Food and sale, 'Food' is defined by S. 2(v) of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 as meaning 'any article used as food or drink for human consumption other than drugs and water and includes:
(a) any article which ordinarily enters into, or is used in the composition or preparation of human food, and
(b) any flavouring matter or condiments. 'Sale' is defined by S. 2(xiii) as follows: 'Sale' with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, means the sale of any article of food, whether for cash or on credit or by way of exchange and whether by wholesale or retail, for human consumption or use, or for analysis, and includes an agreement for sale, an offer for sale, the exposing for sale or having in possession for sale of any such article, and includes also an attempt to sell any such article; According to the definition of 'food' any used as food or drink for human consumption and any article which ordinarily enters into or is used in the composition or preparation of human food is 'food'. It is not necessary that it is intended for human consumption or for preparation of human food. It is also irrelevant that it is described or exhibited as intended for some other use. It is enough if the article is generally or commonly used for human consumption or in the preparation of human food. Where an article is generally or commonly not used for human consumption or in the preparation of human food but for some other purpose, notwithstanding that it may be capable of being used, on rare occasions, for human consumption or in the preparation of human food, it may be said, depending on the facts and circumstances of the case, that it is not 'food'. It seems a real sale as well as an 'embryonic' sale (like agreement for sale, offer for sale, exposure for sale, possession for sale, attempt at sale) are sales for the purposes of the Act. The sale may be for cash or credit or by way of exchange. The sale may be by wholesale or retail. Thus every kind, manner and method of sale are covered. Finally, the sale may be 'for human consumption or use, or for analysis'. In the context, these words can only mean 'whether for human consumption or for any other purpose (including analysis)'. The object is to emphasise that whatever be the purpose of the sale it is sale for the purposes of the Act, just as the words 'whether by wholesale or retail' or 'whether for cash or credit or by way of exchange' are intended to emphasise that it is immaterial for the purposes of the Act what manner and method of sale is adopted. To give any other interpretation to the definition of 'sale' would be to exclude from the ambit of the Act that which has been included by the definition of 'food'. Further, a sale 'for analysis' can never be a sale 'for human consumption' but it is nonetheless a sale within the meaning of the definition. It is an unqualified sale for the purposes of the Act. To insist that an article sold for analysis should have been offered for sale for human consumption would frustrate the very object of the Act, State of Tamil Nadu v. R. Krishnamurthy, AIR 1980 SC 538: (1980) 1 SCC 167: (1980) 2 SCR 59.