The Dairy Products (Hygiene) (Scotland) Regulations 1995

Regulations 11(1)(c) and 19(a)

SCHEDULE 9 WRAPPING AND PACKAGING

The requirements of this Schedule shall apply without prejudice to the Materials and Articles in Contact with Food Regulations 1987(1).

1.  Wrapping and packaging shall be strong enough to protect the dairy products effectively.

2.  The wrapping and packaging of dairy products shall take place under satisfactory hygienic conditions and in rooms provided for that purpose.

3.  Notwithstanding paragraph 2 above, the manufacture and packaging of dairy products may take place in the same room if the following conditions are satisfied:—

(a) the room shall be sufficiently large and equipped to ensure the hygiene of the operations;

(b) the wrapping and packaging shall have been brought to the treatment or processing establishment in a protective cover in which they were placed immediately after manufacture and which protects the wrapping or packaging from any damage during transport to the dairy establishment, and they shall have been stored there under hygienic conditions in a room intended for that purpose;

(c) the rooms for storing the packaging material shall be free from vermin and from amounts of dust which could constitute an unacceptable risk of contamination of the product and shall be separated from rooms containing substances which might contaminate the products. Packaging shall not be placed directly on the floor;

(d) packaging shall be assembled under hygienic conditions before being brought into the room; except in the case of the automatic assembly of packaging, provided that there is no risk of contamination of the products;

(e) packaging shall be brought into the room under hygienic conditions and used without delay. It shall not be handled by staff handling unwrapped products if there is a risk of cross contamination; and

(f) immediately after packaging, the dairy products shall be placed in the rooms provided for storage.

4.  Bottling or filling of containers with heat-treated milk or liquid milk-based products shall be carried out mechanically, and the sealing of the containers shall be carried out automatically. However in the case of limited production non-automatic sealing methods may be used with the authorisation of the food authority, provided that those methods provide equal assurances with regard to hygiene.

5.  Wrapping or packaging may not be re-used for dairy products, except where the containers are of a type which may be re-used after thorough cleaning and disinfecting.

6.  Sealing shall be carried out in the dairy establishment in which the last heat-treatment of drinking milk or liquid milk-based products has been carried out, immediately after filling, by means of a sealing device which ensures that the milk is protected from any adverse effects of external origin on its characteristics. The sealing device shall be so designed that once the container has been opened, the evidence of opening remains clear and easy to check.

(1)

S.I. 1987/1523, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations.