Food hygiene and legislation in Pakistan aims to protect consumers from contaminated or unsafe food. The key laws include the Pure Food Ordinance which regulates food production and prohibits adulterants. The Cantonment Pure Food Act has similar provisions for military areas. The Hotels and Restaurants Act regulates hygienic food preparation and service in establishments. Proper cleaning and sanitation of surfaces and utensils helps prevent food poisoning. Current food safety oversight involves both federal import standards and provincial production standards and enforcement.

1. FOOD HYGIENE,
SANITATION & LEGISLATION
Sidra Farooq

2. Understanding Food Hygiene
Food hygiene is more than cleanliness ......
1. Protecting food from risk of contamination, including harmful
bacteria, poison and other foreign bodies.
2. Preventing any bacteria present multiplying to an extent
which would result in the illness of consumers or the early
spoilage of the food.
3. Destroying any harmful bacteria in the food by thorough
cooking
or processing.
4.Discarding unfit or contaminated food.

3. The benefits of good food hygiene
1. Satisfied customers, a good reputation, increased
business and brand protection
2. Compliance with food safety legislation
3. Less food wastage
4. Good working conditions, higher staff spirits
and lower staff turnover, which promote increased
productivity

4. High risk Food
High risk foods are ready –to eat foods , which support the
multiplication of harmful of harmful bacteria and are intended
for consumption without treatment, such as cooking, which
would destroy such organisms.
These foods are usually proteins.
Require refrigerated storage.
They must be kept separate from raw foods.
Example....
1. Cooked meat and cooked poultry.
2. Cooked meat product including paste, gravy, stews.
3. Milk, cream, artificial cream, custards, and dairy produce.
4. Eggs and products made from raw eggs.

5. Food Poisoning
Food poisoning is an acute illness, which usually occurs
within 1 to 36 hours of eating contaminated or poisonous
food.
Symptoms normally last from 1 to 7 days and include one or
more
of the following
• Abdominal pain
• diarrhea
• Vomiting
• Fever

6. Food poisoning may be caused by:
1. Bacteria or their toxins
2. Moulds (mycotoxins)
3. Chemicals such as insecticides, cleaning agents
and weed killers.
4. metals such as lead, copper and mercury
5. Poisonous plants such as deadly nightshade and
toadstools
6. Poisonous fish or shellfish

7. The Prevention of food poisoning
Food poisoning rarely occurs of a single isolated mistake.
Food poisoning results from management failing to identify
hazards and /or failing to control these hazards.
The food poisoning chain consists of 3 major
hazards.
1.The contamination high – risk food
2.The multiplication of bacteria within the food
3.The survival of bacteria within the food
controlling these hazards breaks the chain and
prevents food poisoning .

8. How to Protect food from
contamination
1. Effective instruction, supervision and training of food
handlers
2. Maintaining highstandard of personal hygiene and good
hygiene practices
3. Well designed and constructed food premises and food
rooms
4. Effective pest control
5. The separation of raw and high – risk food at all stages of
delivery, storage, preparation , serving and distribution.

9. How to prevent bacteria within food from
multiplying
1. Storing food out of the danger Zone.
Food should be kept below 50 C or kept above
630C
2. Cooling food as rapidly as possible
3. Not allowing dried foods to absorb moisture
4. Using suitable preservatives - Salt, Sugar , Vinegar
(Acid)
5. Fermentation- Yoghurt , Curd

10. Any surface that comes in contact with food must be cleaned
and sanitized
•Clean: Remove food and other types of soil from a surface
•Sanitize: Reduce the number of microorganisms on a
clean surface to safe levels
•Bleach Solution: One capful bleach (1 ½ tsp) to one
gallon of water
•Other approved sanitizers
Clean and Sanitize

11. Clean and Sanitize
What surfaces?
•Kitchen counters
•Knives, mixing spoons and other utensils
•Mixing bowls and other food preparation
containers
•Cutting boards
•Tables children eat on

