STANDARD MARK (SANITARY REQUIREMENTS) REGULATIONS (sanitaryrequirements)

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 419.01

STANDARD MARK

(SANITARY REQUIREMENTS) REGULATIONS

16th December, 1966

LEGAL NOTICE 77 of 1966.

The title of these regulations is Standard Mark (Sanitary

Requirements) Regulations.

(1) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise

requires -

"Act" means the Malta Standards Authority Act;

"food" means food intended for human consumption and includes

raw food materials, food ingredients, food intermediates, food

additives, and drink;

"open food" means food not contained in a closed container;

"food room" means any room, area, bay or yard in which food

business is conducted;

"contamination" includes contamination by human beings and

their clothing, by animals, insects and birds, and by odour;

"food premises" means one or more food rooms to the exclusion

of any other room, area, bay or yard;

"equipment" includes apparatus, furniture, furnishings and

utensils;

"food business" means the reception, handling, processing,

packing or storage of food.

(2) Words and phrases not otherwise defined in these

regulations shall have the same meaning as is assigned to them in

the Act.

No application for a licence under the Act may be made to

the Authority unless the applicant has first complied with these

regulations both as regards the food premises as well as regards the

containers, the packing, and the transportation, handling and

storage of the goods in respect of which an application is intended

to be made to the Authority.

No food premises shall be in an insanitary condition or be

so sited or constructed that food may become exposed to risk of

contamination.

No fresh air intake of any ventilation pipe forming part of

the soil drainage system of the food premises shall be situated in a

food room and any inlet into such system in any food room shall be

closed with a water trap.

(1) Any food premises shall be provided with such a

number of water supply points as may be necessary for the serving

of the sanitary conveniences and wash-hand basins prescribed by

these Regulations.

(2) No cistern used for the supply of water to any food

premises shall also supply water to a sanitary convenience unless

through an efficient flushing cistern or through some other efficient

flushing apparatus which will be suitable for the prevention of the

contamination of water supplies.

(3) When any food premises are supplied with water obtained

from non-Government sources, such water shall be certified as

being physically, chemically and bacteriologically safe by the

Superintendent of Public Health.

(1) Any sanitary convenience used in connection with any

food premises shall have installed an efficient flushing cistern or

other efficient flushing apparatus to be kept constantly in good

working order and it shall be so placed that no offensive odours

therefrom may penetrate into any food room.

(2) Any room which contains such a sanitary convenience

shall be suitably and sufficiently lighted and ventilated and shall be

kept constantly clean.

(3) No room which contains a sanitary convenience shall be

used as a food room.

(4) No food room which communicates directly with a room

containing a sanitary convenience shall be used for the handling of

open food or for the cleaning of equipment to be used in any food

business in the course of which open food is handled.

(5) There shall be affixed and maintained in a prominent and

suitable position near the entrance to any sanitary convenience used

in connection with any food premises a clearly legible notice

requesting the washing of the hands after using the convenience.

(6) Every room containing such a sanitary convenience shall be

provided with a wash-hand basin and the provisions of regulation

8(2) and (3) shall apply to such wash-hand basin.

(1) There shall be provided in any food premises suitable

and sufficient wash-hand basins for the use of all persons engaged

therein in the handling of food.

(2) Every such wash-hand basin shall be placed in a position

easily accessible to any person and shall be constantly provided

with an adequate supply of water, and with adequate supplies of

soap or other suitable detergent, nail brushes and clean towels or

other suitable drying facilities intended to be used solely for

securing the personal cleanliness of persons engaged in the

handling of food.

(3) Every such wash-hand basin and every trap and connection

thereof shall be kept clean and in efficient working order.

There shall be provided and maintained in such a place and

position as to be readily accessible at any food premises suitable

and sufficient bandages, dressings (including waterproof dressings)

and antiseptics for first aid treatment.

(1) Except where adequate provision is made elsewhere

than in a food room, there shall be provided in the food premises

suitable and sufficient cupboard or locker or accommodation for

the clothing and footwear not worn during working hours of all

persons engaged therein in the handling of food.

(2) The provision of sub-regulation (1) shall not apply to food

premises where no open food is handled.

(1) There shall be provided and maintained in any food

premises, in addition to the wash-hand basins provided for in

regulation 8(1), suitable and sufficient sinks or other similar

facilities for the washing of food and equipment.

(2) Every such sink or other similar facility shall be constantly

provided with an adequate supply either of hot and cold water or of

water at a controlled temperature and with adequate supplies of

soap or other suitable detergent, of clean cloths and of other

adequate and suitable cleaning and drying facilities.

(3) Every such sink or other similar facility and every trap and

connection thereof shall be kept clean and in an efficient work-

order.

(4) Nothing in the preceding sub-regulations shall apply to any

food premises in which no open food is handled.

Every food room shall be suitably and sufficiently lighted.

Except in the case of a humidity controlled or temperature

controlled chamber, there shall be provided and maintained in

every food room suitable and sufficient means of ventilation.

(1) No food room shall be used as sleeping place and no

sleeping place shall be used as a food room.

(2) No food room which communicates directly with a sleeping

place shall be used for the handling of open food.

