New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 8 - HEALTH › Chapter 13 - SHELLFISH › Subchapter 2 - DEPURATION OF HARD SHELL AND SOFT SHELL CLAMS › Section 8:13-2.1 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
The following words and terms, when used in this subchapter, shall
				  have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
"Certified depuration plant operator" (DPO) means a person who is
				  responsible for maintaining complete and accurate records of all depuration
				  processes and controls all critical activities of the depuration plant.
"Critical activities" means and includes all the critical
				  parameters for depurating shellfish, including, but not limited to, the allocation
				  of process containers, the procedures for harvesting and landing of shellfish,
				  treatment of process water, HACCP Plan implementation, standard operating procedures
				  for the depuration process, tank and equipment maintenance, process security and
				  surveillance procedures and equipment, sanitation procedures, and required
				  recordkeeping.
"Depuration" or "depurate" means the process of reducing the
				  pathogenic organisms that may be present in shellstock by using a controlled aquatic
				  environment as the treatment process.
"Depuration plant" means a premises or establishment in which
				  clams obtained from waters officially sanctioned and classified by the Department of
				  Environmental Protection as special restricted or seasonal special restricted are
				  subject to a process of depuration with the proper controls approved by the
				  Department which will render the depurated clams alive, and microbiologically
				  acceptable within the meaning of State rules and regulations.
"Depuration Plant Operations Manual" means a written manual to
				  include all depuration procedures and operations that will be conducted in a
				  depuration plant including identifying individuals responsible for critical control
				  activities and procedures to be employed by the depuration plan, when operations
				  must be discontinued or when critical control activities are not being met.
"Depuration process" means the procedure and equipment by which
				  shellfish harvested from waters officially sanctioned and classified by the
				  Department of Environmental Protection as Special Restricted or Seasonal Special
				  Restricted are treated at a depuration plant for controlled purification.
"Depuration unit" means a tank or series of tanks supplied by a
				  single process water system.
"DPO" means depuration plant operator.
"Fecal coliform" means that portion of the coliform group that
				  will produce gas from lactose in an EC medium or an A-1 multiple-tube procedure
				  liquid medium within 24 (+2) hours in a water bath maintained at 112 degrees
				  Fahrenheit (44.5 degrees + 0.2 degrees Celsius).
"Hard shell clams" means the species
Mercenaria
				  mercenaria.
"Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) Plan" means a plan
				  that meets the criteria as set forth in
				  21
				  CFR §
										123.6, as that term is augmented by
				  21
				  CFR §
										123.28, both of which are incorporated
				  herein by reference, as amended and supplemented.
"Lot" means the number of bushels of clams which have been
				  harvested on a particular day from the same area designated by the Department of
				  Environmental Protection.
"MPN" (most probable number) means a statistical estimate of the
				  number of bacteria per unit volume and is determined from the number of positive
				  results in a series of fermentation tubes.
"Person" means an individual, or a firm, partnership, company,
				  corporation, trustee, association, cooperative, or any public or private
				  entity.
"Process batch" means the number of lots of clams and the
				  identification of each lot used to fill each separate depuration unit. A process
				  batch can be one lot or more but cannot exceed two consecutive days harvest, nor
				  exceed the number of bushels of clams the process tanks are capable of
				  handling.
"Process tank(s)" means the tanks in which the controlled
				  purification process is carried out.
"Process water" means the water in depuration tanks during the
				  time that shellfish are being depurated.
"Sanitize" means an effective bactericidal treatment of clean
				  surfaces of equipment and utensils, to effectively destroy microorganisms, including
				  pathogens.
"Shellfish Resource Recovery Steering Committee" (SRRSC) means
				  designated representatives from the Department of Environmental Protection and the
				  Department of Health who have regulatory responsibilities for resource recovery
				  programs.
"Soft shell clams" means the species Mya arenaria.
"Total coliform" means all of the aerobic and facultative
				  anaerobic, gram-negative, non-spore-forming, rod-shaped bacilli that ferment lactose
				  broth with gas formation within 48 hours at 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 + 0.5 degrees
				  Celsius).
"Treated clams" means shellfish that have been depurated.
"Turbidity" means particles in water which reduce light
				  transmittance as measured by a nephelometer. Units are usually given as
				  Nephelometric turbidity units or as N.T.U.
"Ultraviolet light ("UV")" means that portion of the light
				  spectrum containing the bactericidal wave lengths centered around 254
				  nanometers.
"Untreated clams" means shellfish that have not been
				  depurated.
"U.S. Standard Bushel" means United States dry measure of four
				  pecks, or 2150.42 cubic inches.
"Zero hour" ("0 hour") means the time at which a depuration unit
				  becomes full with process water and the last container of the last lot of clams is
				  placed into the tanks for depuration.