| Sanitary Standards. (3) All CIP systems shall comply with the 3-A Sanitary Practices for permanently installed sanitary product, pipelines, and cleaning systems. (4) All joints in containers, utensils and equipment shall be flush and finished as smooth as adjoining surfaces, or if the surface is vitreous, it must be continuous. Tile floors are not acceptable in dryers. Joints on equipment coming in contact with dry milk or milk products only or used for hot air piping may be sealed by other acceptable means. Where a rotating shaft is inserted through a surface with which milk or milk products come into contact, the joint between the moving and stationary surfaces shall be close fitting. Grease and oil from gears, bearings, and cables shall be kept out of the milk and milk products. Where a thermometer or temperature sensing element is inserted through a surface with which milk or milk products come into contact a pressure-tight seal shall be provided ahead of all threads and crevices. (5) Can washers. Can washers shall have sufficient capacity and ability to discharge a clean, dry can and cover and shall be kept properly timed in accordance with the instructions of the manufacturer. The water and steam lines supplying the washer shall maintain a uniform pressure and be equipped with pressure regulating valves. (6) Product storage tanks or vats. Storage tanks or vats shall be fully enclosed or tightly covered and well insulated. The entire interior surface, agitator and all appurtenances shall be accessible for thorough cleaning and inspection. Any opening at the top of the tank or vat including the entrance of the shaft shall be protected against the entrance of dust, moisture, insects, oil, or grease. The sight glasses, if used, shall be sound, clear, and in good repair. Vats which have hanged covers shall be so designed that moisture or dust on the surface cannot enter the vat when the covers are raised. If the storage tanks or vats are equipped with air agitation, the system shall be of an approved type and properly installed in accordance with the 3-A Accepted Practices for Supplying Air Under Pressure. Storage tanks or vats intended to hold product for longer than approximately eight hours shall be equipped with refrigeration and/or have insulation. All new storage tanks or vats shall meet the appropriate 3-A Sanitary Standards and shall be equipped with thermometers in good operating order. (7) Surface coolers. Surface coolers shall be equipped with hinged or removable covers for the protection of the product. The edges of the fins shall be so designed as to divert condensate on non-product-contact surfaces away from product-contact surfaces. All gaskets or swivel connections shall be leak proof. (8) Plate-type heat exchangers. Plate-type heat exchangers shall meet the 3-A Sanitary Standards for Construction and Installation. All gaskets shall be tight and kept in good operating order. Plates shall be opened for inspection by the operator at sufficiently frequent intervals to determine if the equipment is clean and in good repair (e.g. free of dents, holes, broken gaskets and cracks). A cleaning regimen shall be posted to insure cleaning procedures between inspection periods. (9) Internal return tubular heat exchangers. Internal return tubular heat exchangers shall meet the 3-A Sanitary Standards for Construction and Installation. (10) Pumps. Pumps used for milk and dairy products shall be of the sanitary type and constructed to meet 3-A Sanitary Standards. Unless pumps are specifically designed for effective cleaning in place, they shall be disassembled and thoroughly cleaned after use. (11) New equipment and replacements. New equipment and replacements, including all plastic parts, rubber and rubber-like materials for parts and gaskets having product-contact surfaces, shall meet the 3-A Sanitary Standards. If equipment or replacements are not approved by 3-A Sanitary Standards, such equipment and replacements shall meet the general requirements of this section. (e) Personnel cleanliness. All employees shall wash their hands before beginning work and upon returning to work after using toilet facilities, eating, smoking, or otherwise soiling their hands. They shall keep their hands clean and follow good hygienic practices while on duty. Expectorating or use of tobacco in any form shall be prohibited in each room and compartment where any milk, dairy product, or supplies are prepared, stored, or otherwise handled. All persons shall wear clean outer garments while engaged in the handling, processing, storage, transporting, or packaging of dairy products. Clean outer garments shall also be worn by persons handling containers, utensils, and equipment used for these activities. Adequate hair coverings shall be worn by all persons engaged in receiving, testing, processing, packaging, or handling of dairy products. (f) Personnel health. No person afflicted with a communicable disease shall be permitted in any room or compartment where milk and milk products are prepared, manufactured, or otherwise handled. No person who has a discharging or infected wound, sore or lesion on hands, arms, or other exposed portion of the body shall work in any dairy processing rooms or in any capacity which brings them into direct contact with associated milk or milk product-contact surfaces. Milk plant operators who have received verifiable and confirmed reports from or about employees who have these conditions and who have handled pasteurized milk or milk products or associated milk or milk product-contact surfaces, shall immediately report these facts to the department. Milk plant employees or applicants to whom a conditional offer of employment has been made shall be instructed by the milk plant that the employee or applicant is responsible to report to the milk plant management, in a manner that allows the milk plant to prevent the likelihood of the transmission of diseases that are transmissible through foods, if the employee or applicant: (1) is diagnosed with an illness due to Hepatitis A virus, Salmonella typhi, Shigella species, Norovirus, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Escherichia coli 0157:H7, enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli, enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, Campylobacter jejuni, Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia lamblia, Non-typhoidal Salmonella, Rotovirus, Taenia solium, Yersinia enterocolitica, Vibrio cholerae O1 or other infectious or communicable disease that has been declared by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to be transmissible to others through the handling of food, or has been clearly shown to be transmissible based upon verifiable epidemiological data; or (2) is exposed to, or suspected of causing, a confirmed foodborne disease outbreak of one of the diseases specified in paragraph (1) of this subsection, including an outbreak at an event such as a family or communal meal, (e.g., church supper or ethnic festival) because the employee or applicant: (A) prepared food implicated in the outbreak; or (B) consumed food implicated in the outbreak; or (C) consumed food at the event prepared by a person who is infected or ill. (3) lives in the same household as a person who attends or works in a day care center, school or similar institution if the institution experiencing a confirmed outbreak of one of the diseases specified in paragraph (1) of this subsection. Similarly, milk plant employees shall be instructed by the milk plant management to report to the milk plant management if the employee, or applicant: (4) has a symptom associated with acute gastrointestinal illness such as: Abdominal cramps or discomfort, diarrhea, fever, loss of appetite for three or more days, vomiting, jaundice; or (5) has a pustular lesion such as a boil or infected wound that is: (A) on the hands, wrists or exposed portions of the arms, unless the lesion is covered by a durable, moisture proof, tight-fitting barrier; or (B) on other parts of the body if the lesion is open or draining, unless the lesion is covered by a durable, moisture proof, tight-fitting barrier. (g) Raw product storage. (1) All milk shall be held and processed under conditions and at temperatures that will avoid contamination and rapid deterioration. Raw milk in storage tanks within the dairy plant shall be handled in such a manner as to minimize bacterial increase and shall be maintained at 45 degrees Fahrenheit or lower until processing begins. This does not preclude holding milk at higher temperatures for a period of time, where applicable to particular manufacturing or processing practices. (2) The bacteriological quality of commingled raw milk for use in dairy products for manufacturing purposes shall not exceed 500,000 per ml. (3) During any consecutive six months, at least four samples of raw milk intended for use in manufactured milk products shall be taken by and examined by the department. Cont'd... |
