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FOOD SAFETY ACT 2006
Act ?? of 2006
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1 Short title and commencement.........................................................................5 2 Interpretation....................................................................................................5
3 Labelling requirements ....................................................................................8 4 Registration of food businesses’ premises.......................................................8 5 Training of food handlers.................................................................................9 6 Health of food handlers...................................................................................9 7 Expiration and “best before” dates ..................................................................9 8 Obtaining food from closed areas....................................................................9 9 Power to prescribe a food as a prohibited product where a public health
concern exists.................................................................................................10
10 Food that is not suitable for human consumption..........................................10 11 Misleading or deceptive food.........................................................................10 12 Labelling not complying with requirements..................................................10 13 Food not complying with a prescribed standard............................................10 14 Food not complying with regulations............................................................11 15 Insanitary conditions......................................................................................11 16 Selling a food after its expiration date...........................................................11 17 Selling a food after its “best before” date......................................................11 18 Obliterating an expiration date or “best before” date ....................................11 19 Failure to provide reasonable assistance........................................................11 20 Interfering with the duties of inspectors ........................................................11
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21 Providing inspectors false or misleading information....................................12 22 Offences against an order by the Director of Health......................................12
23 Appointment of food inspectors.....................................................................12 24 Powers of entry and search.............................................................................13 25 Inspection report.............................................................................................14 26 Inspection frequency ......................................................................................14 27 Sampling ........................................................................................................15 28 Appointment of analysts.................................................................................15 29 Certificate of analyst to be evidence ..............................................................15 30 Copy of result of analysis...............................................................................15 31 Cost of analysis ..............................................................................................15 32 Seizing articles ...............................................................................................16 33 Destruction and disposal of seized articles.....................................................16 34 Temporary closure..........................................................................................17 35 Liability ..........................................................................................................18
36 Bringing of prosecutions ................................................................................18 37 Magistrates’ Courts to have jurisdiction ........................................................18 38 Penalties .........................................................................................................18 39 Offences by bodies corporate.........................................................................18 40 Additional powers of the court.......................................................................19
41 Regulations.....................................................................................................19 42 Repeal and Savings ........................................................................................20
ENDNOTES 21
Table of Legislation History..........................................................................................21 Table of Renumbered Provisions...................................................................................21 Table of Endnote References.........................................................................................21
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Act ?? of 2006
I assent, Governor Genera, 27th June 2006
Commencement [Date]
2 Interpretation In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires — “adulterated”, in relation to a food, means:
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“advertise” means use of words, whether written or spoken, symbolic or pictorial representation or design, or any other representation that has the effect of promoting a product for sale.
“article” means (i) any food or (ii) anything used to label or advertise food or (iii) any thing or machine used for the preparation, preservation, packing, storing or displaying of any food.
“best before date” means the date after which a food may not be of the quality expected by a consumer.
“expiration date” means the date after which a food may be unsafe to eat. For the purposes of this Act the phrases “use by”, “expiry date” and “expiration date” shall have the same meaning.
“food” means any substance, whether processed, semi-processed or raw, which is intended for human consumption, and includes drinks, chewing gum and any substance which has been used in the manufacture,
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preparation or treatment of “food” but does not include cosmetics or tobacco or substances used only as drugs.
“food business” means any undertaking, whether for profit or not and whether public or private, carrying out any of the activities related to any stage of production, processing and distribution of food for sale. While not limited to the following, food businesses include restaurants, bakeries, caterers, food wholesalers and retailers, fish vendors, food hawkers, meat butcheries, food processors, food importers and food exporters.
“food handler” means any person who directly handles packaged or unpackaged food, food equipment and utensils, or food contact surfaces and is therefore expected to comply with food hygiene requirements.
“good hygienic practices” means practices as prescribed by the Recommended International Code of Practice–General Principles of Food Hygiene of the Codex Alimentarius Commission.
“hazard” a biological, chemical or physical agent in, or condition of, food with the potential to cause an adverse health effect.
“insanitary conditions” means such conditions as could cause contamination of a food with dirt of filth, or could render the food injurious or dangerous to health, whether such contamination or injury or danger actually occurs or not.
“label” means any tag, brand, mark, pictorial or other descriptive matter, written, printed, stenciled, marked, embossed or impressed on, or attached to, a container of food.
“Minister” means the Minister responsible for health
“premises” means:
“operator” means any person who is in charge of, responsible for the operations of, directs or controls the production, processing, handling or sale of food for a food business premises.
