The following regulations shall apply to all plants where
food is processed, which are not covered elsewhere in these
regulations.
The following definitions shall apply in the interpretation
and enforcement of this Chapter.
| (1) |
"Acid Foods" or "Acidified Foods" means foods that
have a natural pH of 4.6 or below or low acid-foods to which acid(s) or acid
food(s) are added: these foods include, but are not limited to, beans,
cucumbers, cabbage, artichokes, cauliflower, puddings, peppers, tropical
fruits, and fish, singly or in any combination. They have a water activity (aw)
greater than 0.85 and have a finished equilibrium pH of 4.6 or below. |
| (2) |
"Act" means The Georgia Food
Act. |
| (3) |
"Adequate"
means that which is needed to accomplish the intended purpose in keeping with
good public health practice. |
| (4) |
"Adulterated" as defined in Georgia Food Act Section
26-2-26. |
| (5) |
"Balut" means an embryo
inside a fertile egg that has been incubated for a period sufficient for the
embryo to reach a specific stage of development after which it is removed from
incubation before hatching. |
| (6) |
"Code of Federal Regulations" means the compilation of the general
and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the executive
departments and agencies of the federal government. |
| (7) |
"Commissioner" means
Commissioner of Agriculture of the State of Georgia. |
| (8) |
"Consumer" means a person
who is a member of the public, takes possession of food, is not functioning in
the capacity of an operator of a food establishment or food processing plant,
and does not offer the food for resale. |
| (9) |
"Critical Control Point"
means a point, step, or procedure in a food process at which control can be
applied and is essential to prevent or eliminate a food safety hazard or reduce
such hazard to an acceptable level. |
| (10) |
"Critical limit" means the
maximum or minimum value to which a physical, biological, or chemical parameter
must be controlled at a critical control point to prevent, eliminate, or reduce
to an acceptable level the occurrence of the identified food hazard. |
| (11) |
"Department" means the
Georgia Department of Agriculture. |
| (12) |
"Department Representative"
means any officer, inspector, agent or employee of the Georgia Department of
Agriculture who is authorized by the Commissioner with the duty of enforcing
these regulations. |
| (13) |
"Egg" means the shell egg of avian species such as chicken, duck,
goose, guinea, quail, ratites or turkey. Egg does not include:
| (b) |
the egg of reptile species such as
alligator; or |
|
| (14) |
"Egg
Product" means all, or a portion of, the contents found inside eggs
separated from the shell and pasteurized in a food processing plant, with or
without added ingredients, intended for human consumption, such as dried,
frozen or liquid eggs. Egg product does not include food which contains eggs
only in a relatively small proportion such as cake mixes. |
| (15) |
"Employee" means the
License Holder, person in charge, food employee, person having supervisory or
management duties, person on the payroll, family member, volunteer, person
performing work under contractual agreement, or other person working in a food
processing plant. |
| (16) |
"Exemption" means a written document issued by the regulatory
authority that authorizes a modification or waiver of one or more requirements
of this Code if, in the opinion of the regulatory authority, a health hazard or
nuisance will not result from the modification or waiver. |
| (17) |
"Finished Product" means:
| (a) |
The output of manufacturing or processing
operations which is suitable for human consumption, and |
| (b) |
An ingredient or other constituent of a
food that will not be further treated or otherwise processed to control the
most resistant microorganism of public health significance. |
|
| (18) |
"Fish" means
fresh or saltwater finfish, crustaceans, other forms of aquatic animal life
(including, but not limited to, alligator, frog, aquatic turtle, jellyfish, sea
cucumber, and sea urchin and the roe of such animals) other than birds or
mammals, and all mollusks, where such animal life is intended for human
consumption. |
| (19) |
"Food" means a raw, cooked, or processed edible substance, ice,
beverage, or ingredient used or intended for use or for sale in whole or in
part for human consumption, or chewing gum. |
| (20) |
"Food employee" means an
individual working with unpackaged food, food equipment or utensils, or
food-contact surfaces. |
| (21) |
"Food Processing Plant" means an establishment that sells food
products to other business entities as its primary function; and is used
synonymously in this chapter with "establishment," "firm," "facility," and
"plant." The term "food processing plant" includes those facilities that
manufacture, process, pack, and/or hold food. There can be a retail component
on the premise providing food directly to consumers from that establishment. A
food processing plant's primary function is to sell food directly to other
business entities if the annual monetary value of sales of food products
directly to other business entities exceeds the annual monetary value of sales
