§ 46.676. Manual warewashing equipment.

 (a)  Warewashing sinks: use limitation. A warewashing sink may not be used for handwashing. Warewashing sinks may not be used for food preparation unless the use is approved by the Department, the procedures specified in subsection (b) are followed and limited food preparation or warewashing occurs.

 (b)  Sanitizing warewashing sink after other uses. If a warewashing sink is used to wash wiping cloths, wash produce or thaw food, the sink shall be cleaned as specified in §  46.674(a) (relating to warewashing equipment: mechanical or manual) before and after each time it is used to wash wiping cloths, wash produce or thaw food. Sinks used to wash or thaw food shall be sanitized as specified in §  46.731 (relating to sanitization: requirement, frequency and methods) before and after using the sink to wash produce or thaw food.

 (c)  Wash solution temperature. The temperature of the wash solution in manual warewashing equipment shall be maintained at not less than 43°C (110°F) or the temperature specified on the cleaning agent manufacturer’s label instructions.

 (d)  Hot water sanitization temperatures. If immersion in hot water is used for sanitizing in a manual operation, the temperature of the water shall be maintained at 77°C (171°F) or above.

 (e)  Chemical sanitization using detergent-sanitizers. If a detergent-sanitizer is used to sanitize in a cleaning and sanitizing procedure where there is no distinct water rinse between the washing and sanitizing steps, the agent applied in the sanitizing step shall be the same detergent-sanitizer that is used in the washing step.

 (f)  Use of two-compartment sink. A two-compartment sink may not be used for warewashing operations where cleaning and sanitizing solutions are used for a continuous or intermittent flow of kitchenware or tableware in an ongoing warewashing process. A two-compartment sink may be used for warewashing when all of the following are accurate:

   (1)  The food facility operator has obtained approval from the Department to use the two-compartment sink.

   (2)  The nature of warewashing is limited to batch operations for cleaning kitchenware (such as between cutting one type of raw meat and another or cleanup at the end of a shift) and the following are accurate:

     (i)   The number of items to be cleaned is limited.

     (ii)   The cleaning and sanitizing solutions are made up immediately before use and drained immediately after use.

     (iii)   Either a detergent-sanitizer is used to sanitize and is applied in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions and as subsection (e), or a hot water sanitization immersion step is used as specified in §  46.718(3) (relating to rinsing procedures).

   This section cited in 7 Pa. Code §  46.612 (relating to manual warewashing; sink compartment requirements); and 7 Pa. Code §  46.731 (relating to sanitization; requirement, frequency and methods).