PART I | Short title and commencement |
| 1. This Act may be cited as the Wholesome Meat and Fish Act 1999 and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint. |
2.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —| “animal” means any bird, mammal, reptile or amphibian; |
| “authorised examiner” means any person or body of persons designated by the Director-General under section 3(5) to carry out any inspection, examination and certification of any meat product or fish product under this Act and includes any authorised officer; |
| “authorised officer” means any person appointed by the Director-General to be an authorised officer under section 3(2); [16/2000 wef 01/04/2000] |
| “Authority” means the Agri-food and Veterinary Authority established under section 3 of the Agri-food and Veterinary Authority Act 2000; [16/2000 wef 01/04/2000] |
| “cold store” means any chiller, freezer, cold room or other refrigerated facility used for the storage of meat products or fish products and includes any refrigerated conveyance used for transportation of meat products or fish products in the course of any trade or business; |
| “conveyance” includes any aircraft, vessel, train, vehicle or any other artificial contrivance, whether mechanically propelled or otherwise, used or capable of being used as a means of transport on land, water or air; |
| “Director-General” means the Director-General, Agri-food and Veterinary Services appointed under section 3(1) of the Animals and Birds Act (Cap. 7); [16/2000 wef 01/04/2000] |
| “Director-General of Customs and Excise” means the Director-General of Customs and Excise appointed under section 4(1) of the Customs Act (Cap. 70); |
| “disease” means any animal disease and any other disease as is likely to infect human beings; |
| “examination” includes laboratory analysis; |
| “export” does not include the taking out of Singapore of any goods in transit or any goods which are being transhipped; |
| “fish” means any species of fish and includes crustacea, shellfish, echinoderm, mollusc, and the young and eggs thereof; |
“fish product” means —| (a) | any fish or part thereof; and | | (b) | any product or by-product of any fish, |
| which is intended for human consumption; |
|
| “goods in transit” means goods that are brought into Singapore solely for the purpose of taking them out of Singapore and that which remains at all times on the conveyance that brought them into Singapore; |
| “import” does not include the bringing into Singapore of any goods in transit or any goods which are being transhipped; |
| “label” means any written, printed, pictorial or other descriptive matter that is to be applied or attached to or included in, or that accompanies or is to accompany, any meat product or fish product or the package or receptacle thereof, and “labelled” shall be construed accordingly; |
“meat product” means —| (a) | a carcase or any part thereof; and | | (b) | any product or by-product of a carcase, |
| which is intended for human consumption; |
|
| “occupier”, in relation to any premises or conveyance, means the person in occupation of the premises or conveyance or having the charge, management or control thereof and, in relation to any part of any premises different parts of which are occupied by different persons, means the person in occupation or having the charge, management or control of that part; |
| “officer of customs” has the same meaning as in the Customs Act (Cap. 70); |
“owner” —| (a) | in relation to any premises or conveyance, means the person for the time being receiving the rent of the premises or conveyance whether on his own account or as agent or trustee or as receiver, or who would receive the same if the premises or conveyance were let or chartered and, in relation to any premises, includes the person whose name is entered in the Valuation List authenticated under section 15 of the Property Tax Act (Cap. 254); | | (b) | in relation to any licensed slaughter-house, processing establishment, cold store or wholesale market, means the person holding the licence granted under this Act in respect of the slaughter-house, processing establishment, cold store or wholesale market; and | | (c) | in relation to any meat product or fish product or any other item to which this Act applies, includes the person who is the consignor or consignee thereof; |
|
| “premises” includes messuages, houses, buildings, structures, lands, tenements, easements and hereditaments of any tenure, whether open or enclosed, whether built on or not, whether public or private, and whether maintained or not under statutory authority; |
| “process”, with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, includes cutting and the use of any method of manufacture, preservation or preparation; |
| “processing establishment” means any factory, plant or other premises where meat products or fish products, as the case may be, are processed for distribution to wholesalers or retailers or for export; |
| “receptacle”, in relation to any meat product or fish product, means any basket, carton, bag, box, packet or article which contains the meat product or fish product and where any such receptacle is contained in another such receptacle includes the latter receptacle; |
| “rules” means rules made under section 41; |
| “sell” means to sell by way of retail or wholesale dealing and includes barter, and also includes offering or attempting to sell, or receiving for sale, or exposing for sale, or sending or delivering for sale, or causing or allowing to be sold, offered or exposed for sale; |
| “slaughter-house” means any premises where animals are slaughtered for the production of meat products; |
“tranship”, with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, means to bring any goods into Singapore by land, sea or air from any place which is outside Singapore and thereafter to remove those goods from the conveyance in which they were brought into Singapore and —| (a) | return them to that same conveyance; or | | (b) | transfer them to another conveyance for the purpose of being taken out of Singapore, |
| whether those goods are to be transferred directly between conveyances or whether they are to be landed in Singapore after they were brought into Singapore and stored, pending their being taken out of Singapore; |
|
| “vehicle” means any conveyance used to carry goods by land; |
(2) For the purposes of this Act, any meat product or fish product shall be deemed to be adulterated if —| (a) | it does not comply with the prescribed standards; or | | (b) | it contains any chemical, drug or other substance which renders the meat product or fish product injurious to health or unfit for human consumption. |
|
|
| Administration of Act and appointment of officers, etc. |
3.—(1) The Director-General shall be responsible for the administration of this Act, subject to the general or special directions of the Minister.| (2) The Director-General may in writing appoint any public officer or any officer of the Authority or of any other statutory authority to be an authorised officer for the purposes of this Act and any rules made thereunder. [16/2000 wef 01/04/2000] |
| (3) The Director-General may delegate the exercise of all or any of the powers conferred or duties imposed upon him by this Act to any authorised officer. [16/2000 wef 01/04/2000] |
| (4) All authorised officers shall be deemed to be public servants within the meaning of the Penal Code (Cap. 224). [16/2000 wef 01/04/2000] |
| (5) The Director-General may designate any person or body of persons to carry out at any appointed place any inspection, examination and certification of any meat product or fish product under this Act. |
|
| Identification card to be produced |
4.—(1) Every authorised officer, when exercising any of his powers under this Act or the rules shall, if not in uniform, declare his office and shall, on demand, produce to any person affected by the exercise of such power such identification card as the Director-General, the Director-General of Customs and Excise or the Commissioner of Police may direct to be carried by an authorised officer.| (2) It shall not be an offence for any person to refuse to comply with any request, demand or order made or given by any authorised officer if the authorised officer is not in uniform and refuses to declare his office and produce his identification card, on demand being made by the person. |
|
|