of food products to consumers. |
| (22) |
"HACCP Plan" means a written document that delineates the formal
procedures for following the Hazard Analysis and critical control point (HACCP)
principals developed by the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological
Criteria for foods. |
| (23) |
"Hazard" means a biological, chemical, or physical property that
is likely to cause an unacceptable consumer health risk. |
| (24) |
"Hermetically Sealed
Container" means a container which is designed and intended to secure
against entry of microorganisms and, in the case of low acid canned foods, to
maintain the commercial sterility of its contents after processing. |
| (25) |
"High Risk Classification"
means a facility which produces a high risk product or a lower-risk product
distributed to highly susceptible populations or in such volume that a
violative product poses a significant threat to public health. |
| (26) |
"High Risk Product" means a
product that has been classified to carry a high potential for contamination or
foodborne illness. |
| (27) |
"Highly Susceptible Population" means persons who are more likely
than other people in the general population to experience foodborne disease
because they are:
| (a) |
Immunocompromised;
preschool age children, or older adults; and |
| (b) |
Obtaining food at a facility that
provides services such as custodial care, health care, or assisted living, such
as a child or adult day care center, kidney dialysis center, hospital or
nursing home, or nutritional or socialization services such as a senior
center. |
|
| (28) |
"Imminent Health Hazard" means a significant threat or danger to
health that is considered to exist when there is evidence sufficient to show
that a product, practice, circumstance, or event creates a situation that
requires immediate correction or cessation of operation to prevent injury based
on:
| (a) |
The number of potential injuries,
and |
| (b) |
The nature, severity, and
duration of the anticipated injury. |
|
| (29) |
"License" means the
document issued by the Department, which authorizes a person to operate a food
processing plant. |
| (30) |
"Low
Risk Classification" means a firm which produces or stores a low-risk
product and whose target population or distribution does not increase the
potential public health threat of a violative product. |
| (31) |
"Low Risk Product" means a
product that has been classified as having a low potential for contamination or
foodborne illness. |
| (32) |
"Manufacturing/Processing"
| (a) |
Means making food from one or more ingredients, or synthesizing, preparing,
treating, modifying or manipulating food, including food crops or
ingredients. |
| (b) |
Manufacturing/processing includes all of the physical and/or chemical
alterations applied to a food; as it is taken from its original state; or any
food which has been partially or fully processed previously; and either
prepared further by cooking or made into another form before being
marketed. |
| (c) |
Examples of
manufacturing/processing activities include: Baking, boiling, bottling,
canning, cooking, cooling, cutting, distilling, drying/dehydrating raw
agricultural commodities to create a distinct commodity (such as
drying/dehydrating grapes to produce raisins), evaporating, eviscerating,
extracting juice, formulating, freezing, grinding, homogenizing, irradiating,
labeling, milling, mixing, packaging (including modified atmosphere packaging),
pasteurizing, peeling, rendering, storing/holding, treating to manipulate
ripening, trimming, washing, or waxing. |
|
| (33) |
"Moderate Risk
Classification" means a firm which produces a moderate risk product or
which produces a lower-risk product distributed to highly susceptible
populations or in such volume that a violative product poses a moderate threat
to public health. |
| (34) |
"Moderate Risk Product" means a product that has been classified
as carrying a moderate potential for contamination or foodborne
illness. |
| (35) |
"Molluscan
Shellfish" means any edible species of fresh or frozen oysters, clams,
mussels, or scallops, or edible portions of such species, except when the
product consists entirely of the shucked adductor muscle. |
| (36) |
"Packing" means placing
food into a container other than packaging the food and also includes
re-packing and activities performed incidental to packing or re-packing a food
(e.g., activities performed for the safe or effective packing or re-packing of
that food (such as sorting, culling, grading, and weighing or conveying
incidental to packing or re-packing)), but does not include activities that
transform a raw agricultural commodity into a processed food as defined in
section 201(gg) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. |
| (37) |
"Person" means an
association, a corporation, individual, partnership, other legal entity,
government, or governmental subdivision or agency. |
| (38) |
"Person In Charge" means
the individual present at a food processing plant who is responsible for the
operation at the time of inspection. |
| (39) |
"pH" means the symbol for
the negative logarithm of the hydrogen ion concentration, which is a measure of
