Code of Maryland Regulations › Title 10 - MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH › Part 3 › Subtitle 15 - FOOD › Chapter 10.15.01 - Low Acid and Acidified Food Canning › Section 10.15.01.02 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 14, July 12, 2024
A. In this chapter,
				  the following terms have the meanings indicated.
B. Terms Defined.
(1) "Acid foods" means foods that have a
				  natural pH of 4.6 or below.
(2)
				  Acidified Foods.
(a) "Acidified foods" means
				  low-acid foods to which acid or acids or acid food or acid foods are added and
				  that have a:
(i) Water activity (aw) greater
				  than 0.85; and
(ii) Finished
				  equilibrium pH of 4.6 or below.
(b) "Acidified foods" includes, but is not
				  limited to:
(i) Beans, cucumbers, cabbage,
				  artichokes, cauliflower, puddings, peppers, tropical fruits, and fish, singly
				  or in combination; and
(ii) Foods
				  that are called, or may purport to be, "pickles" or "pickled".
(c) "Acidified foods" does not
				  include:
(i) Carbonated beverages, jams,
				  jellies, or preserves;
(ii) Acid
				  foods that contain small amounts of low-acid food or foods and have a resultant
				  finished equilibrium pH that does not significantly differ from that of the
				  predominate acid or acid food, including such foods as standardized and
				  nonstandardized food dressings and condiment sauces; and
(iii) Foods that are stored, distributed, and
				  retailed under refrigeration.
(3) "Canned foods" means foods that are heat
				  treated and hermetically sealed in a container for preservation.
(4) "Commercially sterile" means the
				  condition achieved by the:
(a) Application of
				  heat that renders the food free of:
(i)
				  Microorganisms capable of reproducing in the food under normal nonrefrigerated
				  conditions of storage and distribution; and
(ii) Viable microorganisms, including spores,
				  that cause disease; or
(b) Control of water activity and the
				  application of heat that renders the food free of microorganisms capable of
				  reproducing in the food under normal nonrefrigerated conditions of storage and
				  distribution.
(5)
				  "Culinary grade steam" means steam that is free of deleterious or harmful
				  matter that might adulterate food.
(6) "Department" means the Department of
				  Health and Mental Hygiene or the Department's designee.
(7) "Lot" means the product produced during a
				  time period indicated by a specific code.
(8) Low-Acid Foods.
(a) "Low-acid foods" means any foods, other
				  than alcoholic beverages, with a finished equilibrium pH greater than 4.6 and a
				  water activity (aw) greater than 0.85.
(b) "Low-acid foods" does not include
				  tomatoes and tomato products having a finished equilibrium pH less than
				  4.7.
(9)
				  "Person-in-charge" means the licensee or other individual responsible for the
				  overall conditions and operation of a cannery or acidified food processing
				  plant.
(10) "Process authority"
				  means an individual having knowledge acquired through training about and
				  experience with thermal processing requirements or the acidification and
				  processing of acidified foods.
(11)
				  "Scheduled process" means the process selected by the processor as adequate
				  under the conditions of manufacture that:
(a)
				  Is at a minimum equivalent to the process established by a process
				  authority;
(b) For thermally
				  processed low-acid foods packaged in hermetically sealed containers:
(i) Achieves a commercially sterile product;
				  and
(ii) May be in excess of that
				  necessary to ensure destruction of microorganisms that cause disease;
(c) For acidified foods:
(i) Achieves and maintains a food that will
				  not permit the growth of microorganisms that cause disease; and
(ii) Includes the control of pH and other
				  critical factors; and
(d) For thermally processed acid foods
				  packaged in hermetically sealed containers:
(i) Achieves a commercially sterile product;
				  or
(ii) Ensures the destruction of
				  microorganisms that cause disease and prevents spoilage during the product's
				  shelf life.
(12) "Thermal process validation study" means
				  a scientific study conducted by a process authority to determine critical
				  factors and establish and validate a food process.
(13) "Water activity (aw)" means the measure
				  of the free moisture in a product and is the quotient of the water vapor
				  pressure of the substance divided by the vapor pressure of pure water at the
				  same temperature.