PART IIGENERAL PROVISIONS AS TO FOOD
Defences, etc.
Defence of due diligenceC1C2C3C4C5C6C7C8C9C10C11C12C13C14C15C16C17C18C19C20C21C22C23C24C25C26C27C28C32C33C35C34C37C36C38C4320
C29C39C41C42C44C46C48C50C511
In any proceedings for an offence under any of the preceding provisions of this Part, it shall, subject to paragraph (5), be a defence for the person charged to prove that he took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of the offence by himself or by a person under his control.
C472
Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (1), a person charged with an offence underF1 Article 13 or 14 who neither—
a
prepared the food in respect of which the offence is alleged to have been committed; nor
b
imported it into Northern Ireland,
shall be taken to have established the defence provided by that paragraph if he satisfies the requirements of paragraph (3) or (4).
3
A person satisfies the requirements of this paragraph if he proves—
a
that the commission of the offence was due to an act or default of another person who was not under his control, or to reliance on information supplied by such a person;
b
that he carried out all such checks of the food in question as were reasonable in all the circumstances, or that it was reasonable in all the circumstances for him to rely on checks carried out by the person who supplied the food to him; and
c
that he did not know and had no reason to suspect at the time of the commission of the alleged offence that his act or omission would amount to an offence under the relevant provision.
4
A person satisfies the requirements of this paragraph if he proves—
a
that the commission of the offence was due to an act or default of another person who was not under his control, or to reliance on information supplied by such a person;
b
that the sale or intended sale of which the alleged offence consisted was not a sale or intended sale under his name or mark; and
c
that he did not know, and could not reasonably have been expected to know, at the time of the commission of the alleged offence that his act or omission would amount to an offence under the relevant provision.
C30C40C41C45C49C525
If in any case the defence provided by paragraph (1) involves the allegation that the commission of the offence was due to an act or default of another person, or to reliance on information supplied by another person, the person charged shall not, without leave of the court, be entitled to rely on that defence unless—
a
at least 7 clear days before the hearing; and
b
where he has previously appeared before a court in connection with the alleged offence, before the expiration of one month from his first such appearance,
he has served on the prosecution a notice in writing giving such information identifying or assisting in the identification of that other person as was then in his possession.