| (C) be equipped with a suitable thermometer approved
by the department before use.
(f) Milkhouse or room-cleanliness.
(1) The floors, walls, ceilings, windows, tables, shelves,
cabinets, wash vats, non-product-contact surfaces of milk containers,
utensils and equipment, and other milkroom equipment must be clean.
(2) Only articles directly related to milkroom activities
are allowed in the milkroom. The milkroom must be kept free of trash,
animals, and fowl.
(3) Vestibules must be kept clean.
(g) Toilet.
(1) Every Grade A raw milk processor dairy farm shall
provide one or more toilets, conveniently located by the milking barn,
parlor, stable, AMI, and the milkroom. The toilet room must be properly
constructed with walls, floors, and ceilings that are smooth, easily
cleanable, impervious to moisture, light colored, and operated and
maintained in a sanitary manner.
(2) Human defecation or urination must only occur in
the toilet room.
(3) The toilet room must not open directly into the
milkroom.
(4) Doors to toilet rooms must be tight-fitting and
self-closing, and all outer openings in toilet rooms must be screened
or otherwise protected against the entrance of flies.
(5) The toilet room shall be cleaned and kept free
of odors.
(6) The toilet must be connected to a public sewer
system or to an individual sewage-disposal system and must be constructed
and operated in accordance with the most current revision of the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality rules regulating on-site sewage
facilities.
(h) Water supply.
(1) A Grade A raw milk processor dairy farm''s water
source must meet the following requirements to establish the absence
of coliform bacteria and thus be considered a "safe water source":
(A) Water samples must be taken before the permit approval
of the physical structure and found negative for the presence of coliform
bacteria.
(B) Water samples must be taken after any repair, alteration,
or maintenance of the water supply system and found negative for the
presence of coliform bacteria.
(C) Water hauled to the Grade A raw processor dairy
farm must be sampled for the presence of coliform bacteria at the
point of use.
(2) Water for milkhouse and milking operations must
be from a supply properly located, protected, and operated, easily
accessible, and of adequate sanitary quality, and must be a safe water
source.
(A) All water supply systems must be approved as safe
and comply with the specifications of the Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality 30 TAC §290.41.
(B) No cross-connections between a safe water supply
and any unsafe or questionable water supply or any other source of
pollution are permitted.
(C) There must be no submerged inlets through which
a safe water supply may be contaminated.
(D) The water source must be located and constructed
in a manner that neither the underground nor surface contamination
from any sewage systems, or other pollution can reach the water supply.
Well casing and seal must be located above the ground surface.
(E) All new water supply systems, which have been repaired
or otherwise become contaminated, must be thoroughly disinfected and
approved as safe before being placed in use.
(F) All containers and tanks used in the transportation
of water must be sealed and protected from possible contamination
and must be approved by the department before use.
(i) The containers and tanks must be thoroughly cleaned
and have a bacteriological treatment before filling with potable water
to be used at the dairy farm.
(ii) To minimize the possibility of contamination of
the water during the transfer from the potable tanks to the elevated
or ground-water storage at the dairy farm, a suitable pump, hose,
and fittings must be provided.
(iii) When the pump, hose, and fittings are not being
used, the outlets must be capped and stored in a suitable dust proof
enclosure to prevent contamination.
(iv) The storage tank at the dairy farm must be constructed
of impervious material, provided with a dust and rainproof cover,
and provided with an approved vent and roof hatch.
(v) All reservoirs must be disinfected before placing
them into service.
(i) Containers, utensils and equipment--construction.
(1) All multi-use containers, equipment, and utensils
used in the handling, or storage of Grade A raw milk and Grade A raw
milk products must be made of smooth, nonabsorbent, corrosion resistant,
nontoxic materials, free of breaks, and be easily cleaned. Safe materials
of the following types are allowed:
(A) stainless steel of the American Iron and Steel
Institute (AISI) 300 series;
(B) equally corrosion-resistant, nontoxic metal;
(C) heat-resistant glass; or
(D) plastic or rubber and rubberlike materials, which:
(i) are relatively inert, resistant to scratching,
scoring, decomposition, crazing, chipping, and distorting under normal
use conditions;
(ii) are nontoxic, fat-resistant, relatively nonabsorbent,
relatively soluble, and do not release component chemicals or impart
flavor or odor to the product; and
(iii) must maintain these properties under repeated
use conditions.
(2) All milk pails used for foremilk stripping must
be seamless and hooded.
(3) Strainers, if used, must be of perforated metal
design, or constructed to utilize single-service strainer media. Multiple-use
woven material must not be used for straining milk.
(4) All single-service articles must be manufactured,
packaged, transported, and handled in a sanitary manner and obtained
from an approved source.
(5) Articles intended by the manufacturer for single-service
use must not be reused.
(6) Farm holding/cooling tanks with welded sanitary
piping must be smooth and free from pits, cracks, or inclusions.
(7) Cleaned-in-place milk pipelines and return solution
lines must be self-draining.
(8) Gaskets, if used, must be self-positioning and
of material meeting specifications described in §217.28(i)(1)
of this subchapter, and must form a smooth, flush interior surface.
(9) If gaskets are not used, all fittings must have
self-positioning faces designed to form a smooth, flush interior surface.
(10) All interior surfaces of welded joints in pipelines
must be smooth and free of pits, cracks, and inclusions.
(11) Detailed plans for cleaned-in-place pipeline systems
must be submitted to the department for written approval before installation.
No alteration or addition may be made to any milk pipeline system
without prior written approval from the department.
(12) All milking machines, including heads, milk claws,
milk tubing, and other milk-contact surfaces, must be easily cleaned
and inspected. Pipelines, milking equipment, and other equipment requiring
a screwdriver or special tool must be easily accessible for inspection
and the necessary tools must be available at the milkhouse.
(13) Farm holding/cooling tanks and welded sanitary
piping must comply with all applicable requirements set forth in this
section.
(j) Containers, utensils and equipment--cleaning. The
product-contact surfaces of all multi-use containers, equipment, and
utensils used in the handling, storage, or transportation of milk
must be cleaned after each usage.
(k) Containers, utensils and equipment--sanitization.
The product-contact surfaces of all multi-use containers, equipment
and utensils used in the handling, storage, or transportation of milk
must be sanitized before each usage by one of the following methods,
or by an equally effective method:
(1) Complete immersion in hot water at a temperature
of at least 170 degrees Fahrenheit (77 degrees Celsius) as determined
by use of a suitable accurate thermometer (at the outlet) for at least
five minutes; or
(2) Complete immersion for at least one minute in,
or exposure for at least one minute to, a flow of a chemical sanitizer
which must meet the manufacturer's recommendation of acceptable strength
for milk contact surfaces. All product-contact surfaces must be wetted
by the sanitizing solution, and piping must be filled. Sanitizing
sprays may be used.
(A) Chemical solution, once used, may not be reused
for sanitizing.
Cont'd... |
