Section 25-A1011. SPECIALIZED PROCESSING METHODS - REDUCED OXYGEN PACKAGING, CRITERIA

 

1011.1Except for a food establishment that obtains a variance as specified in § 1010, a food establishment that packages potentially hazardous food (time/ temperature control for safety food) using a reduced oxygen packaging method shall control the growth and toxin formation of Clostridium botulinum and the growth of Listeria monocytogenes. P

 

1011.2A food establishment that packages potentially hazardous food (time/ temperature control for safety food) using a reduced oxygen packaging method shall have a HACCP Plan that contains the information specified in § 4205.1(d) and that: Pf 

 

(a)Identifies the food to be packaged; Pf

 

(b)Except as specified in § 1011.3 through 1011.5 requires that the packaged  food shall be maintained at five degrees Celsius (5o C) (forty-one degrees  Fahrenheit (41o F)) or less and meet at least one (1) of the following  criteria: Pf 

 

(1)Has an aw of ninety-one tenths (0.91) or less; Pf

 

(2)Has a pH of four and six tenths (4.6) or less; Pf

 

(3)Is a meat or poultry product cured at a food processing plant  regulated by the USDA using substances specified in 9 C.F.R.  subpart C § 424.21(b) − Food ingredients and sources of radiation,  and is received in an intact package; Pf or

 

(4)Is a food with a high level of competing organisms such as raw  meat, raw poultry, or raw vegetables; Pf

 

(c)Describes how the packages shall be prominently and conspicuously  labeled on the principal display panel in bold type on a contrasting  background, with instructions to: Pf 

 

(1)Maintain the food at five degrees Celsius (5o C) (forty-one degrees  Fahrenheit (41o F)) or below; Pf and

 

(2)Discard the food if within fourteen (14) calendar days of its  packaging it is not served for on-premises consumption, or  consumed if served or sold for off-premises consumption; Pf

 

(d)Limits the refrigerated shelf life to no more than fourteen (14) calendar  days from packaging to consumption, except the time the product is  maintained frozen, or the original manufacturer's "sell by" or "use by"  date, whichever occurs first; P

 

(e)Includes operational procedures that: 

 

(1)Prohibit contacting ready-to-eat food with bare hands as specified  in § 800.2; Pf

 

(2)Identify a designated work area and the method by which physical  barriers or methods of separation of raw foods and  ready-to-eat  foods minimize cross contamination, and access to  the processing  equipment is limited to responsible trained  personnel familiar  with the potential hazards of the operation; Pf and

 

(3)Delineate cleaning and sanitization procedures for food-contact  surfaces; Pf and

 

(f)Describes the training program that ensures that the individual responsible  for the reduced oxygen packaging operation understands the: Pf 

 

(1)Concepts required for a safe operation; Pf

 

(2)Equipment and facilities; Pf and

 

(3)Procedures specified in § 1011.2(e) and § 4205.1(d). Pf

 

1011.3Except for fish that is frozen before, during, and after packaging, a food establishment may not package fish using a reduced oxygen packaging method. P 

 

1011.4Except as specified in § 1011.3, a food establishment that packages food using a cook-chill or sous vide process shall: 

(a)Implement a HACCP plan that contains the information as specified in §  4205.1(d); Pf

  

(b)Ensure the food is:

 

(1)Prepared and consumed on the premises, or prepared and  consumed off the premises but within the same business entity  with no distribution or sale of the packaged product to another  business entity or the consumer; Pf

 

(2)Cooked to heat all parts of the food to a temperature and for a time  as specified in § 900; P

 

(3)Protected from contamination before and after cooking as specified  in Chapter 8; P

 

(4)Placed in a package with an oxygen barrier and sealed before  cooking, or placed in a package and sealed immediately after  cooking and before reaching a temperature below fifty-seven  degrees Celsius (57o C) (one hundred and thirty-five degrees  Fahrenheit (135o  F)); P

 

