New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 8 - HEALTH › Chapter 21 - FOOD AND DRUGS › Subchapter 13 - RULES GOVERNING WHOLESALE FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS › Section 8:21-13.7 - Equipment and procedures

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) General: All plant equipment and utensils
				shall be suitable for their intended use, so designed and of such material and
				workmanship as to be adequately cleanable and properly maintained. The design,
				construction, and use of such equipment and utensils shall preclude the adulteration
				of food with lubricants, fuel, metal fragments, contaminated water, or any other
				contaminants. All equipment shall be so installed and maintained as to facilitate
				the cleaning of the equipment and of all adjacent spaces.
1. Food-contact surfaces shall be corrosion free
				when in contact with food. They shall be made of nontoxic material that will
				withstand the environment of its intended use and action of food ingredients,
				cleaning compounds, and sanitizing agents. All food-contact surfaces shall be
				maintained to prevent product contamination.
2. Seams in food-contact surfaces shall be
				smoothly bonded or maintained so as to minimize accumulation of food particles or to
				prevent microbiological contamination in places where dirt or organic material might
				accumulate.
3. Equipment that is in the
				processing or food handling area and that does not come into contact with product
				shall be so constructed that it can be kept in a clean condition.
4. Ingredient and product holding, conveying, and
				processing systems that include, but are not limited to, gravimetric, pneumatic,
				closed, and automated systems shall be of a design and construction that enables
				them to be cleaned and sanitized.
5.
				Regulating and recording controls, thermometers, other temperature measuring devices
				and temperature recording devices on equipment used to sterilize, pasteurize, or
				otherwise control or prevent growth of microorganisms in raw materials or products
				shall be accurate, effective, and adequate in number for their designated
				uses.
6. Each freezer and cold storage
				compartment used for storing and holding raw materials or products capable of
				supporting growth of microorganisms shall be fitted with an indicating thermometer,
				temperature measuring device and/or temperature recording device so installed as to
				show the temperature accurately within the compartment. Thermometers and other
				temperature recording devices shall be accurate to plus or minus two degrees
				Fahrenheit.
7. Instruments used for
				measuring or regulating pH, acidity, water activity, or other conditions that
				control or prevent undesirable microbial growth in foods shall be precise and
				properly maintained.
8. All compressed
				air or other gases, mechanically introduced into foods or used to clean food-contact
				surfaces or equipment, shall be adequately filtered or washed and shall be free of
				oil and other extraneous material that might contaminate the foods.
9. All equipment ports, hatches and other openings
				shall be provided with tight fitting covers and shall be kept in place and used to
				prevent airborne contamination and/or adulteration.
10. The design, construction, installation, and
				materials for food equipment, shall be in compliance with
				8:24-5.1 and 5.2.
11. Equipment used to bottle, cap, and sanitize
				multiuse containers in a nonalcoholic drink bottling plant shall conform to the
				requirements set forth under
				8:21-5.7(f) and (g),
				and 8:21-5.11.