Section R3-2-807. Frozen Dessert Plant and Processing Standards

A.      Plant and Processing Standards.

1.        The plant area shall be clean, orderly and free from refuse, rubbish, smoke, dust, air pollution and strong or foul odors originating on the premises. A drainage system shall be provided for the rapid drainage of water away from the building. If unsatisfactory conditions occur in the plant area, with respect to smoke, dust, air pollution, or odors, provision shall be made to protect the frozen desserts and ingredients from contamination.

2.        Sewage and industrial waste shall be disposed in accor- dance with the provisions of the state or county environ- mental laws. Refuse, unless in appropriate containers, shall not accumulate on the premises.

3.        Roads, driveways, yards, and parking areas adjacent to the plant shall be paved or treated to prevent dust and shall be smooth and well drained to prevent accumulation of stagnant liquid.

4.        Buildings.

a.         The building exterior and interior shall be kept clean and in good repair.

b.        In processing and packaging areas, outside doors, windows, skylights, transoms, or other openings shall be protected and operated to preclude the entrance of dust, insects, vermin, rodents, and other animals. Outside doors shall be self-closing wher- ever practical. Window sills on new construction shall slope inward at least 45-degrees. Outside con- veyor openings and other outside openings shall be protected by doors, screens, flaps, fans, or tunnels. Pipes shall  be sealed where they extend  through exterior walls. Outside pipe openings shall be cov- ered when not in use.

c.         Rooms. All rooms, compartments, coolers, freezers, and dry storage space in which any raw material, packaging or ingredient supplies, or finished prod- ucts are handled, processed, manufactured, pack-

aged, or stored shall be constructed to ensure clean and orderly operations.

i.         Boiler and tool rooms shall be separate from rooms where milk products are received, where processing and packaging is done, or where equipment, facilities, and containers are washed and stored.

ii.        Toilets and dressing rooms shall be conve- niently located and toilets shall not open directly into any room where milk products, ingredients, or frozen desserts are handled, pro- cessed, packaged, or stored. Toilet and dressing room doors shall be self-closing. Toilets and dressing rooms shall be well vented to the outer air, and contain hand-washing facilities,  hot and cold running water, soap, single-service towels or air dryers. Hand-washing signs shall be posted. Fixtures shall be kept clean and in good repair.

iii.      Rooms for receiving milk and other raw ingre- dients and materials shall be separated from the processing area to avoid contamination of fro- zen desserts in the processing operations, except that products in cans or other closed containers may be received and transferred to a cooler or other storage without being received in a separate room.

iv.       If tank truck deliveries of milk, milk products, or frozen desserts mix are made, other than occasional deliveries, a tank truck room large enough to accommodate the entire truck shall be provided with equipment for cleaning. A covered outside unloading pad may be used for truck tankers with filter dome vents, if washing and sanitizing facilities are provided. If a tank truck room is not located on the premises of an existing plant, facilities for washing and sani- tizing tank trucks shall be provided at another location where the washing and sanitizing facil- ity is free from dust and extreme weather con- ditions.

v.        Except for existing processing and packaging rooms, there shall be at least three feet clear- ance between installations and the wall to pre- vent overcrowding and to facilitate cleaning. Existing facilities not meeting this requirement shall be permitted if cleaning can be accom- plished and permission is obtained from the Dairy Supervisor or the Dairy Supervisor’s des- ignee. All processing and packaging rooms shall be equipped with hand-washing facilities including hot and cold running water, soap, sin- gle-service towels, or air-dryer.

vi.       Refrigeration rooms and units shall be con- structed of impervious material and shall be kept clean and sanitary.

vii.     Separate rooms shall be provided so that the manufacturing, processing, and packaging are separate from the cleaning and sterilizing of utensils and containers.

viii.    No person shall reside or sleep in a frozen des- serts plant or in any room connected with it. No animal shall be kept or permitted in a frozen desserts plant.

d.        Walls and ceilings shall be constructed of smooth, washable,   impervious   material.   They    shall   be

light-colored, kept clean and sanitary, and refinished when discolored. A darker color material may be used to a height not exceeding 60 inches from the floor.

