(a) Food Contact Surfaces; Design, Construction, Maintenance.
(1) Multi-use equipment and utensils shall be constructed and repaired with safe materials, including finishing materials; shall be corrosion resistant and nonabsorbent; and shall be smooth, easily cleanable and durable under conditions of normal use. Single-service articles shall be made from clean, sanitary, safe materials. Equipment, utensils and single-service articles shall not impart odors, color or taste, nor contribute to the contamination of food.
(2) If solder is used, it shall be composed of safe materials and be corrosion resistant.
(3) Hard maple or equivalently nonabsorbent material that meets the general requirements set forth in this rule may be used for cutting blocks, cutting boards and similar surfaces. Wood may be used for single-service articles such as for city chicken.
(4) Food contact surfaces shall be easily cleanable; smooth; free of breaks, open seams, cracks, chips, pits and similar imperfections; and free of difficult-to-clean internal corners and crevices.
(5) Equipment containing bearings and gears requiring unsafe lubricants shall be designed and constructed so that the lubricants cannot leak, drip or be forced into food or onto food contact surfaces. Only safe lubricants shall be used on equipment designed to receive lubrication of bearings and gears on or within food contact surfaces.
(6) Sinks and drain boards shall be self-draining.
(7) Unless designed for in-place cleaning, food contact surfaces shall be accessible for cleaning and inspection:
A. Without being disassembled; or
B. By disassembling without the use of tools; or
C. By easy disassembling with the use of only simple tools such as a mallet, a screwdriver or an open-end wrench kept available near the equipment.
(8) Equipment intended for in-place cleaning shall be so designed and fabricated that:
A. Cleaning and sanitizing solutions can be circulated throughout a fixed system using an effective cleaning and sanitizing regimen; and
B. Cleaning and sanitizing solutions will contact all interior food contact surfaces; and
C. The system is self-draining or capable of being completely evacuated.
(9) Fixed equipment designed and fabricated to be cleaned and sanitized by pressure spray methods shall have sealed electrical wiring, switches and connections.
(b) Nonfood Contact Surfaces; Design, Construction, Maintenance.
(1) Surfaces of equipment not intended for contact with food, but which are exposed to splash or food debris or which otherwise require frequent cleaning, shall be designed and fabricated to be smooth, washable, free of unnecessary ledges, projections or crevices, readily accessible for cleaning, and shall be of such material and in such repair as to be easily maintained in a clean and sanitary condition.
(2) Ventilation hoods and devices shall be designed to prevent grease or condensation from collection on walls and ceilings, and from dripping into food or onto food contact surfaces. Filters or other grease extracting equipment shall be readily removable for cleaning and replacement if not designed to be cleaned in place.
(3) Equipment, including ice makers and ice storage equipment, shall not be located under exposed or unprotected sewer lines or water lines, open stairwells or other sources of contamination. This requirement does not apply to automatic fire protection sprinkler heads that may be required by law.
(4) Equipment that is placed on tables or counters, unless portable, shall be sealed to the table or counter, or elevated on legs to provide at least a four-inch clearance between the table or counter and equipment, and shall be installed to facilitate the cleaning of the equipment and adjacent areas.
(5) Equipment is "portable" within the meaning of this rule if:
A. It is small and light enough to be moved easily by one person; and
B. It has no utility connection, or has a utility connection that disconnects quickly, or has a flexible utility connection line of sufficient length to permit the equipment to be moved for easy cleaning.
(6) Floor-mounted equipment, unless easily movable, shall be;
A. Sealed to the floor; or
B. Installed on a raised platform of concrete or other smooth masonry in a way that meets all the requirements for sealing or floor clearance; or
C. Elevated on legs to provide at least a six-inch clearance between the floor and equipment, except that vertically mounted floor mixers may be elevated to provide at least a four-inch clearance between the floor and equipment if no part of the floor under the mixer is more than six inches from cleaning access.
(7) Equipment is "easily movable" within the meaning of this section if:
A. It is mounted on wheels or casters; and
B. It has no utility connection, or has a utility connection that disconnects quickly, or has a flexible utility connection line of sufficient length to permit the equipment to be moved for easy cleaning.
(8) Unless sufficient space is provided for easy cleaning between, behind and above fixed equipment, the equipment shall be sealed to the adjoining equipment or adjacent walls or ceilings.
(9) Aisles and working spaces between units of equipment and walls shall be unobstructed and of sufficient width to permit employees to perform their duties readily without contamination of food or food contact surfaces by clothing or personal contact. All easily movable storage equipment such as pallets, racks and dollies shall be positioned to provide accessibility to the working area.
