CANNED FOOD REGULATIONS

CANNED FOOD

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 449.09

CANNED FOOD REGULATIONS

1st May, 1978

LEGAL NOTICE 142 of 1977.

The title of these regulations is the Canned Food

Regulations.

In

these

regulations,

unless

the

context

otherwise

requires -

"the Act" means the Food Safety Act;

"animals" includes poultry and rabbits;

"canned food" means food contained in a hermetically sealed

container whether the said container is made of metal, glass or

other material;

"carbohydrate" means a substance containing carbon, hydrogen

and oxygen only, in which the hydrogen and oxygen occur in the

same proportion as in water;

"per mitted co lou rin g m atter" has th e same m ean ing as is

assigned to it in the Use of Colours in Foodstuffs Regulations;

"permitted sweetening agent" means -

(i)

saccharine as is defined in the edition of the

British Pharmacopoeia current for the time

being, and

(ii) sorbitol having the formula C 6 H 14 O 6 (+½ 1H 2 0);

"pesticide" has the same meaning as is assigned to it in the

Pesticides Control Act;

"to sell" includes to offer, expose, advertise or keep for sale and

to supply by way of compensation or otherwise.

No person shall sell any canned product prepared or

manufactured from any food -

(a) which is deteriorated or unwholesome or toxic;

(b) which is derived from a diseased animal;

(c) which is derived from a deteriorated animal or animal

product, deteriorated fish or fish product, or

deteriorated fruit, legume, vegetable or other like

product;

(d) to which has been added any colouring matter other

than a permitted colouring matter;

(e) which contains any preservative or any food additive

not permitted by the Act or by any regulations made

thereunder;

(f)

which contains any sweetening agent other than a

carbohydrate, unless -

CANNED FOOD

(i)

the canned product has been prepared or

imported under a licence granted by the

Superintendent of Public Health for the

preparation, importation or sale of food for

diabetics or dietary purposes;

(ii) the sweetening agent is a permitted sweetening

agent; and

(iii) the canned product bears a label with the words

"for diabetics" or "for dietary purposes"; or

(g) which contains any pesticide or other contaminant or

any foreign matter except as permitted by or under the

Act or any regulations made thereunder.

No person shall import or sell any canned food, or any food

intended to be sold as canned food, unless such food complies in all

respects with the provisions of these regulations.

Canned food may contain also any one or more of the

following

(i)

carbohydrate;

(ii)

vinegar;

(iii)

alcohol;

(iv)

spices and seasonings;

(v)

edible oil;

(vi)

citric acid;

(vii)

lemon juice;

(viii)

ascorbic acid;

(ix)

salt, and

(x)

flour, including soya flour.

Where canned food is heat processed, either before or after

sealing, the processing shall be at a temperature and for a time

sufficient -

(a) to prevent the survival of any micro-organisms capable

of producing toxics;

(b) to inactivate micro-organisms capable of development

under non-refrigerated (normal) conditions of storage;

(c) in the case of products with an equilibrium pH above

4.5, to destroy all spores of Clostridium botulinum.

No person shall import or sell any canned food containing -

(a) insects, insect fragments, insect larvae or insect eggs;

or

(b) moulds; or

(c) cysts or other parasites.

(1) Any person who owns, or who is responsible for the

management of, a factory used for canning food as well as any

person who imports canned food shall keep, or cause to be kept,

records of coding system or systems adequate for identifying the

canned products produced or imported by him, as the case may be,

CANNED FOOD

and, in the case of canned food produced by him and which has

been heat processed, such records shall contain details as to the

heat processing.

(2) Each of the records as are referred to in sub-regulation (1)

shall be kept for a period of three years and shall be made available

for inspection by the Sanitary Authority.

No person may import canned meat, canned meat products

or canned food containing meat unless -

(a) each consignment of such food is accompanied by a

document or documents to the satisfaction of the

Superintendent of Public Health, such document or

documents showing in particular -

(i)

that the meat from which was prepared the

canned product to which the document, or

documents, relates was derived from animals

which were inspected, in the country of origin of

the meat, before and after death and were found

free of disease at the time of slaughter;

(ii) that all the dressings, preparation, processing,

packing and labelling of the meat was carried

out with such precautions and with such

materials and equipment and in such a manner as

to preclude any danger to health, and

(b) the meat was prepared in a plant or establishment

acceptable to the Superintendent of Public Health.