Florida Administrative Code › 5 - DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND CONSUMER SERVICES › 5L - Division of Aquaculture › Chapter 5L-1 - THE COMPREHENSIVE SHELLFISH CONTROL CODE › Section 5L-1.012 - Sanitary Operations

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
(1) General
				maintenance. Buildings, fixtures, and other physical facilities of the facility
				shall be maintained and kept in a sanitary condition and shall be kept in
				repair sufficient to prevent food from becoming adulterated within the meaning
				of this rule. Cleaning and sanitizing of utensils and equipment shall be
				conducted in a manner that protects against contamination of food, food-contact
				surfaces, or food-packaging materials.
(2) Cleaning compounds used in cleaning
				procedures shall be free from undesirable microorganisms and shall be safe and
				effective under the conditions of use. Compliance with this requirement may be
				verified by any effective means including purchase of these substances under a
				supplier's guarantee or certification, or examination of these substances for
				contamination.
(3) Only sanitizing
				agents found in Title 21,
				Code of Federal Regulations, Section
				178.1010, revised as of April 1, 2015, hereby
				incorporated by reference, online at
http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-07009
,
				will be used at recommended levels in shellfish processing
				facilities.
(4) Toxic cleaning
				compounds, sanitizing agents, and pesticide chemicals shall be identified,
				held, used and stored in a manner that protects against contamination of food,
				food-contact surfaces, or food-packaging materials. Test kits that measure the
				concentration of sanitizing solutions shall be provided and used for verifying
				the proper sanitizing solution concentration.
(5) No pests shall be allowed in any area of
				a shellfish processing facility. Effective measures shall be taken to exclude
				pests from the processing areas and to protect against the contamination of
				food on the premises by pests. The use of insecticides or rodenticides is
				permitted only under precautions and restrictions of product
				labeling.
(6) All food-contact
				surfaces, including utensils and food-contact surfaces of equipment, shall be
				cleaned as frequently as necessary to protect against contamination of
				food.
(7) Non-food contact surfaces
				of equipment used in the operation of shellfish processing facilities shall be
				cleaned as frequently as necessary to protect against contamination of
				food.
(8) Single-service articles
				shall be stored in appropriate containers and/or in a clean dry location where
				they are not exposed to splash, dust or other contamination. Single-service
				articles shall be handled, dispensed, used, and disposed of in a manner that
				protects against contamination of food or food-contact surfaces.
(9) Sanitizing agents shall be adequate and
				safe under conditions of use. Any facility, procedure, or machine is acceptable
				for cleaning and sanitizing equipment and utensils if it is established that
				the facility, procedure, or machine will routinely render equipment and
				utensils clean and sanitized.
(10)
				Cleaned and sanitized portable equipment with food-contact surfaces and
				utensils shall be stored in a location and manner that protects food-contact
				surfaces from contamination.
(11)
				Any employee with a disease in the communicable stage which might be
				transmissible through food shall be excluded from working in any capacity in
				which the employee may come in contact with the shellfish or with food contact
				surfaces.
(12) The owner, facility
				supervisor, or designated representative shall require all employees to wash
				their hands thoroughly with soap and water and sanitize their hands in an
				adequate handwashing facility before starting work, after each absence from the
				work station, after each work interruption and any time when their hands may
				have been soiled or contaminated.
(a) Where
				the same employee works in both the shucking and packing activities, the
				employee shall wash his hands thoroughly after entering the area.
(b) Any employee handling shellfish shall
				wear outer garments to protect shellfish from adulteration.
(c) Any employee handling shucked shellfish
				shall be required to wear an effective hair restraint, remove any hand jewelry
				that cannot be sanitized and secured, wear finger cots or gloves if jewelry
				cannot be removed, wear clean outer garments which are rinsed or changed as
				necessary to be kept clean.
(d) In
				any area where shellfish are processed and in any area which is used for the
				cleaning or storage of utensils, the owner, facility supervisor, or designated
				representative shall not allow employees to store clothing or other personal
				belongings, eat or drink, spit and use tobacco in any form.