New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 8 - HEALTH › Chapter 21 - FOOD AND DRUGS › Subchapter 13 - RULES GOVERNING WHOLESALE FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS › Section 8:21-13.9 - Production and process controls

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) All operations in
				the receiving, inspecting, transporting, packaging, segregating, preparing,
				processing, and storing of food shall be conducted in accord with adequate
				sanitation principles. Overall sanitation of the plant shall be under the
				supervision of an individual assigned responsibility for this function. All
				reasonable precautions, including the following, shall be taken to assure that
				production procedures do not contribute contamination such as filth, harmful
				chemicals, undesirable microorganisms, or any other objectionable material to the
				processed product.
(b) Raw materials and
				ingredients shall be inspected and segregated as necessary to assure that they are
				clean, wholesome, and fit for processing into food and shall be stored under
				conditions that will protect against contamination and minimize deterioration. Raw
				materials shall be washed or cleaned as required to remove soil or other
				contamination. Water used for washing, rinsing, or conveying of food products shall
				be of approved quality, and water shall not be reused for washing, rinsing, or
				conveying products in a manner that may result in contamination of food
				products.
(c) Containers and carriers of
				raw ingredients shall be inspected on receipt to assure that their condition has not
				contributed to the contamination or deterioration of the products.
(d) When ice is used in contact with food
				products, it shall be made from potable water and shall be used only if it has been
				manufactured in accordance with accepted standards and stored, transported, and
				handled in a sanitary manner.
(e) Food
				processing areas and equipment used for processing human food shall not be used to
				process nonhuman food-grade animal feed or inedible products unless there is no
				reasonable possibility for the contamination of the human food.
(f) Processing equipment shall be maintained in a
				sanitary condition through frequent cleaning including sanitization where indicated.
				Insofar, as necessary, equipment shall be taken apart for thorough
				cleaning.
(g) All food processing,
				including packaging and storage, shall be conducted under such conditions and
				controls as are necessary to minimize the potential for undesirable bacterial or
				other microbiological growth, toxin formation, or deterioration or contamination of
				the processed product or ingredients. This may require careful monitoring of such
				physical factors as time, temperature, humidity, pressure, flow-rate and such
				processing operations as freezing, dehydration, heat processing, and refrigeration
				to assure that mechanical breakdowns, time delays, temperature fluctuation, and
				other factors do not contribute to the decomposition or contamination of the
				processed products.
(h) Chemical
				microbiological, or extraneous-material testing procedures shall be utilized where
				necessary to identify sanitation failures or food contamination, and all foods and
				ingredients that have become contaminated shall be rejected or treated or processed
				to eliminate the contamination where this may be effectively accomplished.
(i) Packaging processes and materials shall not
				transmit contaminants or objectionable substances to the products and shall provide
				adequate protection from contamination.
(j) Meaningful coding of products sold or
				otherwise distributed from a manufacturing, processing, packing, or repacking
				activity shall be utilized to enable positive lot identification to facilitate,
				where necessary, the segregation of specific food lots that may have become
				contaminated or otherwise unfit for their intended use. Records shall be retained
				for a period of time that exceeds the shelf life of the product, except that they
				need not be retained more than two years.
(k) Storage and transportation of finished
				products shall be under such conditions as will prevent contamination, including
				development of pathogenic or toxigenic microorganisms, and will protect against
				undesirable deterioration of the product and the container. All potentially
				hazardous food shall be kept at the 45 degrees Fahrenheit or below or 140 degrees
				Fahrenheit or above, and frozen foods at or below 0 degrees Fahrenheit during
				transportation, provided that, cold food may be allowed to reach 55 degrees
				Fahrenheit and hot food may be allowed to reach 130 degrees Fahrenheit if they are
				to be consumed within one-half hour of plating. During transportation all food shall
				be in covered containers or completely wrapped or packaged so as to be protected
				from contamination and maintain safe temperatures except for hanging meats and raw
				agricultural products, which will be prepared for consumption in such a manner to
				remove the danger of possible contaminants. All food transportation vehicles,
				including carts, trucks, vans, and trailers shall be kept clean, free of vermin and
				in good repair.
(l) Perishable and
				potentially hazardous food shall be stored at safe temperature and in accordance
				with the standards set forth in
				8:24-3.2.
(m) Containers of food shall be stored above the
				floor, on clean racks, dollies or other clean surfaces in such a manner as to be
				protected from splash and other contamination. Additionally, foods in bulk storage
				must be elevated four to six inches above the floor on racks or dollies and aisles
				must be provided between articles in storage and walls, and masses of foods must be
				broken down into manageable cells with aisles to allow for cleaning and inspection
				and to prevent insect and rodent harborage.
1.
				Foods in bulk storage shall be stored at least 12 inches from each wall and there
				shall be a white inspection strip on the floor along each wall where food is
				stored.
2. Foods packaged in cans, glass
				or other vermin-proof containers sealed in shipping cartons and stored on clean
				surfaces in rooms, the floors of which are not frequently washed or otherwise
				subjected to water, need not be elevated and aisles need not be provided if
				containers are in temporary storage for five days or less or stored on dollies,
				skids, racks or open-ended pallets, provided such equipment is easily removable
				either by hand or with the use of pallet moving equipment that is on the premises
				and used, and the areas are clean, and rodent, insect or other vermin harborages are
				not provided.