Part X. Specifications for Permitted Frozen Dessert Plants Premises, Buildings, Facilities, Equipment and Utensils
2VAC5-510-480. Plant premises.
The plant area and surroundings shall be kept clean, orderly and free from refuse and rubbish, smoke, excessive dust and air pollution, and strong or foul odors. A drainage system shall be provided for rapid drainage of all water from plant buildings, including surface water around the plant and on the premises.
Statutory Authority
§§ 3.2-5201 and 3.2-5212 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR115-05-03 § 10.1, eff. December 11, 1985; amended, Virginia Register Volume 3, Issue 10, eff. March 18, 1987.
2VAC5-510-490. Building.
A. Construction, maintenance, and plants.
1. Buildings shall be of sound construction. The exterior and interior shall be kept clean and in good repair to protect against dust, dirt and mold, and to prevent the entrance or harboring of insects, rodents, vermin and other animals.
2. In processing areas, outside doors, windows, skylights, and transoms shall be screened or otherwise covered. Such outside doors shall not open inward and shall be self-closing; and doors leading to processing rooms shall be sound and tight fitting. Windowsills on new construction shall be sloping. Outside conveyor openings and other special type outside openings for sanitary pipelines shall be covered when not in use; and service-pipe openings shall be completely cemented around the pipe opening or have tight metal collars.
3. All rooms, compartments, coolers, freezers and dry storage space in which any raw material packaging, ingredient supplies, or finished products are handled, processed, manufactured, packaged, or stored shall be designed and constructed to assure clean and orderly operations. Rooms for receiving milk shall be separated from the processing area by a partition or suitable arrangement of equipment or facilities to avoid contamination of milk or dairy products. Boiler and tool rooms shall be separated from other rooms. Toilet and dressing rooms shall be conveniently located and shall not open directly into any room in which milk, dairy products, or ingredients are handled, processed, packaged, or stored. Doors of all toilet rooms shall be self-closing; and fixtures shall be kept clean and in good repair.
4. Plans for new plant construction or major remodeling of existing plants shall be submitted to the State Regulatory Authority for approval prior to such new construction or remodeling.
B. Interior finishing.
1. In all rooms in which milk or dairy products are received and processed and where mix and frozen desserts are manufactured, packaged, or stored, (except dry storage of packaging materials), or in which equipment or utensils are washed, the walls, ceilings, partitions, and posts shall be smoothly finished with a washable material of light color that is substantially impervious to moisture. A wainscoting of a suitable material in a darker color may be used to a height not exceeding 60 inches from the floor.
2. The floors in these rooms shall be of concrete or other impervious material and shall be smooth, properly graded to drain, and have drains trapped; except that freezers used for storing frozen desserts, frozen fruits, frozen eggs, and comparable ingredients need not be provided with floor drains; but the floors shall be sloped to drain to one or more exits, and shall be kept clean. The plumbing shall be installed to prevent backup of sewage into the plant. On new construction or extensive remodeling, the floors shall be joined and coved with the walls to form watertight joints. Sound, smooth, wood floors may be used in certain packaging rooms where the nature of the product permits. Toilet and dressing rooms shall have impervious floors and smooth walls.
C. Ventilation and lighting.
1. All rooms and compartments (including storage space and toilet and dressing rooms) shall be ventilated to maintain sanitary conditions, prevent undue condensation of water vapor, and minimize or eliminate objectionable odors.
2. Lighting, whether natural or artificial, shall be of good quality and well distributed in all rooms and compartments. All rooms where milk, dairy products, or mix and frozen desserts are handled, processed, manufactured, or packaged, or where equipment or utensils are washed, shall have at least 30 foot-candles of light intensity on all working surfaces; areas where dairy products are examined for condition and quality, at least 50 foot-candles of light intensity; and all other rooms, at least five foot-candles or intensity measured 30 inches above the floor. Light bulbs and fluorescent tubes shall be protected against breakage.
Statutory Authority
§§ 3.2-5201 and 3.2-5212 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR115-05-03 § 10.2, eff. December 11, 1985; amended, Virginia Register Volume 3, Issue 10, eff. March 18, 1987.
2VAC5-510-500. Facilities.
A. Water supply.
1. Both hot and cold water of safe and sanitary quality shall be available in sufficient quantity for all plant operations and facilities. Water from other lines, when officially approved, may be used for boiler feed water and condenser water, if such water lines are completely separated from the water lines carrying the sanitary water supply, and if the equipment is constructed and controlled to prevent contamination of any product or product contact surface. There shall be no cross-connections between safe and unsafe water lines or between private and public supply.
2. Bacteriological examination shall be made of the plant sanitary water supply at least once every six months by the appropriate State Regulatory Authority to determine purity and safety for use in processing or manufacturing dairy products.
B. Employee facilities.
1. In addition to toilet and dressing rooms, the plant shall provide the following employee facilities:
a. Conveniently located sanitary drinking water;
b. A locker or other suitable facility for each employee;
c. Hand washing facilities, including hot and cold running water, soap or other detergents and sanitary rooms and at other places where necessary for the cleanliness of all personnel handling products; and
d. Self-closing containers for used towels and other wastes.
2. A durable, legible sign shall be posted conspicuously in each toilet and dressing room directing employees to wash their hands before returning to work.
C. Steam. Steam shall be supplied in sufficient volume and pressure for satisfactory operation of each applicable piece of equipment. Steam that may come into direct contact with milk or dairy products shall be culinary steam. Culinary steam shall comply with the 3-A Accepted Practices, "Method of Producing Steam of Culinary Quality," Number 609-02 (3-A Sanitary Standards, Incorporated).