the degree of acidity or alkalinity of a solution. |
| (40) |
"Poisonous or Deleterious
Substances" means substances that are not intended for
ingestion. |
| (41) |
"Ratite" means a flightless bird such as an emu, ostrich, or
rhea. |
| (42) |
"Raw Agricultural
Product" or "Raw Agricultural Commodity" means any
agricultural commodity in its raw or natural state that has undergone little or
no processing. This product would require further processing before
consumption. |
| (43) |
"Ready-to-Eat Food" means food that is in a form that is edible
without washing, cooking, or additional preparation by the food establishment
or consumer and that is reasonably expected to be consumed in that
form. |
| (44) |
"Regulatory
Authority" means an agency that is charged with the duty of enforcing
specific regulations. The regulatory authority in this Chapter refers to the
Georgia Department of Agriculture and the duly authorized agents. |
| (45) |
"Retail Food Establishment"
means an establishment that sells food products directly to consumers as its
primary function. The term "retail food establishment" includes those
facilities that manufacture, process, pack, and/or hold food. There can be a
wholesale/distribution component on the premise providing food to other
business entities from that establishment. A retail food establishment's
primary function is to sell food directly to consumers if the annual monetary
value of sales of food products directly to consumers exceeds the annual
monetary value of sales of food products to all other buyers. The term
"consumers" does not include businesses. |
| (46) |
"Risk" means the likelihood
that an adverse health effect will occur within a population as a result of a
hazard in a food. |
| (47) |
"Risk
Classification" means the designation or category assigned to a food
processing plant, and is based on the following criteria:
| (a) |
the inherent risk of the food produced
based on that commodity's history of foodborne illness outbreaks, pathogens of
concern, and predicted mortality; |
| (b) |
the food processing plant's history of
compliance with Department rules and regulations; |
| (c) |
distribution, whether intrastate,
interstate, or export; |
| (e) |
volume of
products produced, including co-packing for another business or entity;
and |
| (f) |
inspectional effort
required of the Department, based on size and complexity of the food processing
plant's operations. |
|
| (48) |
"U.S. Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act" (abbreviated as FFDCA,
FDCA, or FD&C) gives authority to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) to oversee the safety of food, drugs, and cosmetics. |
| (49) |
"Water Activity" means a
measure of the free moisture in a food, is the quotient of the water vapor
pressure of the substance divided by the vapor pressure of pure water at the
same temperature, and is indicated by the symbol
"aw". |
| (1) |
The Commissioner or his duly authorized
agent shall have free access during all hours of operation and at all other
reasonable hours to any factory, warehouse, or establishment in which food is
manufactured, processed, packed, or held for introduction into commerce and any
vehicle being used to transport or hold such foods to commerce for the
following purposes:
| (a) |
Of inspecting such
factory, warehouse, establishment, or vehicle, any records of pathogen
destruction, and any records of testing of samples or specimens of foods,
ingredients, or environmental for the presence of poisonous or deleterious
substances or other contaminants and the results thereof as may be required to
determine if any of the provisions of this article are being violated;
and |
| (b) |
Of securing samples or
specimens of any food or environmental samples, after paying or offering to pay
for such samples. |
|
| (2) |
It
shall be the duty of the Commissioner to make or cause to be made examinations
of samples secured under
to determine whether or
not this article is being violated. |
Food shall be protected from cross contamination by:
| (a) |
Separating raw agricultural products
requiring pathogen destruction during storage, preparation, and holding from
ready-to-eat foods not requiring further processing, except when combined as
ingredients. |
Any food processing plant subject to any testing requirements
pursuant to this chapter shall cause such required tests to be performed
consistent and in accordance with testing standards and procedures outlined in
the federal Food and Drug Administration's Bacterial Analytical Manual and
standards developed by the Association of Analytical Communities (AOAC)
International, International Organization for Standardization, or another
internationally recognized certification body.
| (1) |
The
Commissioner shall require testing of finished products leaving the food
processing plant, including ingredients going to other facilities for use in
other products, for the presence of poisonous or deleterious substances or
other contaminants rendering such foods or ingredients injurious to health;
testing shall be conducted according to the risk category of the food
processing plant.
