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37.110.348    EQUIPMENT AND UTENSILS: COMPOSITION, PLACEMENT, CLEANING, SANITIZING AND STORAGE

(1) All equipment and utensils shall be so durable under normal conditions and operations as to be resistant to denting, buckling, pitting, chipping, crazing, excessive wear; and shall be capable of withstanding repeated scrubbing, scoring, and the corrosive action of cleaning and sanitizing agents and food with which they come in contact.

(2) Food and food product contact surfaces of equipment and utensils shall be smooth, free of breaks, open seams, cracks, chips, pits, holes, and similar imperfections. They shall be in good repair and shall be easily cleanable.

(3) Materials used as food contact surfaces of equipment and utensils shall, under use conditions, be corrosive resistant, relatively non-absorbent and non-toxic, except the corrosion resistant requirements shall not preclude the use of cast iron as a food contact material.

(4) Food contact surfaces of equipment and utensils shall be free of difficult to clean internal corners and crevices. Threads which routinely contact food shall be of sanitary design and no V-type threads shall be used in such a situation.

(5) Replacement food contact utensils and equipment shall comply with the applicable provisions of the Federal Meat Inspection Act, or be "nSf" tested.

(6) Lubricated bearings and gears of equipment shall be so constructed that lubricants cannot get into the food or onto food contact surfaces.

(7) All food contact equipment and utensils, unless designed for in-place cleaning, shall be accessible for manual cleaning and for inspection either without being disassembled or by disassembling without the use of tools, or by easy disassembling with the use of only simple tools kept available near the equipment, such as a mallet, a screwdriver, or an open end wrench.

(8) Equipment intended for in-place cleaning shall be so designed and constructed that cleaning and sanitizing solutions can be circulated throughout a fixed system and will contact all interior surfaces. The system must be self-draining or otherwise completely evacuated.

(9) Surfaces of equipment not intended for contact with food and food products, but which are exposed to splash, food debris, or otherwise require frequent cleaning, shall be reasonably smooth, washable, free of unnecessary ledges, projections or crevices, readily accessible for cleaning, and of such material and in such repair as to be readily maintained in a clean and sanitary condition.

(10) Cutting blocks and boards, work benches, and bakers tables shall be constructed of non-toxic material, smooth and free of cracks, crevices and open seams. Cutting boards shall be easily removable for cleaning. Replacement cutting surfaces shall conform to standards of applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations.

(11) Solder shall be of such formulation as to be non-toxic under use conditions, shall be corrosion resistant, and shall, consistent with good industrial practice in the refining of its constituent elements, be free of cadmium, antimony and other toxic materials.

(12) Single service articles shall be made from non-toxic materials and used only once.

(13) Equipment which is placed on tables or counters, unless readily movable, shall be sealed thereto or mounted on legs or feet at least 4 inches high and shall be so installed as to facilitate the cleaning of the equipment and areas adjacent thereto.

(14) Floor mounted equipment, unless readily movable, shall be sealed to the floor or shall be installed on raised platforms of concrete or other smooth masonry in such a manner as to prevent liquids or debris from seeping or settling underneath, between or behind such equipment in spaces which are not fully open for cleaning and inspection, or such equipment shall be elevated at least 6 inches above the floor. The space between adjoining units and between a unit and the adjacent wall shall be closed and sealed or sufficient space of at least 18 inches shall be provided to facilitate any cleaning between, behind and beside all such equipment.

(15) Aisles or working spaces between equipment shall be of sufficient width to permit employees to perform their duties without contamination of food or food contact surfaces by clothing or through personal contact.

(16) Utensils shall be thoroughly cleaned at least once daily. After contact with raw food, food contact surfaces of equipment and utensils, exclusive of cooking surfaces, used in the preparation, serving and display or storage of food shall be thoroughly cleaned to sight and touch prior to contact with cooked food or food products likely to be consumed without further cooking or heating to safe temperatures. The cooking surfaces of grills and similar cooking devices shall be cleaned at least once a day and shall be free of grease deposits and other soil.

(17) All food contact surfaces and utensils shall be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized after use on wild game or just prior to use on commercial meat.

(18) Non-food contact surfaces of all equipment used in the operation of a food plant including tables, counters, shelves, hoods, fans and refrigerators, etc. shall be cleaned at such frequency as is necessary to be free of accumulations of dust, dirt, food particles and other debris.

(19) Detergents and abrasives shall be rinsed off meat contact surfaces.

(20) Cloths used for wiping shall be clean and any such cloths used for wiping food contact surfaces shall be used for no other purpose. Wipe cloths shall be stored or rinsed in an approved sanitizing solution prior to each use.

