Non-Tariff Barriers

Non-Tariff Measure

NTM classification

A69: Other requirements relating to production or post-production processes not elsewhere specified 

Date when the measure came into force

09 September 2004 

Publication where the measure is specified

Government Notice R. 791 (Government Gazette 26531) of 9 July 2004 

Regulation where the measure is specified

Compulsory Specification For The Manufacture, Production, Processing and Treatment of Canned Meat Products 

Country/Region applying the measure

South Africa 

The rationale of the measure

This specification specifies requirements for the manufacture, production, processing and treatment of canned meat products intended for human consumption. 

Coded list of objectives

X: For purposes n.e.s. 

Description of the measure

3 Management system
Producers shall implement and maintain an acceptable quality management system such as the HACCP system (see 2.31).
6.11 Preservation
With the exception of products of which the label states that the product is to be kept under refrigeration
(see 12.l(e)) and semi-preserved products (see below), all canned meat products shall have been commercially sterilized by heat treatment.
Canned meat products covered by this specification and packed as semi-preserved meats shall have been preserved by salting, brining, pickling or smoking, or any combination of these, and may in addition have been pasteurized (partially heat processed). The presence of preservatives shall be subject to the regulations under the current Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act. The products shall not contain inorganic acids.
9.2 Processing
9.2.1 Where thermal processing of the product is required, it shall be carried out without delay after the sealing of the lids on the container.
9.2.2 Filled containers of product other than pasteurized products and semi-preserved products (see 6.1 I), shall be exhausted where appropriate, hermetically sealed or processed in such a way as to reduce the number or activity or both of viable micro-organisms to such an extent that none are detectable in the treated food by the methods given in clause 11. Containers of pasteurized products
shall be exhausted, hermetically sealed, and pasteurized.
9.2.3 The filling, exhausting, sealing, and heat-processing of containers shall be performed in such a way that the ends of the cans or the caps of the jars
a) are not convex, or
b) do not become convex under normal transport and storage conditions.
There shall be no undue delay between filling, sealing of lids and the start of heat processing that could affect the product adversely. The thermal process shall be continuous (see 9.2.7).
9.2.4 When tested in accordance with 10.2, all container closures shall be strongly made. Cans of diameter 99 mm or less, shall not leak on vacuum leak testing under a maximum negative gauge pressure of 65 kPa, and cans of diameter greater than 99 mm shall not leak under a maximum negative gauge pressure of 50 kPa (see 10.2). Written records of seam examination shall be kept and shall be available for scrutiny for 2 years after the date of production.
9.2.5 The heat distribution in each retort used shall be determined and the heat penetration of each product in each can size at the coldest spot in the retort under the most unfavourable conditions likely to occur during processing, shall be determined to establish the time-and-temperature process necessary to obtain biological stability of the product. These tests shall be carried out by a competent body or person.
9.2.6 The time-temperature process in the case of heat-preserved products shall be conducted by adequately trained operators.
9.2.7 The time-temperature process (see 9.2.3) shall ensure
a) the destruction of pathogenic organisms, and
b) freedom from microbiological spoilage (see section 11).
9.2.8 Immediately after heat-processing, the filled containers shall be cooled as rapidly as possible to a container centre temperature not exceeding 50 °C.
9.3 Handling sf sealed containers after heat processing
9.3.1 Any container whose process status before and after the retort process is unknown shall be
immediately destroyed.
9.3.2 After having been removed from the retort in their baskets or trolleys the containers shall not be
subjected to after-sterilization contamination. Hot or wet containers or containers having a positive
internal pressure after the retort process shall not be removed out of their trolleys or baskets or be
handled individually or be touched by hand. Containers shall not be handled or bulk-stacked before
being thoroughly dried and cooled.
9.3.3 A clean separated area for the sole purpose of cooling containers after retorting shall be
provided. Such an area shall be:
a) enclosed with unauthorized entrance being restricted;
b) physically separated from areas in which steam is emitted; and
c) situated away from other normal factory traffic, other than the handling of trolleys or baskets with
containers after retorting, there shall be no crossflow of other factory traffic along the route of the
baskets or trolleys between the retorts and the cooling area.
9.3.4 After the containers have been cooled and dried, and only on instruction from a designated person, the baskets or trolleys may be moved out of the cooling area to a pick-up area. The process of removing the containers out of the trolleys or baskets and the stacking shall be done in such a way as to avoid rough handling or damaging of the containers or causing unnecessary stress to their seams or seals.
9.3.5 Containers, and in particular their seams, shall not be exposed to contamination. The equipment and conveyors used for the pick-up and stacking of containers shall be regularly sanitized. Hard metal surfaces against which the containers come into contact during the pick-up process in particular sharp points, projections or corners, shall where possible, be avoided or otherwise be covered with shock absorbing material to prevent damaging of the containers. Such pick-up equipment and conveyor lines shall be subjected to a regular routine inspection.
9.3.6 In the case of continuous cookers or retorts, the container runways on which the containers are transported from the cookers or retorts shall be maintained in a hygienic state and cans shall not roll on their double seams on the container runways. 

Reference of the measure

Regulations 3; 6.11; 9.2 and 9.3 

Measure also domestic

Yes 

Products affected by the measure.

Description

Canned meat products 

Countries/Regions affected by the measure.

Description

All countries