Insect Infested - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition insect-infested

Definition :

Insect-infested, the expression 'insect-infested' was not defined in the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act and has, therefore, to be given its ordinary meaning. The word 'infest' appears to have been derived from the latin word 'infestate' which meant 'to assail or molest'. According to the Oxford English Dictionary (Volume V at page 259) the word 'infest' means 'To attack assail, annoy or trouble (a person or thing) in a persistent manner', 'to visit persistently or in large number for purposes of destruction or plunder', 'to swarm in or about, so as to be troublesome'. In the same dictionary the word 'infestation' is stated to mean: 'The action of infesting, assailing, harassing, or molesting'. It is also mentioned that the word is now used especially for 'insects which attack plants, grain, etc. in large swarms'. Thus an article of food would be 'insect-infested', if it has been attacked by insects in swarms or numbers, Municipal Corporation of Delhi v. Kacheroo Mal, AIR 1976 SC 394 (396): (1976) 1 SCC 412: (1976) 2 SCR 1. [Prevention of Food Adultentation Act, 1954, s. 2(i)(f)]

The words 'insect-infested' cannot be understood to mean merely that the presence of insects was found in the article of food. The word 'infested', accord-ing to the learned counsel, connotes the presence of insects of a magnitude or extent which makes the article unfit for human consumption, Paramjit Singh v. Municipal Corporation of Delhi, AIR 1982 SC 1095: (1982) 3 SCC 317.