(1) In any proceedings for an offence under this Part, it is a defence if it
is proved that the person took all reasonable precautions and exercised all
due diligence to prevent the commission of the offence by the person or by
another person under the person's control.
(2) Without limiting the ways in
which a person may satisfy the requirements of subsection (1), a person
satisfies those requirements if it is proved--
(a) that the commission of the
offence was due to--
(i) an act or default of another person, or
(ii)
reliance on information supplied by another person, and
(b) that--
(i) the
person carried out all such checks of the food concerned as were reasonable in
all the circumstances, or
(ii) it was reasonable in all the circumstances to
rely on checks carried out by the person who supplied the food concerned to
the person, and
(c) that the person did not import the food into this State
from another country, and
(d) in the case of an offence involving the sale of
food, that--
(i) the person sold the food in the same condition as when the
person purchased it, or
(ii) the person sold the food in a different
condition to that in which the person purchased it, but that the difference
did not result in any contravention of this Act or the regulations.
(3) In
subsection (2) (a), another person does not include a person who was--
(a) an
employee or agent of the defendant, or
(b) in the case of a defendant that is
a body corporate, a director, employee or agent of the defendant.
(4) Without
limiting the ways in which a person may satisfy the requirements of subsection
(1) or (2) (b) (i), a person may satisfy those requirements by proving that--
(a) in the case of an offence relating to a food business for which a food
safety program is required to be prepared in accordance with the regulations,
the person complied with a food safety program for the food business that
complies with the requirements of the regulations, or
(b) in any other case,
the person complied with a scheme (for example, a quality assurance program or
an industry code of practice) that was--
(i) designed to manage food safety
hazards and based on Australian national or international standards, codes or
guidelines designed for that purpose, and