Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 7 - AGRICULTURE AND ANIMALS › Part V - Advertising, Marketing and Processing › Chapter 12 - Produce Safety › Section V-1203 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. The definitions
				set forth in
				R.S.
				3:921 are applicable to this Chapter, except
				where specifically defined herein.
B. The following words and terms are defined
				for the purposes of this Chapter.
Adequate
-that which is needed to accomplish
				  the intended purpose consistent with good public health practice.
Adequately Reduce Microorganisms of Public Health
				  Significance
-reduce the presence of such microorganisms to an extent
				  sufficient to prevent illness.
Agricultural Tea
-a water extract of
				  biological materials (such as stabilized compost, manure, non-fecal animal
				  byproducts, peat moss, pre-consumer vegetative waste, table waste, or yard
				  trimmings), excluding any form of human waste, produced to transfer microbial
				  biomass, fine particulate organic matter, and soluble chemical components into
				  an aqueous phase. Agricultural teas are held for longer than one hour before
				  application. Agricultural teas are soil amendments for the purposes of this
				  rule.
Agricultural Tea Additive
-a nutrient source
				  (such as molasses, yeast extract, or algal powder) added to agricultural tea to
				  increase microbial biomass.
Agricultural Water
-water used in covered
				  activities on covered produce where water is intended to, or is likely to,
				  contact covered produce or food contact surfaces, including water used in
				  growing activities (including irrigation water applied using direct water
				  application methods, water used for preparing crop sprays, and water used for
				  growing sprouts) and in harvesting, packing, and holding activities (including
				  water used for washing or cooling harvested produce and water used for
				  preventing dehydration of covered produce).
Animal Excreta
-solid or liquid animal
				  waste.
Application Interval
-the time interval
				  between application of an agricultural input (such as a biological soil
				  amendment of animal origin) to a growing area and harvest of covered produce
				  from the growing area where the agricultural input was applied.
Biological Soil Amendment
-any soil amendment
				  containing biological materials such as stabilized compost, manure, non-fecal
				  animal byproducts, peat moss, preconsumer vegetative waste, sewage sludge
				  biosolids, table waste, agricultural tea, or yard trimmings, alone or in
				  combination.
Biological Soil Amendment of Animal Origin
-a
				  biological soil amendment which consists, in whole or in part, of materials of
				  animal origin, such as manure or non-fecal animal byproducts including animal
				  mortalities, or table waste, alone or in combination. The term "biological soil
				  amendment of animal origin" does not include any form of human waste.
Commissioner
-the Commissioner of Agriculture
				  and Forestry.
Composting
-a process to produce stabilized
				  compost in which organic material is decomposed by the actions of
				  microorganisms under thermophilic conditions for a designated period of time at
				  a designated temperature, followed by a curing stage under cooler
				  conditions.
Covered Activity
-growing, harvesting,
				  packing, or holding covered produce on a farm. Covered activity includes the
				  manufacturing or processing of covered produce on a farm, but only to the
				  extent that such activities are performed on raw agricultural commodities and
				  such activities are within the meaning of "farm" as defined in this Chapter.
				  Providing, acting consistently with, and documenting actions taken in
				  compliance with written assurances as described in
				  21 CFR §
											112.2(b) are also covered
				  activities. This definition does not apply to activities of a facility that are
				  subject to 21 CFR 110.
Covered Produce
-produce that is subject to
				  the requirements of this Chapter in accordance with
				  21 CFR §§
											112.1 and
				  112.2.
				  The term "covered produce" refers to the harvestable or harvested part of the
				  crop.
Covered Produce Farm
-any farm engaged in the
				  growing, harvesting, packing, or holding of produce for human consumption which
				  is subject to the requirements of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act,
				  21 CFR §
											112.4, but shall not include farms that have
				  twenty-five thousand dollars or less of gross income from sales of produce in a
				  year.
Curing
-the final stage of composting, which
				  is conducted after much of the readily metabolized biological material has been
				  decomposed, at cooler temperatures than those in the thermophilic phase of
				  composting, to further reduce pathogens, promote further decomposition of
				  cellulose and lignin, and stabilize composition. Curing may or may not involve
				  insulation, depending on environmental conditions.
Department
-the Louisiana Department of
				  Agriculture and Forestry.
Food
-food as defined in section 201(f) of
				  the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act,
				  21 USC 321
				  et seq., and includes seeds and beans used to grow sprouts.
Food Contact Surfaces
-those surfaces that
				  contact human food and those surfaces from which drainage or other transfer
				  onto the food or onto surfaces that contact the food ordinarily occur during
				  the normal course of operations. "Food contact surfaces" includes food contact
				  surfaces of equipment and tools used during the harvest, packing, and holding
				  of food and food products.
Fruit
-the edible reproductive body of a
				  seed, plant, or tree nut. "Fruit" means the harvestable or harvested part of a
				  plant developed from a flower.
Harvesting
-activities that are traditionally
				  performed on farms for the purpose of removing raw agricultural commodities
				  from the place they were grown or raised and preparing them for use as food.
				  Harvesting is limited to activities performed on raw agricultural commodities,
				  or on processed foods created by drying/dehydrating a raw agricultural
				  commodity without additional manufacturing or processing, on a farm.
				  "Harvesting" does not include activities that transform a raw agricultural
				  commodity into a processed food as defined in Section 201(gg) of the Federal
				  Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act,
				  21 USC §
											321 et seq. The process of harvesting
				  includes, but is not limited to the following: cutting (or otherwise
				  separating) the edible portion of the raw agricultural commodity from the crop
				  plant and removing or trimming part of the raw agricultural commodity; cooling;
				  field coring; filtering; gathering; hulling; removing stems and husks from;
				  shelling; sifting; threshing; trimming of outer leaves of; and washing raw
				  agricultural commodities grown on a farm.
Hazard
-any biological agent that has the
				  potential to cause illness or injury in the absence of its control.
Holding
-the storage of food and activities
				  performed incidental to the storage of a food. "Holding" also includes
				  activities performed as a practical necessity for the distribution of food, but
				  does not include activities that transform a raw agricultural commodity into a
				  processed food as defined in Section 201(gg) of the Federal Food, Drug, and
				  Cosmetic Act. Holding facilities could include warehouses, cold storage
				  facilities, storage silos, grain elevators, and liquid storage tanks.
Known
or
Reasonably Foreseeable
				  Hazard
-a biological hazard that is known to be, or has the potential
				  to be, associated with the farm or the food.
Large Business
-For the purpose of this
				  Chapter, a farm is a large business if it is subject to any of the requirements
				  of this Chapter and, on a rolling basis, the average annual monetary value of
				  produce you sold during the previous 3-year period exceeds $500,000; and the
				  farm is not eligible for a qualified exemption.
Manufacturing/Processing
-making food from
				  one or more ingredients, or synthesizing, preparing, treating, modifying or
				  manipulating food, including food crops or ingredients.
				  Manufacturing/processing activities include, but are not limited to the
				  following: baking, boiling, bottling, canning, cooking, cooling, cutting,
				  distilling, drying/dehydrating raw agricultural commodities to create a
				  distinct commodity, evaporating, eviscerating, extracting juice, formulating,
				  freezing, grinding, homogenizing, labeling, milling, mixing, packaging
				  (including modified atmosphere packaging), pasteurizing, peeling, rendering,
				  treating to manipulate ripening, trimming, washing, or waxing. For farms and
				  farm mixed-type facilities, manufacturing/processing does not include
				  activities that are part of harvesting, packing, or holding.
Manure
-animal excreta, alone or in
				  combination with litter for use as a soil amendment.
