The following words and terms, when used in this subchapter,
have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates
otherwise. Those definitions and interpretations of terms of the Texas
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter
431, are also applicable when used in this subchapter.
(1) Adequate--That which is needed to accomplish the
intended purpose in keeping with good public health practice.
(2) Bulk vehicle--A tank truck, hopper truck, cargo
tank, portable tank, freight container, or hopper bin, or any other
vehicle in which food is shipped in bulk, with the food coming into
direct contact with the vehicle.
(3) Carrier--Any person who transports food while operating
as a parcel delivery service.
(4) Cross-contact--The unintentional incorporation
of a food allergen into food.
(5) Farm--Means:
(A) Primary production farm. A primary production farm
is an operation under one management in one general (but not necessarily
contiguous) physical location devoted to the growing of crops, the
harvesting of crops, the raising of animals (including seafood), or
any combination of these activities. The term "farm" includes operations
that, in addition to these activities:
(i) pack or hold raw agricultural commodities;
(ii) pack or hold processed food, provided that all
processed food used in such activities is either consumed on that
farm or another farm under the same management, or is processed food
identified in clause (iii)(II)(-a-) of this subparagraph; and
(iii) manufacture/process food, provided that:
(I) all food used in such activities is consumed on
that farm or another farm under the same management; or
(II) any manufacturing/processing of food that is not
consumed on that farm or another farm under the same management consists
only of:
(-a-) drying/dehydrating raw agricultural commodities
to create a distinct commodity (such as drying/dehydrating grapes
to produce raisins), and packaging and labeling such commodities,
without additional manufacturing/processing (an example of additional
manufacturing/processing is slicing);
(-b-) treatment to manipulate the ripening of raw agricultural
commodities (such as by treating produce with ethylene gas), and packaging
and labeling treated raw agricultural commodities, without additional
manufacturing/processing; and;
(-c-) packaging and labeling raw agricultural commodities,
when these activities do not involve additional manufacturing/processing
(an example of additional manufacturing/processing is irradiation);
or
(B) secondary activities farm. A secondary activities
farm is an operation, not located on a primary production farm, devoted
to harvesting (such as hulling or shelling), packing, and/or holding
of raw agricultural commodities, provided that the primary production
farm(s) that grows, harvests, and/or raises the majority of the raw
agricultural commodities harvested, packed, and/or held by the secondary
activities farm owns, or jointly owns, a majority interest in the
secondary activities farm. A secondary activities farm may also conduct
those additional activities allowed on a primary production farm as
described in subparagraph (A)(ii) and (iii) of this paragraph.
(6) Food allergen--A major food allergen is:
(A) Milk, egg, fish (e.g., bass, flounder, or cod),
Crustacean shellfish (e.g., crab, lobster, or shrimp), tree nuts (e.g.,
almonds, pecans, or walnuts), wheat, peanuts, and soybeans.
(B) A food ingredient that contains protein derived
from a food specified in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, except
the following:
(i) any highly refined oil derived from a food specified
in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph and any ingredient derived from
such highly refined oil.
(ii) a food ingredient that is exempt under United
States Code Title 21 Chapter 9, Subchapter IV, §343(w)(6) and
(7).
(7) Food contact substance--Any substance intended
for use as a component of materials used in manufacturing, packing,
packaging, transporting, or holding food if such use is not intended
to have any technical effect in such food.
(8) Food not completely enclosed by a container--Any
food that is placed into a container in such a manner that it is partially
open to the surrounding environment. Examples of such containers include
an open wooden basket or crate, an open cardboard box, a vented cardboard
box with a top, or a vented plastic bag. This term does not include
food transported in a bulk vehicle as defined in this subchapter.
(9) Food Transporter--Any person who physically moves
food by vehicle in commerce within the United States; and excludes
carriers as defined in this subchapter.
(10) Full-time equivalent employee--A term used to
represent the number of employees of a business entity for the purpose
of determining whether the business is a small business. The number
of full-time equivalent employees is determined by dividing the total
number of hours of salary or wages paid directly to employees of the
business entity and of all of its affiliates and subsidiaries by the
number of hours of work in 1 year, 2,080 hours (i.e., 40 hours x 52
weeks). If the result is not a whole number, round down to the next
lowest whole number.
(11) Loader--A person that loads food onto a motor
or during transportation operations.
(12) Non-covered business--A shipper, loader, receiver,
or food transporter engaged in transportation operations that has
less than $500,000, as adjusted for inflation, in average annual revenues,
calculated on a rolling basis, during the 3-year period preceding
the applicable calendar year. For the purpose of determining an entity's
3-year average revenue threshold as adjusted for inflation, the baseline
year for calculating the adjustment for inflation is 2011.
(13) Operating temperature--A temperature sufficient
to ensure that under foreseeable circumstances of temperature variation
during transport, e.g., seasonal conditions, refrigeration unit defrosting,
multiple vehicle loading and unloading stops, and type of food product,
the operation will meet the requirements of §229.804(a)(3) of
this title (relating to Transportation Operations).
(14) Pest--Any objectionable animals or insects including
birds, rodents, flies, and larvae.
(15) Receiver--Any person who receives food at a point
in the United States after transportation, whether or not that person
represents the final point of receipt for the food.
(16) Shipper--A person, e.g., the manufacturer or a
freight broker, who arranges for the transportation of food in the
United States by a food transporter or multiple food transporters
sequentially.
(17) Small business--A business employing fewer than
500 full-time equivalent employees except that for food transporters
by motor vehicle that are not also shippers and/or receivers, this
term would mean a business subject to §229.801(a) of this title
(relating to Purpose and Scope) having less than $27,500,000 in annual
receipts.
(18) Transportation--Any movement of food in by motor
vehicle or in commerce within the United States.
(19) Transportation equipment--Equipment used in food
transportation operations, e.g., bulk and non-bulk containers, bins,
totes, pallets, pumps, fittings, hoses, gaskets, loading systems,
and unloading systems. Transportation equipment also includes a trailer
not attached to a tractor.
(20) Transportation operations--All activities associated
with food transportation that may affect the sanitary condition of
food including cleaning, inspection, maintenance, loading and unloading,
and operation of vehicles and transportation equipment. Transportation
operations do not include any activities associated with the transportation
of food that is completely enclosed by a container except a food that
requires temperature control for safety, compressed food gases, food
contact substances, human food byproducts transported for use as animal
food without further processing, or live food animals except molluscan
shellfish. In addition, transportation operations do not include any
transportation activities that are performed by a farm.
(21) Vehicle--A land conveyance that is motorized,
e.g., a motor vehicle, which is used in transportation operations.
(22) Vehicle Used To Transport Food--A vehicle used
to transport or hold food in commerce within Texas.
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