(5)Cooled to five degrees Celsius (5o C) (forty-one degrees Fahrenheit  (41o F)) in the sealed package or bag as specified in § 1003 and  subsequently: P

 

(A)Cooled to one degrees Celsius (1o C) (thirty-four degrees  Fahrenheit (34o F)) within forty-eight (48) hours of  reaching five degrees Celsius (5oC) (forty-one degrees  Fahrenheit (41o F)) and held at that temperature until  consumed or discarded within thirty (30) days after the date  of packaging; P

 

(B)Cooled to one degrees Celsius (1o C) (thirty-four degrees  Fahrenheit (34o F)) within forty-eight (48) hours of  reaching five degrees Celsius (5o C) (forty-one degrees  Fahrenheit (41o F)), removed from refrigeration equipment  that maintains a one degree Celsius (1o C) (thirty-four  degrees Fahrenheit (34o F)) food temperature and then held  at 5o C (41o  F) or less for no more than seventy-two (72)  hours, at which time the food must be consumed or  discarded; P

 

(C)Cooled three degrees Celsius (3o C) (thirty-eight degrees  Fahrenheit (38o F)) or less within twenty-four (24) hours of  reaching five degrees Celsius (5o C) (forty-one degrees  Fahrenheit (41o F)) and held there for no more than  seventy-two (72) hours from packaging, at which time the  food must be consumed or discarded; P or

 

(D)Held frozen with no shelf life restriction while frozen until  consumed or used; P

 

(6)Held in a refrigeration unit that is equipped with an electronic  system that continuously monitors time and temperature and is  visually examined for proper operation twice daily; Pf

 

(7)If transported off-site to a satellite location of the same business  entity, equipped with verifiable electronic monitoring devices to  ensure that times and temperatures are monitored during  transportation, Pf and

 

(8)Labeled with the product name and the date packaged; Pf and

 

(c)Maintain records required to confirm that cooling and cold holding  refrigeration time/temperature parameters are required as part of the  HACCP Plan, and: 

(1)Make such records available to the Department upon request; Pf  and 

 

(2)Hold such records for at least six (6) months; Pf and

 

(d)Implement written operational procedures as specified in § 1011.2(e) and  a training program as specified in § 1011.2(f). Pf

 

1011.5A food establishment that packages cheese using a reduced oxygen packaging method shall:

 

(a)Limit the cheeses packaged to those that are commercially manufactured  in a food processing plant with no ingredients added in the food  establishment and that meet the Standards of Identity as specified in 21  C.F.R. § 133.150 Hard cheeses, 21 C.F.R. § 133.169 Pasteurized process  cheese or 21 C.F.R. § 133.187 Semisoft cheeses; P

 

(b)Have a HACCP Plan that contains the information specified in § 4205.1(d)  and as specified in §§ 1011.2(a), (c)(1), (e), and (f); Pf

 

(c)Labels the package on the principal display panel with a “use by” date that  does not exceed thirty (30) days from its packaging or the original  manufacturer’s “sell by” or “use by” date, whichever occurs first; Pf and

 

(d)Discards the reduced oxygen packaged cheese if it is not sold for off- premises consumption or consumed within thirty (30) calendar days of its  packaging. Pf

 

authority

Sections 4 and 10 of An Act Relating to the adulteration of foods and drugs in the District of Columbia, approved February 17, 1898 (30 Stat. 246: D.C. Official Code §§ 48-104 and 48-110 (2009 Repl.)); Section 7 of An Act Making Appropriations to provide for the expenses for the government of the District of Columbia for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and three, and for other purposes (32 Stat.627: D.C. Official Code § 47-2834(a)(1), (a)(2), and (b) (2005 Repl.)); and Mayor’s Order 2002-103, dated June 18, 2002 and Mayor’s Order 98-139, dated August 20, 1998.

source

Final Rulemaking published at 50 DCR 4394 (June 6, 2003), incorporating by reference the text of Proposed Rulemaking published at 49 DCR 6184, 6253 (July 5, 2002); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 59 DCR 13690 (November 30, 2012).