e.         Floors shall be an impervious, smooth-surfaced material that may be flushed clean with water. Except for hardening rooms, floors shall slope 3/16 to 1/4 inch per foot to one or more trapped outlets. No open channel drainage is permitted in new con- struction or in extensive remodeling of existing plants. Floor drains are not required in freezers used for storing frozen desserts or frozen ingredients. However, the floors shall be sloped to drain to at least one exit and shall be kept clean. Floors in new construction or extensive remodeling shall be joined and coved with the walls to form water-tight joints. Smooth wood floors may only be permitted in rooms where there will be no spillage of product or ingredi- ents, such as rooms where wrapped or packaged fro- zen products are packed in multiple-pack containers. Toilets and dressing rooms shall have impervious floors and smooth walls.

f.         Plumbing shall be installed to prevent back-up of sewage or odors into the plant.

g.        All rooms and compartments, including storage space for materials, ingredients, and packages, and toilets and dressing rooms, shall be ventilated to maintain sanitary conditions, and to minimize or eliminate condensation and odors.

h.        Lighting, whether natural or artificial, shall be well distributed in all rooms and compartments. Light bulbs and fluorescent tubes shall be protected so that broken glass cannot fall into any product or equip- ment.

i.         Rooms where frozen desserts are handled, pro- cessed, manufactured, or packaged, or where equipment or utensils are washed, shall have at least 30 footcandles of light on all working sur- faces;

ii.        Areas where dairy products are examined for condition and quality shall have at least 50 footcandles of light; and

iii.      All other rooms shall have at least 20 footcan- dles of light 30 inches above the floor.

i.         Containers for collecting and holding waste other than dry waste paper and other dry packaging mate- rial shall be constructed of metal or other impervious material, covered with tight-fitting lids or covers, and emptied or disposed of daily or at least once during the shift. Clothing, tools, equipment, and other material not used with the frozen desserts operations shall not accumulate in the work areas or in the storage rooms.

j.         A room or other space separate from any room or space where milk products or frozen desserts are received, handled, processed, packaged, or stored, shall be provided where employees may change and store clothing. This area shall contain hand-washing facilities, with hot and cold running water, soap or other detergents, and single-service towels  or air dryers. Self-closing containers shall be provided for used towels and other wastes.

k.        Approval of plans. The Dairy Supervisor may allow variances to the requirements in this Section, if pro- tection from contamination is provided for all prod- ucts handled.

5.        Water and steam.

a.         Potable hot and cold water shall be available in suf- ficient quantity for all plant operations and facilities. Non-potable water may be used for boiler feed and condenser water, if the water lines are separated from the water lines carrying the potable water sup- ply and the equipment is constructed to preclude contamination of any product or product contact sur- face. If water for washing frozen desserts equipment and utensils  and for use in rehydration or as  an ingredient in any frozen desserts is obtained from other than a regulated municipal supply, a bacterio- logical examination shall be made of the water sup- ply at least once every six months by a bacteriologist to determine potability. If the examination indicates contamination of the water supply, a device shall be installed to eliminate the contamination.

b.        If steam is used, it shall be provided in sufficient volume and pressure for the operation of equipment or for sterilization, or both. Steam that comes in con- tact with frozen desserts, ingredients, or with the product contact surface, shall be steam of culinary quality as prescribed in Appendix H, Part III, Culi- nary Steam – Milk and Milk Products, of the PMO.

6.        Equipment and utensils.

a.         New equipment shall meet applicable 3-A Sanitary Standards. All equipment, including connections, coming in contact with frozen desserts or ingredients during processing, manufacturing, handling, or packaging, shall be made of stainless steel. No equipment shall be permitted that is rusted, cor- roded, or in any other condition that may result in

struction, Installation, Testing and Operation of High-Temperature-Short-Time Pasteurizers and 3-A Sanitary Standards for Non-Coiled Type Batch Pas- teurizers. Batch-type pasteurizers shall be provided with close-coupled outlet valves protected against leakage and shall be equipped with thermometers that record the information of each day’s operation on separate charts. Air space thermometers and indi- cating thermometers shall be provided to check the recording thermometers. The recording thermometer chart shall contain the date, the identity of the pas- teurizing number, the batch and product name, and the signature of the employee responsible for this information. The record shall be kept on file at the plant for at least six months. The accuracy of the thermometer shall be checked weekly and the date and name of the person responsible for the weekly accuracy check shall be recorded.

d.        Every plant shall contain hardening rooms, refriger- ating rooms, or refrigerated cabinets with space for storage of frozen desserts and perishable ingredi- ents.

e.        All utensils used in the receiving, storing, process- ing, manufacturing, packaging, and handling of fro- zen desserts or any ingredients shall be of smooth, stainless steel, or plastic listed in the 3-A Accepted Practices and shall have flush seams. Utensils that are badly worn, rusted, or corroded or that cannot be rendered clean and sanitary by washing shall not be used. Lead solder shall not come in contact with milk or milk products or frozen desserts.

