Cal. HSC § 111075 — California Code / Code hsc / Division 104 / Part 5 / Chapter 5 / Article 12 / Section 111075
Section 111075
Status: in_force

(a)  Any person who processes, packages, distributes, transfers, or stores bottled water or vended water shall comply with the good manufacturing practices described in Part 129 of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(b)  Prior to bottling or vending water, the water shall be subjected to filtration and effective germicidal treatment by ozone, ultraviolet, carbon dioxide, or an equivalent disinfection process approved by the department, except that the requirements for filtration and germicidal treatment shall not apply to mineral water as defined in and from a source that is subject to the council directive of the European Economic Community pertaining to natural mineral waters, dated July 15, 1980, or that is subject to any other natural mineral water standard in the country of origin that prohibits filtration and germicidal treatment, so long as both of the following conditions are met:

(1)  The source and product are certified by the responsible authority in the country of origin as complying with microbiological standards at least equal to the standards of this article.

(2)  The product complies with microbiological standards of this article.

(c)  Bottled or vended water that originates from a surface water source that is not protected from surface contamination shall be subjected to ozonation, filtration, or another effective process that removes or destroys the cysts of the parasite Giardia lamblia. For the purposes of this section, a spring house, catchment basin, storage tank, or bore hole adjacent to a natural spring water source as defined in paragraphs (3) and (8) of subdivision (e) of Section 111170, is not a surface water source.

(d)  Ollas or other water-holding dispensers, both refrigerated and nonrefrigerated, water-vending machines, and water dispensers in retail water facilities, shall be examined for cleanliness each time they are serviced by the distributor, bottler, retail water facility, or water-vending machine operator. When necessary, these dispensers shall be sanitized according to the methods described in Part 129 of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(e)  Sanitary operations, equipment procedures, and process controls used in the treatment, storage, transport, or dispensing of water at a retail water facility shall comply with the good manufacturing practices described in the following provisions of Part 129 of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations: subdivisions (a) to (c), inclusive, of Section 129.37; Section 129.40; and subdivisions (a), (c), (d), and (h) of Section 129.80.

(f)  Sanitary operations, equipment, procedures, and process controls used in the treatment, storage, transfer, transport, or dispensing of water by water haulers, shall comply with the good manufacturing practices described in the following provisions of Part 129 of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations: subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 129.37; Section 129.40; and subdivisions (a), (c), (d), and (h) of Section 129.89.

(g)  The design and construction of wells, bore holes, catchment basins, spring houses, storage tanks, or other water-contact equipment used by private water sources shall comply with the requirements of the local regulatory authority. Sanitary operations, equipment procedures, and transfer controls used in the treatment, storage, transfer, or dispensing of water by private water source operators shall comply with the good manufacturing practices described in the following provisions of Part 129 of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations: subdivision (a) of Section 129.37; Section 129.40; and subdivisions (a), (c), (d), (g), and (h) of Section 129.80.

(h)  Bottled water may be processed through lines used also for other food products under the following conditions:

(1)  Process lines, including storage tanks and associated equipment, shall be used exclusively for the production of bottled water, except for filling equipment, that may be used also for filling other food products.

(2)  Before being used for the bottling of water, filling equipment that is designed to be cleaned in-place and that is used for filling other food products shall be thoroughly cleansed and sanitized in-place in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications and in compliance with Section 129.80 of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations and the supplementary procedures that follow in paragraphs (3) to (7), inclusive, of this section.

(3)  Immediately following completion of filling operations for any other food product other than water, the filler shall be thoroughly rinsed internally and externally with potable water.

(4)  In accordance with filler manufacturer’s instructions, any parts that are not designed to be cleaned in-place shall be disassembled and removed. All of these parts shall be cleansed and sanitized prior to reassembly using appropriate cleansing and sanitizing procedures, as specified in subdivisions (c) and (d) of Section 129.80 of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(5)  All surfaces of the filler that do not contact food products shall be cleaned manually so as to render all surfaces clean and free of any residues.

(6)  The filler shall be prepared and all appropriate connections made in accordance with the filler manufacturer’s instructions to place the filler in the clean-in-place mode. The following procedures shall be followed:

(A)  An alkaline cleaning solution of appropriate strength shall be recirculated through the filler to provide effective cleaning of all product contact surfaces, with a minimum recirculation time of 20 minutes at a temperature between 140 and 170 degrees Fahrenheit.

(B)  The cleaning solution shall be drained and followed with a potable water rinse-to-drain for the removal of all residual cleaner alkalinity. This step may be supplemented by the application of an acidified rinse prior to the potable water rinse in order to neutralize any residual alkalinity on product contact surfaces.

(7)  Following reassembly of all parts to place the filler into the product mode and just prior to bottling water, the filler shall be sanitized in-place in accordance with procedures specified in subdivision (d) of Section 129.80 of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(8)  Any alternate cleaning, rinsing, or sanitizing operations or processes not described in this section shall be approved in writing by the department.

(i)  Bottled water and bulk waters sold at retail shall not contact equipment, lines, tanks, or vehicles used for processing, packaging, holding, or hauling of any nonfood product.