Food Act 2001

A certificate of the result of an analysis obtained by the defendant or the prosecution in proceedings for an offence under this Act or the regulations is admissible in any such proceedings and evidence of the facts stated in it if—

the certificate was issued in accordance with this Act;

and

a copy of the certificate is served by the person who obtained it on the other party to the proceedings—

in the case of a certificate obtained by the prosecution—at least 14 days before the hearing;

in any other case—at least 7 days before the hearing.

An analyst who carried out an analysis in relation to which a certificate is produced as evidence in proceedings as referred to in subsection (1) need not be called as a witness in the proceedings by the party producing the certificate unless the court hearing the proceedings so orders (whether on application made to it or by any other means).

In any proceedings for an offence under this Act or the regulations, the prosecution cannot rely on an analysis as evidence for the purposes of those proceedings unless the person who carried out the analysis was, at the time of the analysis, employed or engaged by an approved laboratory.

In any proceedings for an offence under this Act or the regulations—

a document purporting to be a copy of any approval, order, notice or authority under this Act is evidence of that approval, order, notice or authority; or

a document purporting to be signed by the head of the relevant authority certifying that at a specified time or during a specified period—

there was or was not in force any approval, order, notice or authority in relation to a specified person or persons; and

that an approval, order, notice or authority was or was not subject to specified conditions, is evidence of the matters contained in the document; or

a document purporting to be signed by the head of the relevant authority certifying—

as to the receipt or otherwise of any notice, application or payment; or

that any amount of fees or other money is payable under this Act by a specified person and has not been paid at the date of the certificate, is evidence of the matters contained in the document.