| (a) |
The food processing
plant risk category shall be determined according to the highest risk product
the plant produces. The three designated risk categories and minimum testing
requirements are:
| 1. |
Low risk products -
quarterly testing. |
| 2. |
Moderate risk
products - monthly testing. |
| 3. |
High
risk products - semimonthly testing. |
|
| (b) |
Reasonable representative samples
according to the scale of the operation/processing shall be tested at regular
intervals. |
| (c) |
Each firm shall
determine, according to the product they are producing, which test shall be
sufficient to detect the presence of poisonous or deleterious substances or
other contaminants that would cause a food or ingredient to be injurious to
health. |
| (d) |
Testing shall be
conducted by a laboratory as prescribed in
. |
| (e) |
All positive results shall be reported to
the Department in accordance with
. |
| (f) |
Finished product and finished product
ingredient testing is Georgia law, and may not be equivalent to any testing
regimen required by the Food and Drug Administration. Food processing plants
are encouraged to consult with the Department to ensure their testing program
is compliant with Georgia laws and regulations. |
|
| (2) |
In addition to any regular tests
required, the Commissioner may order any food processing plant to have samples
or specimens of its foods and ingredients tested for the presence of any
poisonous or deleterious substances or other contaminants whenever in his or
her determination there are reasonable grounds to suspect that such food or
ingredients may be injurious to health. |
| (3) |
The food processing plant shall be
responsible for the cost of any testing required pursuant to these regulations
and may conduct such testing either internally or via a third party as
prescribed in
. |
| (1) |
Whenever any
person or firm operating a food processing plant in this state obtains
information from testing of samples or specimens of finished foods or finished
food ingredients which, based on a confirmed positive test result, indicates
the presence of a substance that would cause a manufactured food bearing or
containing the same to be adulterated with the presence of poisonous or
deleterious substances or other contaminates, such person or firm shall report
such test result(s) to the Department within 24 hours after obtaining such
result.
| (a) |
The person or firm that operates
a food processing plant shall be required to report the presence of poisonous
or deleterious substances or other contaminates even if the product was not
distributed and the problem was corrected. |
| (b) |
A presumptive positive test result or
test result requiring further typing or numeration shall be carried out through
additional testing, utilizing the same sample that yielded the presumptive, to
obtain a final result. |
|
| (2) |
Firms reporting positive products shall
be placed on an accelerated sampling program as determined by the
Department. |
Records of the results of any tests required pursuant to this
Code section shall be kept by a food processing plant and made available to the
Department for inspection for a period of not less than two years from the date
the results were reported by the laboratory.
| (1) |
Each written Food Safety Plan shall be
submitted to the Department for review. If an operator of a food processing
plant, in its discretion, submits to the department a written food safety plan
for such plant and such plan conforms to rules and regulations then such food
processing plant shall comply with the requirements of such written food safety
plan including, but not limited to, any test regimen provided by such plan, in
lieu of complying with a test regimen as specified under
. |
| (2) |
Minimum standards and requirements for a
written food safety plan, such as a hazard analysis critical control point
plan, that may be submitted by an operator of a food processing plant to
document and describe the procedures used at such plant to prevent the presence
of hazards such as poisonous or deleterious substances or other contaminants
that would render finished foods or finished ingredients as manufactured at
such plant injurious to health, shall include:
| (a) |
A hazard categorization of the types of
products that are to be produced. |
| (b) |
A flow diagram by specific food or
category type identifying critical control points and providing information on
the following:
| 1. |
Ingredients, materials, and
equipment used in the preparation of that food, and |
| 2. |
Formulations or recipes that delineate
methods and procedural control measures that address the food safety
measures; |
|
| (c) |
Required
sampling and testing of finished products leaving the food processing plant
including ingredients going to other facilities for use in other products, for
the presence of poisonous or deleterious substances or other contaminants
rendering such foods or ingredients injurious to health.