7.        Cleaning and sanitizing.

	contamination of the frozen desserts. Non-metallic	a.	Cleaning and sanitizing. Equipment, sanitary piping
	parts with product contact surfaces shall consist of		and utensils used in receiving, storing, processing,
	material that meets 3-A Sanitary Standards for Plas-		manufacturing, packaging, and handling frozen des-
	tic or Rubber and Rubber-like Materials or shall be		serts and ingredients, and all product contact sur-
	of plastic approved by the United States Food and		faces   of    homogenizers,   high   pressure    pumps,
	Drug  Administration.   Equipment,  apparatus,  and		packing glands on agitators, pumps and vats, and
	piping shall be easily accessible for cleaning and		lines shall be kept clean. Before use, all equipment
	shall be kept in good repair and free from cracks and		coming in contact with milk products or frozen des-
	corroded surfaces. Stationary equipment, including		serts shall have a bactericidal or sanitizing treat-
	welded  sanitary   lines  and  apparatus  that  permit		ment. Equipment not designed for C-I-P cleaning
	in-place-cleaning,  may   be  used  if   prior  approval		shall be disassembled, thoroughly cleaned and sani-
	from the Dairy Supervisor has been obtained. C-I-P		tized. Biodegradable dairy cleaners, wetting agents,
	piping and welded sanitary pipeline systems shall be		detergents, sanitizing agents, or other similar mate-
	permitted if engineered and installed according to		rial that does not adversely affect or contaminate the
	3-A Accepted Practices for Permanently Installed		frozen desserts or ingredients may be used. Steel
	Sanitary Product and Solution Pipelines and Clean-		wool or metal sponges shall not be used to clean any
	ing Systems. If rigid pipelines are not practical, plas-		equipment or utensils with product contact surfaces.
	tic pipelines listed in the 3-A Accepted Practices		C-I-P cleaning shall be used only on equipment and
	may be used. Product pumps shall be sanitary and		pipeline systems designed, engineered, and installed
	easily  dismantled  for  cleaning  or  shall  be  con-		for that type of cleaning. Other equipment and areas
	structed to allow C-I-P procedures. All parts of inte-		in the plant shall be thoroughly cleaned with a com-
	rior  surfaces   of  equipment,  pipes   (except  C-I-P		mercial  vacuum  cleaner  or  other  means  and   the
	piping), or fittings, including valves and connections		material obtained shall be burned or disposed of so
	shall be accessible for inspection. The Dairy Super-		that any insects are destroyed and milk products and
	visor may require other equipment, apparatus or pip-		frozen desserts will not be contaminated. Exhaust
	ing  if  stationary   equipment,  apparatus   or  piping		stacks, elevators and elevator pits, conveyors and
	cannot or is not being effectively cleaned-in-place.		similar facilities shall be inspected and cleaned regu-
b.	Equipment  for  storage   and  distribution  of  liquid		larly.
	sweetening agents shall be constructed of metals,	b.	Equipment shall be sanitized by using one of the fol-
	alloys, or other material that will withstand corro- sive action by the ingredient. The equipment and the		lowing methods: i.      Using 180o F water for at least two minutes.
	ingredients shall be protected from contamination.		ii.     Using steam under pressure for at least two
c.	Pasteurizing equipment shall meet the standards pre-		minutes  or  until  all  parts  of   the  equipment
	scribed in 3-A Accepted Practices for Sanitary Con-		being sanitized have reached 180° F, or the