(c) Dishwashing Facilities.
(1) Cleaning and sanitizing may be done by spray-type or immersion dishwashing machines, or by any other type of machine or device if it is demonstrated that it thoroughly cleans and sanitizes equipment and utensils. These machines and devices shall be properly installed and maintained in good repair. Machines and devices shall be operated in accordance with manufacturers' instructions, and utensils and equipment placed in the machine shall be exposed to all dishwashing cycles. Automatic detergent dispensers, wetting agent dispensers and liquid sanitizer injectors, if any, shall be properly installed and maintained.
(2) Chemicals added for sanitization purposes shall be automatically dispensed.
(3) Rinse water tanks shall be protected by baffles, curtains or other effective means to minimize the entry of wash water into the rinse water. Conveyors in dishwashing machines shall be accurately times to assure proper exposure times in wash and rinse cycles in accordance with manufacturer's specifications attached to the machines.
(4) Equipment and utensils shall be placed in racks, trays, baskets or on conveyors, in such a way that food contact surfaces are exposed to the unobstructed application of detergent wash and clean rinse waters and that permits free draining.
(5) The pressure of final rinse water supplied to spray-type dishwashing machines shall not be less than fifteen or more than twenty-five pounds per square inch measured in the water line immediately adjacent to the final rinse control valve.
(6) All dishwashing machines shall be thoroughly cleaned at least once a day, or more often when necessary, to maintain them in a satisfactory condition.
(7) For manual washing, rinsing and sanitizing of utensils and equipment, a sink with not fewer than three compartments shall be provided and used. Sink compartments shall be large enough to permit the accommodation of the equipment and utensils.
(8) When hot water immersion is used for sanitizing, the following facilities shall be provided and used:
An integral heating device or fixture installed in, on or under the sanitizing compartment of the sink capable of maintaining the water at a temperature of at least 170 degrees Fahrenheit (76.7 Centigrade).
(9) Fixed equipment and utensils too large to be cleaned in sink compartments shall be washed manually or cleaned through pressure spray methods and sanitized in accordance with this rule.
(10) Separate drain boards shall be provided of adequate size for the proper handling of soiled utensils prior to washing and of cleaned utensils following sanitization, and shall be so located and constructed as not to interfere with the proper use of the dishwashing facilities. This does not preclude the use of easily movable dish tables for the storage of soiled utensils or the use of easily movable dish tables for the storage of clean utensils following sanitization.
(d) Thermometers and Test Kits.
(1) For mechanical cleaning and sanitizing equipment:
A. Machine or water-line mounted, numerically scaled indicating thermometers, accurate to +3 degrees Fahrenheit (+1.7 Centigrade), shall be provided to indicate the temperature of the water in each tank of the machine and the temperature of the final rinse water as it enters the manifold.
B. A one-fourth inch IPS valve shall be provided immediately upstream from the final rinse control valve to permit checking the flow pressure of the final rinse water.
(2) Where chemicals are used for sanitization, they shall not have concentrations higher than the maximum permitted under 21 C.F.R. 178.1010. A test kit or other device that accurately measures the parts per million concentration of the solution shall be provided and used.
(3) When manual hot water immersion is used for sanitizing, a numerically scaled indicating thermometer, accurate to +3 degrees Fahrenheit (+1.7 degrees Centigrade), shall be convenient to the sink for frequent checks of water temperature.
(e) Utensils; Preflushed, Scraped, Soaked. Equipment and utensils shall be flushed, or scraped and, when necessary, soaked to remove gross food particles and soil prior to being washed in a dishwashing machine unless a prewash cycle is part of the dishwashing machine operation.
(f) Wash, Rinse, and Bactericidal Treatment - Mechanical.
(1) Machines using hot water for sanitizing may be used provided that wash water and pumped rinse water shall be kept clean and water shall be maintained at not less than the temperature stated in the federal standards for hot water sanitizing.
(2) Machines (single tank, stationary rack, door-type machines and spray-type glass washers) using chemicals for sanitization may be used, provided that:
A. The temperature of the wash water shall not be less than 120 degrees Fahrenheit (48.8 degrees Centigrade);
B. The wash water shall be kept clean;
C. Chemicals added for sanitization purposes shall be automatically dispensed, as specified by the machine's manufacturer.
(g) Wash, Rinse and Bactericidal Treatment - Manual.