D. Disposal of wastes. The plant sewage system shall have sufficient slope and capacity to remove readily all waste from processing operations. Where a public sewer is not available, wastes shall be disposed of by methods approved by the State Regulatory Authority. Containers for the collection and holding of wastes other than dry waste paper shall be constructed of metal or other equally impervious material, kept covered with tight-fitting lids, and placed outside the plant on a concrete slab or on a rack raised at least 12 inches; however, waste containers may be kept inside a suitable enclosed, clean, and fly-proof room. Solid wastes shall be disposed of regularly and the containers cleaned before reuse. Dry waste paper shall be burned at the plant in an approved incinerator, or compressed or bagged and disposed of in an approved manner.
Statutory Authority
§§ 3.2-5201 and 3.2-5212 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR115-05-03 § 10.3, eff. December 11, 1985; amended, Virginia Register Volume 3, Issue 10, eff. March 18, 1987; Volume 24, Issue 17, eff. June 12, 2008.
2VAC5-510-510. Equipment and utensils.
A. Construction and installation.
1. New equipment shall meet applicable 3-A Sanitary Standards. Equipment and utensils coming in contact with milk, dairy products, mix or frozen desserts, including sanitary pumps, piping, fittings, and connections, shall be constructed of stainless steel or other equally corrosion-resistant material. Where the use of stainless steel is not practicable, or in old equipment, other properly coated or plated metals may be approved temporarily. Nonmetallic parts having product contact surfaces shall be of materials that meet 3-A Sanitary Standards, "Multiple-Use Rubber and Rubber-Like Materials Used as Product Contact Surfaces in Dairy Equipment," Number 18-03, and "Multiple-Use Plastic Materials Used as Product Contact Surfaces for Dairy Equipment," Number 20-21 (3-A Sanitary Standards, Incorporated).
2. Bulk storage and distribution equipment for handling liquid sweetening agents shall consist of suitable metals, alloys, or other materials which will withstand corrosive action by the ingredient; and the equipment and ingredients shall be protected from contamination.
3. All equipment and piping shall be designed and installed to be easily accessible for cleaning, shall be kept in good repair, and free from cracks and corroded surfaces. Milk pumps shall be of a sanitary type and easily dismantled, for cleaning or shall be of specifically approved construction to allow cleaning in place. New or rearranged equipment shall be set away from any wall or spaced in such a manner as to facilitate proper cleaning and to maintain good housekeeping. All parts or interior surfaces or equipment, pipes (except certain piping cleaned-in-place), or fittings, including valves and connections, shall be accessible for inspection. Cleaned-in-place sanitary piping and welded sanitary pipeline systems will be acceptable if properly engineered and installed according to 3-A Accepted Practices, "Permanently Installed Product and Solution Pipelines and Cleaning Systems Used in Milk and Milk Product Processing Plants," Number 605-04 (3-A Sanitary Standards, Incorporated).
B. Pasteurization equipment.
1. Pasteurization equipment shall comply with 3-A Accepted Practices, "Sanitary Construction, Installation, Testing, and Operation of High Temperature Short-Time and Higher-Heat Shorter-Time Pasteurizer Systems," Number 603-06 and 3-A Sanitary Standards, "Non-Coiled Type Batch Pasteurizers for Milk and Milk Products," Number 24-02 (3-A Sanitary Standards, Incorporated).
2. Heat treatment equipment used to reach temperatures higher than commonly used for pasteurization shall comply with appropriate sanitary construction and operating procedures approved by the State Regulatory Authority.
3. Whenever it is necessary to break a seal on such equipment, this equipment shall be properly adjusted and placed in correct operation immediately. The breaking of the seal and the adjustment made shall be reported immediately to the State Regulatory Authority in order that the equipment can be officially checked and resealed.
C. Cleaning and sanitizing.
1. Equipment, sanitary piping, and utensils used in receiving, storing, processing, manufacturing, packaging, and handling milk, dairy products, mix or frozen desserts, and all product contact surfaces of homogenizers, high-pressure pumps, and high-pressure lines shall be kept clean.
2. The packing glands on all agitators, pumps, and vats shall be inspected at regular intervals and kept clean.
3. After being cleaned, and immediately before use, all equipment coming in contact with milk dairy products, mix or frozen desserts shall have an effective bactericidal or sanitizing treatment.
4. Before use, equipment not designed for C-I-P cleaning shall have been disassembled and thoroughly cleaned and sanitized. Dairy cleaners, wetting agents, detergents, sanitizing agents, or other similar material may be used that will not contaminate or adversely affect dairy products. Steel wool or metal sponges shall not be used in the cleaning of any dairy equipment or utensils.
5. C-I-P cleaning shall be used only on equipment and pipeline systems that are designed and engineered for that purpose. Installation and cleaning procedures shall comply with 3-A Accepted Practices,"Permanently Installed Product and Solution Pipelines and Cleaning Systems Used in Milk and Milk Processing Plants," Number 605-04 (3-A Sanitary Standards, Incorporated). An outline of the cleaning procedures to be followed shall be posted near the C-I-P equipment.
6. Applicable equipment and areas in the plant shall be thoroughly vacuumed regularly with a heavy-duty industrial vacuum cleaner. The material picked up shall be disposed of by burning or other means to destroy any insects present.
7. Exhaust stacks, elevators, and conveyors shall be inspected at regular intervals and kept clean.
Statutory Authority
§§ 3.2-5201 and 3.2-5212 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR115-05-03 § 10.4, eff. December 11, 1985; amended, Virginia Register Volume 3, Issue 10, eff. March 18, 1987; Volume 24, Issue 17, eff. June 12, 2008.