Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act, 1972 (Act No. 54 of 1972 Regulations Regulations Governing General Hygiene Requirements for Food Premises and the Transport of Food 1. Definitions

 

In these regulations any word or expression to which a meaning has been assigned in the Act shall have such meaning and, unless the context otherwise indicates—

 

"abbatoir"

means a facility used for the slaughtering of animals of which the meat and meat products are intended for human consumption, approved and registered in terms of the Meat Safety Act, 2000 (Act No. 40 of 2000);

 

"animal"

means any member of the animal kingdom;

 

"available"

means also available elsewhere than on the food premises in question;

 

"batch"

means a volume or quantity of milk that is stored under controlled temperature and time frame or period when offered for sale to the consumer as stipulated in Regulation 7(5)(a);

 

"best available method"

means a method which is practicable and necessary for the protection of food against contamination or spoilage, having due regard to local conditions and circumstances whether at or on food premises or elsewhere, the prevailing extent of established practice and the financial implications thereof;

 

"butchery equipment"

means the equipment normally used in connection with the processing of carcasses and meat and includes, but is not limited to, bandsaws, mincers, fillers, tenderizers and vacuum packing machines;

 

"certificate of acceptability"

means a certificate of acceptability referred to in Regulation 3;

 

"clean"

means free of any soil, food residues, dust, dirt, dung, impurity, grease or other objectionable matter or contamination to the extent that a state of hygiene is attained, and "cleaning", "keep clean" & "cleaned" has a similar meaning;

 

"container" or "food container"

means anything in which or with which food is manufactured, prepared, processed, stored, served, displayed, packed, wrapped, kept or transported and with which food is in direct contact;

 

"contaminate"

means the effect exerted by any biological or chemical agent (including allergens), foreign matter, or other substances present in food so that it—

and "contamination" has a corresponding meaning;

 

"core temperature"

means the temperature reading taken in the estimated centre of the food;

 

"facility"

means any apparatus, appliance, equipment, implement, storage space, working surface or object used in connection with the handling of food;

 

"food"

means a foodstuff intended for human consumption as defined in Section 1 of the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act, 1972 (Act No. 54 of 1972), excluding food referred to in regulation 14, and raw milk when produced and handled in a milking shed;

 

"food handler"

means a person who in the course of his or her normal routine work on food premises, directly handles or comes into contact with packaged or unpackaged food, food equipment and utensils, or food contact surfaces and is therefore expected to comply with food hygiene requirements;

 

"food hygiene"

means all conditions and measures necessary to ensure the safety and suitability of food at all stages of the food chain;

 

"food premises"

means a building, structure, stall or other similar structure, and includes a caravan, vehicle, stand or place used for or in connection with the handling of food;

 

"good manufacturing practice"

means a method of manufacture or handling or a procedure employed, taking into account the principles of hygiene, so that food cannot be contaminated or spoiled during the manufacturing process;

 

"handle"

includes manufacture, process, produce, pack, prepare, keep, offer, store, transport or display for sale or for serving, and "handling" has a corresponding meaning;

 

"hands"

includes the forearm or the part of the arm extending from the wrist to the elbow;

 

"health hazard"

means any condition, act or omission that may contaminate or spoil food so that consumption of such food is likely to be dangerous or detrimental to health;

 

"inspector"

means a person authorized as such by or under section 10 of the Act;

 

"local authority"

means a municipality as defined in Section 1 of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, 2000 (Act No. 32 of 2000), read in conjunction with Section 32 of the National Health Act, 2003 (Act No. 61 of 2003), and duly authorized in terms of Section 23(1) of the Act;

 

"meat"

means the carcass of an animal slaughtered at an abattoir as provided for in terms of the Meat Safety Act, 2000 (Act No. 40 of 2000);

 

"meat products"

means the parts of a slaughtered animal which are not part of the carcass such as the head, trotters and washed or cleanly scraped entrails;

 

"perishable food"

means any foodstuff which on account of its composition, ingredients, moisture content and/or pH value, lack of preservatives and suitable packaging is susceptible to an uninhibited increase in microbes thereon or therein, when the foodstuff is kept within the temperature spectrum of 5°C to 60°C, and includes the perishable  foodstuffs listed in Government Notice No. R. 1183 of 1 June 1990, as amended, excluding unprocessed fruit and vegetables;

 

"person in charge"

with regard to any food premises, means a natural person who is responsible for the food premises and/or the owner of such food premises, as the case may be;

 

"prepacked food"

means food which, before it is presented for sale or for serving, has been packed as contemplated in regulation 7(3);

 

"Unprocessed"

means any food that is not changed from its natural, raw state through any processing methods;

 

"Unprocessed agricultural crops"

means fresh, raw and unprocessed fruit, vegetables, maize, wheat, rye, unshelled peanuts, sugar cane, sunflower seed or other unprocessed agricultural crops;

 

"ready-to-consume food"

means any perishable food which may be consumed without having to undergo any further process of preparation to make it consumable and ready-to-eat food has a similar meaning;

 

"serve"

means the provision of food whether for a consideration or otherwise;

 

"the Act"

means the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act, 1972 (Act No. 54 of 1972);

 

"thermometer"

means an apparatus which can give the temperature readings referred to in these , the combined accuracy of such a thermometer and its temperature-sensitive sensor being approximately 0,5°C;

 

"unsound"

means unwholesome sick, polluted, infected, contaminated, decayed or spoiled, or unfit for human consumption for any reason whatsoever;

 

"vehicle"

means a train, trolley, wagon, cart, bicycle, sled, truck, boat, ship or aircraft, and includes any other craft, vehicle or conveyance used in the handling, storage or transport of food;

 

"water"

means water that complies with the requirements set out in Water for domestic supplies; SANS 241.