Microorganisms
-yeasts, molds, bacteria,
				  viruses, protozoa, and microscopic parasites including species having public
				  health significance. The term "undesirable microorganisms" includes those
				  microorganisms that are of public health significance, that subject food to
				  decomposition, that indicate that food is contaminated with filth, or that
				  otherwise may cause food to be adulterated.
Mixed-Type Facility
-an establishment that
				  engages in both activities that are exempt from registration under Section 415
				  of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and activities that require the
				  establishment to be registered.
Monitor
-to conduct a planned sequence of
				  observations or measurements to assess whether a process, point, or procedure
				  is under control and, when required, to produce an accurate record of the
				  observation or measurement.
Non-Fecal Animal Byproduct
-solid waste
				  (other than manure) that is animal in origin including, but not limited to,
				  meat, fat, dairy products, eggs, carcasses, blood meal, bone meal, fish meal,
				  shellfish waste, fish emulsions, and offal, and is generated by commercial,
				  institutional, or agricultural operations.
Packing
-placing food into a container, other
				  than packaging, the food and o includes activities performed incidental to
				  packing a food such as sorting, culling, grading, and weighing or conveying
				  incidental to packing or repacking, but does not include activities that
				  transform a raw agricultural commodity, as defined in Section 201(r) of the
				  Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, into a processed food as defined in
				  Section 201(gg) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
Pest
-any objectionable animals or insects,
				  including, but not limited to, birds, rodents, flies, and larvae.
Pre-Consumer Vegetative Waste
-solid waste
				  that is purely vegetative in origin, not considered yard trash, and derived
				  from commercial, institutional, or agricultural operations without coming in
				  contact with animal products, byproducts or manure, or with an end user
				  (consumer). "Preconsumer vegetative waste" includes material generated by
				  farms, packing houses, canning operations, wholesale distribution centers and
				  grocery stores; products that have been removed from their packaging (such as
				  out-of-date juice, vegetables, condiments, and bread); and associated packaging
				  that is vegetative in origin (such as paper or cornstarch based products).
				  "Pre-consumer vegetative waste" does not include table waste, packaging that
				  has come in contact with materials (such as meat) that are not vegetative in
				  origin, or any waste generated by restaurants.
Primary Production Farm
-an operation under
				  one management in one general (but not necessarily contiguous) physical
				  location devoted to the growing of crops, the harvesting of crops, the raising
				  of animals including seafood, or any combination of these activities. The term
				  "farm" includes operations that, in addition to the aforementioned activities,
				  also:
a. pack or hold raw agricultural
				commodities;
b. pack or hold
				processed food, provided that all processed food used in such activities is
				either consumed on that farm or another farm under the same management, or is
				processed food identified in paragraph
				(i)(C)(
2
)(
i
) of this definition;
				and
c. manufacture/process food,
				provided that:
i. all food used in such
				activities is consumed on that farm or another farm under the same management;
				or
ii. any manufacturing/processing
				of food that is not consumed on that farm or another farm under the same
				management consists only of:
(a).
				drying/dehydrating raw agricultural commodities to create a distinct commodity,
				and packaging and labeling such commodities, without requiring additional
				manufacturing/processing;
(b).
				treatment to manipulate the ripening of raw agricultural commodities, and
				packaging and labeling treated raw agricultural commodities, without requiring
				additional manufacturing/processing; and
(c). packaging and labeling raw agricultural
				commodities, when these activities do not involve additional
				manufacturing/processing.
Produce
-any fruit or vegetable, which may
				  include mixes of intact fruits and vegetables. "Produce" also includes, but not
				  is limited to, mushrooms, sprouts, peanuts, tree nuts, and herbs. Produce does
				  not include food grains meaning the small, hard fruits or seeds of arable
				  crops, or the crops bearing these fruits or seeds, that are primarily grown and
				  processed for use as meal, flour, baked goods, cereals and oils rather than for
				  direct consumption as small, hard fruits or seeds.
