§ 46.731. Sanitization: requirement, frequency and methods.

 (a)  Requirement. Equipment food-contact surfaces and utensils shall be sanitized in accordance with this section.

 (b)  Frequency. Utensils and food-contact surfaces of equipment shall be sanitized before use after cleaning.

 (c)  Methods: hot water and chemical. After being cleaned, equipment food-contact surfaces and utensils shall be sanitized by the following methods, based upon the type of operation:

   (1)  In hot water manual operations: by immersion for at least 30 seconds and as specified in §  46.676(d) (relating to manual warewashing equipment).

   (2)  In hot water mechanical operations: by being cycled through equipment that is set up as specified in §  46.675(a), (d) and (e) (relating to mechanical warewashing equipment) and achieving a utensil surface temperature of 71°C (160°F) as measured by an irreversible registering temperature indicator.

   (3)  In chemical manual or mechanical operations: including the application of sanitizing chemicals by immersion, manual swabbing, brushing or pressure spraying methods, using a solution as specified in §  46.674(d) (relating to warewashing equipment: mechanical or manual) for the following exposure time, as applicable:

     (i)   Except as specified in subparagraph (ii), an exposure time of at least 10 seconds for a chlorine solution specified in §  46.674(d)(1).

     (ii)   An exposure time of at least 7 seconds for a chlorine solution of 50 mg/L (ppm) that has a pH of 10 or less and a temperature of at least 38°C (100°F) or a pH of 8 or less and a temperature of at least 24°C (75°F).

     (iii)   An exposure time of at least 30 seconds for other chemical sanitizing solutions.

     (iv)   An exposure time used in relationship with a combination of temperature, concentration and pH that, when evaluated for efficacy, yields sanitization.

   This section cited in 7 Pa. Code §  46.281 (relating to preventing contamination of packaged and unpackaged food: separation, packaging and segregation); 7 Pa. Code §  46.301 (relating to preventing contamination from food contact with equipment and utensils); 7 Pa. Code §  46.302 (relating to in-use utensils and between-use storage); 7 Pa. Code §  46.674 (relating to warewashing equipment: mechanical or manual); and 7 Pa. Code §  46.676 (relating to manual warewashing equipment).