Northern Territory Consolidated Acts

FOOD ACT - SECT 89

(1) This section applies subject to the Food Standards Code.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), an authorised officer who obtains a sample of food for analysis must -

(a) divide the sample into 3 parts and mark and seal or fasten each part in a manner that is appropriate to the nature of the sample;

(b) leave one part with one of the following persons:

(i) the proprietor of the food business;

(ii) the person from whom the sample was obtained;

(iii) a person appearing to be the employee or agent of the proprietor of the food business or person from whom the sample was obtained;

(c) submit one part for analysis; and

(d) retain one part for future comparison.

(3) If dividing the sample into 3 parts in accordance with subsection (2) would, in the opinion of the authorised officer -

(a) affect or impair the composition or quality of the sample in such a way as to render the separate parts unsuitable for accurate analysis;

(b) result in the separate parts being an insufficient size for accurate analysis; or

(c) render the sample in any other way unsuitable for analysis (including unsuitable for analysis by a method of analysis prescribed in relation to the particular food from which the sample was taken),

the authorised officer may take the number of samples that the authorised officer considers necessary to enable an accurate analysis to be carried out and may deal with those samples in the manner he or she considers appropriate in the circumstances.

(4) However, if an authorised officer takes the sample of food in the form of separate or severable objects, it is not necessary for the authorised officer to divide one of those objects into parts in accordance with subsection (2), but he or she may -

(a) take a number of those objects;

(b) divide the number of objects taken into the requisite parts (with each part consisting of one or more separate or severable objects); and

(c) then deal with those parts as required by subsections (2) and (3).