| 1. |
Type of testing prescribed for each
product. |
|
| (d) |
Food
employee and supervisory training that addresses food safety
measures; |
| (e) |
A statement of
standard operating procedures for the plan under consideration including
clearly identifying:
| 1. |
Each critical control
point; |
| 2. |
The critical limits for
each critical control point; |
| 3. |
The
method and frequency for monitoring and controlling each critical control point
by the food employee designated by the person in charge; |
| 4. |
The method and frequency for the person in
charge to routinely verify that the food employee is following standard
operating procedures and monitoring critical control points; |
| 5. |
Action to be taken by the person in charge
if the critical limits for each critical control point are not met; |
| 6. |
Records to be maintained by the person in
charge to demonstrate that the plan is properly followed and
effective; |
| 7. |
Verify proper
cleaning and sanitation. |
| 8. |
Validation of each critical control point. |
|
| (f) |
Additional scientific data or other
information, as required by the Department, supporting the determination that
food safety is not compromised by the proposal. |
|
| (3) |
Food safety plans prepared per the
requirements of the Code of Federal Regulations Title 21 - Part 117 are
considered equivalent to the written food safety plan described in this
section, and shall be accepted by the Department prior to implementing an
alternative testing regimen. |
| (1) |
Section
of this chapter shall
not apply to the following products or processes:
| (a) |
Food products produced under a federal
grant of inspection from the United States Department of Agriculture Food
Safety and Inspection Service and which are not produced under regulatory
jurisdiction of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA); |
| (b) |
Grade A milk products that are governed
under the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (PMO); |
| (c) |
Bottled water products regulated under
Georgia Department of Agriculture Food Division Regulations Chapter 40-7-6
Additional Regulations Applicable to Commercially Bottled Water and Water
Vending Machines; |
| (d) |
Shellfish
products governed by the National Shellfish Sanitation Program (NSSP) Model
Ordinance; |
| (e) |
Raw agricultural
products requiring further processing as specified under
;
or |
| (f) |
Classified as a small
business producing low volume food products as defined by U.S. Food and Drug
Administration. Businesses qualifying under this exemption must submit
supporting documentation to the Department. |
|
| (2) |
Facilities that produce both covered and
exempt food products, as described in subparagraph (1) above, must still
perform the required testing on those covered products manufactured or
otherwise processed in their food processing plants. |
| (3) |
The exemptions granted by the
Commissioner based on criteria apply only to the testing requirements of this
Chapter. However, if an exemption is granted it can be revoked. |
The Department shall treat as confidential information that
qualifies as a trade secret that is contained on inspection report forms and in
the plans or specifications submitted as required to comply with this
chapter.
Hereinafter, the following is adopted by reference and
therefore all applicable provisions become part of this chapter:
| (1) |
Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, as
amended and regulations issued thereunder. |
| (2) |
The Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21
Parts 1 (ONLY § 1.20-1.24, and Subpart O § 1.900-1.934), 7 (ONLY § 7.1-7 .13
and § 7.40-7.59), 70 (ONLY § 70.20-70.25), 73 (ONLY § 73.1 - § 73.615), 74
(ONLY § 74.101-706), 81, 82 (ONLY § 82.3 - § 82.706), 100 (ONLY § 100.155 and §
101.100), 101 (EXCEPT § 101.69 and § 101.108), 102 (EXCEPT § 102.19), 104, 105,
106 (EXCEPT § 106.120), 107 (EXCEPT § 107.200 - § 107.280), 108 (ONLY § 108.25
- § 108.35), 109, 110, 113, 114, 115, 117, 118, 120, 123, 129, 130 (EXCEPT §
130.5-6 and § 130.17), 131, 133, 135, 136, 137, 139, 145, 146, 150, 152, 155,
156, 158, 160, 161, 163, 164, 165, 166, 168, 169, 170 (EXCEPT § 170.6, §
170.15, and § 170.17), 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 180, 181,182, 184,
186, and 189. |
| (3) |
Department Rules
40-7-1 Retail Food Sales, only for food processing plants that perform sales to
the end consumer on their same premise. These retail components shall be
subject to the requirements and standards set forth in 40-7-1. All other areas
of the food processing plant, whose operations do not directly involve sales to
the end consumer, shall remain under the provisions of these regulations;
including the federal laws and regulations adopted by reference in paragraphs
(1) and (2) of this section. |
| (1) |
A food processing plant that fails to
comply with the testing regiment as specified under
or Written Food Safety
Plan as specified under paragraph (1) and (2) of this section;
| (A) |
Shall be imposed a fine not to exceed
$5,000.00 for each violation. |
| (B) |
An imposition of a $7,500.00 civil penalty for any food processing plant that
knowingly fails to comply. |
| (C) |
In
addition to such civil penalties, within 30 days of the determination by the
Commissioner that such violation has occurred, such food processing plant shall
submit to the Commissioner a Written Plan as specified under paragraph (2) of
this section. |
|
| (2) |
Any
person who knowingly fails to make the report required by section
of this Chapter shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor. The punishment shall be supplemental to any other
applicable provisions of law. |
| (3) |
Any person who knowingly violates record keeping as required by section
shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor. The punishment shall be supplemental to any other applicable
provisions of law. |
| (4) |
Any person
who knowingly introduces into commerce finished foods or finished food
ingredients as manufactured at a food processing plant knowing that it contains
a substance that would cause a manufactured food bearing or containing the same
to be adulterated with the presence of poisonous or deleterious substances or
other contaminates shall be guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction, shall be
punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than 20 years, a fine
not to exceed $20,000.00, or both. The punishment shall be supplemental to any
other applicable provisions of law. |
| (5) |
Each day a violation continues after the
violation has been documented by the Department shall be considered a separate
violation. |
| (6) |
Such penalties shall
be subject to review in the manner prescribed by the Department's
Administrative Rules of Practice and Procedure Rules 40-1-2. |
| (1) |
Prerequisite for Operation. A person may
not operate a food processing plant without a valid license to operate issued
by the Department. |
| (2) |
Form of
Submission. A person desiring to operate a food processing plant shall submit
to the Department a written application for a license on a form provided by the
Department. |
| (3) |
License Fees.
