Queensland Consolidated Acts

FOOD ACT 2006 - SECT 270

270 Notice of isolation of prescribed contaminant

(1) This section applies to—

(a) a person who carries on a food business if the person—

(i) tests a prescribed food and isolates a prescribed contaminant in the food; or

(ii) sends a prescribed food to a place outside the State for testing and is notified that a prescribed contaminant has been isolated in the food as a result of the testing; or

(b) a person who tests a prescribed food for a person mentioned in paragraph (a) and isolates a prescribed contaminant in the food.

(2) The person must, unless the person has a reasonable excuse, after isolating the prescribed contaminant or being notified that the contaminant has been isolated—

(a) orally notify the chief executive about the isolation immediately; and

(b) give the chief executive notice about the isolation in the approved form within 24 hours after isolating the contaminant or being notified that the contaminant has been isolated.

Penalty—

Maximum penalty—100 penalty units.

Note—

If a corporation commits an offence against this provision, each executive officer of the corporation may be taken, under section 260A , to have also committed the offence.

(3) It is not a reasonable excuse for the person not to comply with a requirement under subsection (2) that complying with the requirement might tend to incriminate the person.

(4) However, subject to subsection (5) , the following is not admissible in evidence against an individual in any civil or criminal proceeding—

(a) information given to the chief executive about the isolation of the prescribed contaminant (
"primary evidence" );

(b) any information, or document or other thing, obtained as a direct or indirect result of primary evidence (
"derived evidence" ).

(5) Subsection (4) does not prevent primary evidence or derived evidence being admitted in evidence—

(a) in criminal proceedings about the falsity or misleading nature of the primary evidence; or

(b) if a person to whom a direction is given under section 271 (2) fails, without a reasonable excuse, to comply with the direction—in a proceeding against the person for an offence, under this Act.

(6) In this section—

"prescribed food" means food prescribed under a regulation for this section.