Code of Vermont Rules › Agency 13 - AGENCY OF HUMAN SERVICES › Sub-Agency 140 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH › Chapter 075 - GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICES FOR FOOD: CHAPTER 5, SUBCHAPTER 1 › Section 13 140 075 - GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICES FOR FOOD: CHAPTER 5, SUBCHAPTER 1

Current through June, 2024
Section 1.0
				Authority
This rule is adopted pursuant to 18 V.S.A. Chapter 85.
Section 2.0 Purpose
This rule provides the requirements for the safe and sanitary
				  manufacturing, packing or holding of human food products.
Section 3.0 Scope
This rule applies to food establishments that process food
				  for human consumption, and provide processed food for sale and distribution to
				  other business entities such as other food establishments. Requirements do not
				  pertain to food establishments that process food solely under the regulatory
				  oversight of the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, & Markets.
Section 4.0 Definitions
Whenever used in these Regulations, the following terms shall
				  be construed as follows:
4.1 "Acid
				foods or acidified food" means foods that have an equilibrium pH of 4.6 or
				below.
4.2 "Adequate" means that
				which is needed to accomplish the intended purpose in keeping with good public
				health practices.
4.3 "Batter"
				means a semi-fluid substance, usually composed of flour and other ingredients,
				into which principal components of food are dipped or with which they are
				coated, or which may be used directly to form bakery foods.
4.4 "Blanching, except for tree nuts and
				peanuts" means a prepackaging heat treatment of foodstuffs for a sufficient
				time and at a sufficient temperature to partially or completely inactivate the
				naturally occurring enzymes and to effect other physical or biochemical changes
				in the food.
4.5 "Critical control
				point" means a point in a food process where there is a high probability that
				improper control may cause, allow, or contribute to a hazard or to filth in the
				final food or decomposition of the final food.
4.6 "Department" means the Vermont Department
				of Health.
4.7 "Commissioner" means
				the Commissioner for the Vermont Department of Health or a subordinate to whom
				the commissioner has assigned his or her functions.
4.8 "FDA" means the U.S. Food and Drug
				Administration.
4.9 "Food" means
				any article used or intended to be used by human beings for food, drink,
				confection, or condiment, whether simple, mixed, or compound and all substances
				and ingredients used in the preparation thereof.
4.10 "Food-contact surfaces" are those
				surfaces that contact human food and those surfaces from which drainage onto
				surfaces that contact the food ordinarily occurs during the normal course of
				operations. Food-contact surfaces include utensils and food-contact surfaces of
				equipment.
4.11 "Lot" means the
				food produced during a period of time indicated by a specific code.
4.12 "Low-acid food" means any foods, other
				than alcoholic beverages, with a finished equilibrium pH greater than 4.6 and a
				water activity (a w ) greater than 0.85. Tomatoes and tomato products having a
				finished equilibrium pH less than 4.7 are not classed as low-acid
				foods.
4.13 "Microorganisms" means
				yeasts, molds, bacteria, and viruses and includes, but is not limited to,
				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
				within the meaning of these Regulations.
4.14 "Pasteurize" means to expose food to an
				elevated temperature for a period of time sufficient to destroy certain
				microorganisms that can produce disease or cause spoilage or undesirable
				fermentation of food.
4.15 "Pest"
				means any objectionable animals or insects including, but not limited to,
				birds, rodents, flies, and larvae.
4.16 "Plan review" means the submission of
				blueprints, drawings, or plans for proposed new construction, renovation, or
				remodeling of a food processing facility.
4.17 "Plant" means the building or facility
				or parts thereof, used for or in connection with the manufacturing, packaging,
				labeling, or holding of human food.
4.18 "Process Authority Review" means a
				product review conducted by a person(s) or organization(s) having expert
				knowledge of thermal processing requirements for foods in hermetically sealed
				containers, having access to facilities for making such determinations, and
				designated by the establishment to perform certain functions.
4.19 "Processed food" means any food other
				than a raw agricultural commodity and includes any raw agricultural commodity
				that has been subject to processing, such as canning, cooking, freezing,
				dehydration, grinding, churning, separating, extracting, packaging, or milling,
				but does not mean the sorting, trimming, cleaning, or water-rinsing of
				food.
4.20 "Quality control
				operation" means a planned and systematic procedure for taking all actions
				necessary to prevent food from being adulterated within the meaning of these
				Regulations.
4.21 "Rework" means
				clean, unadulterated food that has been removed from processing for reasons
				other than unsanitary conditions or that has been successfully reconditioned by
				reprocessing and that is suitable for use as food.
4.22 "Safe and suitable" means that the
				ingredient performs an appropriate function in the food in which it is used and
				is used at a level no higher than necessary to achieve its intended purpose in
				that food.
4.23 "Safe-moisture
				level" is a level of moisture low enough to prevent the growth of undesirable
				microorganisms in the finished product under the intended conditions of
				manufacturing, storage, and distribution. The maximum safe moisture level for a
				food is based on its water activity (a w ). An a w will be considered safe for
				a food if adequate data are available that demonstrate that the food at or
				below the given a w will not support the growth of undesirable
				microorganisms.
4.24 "Sanitize"
				means to adequately treat food-contact 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.
4.25 "Significant
				renovation" means a physical change to a facility or portion of a facility,
				including the following:
4.25.1 Replacing or
				upgrading any major system, such as the electrical, plumbing, heating,
				ventilation, or air-conditioning systems;
4.25.2 Demolition of the interior or exterior
				of a building or portion of the building; and
4.25.3 Replacement, demolition, or
				installation of interior walls and partitions, whether fixed or
				movable.
4.26 "Water
				activity (a w )" means a measure of the free moisture in a food and is the
				quotient of the water vapor pressure of the substance divided by the vapor
				pressure of pure water at the same temperature.