(1) Utensils and equipment shall be washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use. Kitchenware and food contact surfaces of equipment shall be washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any interruption of operations during which time contamination may have occurred.
A. Equipment and utensils shall be thoroughly washed in the first compartment of a three-compartment sink with a hot detergent solution that is kept clean.
B. Equipment and utensils shall be rinsed free of detergent and abrasives with clean water in the second compartment of a three-compartment sink.
C. Equipment and utensils shall be sanitized in the third compartment of a three-compartment sink according to one of the methods approved in this rule.
(2) The food contact surfaces of all equipment and utensils shall be sanitized by:
A. Immersion for at least one-half minute in clean hot water at a temperature of at least 170 degrees Fahrenheit (76.7 degrees Centigrade); or
B. Immersion for at least one minute in a clean solution containing at least fifty PPM of available chlorine as a hypochlorite and at a temperature of at least seventy-five degrees Fahrenheit (23.9 degrees Centigrade); or
C. Immersion for at least one minute in a clean solution containing at least 12.5 PPM of available iodine and having a Ph not higher than 5. and at a temperature of at least seventy-five degrees Fahrenheit or (23.9 degrees Centigrade); or
D. Immersion in a clean solution containing any other chemical sanitizing agent allowed under 21 C.F.R. 178.1010 that will provide the equivalent bactericidal effect of solution containing at least fifty PPM of available chlorine as a hypochlorite at a temperature of at least seventy-five degrees Fahrenheit (23.9 degrees Centigrade) for one minute; or
E. Treatment with steam, free from materials or additives other than those specified in 21 C.F.R. 173.310, in the case of equipment too large to sanitize by immersion but in which steam can be confined; or
F. Rinsing, spraying or swabbing with a chemical sanitizing solution of at least twice the strength required for that particular sanitizing solution under this rule in the case of equipment too large to sanitize by immersion.
G. Utensils and equipment shall be exposed to the final chemicals sanitizing rinse in accordance with manufacturers' specifications for time and concentration.
H. The chemical sanitizing rinse water temperature shall not be less than seventy-five degrees Fahrenheit (23.9 degrees Centigrade) nor less than the temperature specified by the machine's manufacturer.
(3) Notwithstanding subsection (g)(1) hereof, a two-compartment sink may be used for manually washing and sanitizing utensils and equipment when an approved detergent-sanitizer product is used and the two-compartment sink has been in use prior to the effective date of this section. An "approved detergent-sanitizer product" means one in which all chemicals are compatible, the product is registered with the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and its label claims it will clean and sanitize.
(h) Wiping Cloths. Moist cloths used for wiping food spills on utensils and food contact surfaces of equipment shall be clean and rinsed frequently in one of the sanitizing solutions permitted in this rule and used for no other purpose. These cloths shall be stored in the sanitizing solution between uses.
(i) Cleaning Frequency of Equipment and Utensil Food Contact Surfaces.
(1) Where equipment and utensils are used for the preparation of potentially hazardous foods on a continuous or production-line basis, utensils and the food contact surfaces of equipment shall be washed, rinsed and sanitized at intervals throughout the day on a schedule based on food temperature, type of food and amount of food particle accumulation.
(2) Microwave ovens shall be cleaned at least once a day; except that this requirement shall not apply to hot oil cooking equipment and hot oil filtering systems. The food contact surfaces of all cooking equipment shall be kept free of encrusted grease deposits and other accumulated soil.
(j) Cleaning Frequency of Equipment and Utensil Non-food Contact Surfaces. Non-food contact surfaces of equipment, food storage and single service items shall be cleaned as often as is necessary to keep free of accumulation of dust, dirt, food particles and other debris.
(k) Storage and Handling of Equipment and Utensils.
(1) Cleaned and sanitized utensils and equipment shall be stored at least six inches above the floor in a clean, dry location in a way that protects them from contamination by splash, dust and other means.
(2) Equipment and utensils shall be air dried before being stored or shall be stored in a self-draining position.
(3) The storage and handling of food equipment, utensils or single service articles in toilet rooms or vestibules is prohibited.
(l) Single-Service Articles.
(1) Single-service articles used in meat, bakery and deli departments shall be stored at least six inches above the floor in closed cartons or containers which protect them from contamination and shall not be placed under exposed sewer lines or water lines, except for automatic fire protection sprinkler heads that may be required by law.
(2) Single-service articles shall be handled and dispensed in a manner that prevents contamination of surfaces which may come in contact with food or with the mouth of the user.
(Res. 94. Passed 6-29-88.)