Qualified End-User
-a consumer of food (where
				  the term consumer does not include a business); or a restaurant or retail food
				  establishment, as defined in
				  21 CFR §
														1.227, that is located:
a. in the same state or the same Indian
				reservation as the farm that produced the food; or
b. not more than 275 miles from such farm.
Raw Agricultural Commodity (RAC)
-"raw
				  agricultural commodity" as defined in Section 201(r) of the Federal Food, Drug,
				  and Cosmetic Act.
Sanitize
-to adequately treat cleaned
				  surfaces by a process that is effective in destroying vegetative cells of
				  microorganisms of public health significance, and in substantially reducing
				  numbers of other undesirable microorganisms, but without adversely affecting
				  the product or its safety for the consumer.
Secondary Activities Farm
-an operation,
				  which is not located on a primary production farm, devoted to harvesting,
				  packing, and/or holding of raw agricultural commodities, provided that the
				  primary production farm(s) that grows, harvests, and/or raises the majority of
				  the raw agricultural commodities harvested, packed, and/or held by the
				  secondary activities farm owns, or jointly owns, a majority interest in the
				  secondary activities farm. A "secondary activities farm" may also conduct those
				  additional activities allowed on a primary production farm as set forth in
				  21 CFR §
															1.227.
Sewage Sludge Biosolids
-the solid or
				  semi-solid residue generated during the treatment of domestic sewage in a
				  treatment works within the meaning of the definition of "sewage sludge" set
				  forth in
				  40 CFR
				  503.9.
Small Business
-for the purpose of this
				  Chapter, a farm is a small business if it is subject to any of the requirements
				  of this Chapter and, on a rolling basis, the average annual monetary value of
				  produce sold during the previous 3-year period is no more than $500,000, and
				  the farm is not a "very small business" as defined in this Section.
Soil Amendment
-any chemical, biological, or
				  physical material intentionally added to the soil to improve the chemical or
				  physical condition of soil in relation to plant growth or to improve the
				  capacity of the soil to hold water. The term "soil amendment" also includes
				  growth media that serve as the entire substrate during the growth of covered
				  produce.
Stabilized Compost
-a stabilized
				  (
i.e.,
finished) biological soil amendment produced through a
				  controlled composting process.
Static Composting
-a process to produce
				  stabilized compost in which air is introduced into biological material, in a
				  pile or row, that may or may not be covered with insulating material, or in an
				  enclosed vessel by a mechanism that does not include turning.
Table Waste
-any post-consumer food waste,
				  irrespective of whether the source material is animal or vegetative in origin,
				  derived from individuals, institutions, restaurants, retail operations, or
				  other sources where the food has been served to a consumer.
Turned Composting
-a process to produce
				  stabilized compost in which air is introduced into biological material, in a
				  pile, row, or enclosed vessel, by turning on a regular basis. Turning is the
				  process of mechanically mixing biological material that is undergoing a
				  composting process with the specific intent of moving the outer, cooler
				  sections of the material being composted to the inner, hotter sections.
Vegetable
-the harvestable or harvested part
				  of any plant or fungus whose fruit, fleshy fruiting bodies, seeds, roots,
				  tubers, bulbs, stems, leaves, or flower parts are used as food and includes
				  mushrooms, sprouts, and herbs.
Very Small Business
-any farm that is subject
				  to any of the requirements of this Chapter and, on a rolling basis, the average
				  annual monetary value of produce sold during the previous 3-year period is no
				  more than $250,000.
Visitor
-any person, other than personnel,
				  who enters a covered farm with permission.
Water Distribution System
-a system to carry
				  water from its primary source to its point of use. A "water distribution
				  system" may include pipes, sprinklers, irrigation canals, pumps, valves,
				  storage tanks, reservoirs, meters, and fittings.
Yard Trimmings
-purely vegetative matter
				  resulting from landscaping maintenance or land clearing operations, including
				  materials such as tree and shrub trimmings, grass clippings, palm fronds,
				  trees, tree stumps, untreated lumber, untreated wooden pallets, and associated
				  rocks and soils.