	condensate off the equipment remains at 180° F		easy inspection and access. Insecticides and rodenti-
	for at least two minutes.		cides shall be plainly labeled, segregated, and stored
	iii.   Using chlorine with a residual of at least 50		in a separate room or cabinet away from the edible
	ppm after one minute contact with equipment,		material  or  packaging  supplies.   Caps,  parchment
	or if sprayed, with a residual of at least 100		papers, wrappers, liners, gaskets, and single-service
	ppm after five minutes.		sticks, spoons, covers, and containers for frozen des-
	iv.   Using any other sanitizing substance prescribed		serts or ingredients shall be stored only in sanitary
	in Appendix F of the PMO.		tubes, wrappings, or cartons and kept in a clean, dry
8.	Pasteurization and cooling.		place until used and shall be handled in a sanitary
	a.      All frozen desserts mix, except for flavoring agents		manner.
	used in frozen desserts, shall be pasteurized.	c.	Raw milk products. Raw products for use in frozen
	b.     Frozen desserts mix shall be pasteurized by heating		desserts that are conducive to bacterial growth shall
	every particle to:		be handled and stored to minimize bacterial growth.
	i.      155° F for 30 minutes,		When stored, raw products shall be maintained at
	ii.     160° F for 15 minutes,		45° F or lower until processing commences.
	iii.   165° F for 10 minutes,	d.	Non-refrigerated products. Products such as non-fat
	iv.    175° F for 25 seconds,		dry milk and other frozen desserts ingredients that
	v.     180° F for 15 seconds,		do not require refrigeration for proper storing shall
	vi.   200° F for three seconds, or		be placed in dry storage to be easily accessible for
	vii.  210° F with no holding time.		inspection and removal, and for adequate cleaning
	c.      High-temperature-short-time pasteurizers shall have		of  the  room.  Dunnage,   pallets  or  other  similar
	the thermal limit controller set and sealed so that for-		method of elevation shall be used. Frozen desserts or
	ward flow of the product cannot start unless the tem-		ingredients shall not be stored with any product that
	perature  at   the  controller  sensor  is  above  the		would damage them or impair their quality. Opened
	required temperature and forward flow of the prod-		containers of ingredients shall be protected from
	uct cannot continue during descending temperatures		contamination.
	if the temperature is below the required temperature.	e.	Refrigerated  products.   All  products   that  require
	The seal shall be applied by the Dairy Supervisor or		refrigeration shall, except as otherwise specified, be
	the Supervisor’s designee after testing and shall not		stored under conditions of temperature and humidity
	be removed without immediately notifying the Dairy		that best maintain quality and condition. Products
	Supervisor or the Supervisor’s designee. The system		shall  not  be   stored  directly   on  wet  floors  or  be
	shall be designed so that no product can bypass the		exposed to foreign odors or conditions such as drip-
	controller sensor. The controller sensor shall not be		ping or condensation that may cause package or
	removed from its proper position during the pasteur-		product damage.

ization process.

d.        After pasteurization all mix shall be cooled immedi- ately to 45° F or less and shall be maintained at that temperature until frozen. Milk, cream, and other fluid milk products other than sterilized, evaporated or sweetened condensed milk in hermetically sealed containers shall be stored at 45° F or less.

i.         Refrigerated vehicles or approved insulated containers shall be used when transporting fro- zen desserts mix from the  manufacturing or other plant to a retail manufacturer, and

ii.        Mix shall be moved from coolers or refrigera- tion units in a manufacturing plant to freezers by using pipes, tubing, or other means listed in the Permanently Installed Product and Solution Pipelines and Cleaning Systems Used in Milk and Milk Product Processing Plants section of the 3-A Accepted Practices.

9.        Storage.

a.         Utensils and equipment. Utensils and portable equipment used in processing, handling, or packag- ing of frozen desserts shall be stored above the floor in clean, dry locations and in a self-draining position on racks constructed of impervious, corrosion-resis- tant material.

b.        Supplies and containers. Whenever possible, sup- plies shall be kept in a room separate from the pro- cessing, handling, and packaging of frozen desserts and under conditions that result in keeping the mate- rials clean  and free from dust,  moisture, insects, rodents, or other possible contamination. Supplies shall be arranged to permit cleaning of the area and

10.     Notification of change in products to be manufactured. Any person manufacturing only frozen desserts with but- terfat, or only frozen desserts with fats other than butter- fat, and uses the other type of fat shall first notify the Dairy Supervisor.

11.     Clearing lines and equipment. If the same equipment is used for processing, pasteurizing, and packaging frozen desserts made with dairy products and frozen desserts made with vegetable fats, oils, or proteins, any remaining product shall be completely removed from the lines and equipment and sanitized before introducing another prod- uct into the lines and equipment. All equipment and lines shall be sanitized either at the end or beginning of each day’s operations.

