixing or altering the basis on which a determination is made under sub-section (1), the Ministry shall consult such body or bodies of persons as appear to the Ministry to represent licensed bacon curers and shall, where it considers it necessary, consult representatives of any other persons who appear to the Ministry to be directly affected by the determination.
(4)If a licensed bacon curer or other producer of pig products fails to observe any prescribed requirement as to the production of pig products the Ministry may revoke in whole or in part a determination under sub-section (1) of the number of pigs which may be used by that bacon curer or producer.
(5)The Ministry may exempt from the provisions of this section producers of pig products who, for the purposes of their business as such producers, use less than a specified number of whole pigs of such description as is determined by the Ministry under sub-section (1).
(6)Any person who acts in contravention of a determination in force under sub-section (1) shall be guilty of an offence under this Act.
(1)The Ministry may for the purposes of making more efficient the production, curing, processing, manufacturing, marketing and distribution of pig products and of improving their quality make such regulations as appear to the Ministry to be necessary:—
(a)for imposing requirements as to the manner in which and the conditions under which pigs are collected, handled, driven, transported, penned and weighed;
(b)for requiring the inspection of pigs before and after slaughter;
(c)for imposing standards for buildings and equipment and for securing their maintenance in a sound and hygienic condition;
(d)for securing proper standards for the slaughtering, dressing, chilling and butchering of pigs;
(e)for securing that the processing, manufacture and storage of such pig products as are specified in the regulations are carried out in a hygienic manner;
(f)for imposing requirements as to the method by which bacon is cured and smoked and as to the quality and grading of bacon;
(g)for imposing requirements as to the manner in which pigs, bacon and pig products or any description thereof are to be graded, marked, packed, stored, adapted for sale or transported.
(2)Regulations made under paragraph ( g) shall not be made so as to interfere with the lawful use by any person of a particular mark or brand for the purposes of his trade or business.
(3)Before making any regulations under sub-section (1) the Ministry shall consult such body or bodies of persons as appear to the Ministry to represent licensed bacon curers and shall, where it considers it necessary, consult representatives of any other persons who appear to the Ministry to be directly affected by such regulations.
(4)All consignments of bacon or pig products produced in Northern Ireland shall be clearly marked so as to indicate the identity of the curer or producer.