CHAPTER 212.
OF OFFENCES AGAINST PUBLIC POLICY.
AN ACT prohibiting the sale of Beef, which contains or has been treated with, any drug or preparation deleterious to Health.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Delaware in General Assembly met:
Section 1. That from and after the approval of this Act it shall be unlawful for any person, company, firm or corporation to sell or offer to sell by himself or itself, or by his or its servants or agents, or as the servant or agent of any other person, company, firm or corporation, any meat or flesh of any animal used for food after the same has been butchered, which contains any drug or preparation of whatever kind or nature, deleterious or detrimental to the health of persons who may eat the same, or which has been treated with, either externally or internally, or to which has been applied in any manner, any drug or preparation of whatsoever kind or nature, deleterious or detrimental to the health of persons who may eat the same, whether for the purpose of preserving said meat or flesh used for food or for any other purpose. If any person, firm, company or corporation shall violate any of the provisions of this Section, he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and be punishable in the Court of General Sessions of the Peace and Jail Delivery as hereinafter provided.
Section 2. That if any person shall make complaint in writing that he writing, verified by oath or affirmation, before any Justice of the Peace alleging that the complainant has probable cause to suspect, and does suspect and believe that any person, firm, company or corporation, by himself or itself, or by his or its servants or agents, has sold or offered or exposed for sale, or has in his or its possession with intent to sell, any meat or flesh of any animal to be used for food which has been treated with, or which contains any drug or preparation as mentioned in Section 1, and shall in said complaint describe such beef as particularly as may be, and designate the house or place where complainant suspects and believes such meat or flesh is kept or sold as aforesaid, and the name of the person suspected as aforesaid thereupon such Justice of the Peace may within the limits of his jurisdiction, issue his warrant to search such house or place, such warrant shall be directed to any officer or to any other person by name for service, and shall recite the essential parts alleged in the complaint, and the officer, or other person to whom it shall be directed for service as aforesaid shall proceed thereunder as follows: He may enter the house or place designated and if he shall find therein what he believes to be any meat or flesh such as is described in Section 1, he shall take thereupon a sample or samples for the purpose of having the same analyzed or tested as hereinafter provided, and to obtain such sample or samples such officer or other person to whom such warrant shall be directed as aforesaid may cut pieces for the purpose aforesaid from any such meat or flesh as aforesaid by him believed to be treated with or containing any drug or preparation within the meaning of Section i of this Act. The said officer or other person to whom such warrant shall be directed as aforesaid when so taking a sample or samples of such meat or flesh shall then and there divide said sample into two parts as nearly equal as may be, wrap said parts in separate packages, then and there seal the same and offer one of said parts to the person in whose custody the said beef was when taken, with a written notice of the time, place and date, when and where said sample was so taken and that it was taken for the purpose of analyzing or testing it. The other part of said sample shall, together with a written copy of the written notice last above mentioned, be delivered by said officer, or other person to whom said warrant shall be directed as aforesaid to the State Chemist, who shall cause the same to be analyzed or otherwise satisfactorily tested, the result of which analysis or test he shall record and preserve as evidence.
That the said officer or other person to whom said warrant shall be directed as aforesaid shall, within one week next ensuing such delivery to the State Chemist as aforesaid, return said warrant with his proceedings thereunder and his costs and actual expenses endorsed thereon to the said Justice of the Peace, the said costs to correspond in amount as nearly as may be with the costs to which an officer serving a search warrant would thereby be entitled to.
The said sample having been delivered to the State Chemist as aforesaid, he shall, with all convenient speed analyze or test the same, and upon the completion thereof shall forward to the Attorney General a certificate of the result thereof, duly verified by oath or affirmation, and such certificate so verified shall be admitted as evidence before the grand and petit juries in any prosecutions under this Act.
Section 3. That if any person shall be convicted of a violation of any of the provisions of Section i of this Act he shall forfeit and pay a fine of not less than Fifty Dollars nor more than One Hundred Dollars, or be imprisoned for a term not exceeding three months, and pay the costs of prosecution among which shall be taxed the costs of the said Justice of the Peace and the costs and actual expenses endorsed upon said warrant and the charge of the State. Chemist, whose charge shall not in any case exceed the sum of Ten Dollars. In case of failure to convict, the charge of the State Chemist and the costs of said Justice and the costs and actual expenses endorsed upon said warrant as aforesaid shall be paid by the County in which the prosecution is conducted; provided that the amount of money so to be paid by any County shall not exceed in any one year the sum of Two Hundred Dollars.
Approved, April 13, A. D. 1905.