Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act, 1972 (Act No. 54 of 1972RegulationsRegulations Governing General Hygiene Requirements for Food Premises and the Transport of Food8. Standards and requirements for the display, storage and temperature of food |
| (1) | Food that is displayed or stored shall not be in direct contact with a floor or any ground surface. |
| (2) | Any shelf or display case used for displaying or storing food or any container shall be kept clean and free from dust or any other impurity. |
| (3) | Non-prepacked, ready-to-consume food, including food served as meals and displayed in an open container, shall be protected in accordance with the best available method, inter alia, against droplet contamination or contamination by insects or dust. |
(4)
| (a) | Subject to Subregulation (5) all food specified in Annexure E to these regulations shall, excluding the time taken by the food to cool down or to be heated to the required temperature in accordance with good manufacturing practice, during the storage, transport or display thereof be kept at a core temperature not exceeding the core temperature specified in Column 3 of Annexure E opposite the relevant category of food, and no food shall be sold if, in the case of frozen or chilled food products, the core temperature thereof is higher that the required core temperature or the surface temperature thereof is more than 2°C higher than the required core temperature, and, in the case of heated food products, the core temperature thereof is lower than the required core temperature or the surface temperature thereof is more than 2°C lower than the required core temperature. |
| (b) | The provisions of paragraph (a) shall not apply to— |
| (i) | any perishable food that will be sold directly to a consumer within one hour of being processed or prepared or that will be consumed on the food premises within one hour of being processed or prepared; |
| (ii) | venison, for a period not exceeding eight hours after the animal concerned has been killed: Provided that the surface temperature thereof shall not exceed 25°C; |
| (iii) | unprocessed raw fish, molluscs or crustaceans or raw meat or edible offal or the carcasses of cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, horses, mules, donkeys, rabbits or ostriches while being transported for a period not exceeding one hour during delivery: Provided that the surface temperature thereof shall not exceed 25°C |
| (iv) | any food exposed to higher temperatures than those referred to in this Regulation during a maturation period or as part of a manufacturing process: Provided that exposure to such higher temperatures shall be in accordance with good manufacturing practice. |
| (5) | Any food that is marketed as a frozen product and has thawed but the surface temperature of which has not exceeded 5°C may be refrozen: Provided that such refrozen product shall be handled in accordance with good manufacturing practice and in the case of frozen fish and seafood be handled in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Compulsory Specification stipulated by the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications. |
| (6) | Frozen food thawed for further processing can be re-frozen, provided that such food: |
| (a) | the core temperature shall not exceed 5°C; |
| (b) | the thawing process shall not exceed 10 hours (as the case may be); |
| (c) | unless processed immediately after thawing is complete the chilling of the thawed food shall commence immediately to comply with the temperatures indicated in Annexure E; |
| (d) | run-off liquid from the thawing process should be adequately drained to prevent cross contamination; |
| (e) | shall be handled in accordance with good manufacturing practice. |
| (7) | The code of practice for measuring the temperature of food set out in Annexure G to these Regulations shall, in so far as it is applicable, be applied to measuring the temperature of food. |