12.     Packaging and containers.

a.         Frozen desserts shall be packaged in commercial containers using packaging material that protects the product from contamination. The packaging, cut- ting, molding, dispensing, and other handling or preparation of frozen desserts and their ingredients shall be in a sanitary manner. Frozen dessert con- tainers shall be filled at the place of pasteurization using approved mechanical equipment. Existing manual processes may be permitted if done in a manner that prevents all contact surface contamina- tion and is approved by the Dairy Supervisor.

b.        Multi-use containers for frozen desserts shall be kept clean and dry. If used for transporting frozen des- serts, the containers shall be:

i.         Rinsed immediately after emptying,

ii.        Cleaned upon return to the plant, and

iii.      Protected from contamination during storage.

c.         Metal cans and containers shall be free from rust and corrosion.

d.        Paper and plastic containers, liners, covers, or other materials coming in contact with frozen desserts shall be free from contamination.

e.         Single-service containers shall not be reused.

B.       Personnel.

1.        Plant employees shall wash their hands before beginning work and upon returning to work after using toilet facili- ties, eating, smoking, or otherwise soiling their hands. Employees shall keep their hands clean and follow good hygienic practices while on duty. Expectorating or using tobacco in rooms or compartments where frozen desserts or ingredients are exposed is prohibited. Clean, white, or light-colored, washable outer garments shall be worn by all employees engaged in handling dairy products, mix or frozen desserts. Hair coverings for head and facial hair shall be worn by all employees engaged in the process- ing, pasteurizing, packaging, handling, and storage of fro- zen desserts, product containers, and utensils.

2.        Frozen desserts shall be handled so that there is no direct contact between an employee’s hands and the product.

3.        A person who has a discharging or infected wound, sore or lesion on hands, arms or other exposed portions of the body shall not work in any plant processing or packaging room or in any capacity resulting in contact with milk products or frozen desserts or equipment used in the pro- cessing or handling of milk products or frozen desserts. An employee returning to work following illness from a communicable disease shall provide a certificate from a physician attesting to the employee’s complete recovery before processing or handling milk products or frozen desserts.

C.      Quality standards.

1.        Milk products used in the manufacture of frozen desserts shall meet the following standards:

Product         Standard Plate Count Not to Exceed

Raw Milk                                500,000 per ml.

Pasteurized Milk                      50,000 per ml.

Raw Cream                             500,000 per ml.

Pasteurized Cream                   100,000 per ml.

2.        Butter, 80% cream, plastic cream, mixtures of butterfat, sugar or sweetening agent, moisture and flavoring, con- densed milk, mixes and all other similar products shall meet the following standards:

Bacterial Standards              Not to Exceed Standard Plate Count   50,000 per gram Coliform Count                            20 per gram

Yeast                                       50 per gram

Mold                                         50 per gram

3.        Powdered non-fat dry milk, dry whey, and dry buttermilk shall meet the PMO standards.

4.        Fats and oils other than from milk shall meet the stan- dards of the United States Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act as amended, or those of any applicable state regulation for fats and oils of food grade standards.

5.        Frozen desserts in broken or opened containers or in con- tainers from which the product has been partially used may be returned to the plant for examination but shall not be used or sold for making frozen desserts.

6.        All reconstituted frozen desserts shall be pasteurized before packaging.

D.      Labeling.

1.        All packages of frozen desserts, including cans or other containers of frozen desserts mix but not including frozen desserts  packaged  in  accordance   with  a  customer’s

request and in the presence of the customer, shall be labeled as prescribed in the federal Food, Drug and Cos- metic Act, as amended.

2.        Each frozen dessert package shall contain:

a.         The code number assigned by the Dairy Supervisor, identifying the specific manufacturing plant; or

b.        The name and address of the frozen dessert manu- facturer.

E.       License suspension. The Dairy Supervisor may suspend the license of a frozen dessert plant whenever the bacteria count, coliform determination, yeast or mold count exceeds the qual- ity standards for frozen desserts in three out of the last five samples taken on separate days. In addition, the Dairy Super- visor may suspend the permit of a frozen dessert plant for fail- ure to comply with any of the provisions of this Section.

Historical Note

Adopted effective December 7, 1976 (Supp. 76-5).

Amended effective December 5, 1977 (Supp. 77-6). Sec- tion R3-2-807 renumbered from R3-5-07 (Supp. 91-4). Amended effective December 2, 1998 (Supp. 98-4).