“sell” means to offer, advertise, keep, deliver, or prepare for sale or exchange, to dispose of for consideration, or to deliver in pursuance of a sale or exchange.
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All food handlers shall, prior to starting work in a food business, be required to have undergone training offered by the health authorities or by a training organization accredited by the health authorities for such training.
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A person who imports, exports, produces, processes, handles, stores, displays or sells food that is unfit for human consumption, adulterated, damaged, deteriorated, or perished commits an offence and is liable upon conviction to a fine not exceeding $500.
A person who labels, packages, processes, handles, stores, displays, sells or advertises any food in a manner that is false, misleading or deceptive about its character, nature, value substance, quality, composition, merit or safety commits an offence and is liable upon conviction to a fine not exceeding $500.
A person who labels, packages, processes, handles, stores, displays, sells or advertises any food that is not labelled in accordance with section 3 of the Act or its regulations commits an offence and is liable upon conviction to a fine not exceeding $500.
A person who imports, exports, processes, handles, stores, displays, sells or advertises food that does not comply with a prescribed standard for that food commits an offence and is liable upon conviction to a fine not exceeding $500.
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A person who labels, imports, exports, packages, processes, handles, stores, displays, sells or advertises any food in a manner that is in contravention of any regulations promulgated under this Act commits an offence and is liable upon conviction to a fine not exceeding $500.
A person who produces, processes, handles, stores, displays or sells food under insanitary conditions commits an offence and is liable upon conviction to a fine not exceeding $500.
A person who imports, exports, stores, displays, sells or advertises any food after its expiration date commits an offence and is liable upon conviction to a fine not exceeding $500.
A person who imports, exports, stores, displays, sells or advertises any food more than one week after its “best before” date, unless otherwise permitted by regulations under this Act, commits an offence and is liable upon conviction to a fine not exceeding $500.
A person who marks any article or takes any other action so as to make an expiration date or a ‘best before” date not easily visible commits an offence and is liable upon conviction to a fine not exceeding $500.
A person who refuses or fails to give to a food inspector all reasonable assistance or any information which such person may reasonably be expected to possess commits an offence and is liable upon conviction to a fine not exceeding $500.
20 Interfering with the duties of inspectors
A person who —
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commits an offence and is liable upon conviction to a fine not exceeding $500.
A person who knowingly makes a false or misleading statement, either verbally or in writing, to any food inspector in the performance of his or her functions under this Act, its regulations or standards commits an offence and is liable upon conviction to a fine not exceeding $500.
A person who —
commits an offence and is liable upon conviction to a fine not exceeding $500.
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(3) With respect to food being imported to Tuvalu, at the point of entry of the food into the country, agricultural quarantine officers shall be food inspectors for the purposes of this Act.
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After any inspection, the food inspector shall give to the owner or person in charge of the premises at the time of inspection a written report noting any violation of this Act or the regulations. A copy of this report shall be given to the Health Inspector and Chief of Public Health.
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The Minister may, by notice in the Gazette, accredit suitably qualified persons or laboratories, located either within or outside Tuvalu, to be analysts for performing laboratory and field tests for the purpose of this Act.
A copy of the result of any analysis shall, on demand, be supplied to the person from whom the sample was procured.
The court may, in case of a conviction, award the cost of analysis against the defendant as part of the costs of the prosecution.
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the Chief of Public Health shall request the responsible authority for issuing of trading licenses to immediately withdraw the license of the food business.
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No food inspector or analyst shall be liable for any actions taken while executing his or her duties under this act, unless he or she has acted in bad faith or without reasonable care.
Any Magistrates’ Court shall have jurisdiction to hear, try and determine any criminal proceeding arising in or from a charge made before such court that any person has committed, or is suspected of committing, within the jurisdiction of such court any offence under this Act.
A person who contravenes or fails to comply with any provision of this Act creating an offence is liable upon conviction, where there is no penalty provided, to a fine not exceeding—
If a body corporate commits an offence against this Act, each director or other person concerned in the management of the body corporate is also guilty of, and liable to the penalty provided for, that offence unless the director or other person
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proves that he exercised reasonable diligence to prevent the commission of the offence.
(1) The Minister, acting in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet, may make any regulations necessary to give effect to this Act, including, but not limited to, —
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(2) In making regulations the Minister shall, so far as practicable, consider the desirability of —
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Legislation | Year and No | Commencement |
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