Sec. 10.15.04.10. Equipment and Utensils — Design and Construction

A. The person-in-charge shall ensure that:

(1) Equipment for processing food is:

(a) Designed to provide for food safety, food protection, and sanitation;

(b) When associated with a critical control point, provided with instrumentation to allow:

(i) The control of critical factors;

(ii) The monitoring of critical factor control and implementation; and

(iii) Verification of process control;

(c) Maintained in a sanitary and working condition;

(d) Monitored to verify that process requirements are met; and

(e) Tested and calibrated to ensure accuracy;

(2) Except as specified in §C of this regulation, materials used as food contact surfaces of equipment and utensils are:

(a) Nontoxic and do not impart toxic or deleterious matter to the food;

(b) Inert to food and do not migrate to or adulterate food;

(c) Nonporous and nonabsorbent;

(d) Corrosion-resistant;

(e) Durable; and

(f) If stainless steel, made of stainless steel of American Iron and Steel Institute Type 304, or equivalent;

(3) Food contact surfaces of equipment and utensils are designed, constructed, and maintained to be:

(a) Smooth;

(b) Easily cleanable;

(c) Free of difficult to clean internal surfaces;

(d) Self-emptying or self-draining if an interior surface;

(e) Visible for inspection or readily disassembled for inspection;

(f) If manually cleaned:

(i) Readily accessible for cleaning without tools; or

(ii) If not readily accessible, readily disassembled for cleaning with the use of simple tools kept available at the equipment; and

(g) If cleaned and sanitized by pressurized cleaning-in-place, readily accessible to the cleaning and sanitizing solutions without disassembly;

(4) Non-food equipment that receives splash or waste is smooth and easily cleanable;

(5) If a vending machine with potentially hazardous foods is unable to maintain the temperatures set forth in Regulation .06C and D of this chapter, the machine:

(a) Automatically prevents the dispensing or serving of food; and

(b) Remains in a condition to prevent food from being dispensed or offered until serviced; and

(6) Cleaned and sanitized equipment and utensils are kept so that the equipment is protected from contamination.

B. The Secretary recommends that the person-in-charge use equipment that is certified by a testing laboratory as complying with recognized food equipment standards, such as those published by the:

(1) NSF;

(2) Bakery Industry Sanitation Standards Committee;

(3) National Automatic Merchandising Association;

(4) International Association of Milk and Food Sanitarians;

(5) American Society of Mechanical Engineers; or

(6) U. S. Department of Agriculture.

C. The person-in-charge may use equipment that does not meet a requirement set forth in §A(2)(c)-(f) of this regulation when written approval is given from the Department based on a review by the Department that indicates the equipment and its use are:

(1) Not harmful to public health; and

(2) Consistent with industry standards and practice.