12. •Dishwashing Procedures (see next slide for illustration)
•Manual (3-compartment sink)
1. Rinse, scrape or soak items before washing
2. Wash in 110° - 125°F (43°- 51°C) water, using
soap/detergent
3. Rinse by immersing in clean, hot water to remove
soap/detergent or by spraying soap/detergent off,
removing all traces of food and detergent. If dipping
the items, change the rinse water when it becomes
dirty.
4. Sanitize for minimum 2 minutes in 1 ½ teaspoons of
bleach per gallon of water
5. Air-dry Items – upside down so they will drain
Clean and Sanitize

14. Clean and Sanitize
•If your center has a two compartment sink, you must
arrange for all three steps: Wash, rise and sanitize:
•Purchase a bucket/tub to put your sanitizing solution in and
sanitize your dishes in the tub (1 ½ teaspoons of bleach per
gallon of water or other Department of Health Services approved
sanitizer)
OR
•Wash and rinse dishes in the two sinks, drain the rinse sink,
make a sanitizing solution and sanitize the dishes after

15. Clean and Sanitize
•Dishwashing Procedures continued
•Commercial
•Dishwasher shall have a visible temperature gauge
•Wash at 130°F to 150°F (54°- 65°C) for 20 seconds,
rinse and sanitize at 180°F (82°C) for 10 seconds or
more OR use chemical sanitizer
•All dishes/utensils must be air dried
•Home-type dish washer
•After dishwasher is done, sanitize dishes/utensils by
submerging for minimum 2 minutes in 1 ½ teaspoons
of bleach per gallon of water (or other Department of
Health Services approved sanitizer)
•All dishes/utensils must be air dried

16. There is a number of laws related to food safety in Pakistan.
However, these laws have categories according to the need,
there are different law for the hygiene production of food
products, save transport of the products and the supply of
food products.
There are four laws in Pakistan that particularly bargain with
food safety. Three of these laws have a direct relation with
issues affiliated to food safety, while 4th law is named
as Pakistan Standards & Quality Control Authority Act
(PSQCA), but is indirectly related to food hygiene.
Food Legislation

17. The Pure Food Ordinance
This law was passed in 1960, this law deal with
hygiene production or preparation of food product & the
sale of these food products.
• All the provinces in Pakistan and some areas in Northern
sides adopted this law by making some corrections in it.
• The main purpose of this law is to make sure that the purity
of food is being delivered to the citizen in the market, by
preventing the addition of adulterants.
• The law forbids any person to add or mix color, stain or
powder in any food product.
• If the addition of these is more than the limit set by the
rules, so it’s likely to make food products injurious for
human health.

18. The Cantonment Pure Food Act,
1966
• The Pure Food Ordinance 1960 does not apply to
cantonment areas. There is a separate law for cantonments
called "The Cantonment Pure Food Act, 1966".
• There is no substantial difference between the Pure Food
Ordinance 1960 and The Cantonment Pure Food Act.
• Even the rules of operation are very much similar except:
 Prohibition of mixing coloring staining or powdering of
food etc.
 Manufacture import and sale of unwholesome food.
 Import or manufacture without complying with rules.
 Register for manufacture wholesale business.

19. Pakistan Hotels and Restaurant
Act, 1976
• Pakistan Hotels and Restaurant Act, 1976 applies to all
hotels and restaurants in Pakistan and seeks to control and
regulate the rates and standard of service(s) by hotels and
restaurants.
• In addition to other provisions, under section 22(2), the sale
of food or beverages that are contaminated, not prepared
hygienically or served in utensils that are not hygienic or clean
is an offense.

20. Pakistan Hotels and Restaurant
Act, 1976
There are no express provisions for consumer
complaints in the Pakistan Restaurants Act, 1976, Pakistan
Penal Code, 1860 and Pakistan Standards and Quality
Control Authority Act, 1996.
• The laws do not prevent citizens from lodging
complaints with the concerned government officials;
however, the consideration and handling of complaints is a
matter of choice of the officials.

21. Current Status
• Pakistan’s food imports are regulated by the federal
government.
• Food safety standards are regulated by the provincial
governments.
• Pakistan’s 18th constitutional amendment transferred most
of the functions including agriculture to the provinces.