CANNED FOOD ġ S.L.231.17 1
SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 231.17
CANNED FOOD REGULATIONS
1st May, 1978
LEGAL NOTICE 142 of 1977.
Title .
Interpretation.
requires-
Cap. 231.
"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;
S.L. 231.30
"permitted colouring matter" has the same meaning 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);
Cap. 192.
"pesticide" has the same meaning as is assigned to it in the
Pesticides (Control of Importation, Sale and Use) Act;
"to sell" includes to offer, expose, advertise or keep for sale and
to supply by way of compensation or otherwise.
Prohibition of sale 
of certain canned 
food.
3. 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 -
(i) the canned product has been prepared or
ġ S.L.231.17 CANNED FOOD
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.
Prohibition of 
importation and 
sale.
4. 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.
Contents of canned 
food.
5. 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.
Heat processed 
canned food.
6. 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.
Prohibition of 
certain contents in 
canned food.
7. 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.
Records. 8. (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,
and, in the case of canned food produced by him and which has
CANNED FOOD ġ S.L.231.17 3
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.
Importation of 
canned meat, etc.
9. 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.
