STRAWBERRIES WERE BAD

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 903, 21 February 1930, Page 13

STRAWBERRIES WERE BAD

DIFFICULTY OF OBTAINING GOOD FRUIT CHARGE DISMISSED Agreeing with the defence that it was difficult for a fruiterer to ensure consistency in the quality of the strawberries he sold, particularly after bad weather and during the holiday season, Mr. W. R. McKean, S.M., dismissed a charge of selling unwholesome fruit made against Ah Wah at the Police Court this morning. The information was laid against Clement Ah Chee, a director of the firm of Ah Chee, Ltd., but was amended and the charge was made against Ah Wah, manager of one of the company’s shops. Mr. F. D. McLiver entered a plea of not guilty. John McDonald Johnson, who had bought two chips of berries at defendant’s shop on December 27, complained of the quality. The top layer of fruit was good, but half of the first chip was unfit for human consumption. He had informed the police. The strawberries were produced in Court. Mr. McLiver: It’s not fair to show those strawberries. They are nearly two months old. Senior-Sergeant O’Grady: They have been in the freezer all the time. Johnson added that he had been told by an assistant in the shop that no responsibility could be accepted as the berries were sold as they came from the wholesalers. "I was offered my money back on one chip, but dicl not take it, as I thought I would be allowing someone else to be cheated,” witness added. Sergeant Angland, to whom John.son had made his complaint, produced a report by a Government inspector. It was stated that the inspector had examined the fruit 24 hours after the sale. It was then unfit to be eaten, but the condition on the day before could only be surmised. It was probable that they had been in a fairly bad state. According to Clement Ah Chee, Johnson had bought from the cheapest line in the shop. Witness referred to the difficulty of buying strawberries at the markets. It was impossible to make a careful examination of the fruit. The latter statement was supported by’H. G. Staley, secretary of the Fruit Retailers’ Association. “In most cases the fruiterer must know when he is selling fruit of inferior quality,” commented the magistrate. “Strawberries, however, are bought in crates and, cannot be examined before buying. It is impossible to examine them properly in the shop as they deteriorate rapidly when handled. The heavy rains had affected the fruit, and the only remedy for the purchaser was to get his money back. It would be most unfair to convict.”