(21) All food contact surfaces of equipment used in the preparation, display or storage of potentially hazardous food shall be sanitized prior to such use and following any interruption of operations during which contamination of the food contact surfaces is likely to have occurred. Where equipment utensils are used for the preparation of potentially hazardous food on a continuous or production-like basis, the food contact surfaces of such equipment and utensils shall be cleaned and sanitized at intervals throughout the day on a schedule approved by the health authority.

(22) Prior to washing, all equipment and utensils shall be preflushed or prescraped and, when necessary, presoaked to remove gross food particles and soil.

(23) Effective concentrations of a suitable detergent shall be used in both manual and mechanical dishwashing.

(24) When manual washing is employed, equipment and utensils shall be thoroughly washed in a detergent solution which is kept clean, and shall then be rinsed free of such solution. All food contact surfaces of all other equipment and utensils shall be sanitized by either exposure for at least one-half minute to clean, hot water at a temperature of at least 170 º F, or exposure for a period of at least one minute to a sanitizing solution containing:

(a) At least 50 ppm of available chlorine at a temperature not less than 75 º F,

(b) At least 12.5 ppm of available iodine in a solution having a pH not higher than 5.0 and a temperature of not less than 75 º F or a higher temperature than recommended by the manufacturer, or

(c) Any other chemical sanitizing agent which has been demonstrated to the satisfaction of the health authority to be effective and non-toxic under use conditions, and for which a suitable field test is available. Such sanitizing agents, in use solutions, shall provide the equivalent bactericidal effect of a solution containing at least 50 ppm of available chlorine at a temperature of not less than 75 º F.

(25) Equipment too large to treat by methods set forth in (24) above may be treated with live steam from a hose, in the case of equipment in which steam can be confined, or by rinsing with boiling water, or by spraying or swabbing with a chemical sanitizing solution of at least twice the minimum strength required for the particular sanitizing solution when used for immersion sanitizing.

(26) At least a 3-compartment sink shall be provided and used for manually washing food utensils and equipment in food establishments which are remodeled or start in business after the adoption of this rule.

(27) Sinks used for manual washing and sanitizing operations shall be of adequate length, width and depth to permit the complete immersion of the largest equipment and utensils (except large vats, etc.) and each compartment of such sinks shall be supplied with hot and cold running water. Baskets if used shall be of such design as to permit complete immersion of the utensils and equipment components being sanitized therein. These sinks shall not be used for hand washing or janitorial purposes.

(28) When hot water is used as the sanitizing agent in a manual operation, thermometers, accurate to " 2 º F, shall be provided convenient to the sink to permit frequent checks of the water temperature.

(29) Drainboards, of adequate size for proper handling of soiled utensils prior to washing and for cleaned utensils following rinsing or sanitization, shall be provided and shall be so located or constructed as not to interfere with the proper use of the equipment washing facilities; provided that drain boards shall not be required for cooks' and bakers' rinse sinks.

(30) Sinks, dish tables, drain boards, hooks and shelves shall be constructed of galvanized metal or better, suitably reinforced, of such thickness and design as to resist denting and buckling, and shall be installed so as to allow drainage of the stored equipment and/or utensils.

(31) When washers are used, the requirements set forth in subchapter 2 of this chapter shall apply.

(32) When an immersion type equipment washing machine is employed for equipment and utensil washing and sanitizing, the applicable requirements pertaining to manual dishwashing shall be met, provided that a 2-compartment system shall be deemed adequate when the temperature of wash water is maintained at or above 140 º F and hot water at a temperature of at least 170 º F is used as the sanitizing agent.

(33) Any other type of machine, device, or facilities and procedures may be approved by the health authority for cleaning or sanitizing equipment and utensils, if it can be readily established that such machine, device, or facilities and procedures will routinely render equipment and utensils clean to sight and touch, and provide effective bactericidal treatment as demonstrated by an average plate count per utensil surface examined of not more than 100 colonies.

(34) Food contact surfaces of cleaned and sanitized equipment and utensils shall be handled in such a manner so as to be protected from contamination. Cleaned equipment and utensils shall be handled so that fingers and thumbs do not contact inside surfaces.

(35) Cleaned and sanitized portable equipment and utensils shall be stored above the floor in a clean, dry location and suitable space and facilities shall be provided for such storage so that food contact surfaces are protected from splash, dust and other contamination. Utensils shall be air dried before being stored, or shall be stored in a self-draining position on suitably located hooks or racks constructed of corrosion resistant material. Wherever practicable, stored containers and utensils shall be covered or inverted.

(36) Single service articles shall be stored in closed cartons or containers which protect them from contamination.

(37) Such articles shall be stored, handled and dispensed in such a manner as to prevent contamination of surfaces which may come into contact with food and food products.

(38) Single service articles shall be used only once and discarded.

History: Sec. 50-50-103, MCA; IMP, Sec. 50-50-103, MCA; NEW, Eff. 11/4/73; TRANS, from DHES, 2001 MAR p. 2423.

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