Meat Industries Act 1996

(c) served on the defendant or the defendant's agent or legal practitioner not less than 7 days before the hearing at which the averment is to be tendered,

shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be sufficient evidence of the matter averred.

(2) An averment may be made under this section only in relation to the following:

(a) that meat or offal was unfit for human consumption or for pet food;

(c) that meat, offal or animals could not have been handled in accordance with the Regulations or a standard or code of practice approved in respect of the licence under which the meat, offal or animal was handled or purportedly handled;

(d) that a person or thing was at a stated place, or within a stated area, at a stated time, or at the time of the taking of a stated action or the occurrence of a stated event;

(e) the presence of chemicals or drugs in meat or in cartons or receptacles found at an establishment;

(g) that meat or offal not fit for human consumption was infected by or affected by, a particular disease or contaminant (including a micro-organism);

(h) the identity of a product made from or containing meat or offal not fit for human consumption;

(i) a specified person was or was not, at a specified time, a licensee; or

(ii) a specified establishment was or was not, at a specified time, the subject of a licence of a specified type.

(3) The Court shall take judicial notice of the official signature of a person who holds or has held the office of Chief Inspector and a certificate under subsection (1) purporting to be signed by the Chief Inspector shall be prima facie evidence of that fact without proof of the signature of the person appearing to have signed it.

(4) The Court may, if the amendments can be made without hardship or injustice to the defendant, allow at the hearing of proceedings such amendments to be made to an averment under this section as appear to it to be desirable or to be necessary to enable the real question in dispute to be determined.