Subchapter D. OPERATING PRACTICES FOR THE COMMERCIAL
MANUFACTURE OF FOOD

§ 37.121. Handling and storage of materials.

 (a)  Requirements for food shall be as follows:

   (1)  All food ingredients received at the plant shall be wholesome.

   (2)  Storage conditions shall protect against contamination from rodents, insects and other sources.

   (3)  Storage temperature shall be in accordance with the following practices:

     (i)   Ingredients requiring refrigeration shall be stored at an air temperature of 40°F or lower. Only areas where the temperature does not exceed 40°F shall be considered refrigerated.

     (ii)   Frozen ingredients not in process shall be stored at an air temperature of 0°F or lower.

 (b)  Storage of packaging materials shall be separate and set apart from food preparation and processing operations under conditions which shall protect against contamination from rodents, insects and other sources.

 (a)  The services of an employe with any open sore on an exposed portion of the body or one afflicted with an infectious or contagious disease shall not be used except that services of employes with finger cuts or with bandages, finger cuts and similar type coverings may be utilized on the condition that the employe wears rubber gloves.

 (b)  —

   (1)  Any employe with an upper respiratory infection shall be assigned duties outside of the areas of food preparation, processing and packaging.

   (2)  Visitors to food preparation, processing and packaging areas shall comply with employe requirements.

 (c)  Practices for employes handling unpackaged food shall be as follows:

   (1)  Employes shall wear head covering and shall keep clothing in a clean condition consistent with the duty being performed.

   (2)  Before beginning work, after each absence from post of duty and after contact with nonsanitized surfaces, each employe shall:

     (i)   Wash his hands with liquid or powdered soap and warm water dispensed from a foot or elbow operated device (Existing faucet facilities need be changed to a foot or elbow operated device; only when a new hand washing facility is installed.).

     (ii)   Rinse his hands in a chlorinated spray or other approved sanitizing agent, unless a bacteriostatic soap is used in washing.

     (iii)   Dry his hands with single service towels or with electric hot air dryers.

 (d)  Hand contact with food products shall be minimized.

 (e)  Use of a common dip bowl or tank is prohibited.

 (f)  Whenever rubber gloves are used they shall be cleaned and sanitized in accordance with the hand washing specifications in subsection (c).

 (a)  Plant and equipment shall be clean when put into service.

 (b)  All floors, tables, splash boards, work surfaces, equipment and utensils shall be maintained in a clean and sanitary condition at all times. Critical areas and all food contact surfaces shall be cleaned and sanitized whenever necessary or at scheduled intervals.

 (c)  Equipment such as pipes, pumps, fillers and valves shall be dismantled for cleaning and sanitizing, unless in-place cleaning and sanitizing methods are effective. Suggested criteria for acceptance of clean-in-place (C.I.P.) systems areas are as follows:

   (1)  The arrangement shall allow cleaning and bactericidal solutions to be circulated through the system.

   (2)  Solutions shall touch all surfaces.

   (3)  The system shall be self-draining or otherwise completely evacuable.

   (4)  The cleaning procedure shall result in thorough cleaning of the equipment.

 (a)  Fans, blowers or air cooling systems shall not move unfiltered air from raw material or preparation rooms into processing rooms.

 (b)  Only adequately cleaned, prepared raw materials shall be introduced into areas where frozen precooked foods are cooked and subsequently handled in processing operations.

 (c)  Preparatory operations feeding to the packing line shall be so timed to permit efficient handling of consecutive packages in production, and under conditions designed to prevent contamination, loss of quality or spoilage.

 (d)  When batter, egg wash or milk wash is an ingredient, it shall be maintained at a product temperature not to exceed 45°F, except when the process temperatures required for manufacturing the product are higher. Cracked or flaked ice used to refrigerate batters shall meet bacterial standards for potable water. Batter remaining in machines and equipment at cleanup time shall be discarded.

 (e)  Breading materials that have come in contact with batter and have been removed by screening shall be discarded.

 (f)  Food ingredients or mixtures that are capable of supporting rapid bacterial growth shall be maintained either at a product temperature above 160°F or below 45°F, except when processing temperatures falling in this range are an integral part of the product manufactured, such as, yeast.

 (g)  Cooked food such as meat, poultry, sauces and gravies shall be all of the following:

   (1)  Refrigerated or incorporated into the finished product within 1 hour following preparation.

   (2)  Refrigerated within 30 minutes following preparation at an air temperature of 50°F or less if the product is to be held from 1 to 8 hours after preparation.

   (3)  Refrigerated within 30 minutes following preparation such that the internal temperature of the food product will be 40°F or lower, within 2 hours of refrigeration if the food product has been comminuted, sliced or is a liquid, and if the food is to be held more than eight hours. Large solid food components such as those that must be cooled before slicing shall be refrigerated at an air temperature of 40°F or lower.

 (h)  Trays, pans or other containers of ingredients destined for incorporation into the finished product shall be protected with a clean cover unless these ingredients are used within 30 minutes of preparation. The cover shall not be made from porous material.

 (i)  Permanently legible code marks shall be placed on each immediate container or package at time of packing. The code marks, as devised by management, shall include date of packing and establishment where packed.

 (j)  Packaged products shall be placed in the freezer according to good commercial practice. Placement of packages in cases before freezing is prohibited unless the wholesome quality of the product is fully protected by prior processing.

 (k)  —

   (1)  Refuse from the food operations shall be promptly placed in containers that are prominently marked ‘‘REFUSE’’ and equipped with lids.

   (2)  The handling of refuse shall be done in such a manner as not to cause a nuisance.

   (3)  All refuse shall be removed from the premises on a daily basis and in such a manner as not to contaminate food products being manufactured within the plant.

 (a)  During the freezing cycle products shall be cooled to 50°F or lower within 2 hours.

 (b)  Products shall then be reduced to 0°F. by approved commercial practice.

 (c)  When necessary products shall be protected so that dehydration and discoloration will not occur during the freezing cycle.

 (d)  The freezer shall be precooled to an air temperature of 0°F before loading. During loading, however, the freezer may rise to temperatures above 0°F for short periods of time.

 (e)  If cold air is used as the freezing medium the product shall be arranged by staggering the individual items or by employing dunnage, spacers or other suitable methods to permit satisfactory circulation of cold air around the products. The cold air shall be circulated by a positive method; natural air circulation shall not be satisfactory.

 (f)  The freezer and associated equipment used for handling the product shall be maintained in a clean and sanitary condition at all times.

 (g)  A suitable indicating or recording instrument shall be used to measure the temperature of the cooling medium, that is, air, liquid, refrigerated plates or pipe coils.

 (h)  Packaged items shall be frozen in a manner that will result in a minimum amount of bulging or distortion.

 (i)  After the freezing cycle the frozen product shall be transferred to a storage facility as quickly as possible.