The walls, floors, doors, windows, ceiling, woodwork and

any other part of the structure and any food rooms shall be kept

clean and in good state or repair and they shall be kept in such a

condition as to enable them to be effectively cleaned and as to

prevent any risk of infestation by rodents, insects or other animals

so far as shall be reasonably practicable.

No refuse or filth, whether in solid or liquid form shall be

deposited or allowed to accumulate in any food room, except so far

as may be absolutely unavoidable for the proper carrying on of the

relative trade or business.

(1) Saving the provision of subregulation (2), any item of

food consisting of meat, fish, gravy or imitation cream, or prepared

from or containing any of these substances or any egg or milk,

unless otherwise specified in any standard order made by the

Authority, shall, while in any food premises, be brought without

undue delay to a temperature below 30º Fahrenheit.

(2)

The provisions of subregulation (1) shall not apply to -

(a) bread, biscuits, cake or pastry by reason only of the

use of eggs or milk as an ingredient thereof prior to

baking;

(b) chocolate or sugar confectionery;

(c) food canned, bottled or otherwise preserved in an

effectively closed container until it so remains

effectively closed;

(d) butter, margarine, lard, shortening, cooking fats or

beef suet;

(e) cheese, uncooked bacon, uncooked ham, dry pasta, dry

pudding mixes, dry soup mixes or dry mixtures for the

preparation of beverages; or

(f)

any unskinned rabbits or hares or unplucked game or

poultry.

(1) No food business shall be conducted in any food room

when structural alterations, concreting, work on masonry or

installation work of any type is being made in any adjoining

ancillary premises.

(2) Any person who is licensed under the Act to use the

standard mark shall inform in writing the Authority as to any

proposed structural alterations or extensions of food rooms

concerned in any way with the local goods in relation to which the

licence shall have been granted.

(3) Any such structural alterations or extensions of food rooms

shall be subject to all the conditions set out in these regulations

and, before permission is granted by the Authority to resume the

use of the standard mark, the Authority shall re-inspect the food

room in question.

(1) Any article of equipment with which food comes, or

m ay come, into contact shall be kept clean and shall be so

constructed, made of such material and kept in such good order,

repair and condition as to enable it to be thoroughly cleaned and to

prevent, so far as reasonably practicable, any matter from being

absorbed by it and any risk of contamination of the food.

(2) Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-regulation (1),

all containers intended to contain food in the course of food

business, whether they be returnable or not and whether they come

into contact with food or not, shall, so far as reasonably practicable,

be protected from contamination and kept free therefrom.

Any person engaged in the handling of food shall, while so

engaged in any food premises, take such steps as may be

reasonably necessary to protect the food from any risk of

contamination, and in particular, but without prejudice to the

generality of the foregoing -

(a) shall not place any food lower than forty-five point

seven centimetres from the ground unless such food is

adequately protected by other means from any risk of

contamination;

(b) shall keep as clean as may be reasonably practicable

all parts of his person, clothing, overclothing or

overalls, which may be liable to come into contact

with such food;

(c) shall keep covered with a suitable waterproof dressing

any open cut or abrasion on any exposed part of his

person;

(d) shall refrain from spitting;

(e) shall not make use of any tobacco or any other

smoking mixture or snuff or any chewing gum while

he is handling any open food or is in any food room in

which there is any open food.

(1) A person engaged in the handling of food shall not,

while so engaged, carry any food in any vehicle or container along

with any article from which there is a risk of contamination of the

food, or with any live animal or live poultry without first taking all

such precautions as are reasonably practicable to avoid risk of

contamination.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the provision of sub-

regulation (1), no person engaged in the handling of food shall,

while so engaged, allow any live animal or live poultry to come

into contact with meat or fish.

(1) A person engaged in the handling of food shall not,

while so engaged, use for wrapping or containing any open food

any paper or other material which is not clean or which is liable to

contaminate food.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the provision of sub-

regulation (1), no person engaged in the handling of food shall,

while so engaged, allow any printed material, other than printed

material designed exclusively for wrapping or containing food, to

come into contact with any food other than uncooked vegetable.

Where any person engaged in the handling of food

becomes aware that he is suffering from, or is the carrier of,

typhoid fever, paratyphoid fever or any other salmonella infection

or dysentery or any staphylococcal infection likely to cause food

poisoning, he shall forthwith give notice of the fact to the person in

charge of the food premises who shall, immediately on the receipt

of such notice, notify the Chief Government Medical Officer

accordingly

Provided that, where the person who is suffering from such

an infection is himself the person carrying on the food business or

is in charge of the food premises, he shall give notice of the fact to

the Chief Government Medical Officer immediately.

(1) No wrapping or packaging materials and no cartons or

containers which come directly into contact with food shall be used

if they are appreciably soluble in the food or if they impart to the

food significant or undesirable quantities of any constituents,

components, or impregnated substances, whether toxic or not.

(2) No food shall be soluble in any of the wrapping or

packaging materials or in the cartons or containers in which it is

stored.

When use is made of coloured or printed wrappers, labels,

cartons or containers which come directly into contact with food,

no visible colouring matter or printing material shall become

transferred to the food during storage.

When lacquered cans are used as containers for any food,

no visible quantity of lacquer shall flake off and become associated

with the contents of the can.