| (a) |
The license fee structure is as follows:
| 4. |
Tier 4 fee is $250; and |
|
| (b) |
Food processing plants will be assigned a
license tier based on the following factors:
| 1. |
The hazards and inherent risk hazard of
the products and processes of the food processing plant, including:
| (i) |
Pathogens of concern for a given
product/commodity, |
| (ii) |
Severity of
the illness or mortality associated with processing deviations, |
| (iii) |
Previous history of foodborne illness
outbreaks associated with a given product/commodity, and |
|
| 2. |
The procedural effort required by the
Department to conduct an inspection, including review of records and supporting
documentation; and |
| 3. |
The volume
and distribution of the products manufactured by the food processing
plant. |
|
| (c) |
A list of
current Firm Type categories and their associated license tier levels shall be
posted and maintained on the Department's public facing website. |
|
| (4) |
Qualifications and
Responsibilities of Applicants. To qualify for licensing, an applicant shall:
| (a) |
Be an owner of the establishment or an
officer of the legal ownership; |
| (b) |
Comply with the requirements of these regulations; |
| (c) |
Agree to, that after the Department
Representative presents official credentials and provides notice of the purpose
of, and an intent to conduct, an inspection, the person in charge shall allow
the Department Representative to determine if the food processing plant is in
compliance with these Regulations by allowing access to the establishment,
allowing inspection, and providing information and records specified in these
Regulations and to which the Department is entitled according to law, during
the food processing plant's hours of operation and other reasonable
times. |
| (d) |
Agree to comply with
directives of the Department including time frames for corrective actions
specified in inspection reports, notices, orders, warnings, and other
directives issued by the Department in regard to the license holder's food
processing plant. Further, a license holder shall at the time of inspection,
correct a critical violation of these regulations and/or implement corrective
actions for a HACCP plan provision that is not in compliance with its critical
limit. |
| (e) |
Agree to be subject to
the administrative, civil, injunctive, and criminal remedies authorized under
law for failure to comply with these regulations or a directive of the
Department, including time frames for corrective actions specified in
inspection reports, notices, orders, warnings, and other directives. |
|
| (5) |
License Not Transferable. A
license may not be transferred from one person to another person, from one
processing plant to another, or from one type of operation to
another. |
| (6) |
Refusal to Sign
Acknowledgment. The regulatory authority shall:
| (a) |
Inform a person who declines to sign an
acknowledgment of receipt of inspectional findings that:
| 1. |
An acknowledgment of receipt is not
necessarily an agreement with findings, |
| 2. |
Refusal to sign an acknowledgment of
receipt will not affect the license holder's obligation to correct the
violations noted in the inspection report within the time frames specified,
and |
| 3. |
A refusal to sign an
acknowledgment of receipt is noted in the inspection report and conveyed to the
Department historical record for the food processing plant; and |
|
| (b) |
Make a final request that the
person in charge sign an acknowledgment of receipt of inspectional
findings. |
|
| (7) |
Ceasing
Operations and Reporting - Imminent Health Hazard.
| (a) |
Except as specified in paragraph (b) of
this section, a license holder shall immediately discontinue operations and
notify the Department if an imminent health hazard may exist because of an
emergency such as a fire, flood, extended interruption of electrical or water
service, sewage backup, misuse of poisonous or toxic materials, onset of an
apparent foodborne illness outbreak, gross insanitary occurrence or condition,
or other circumstance that may endanger public health; |
| (b) |
A license holder need not discontinue
operations in an area of a food processing plant that is unaffected by the
imminent health hazard. |
|
| (8) |
Resumption of Operations.
| (a) |
If operations are discontinued as
specified under
or
otherwise according to law, the permit holder shall obtain approval from the
Department before resuming operations |
| (b) |
Embargoed Food. The removal or disposal
of embargoed or detained food is prohibited without official release from the
Department. |
|
