Current through August 30, 2024
(a) In addition to meeting the other
applicable requirements of this chapter, the operator of a food service or
market who packages potentially hazardous food using reduced oxygen packaging
methods shall comply with this section.
(b) The operator of a food service or market
may reduce oxygen package the following without developing a HACCP plan under
18 AAC 31.260:
(1) nonpotentially hazardous
food;
(2) food that is received
frozen and kept frozen until use, subject to (3) of this subsection;
and
(3) food that is rapidly frozen
before or as part of a reduced oxygen packaging process and stored frozen until
reheated or thawed for immediate use; food described in this paragraph and (2)
of this subsection must meet the following continuous cooling, freezing, and
thawing requirements:
(A) once a food has
been cooled to 135° F, the food must be further cooled to 70° F or
below within two hours;
(B) once a
food has been cooled to 70° F, the food must be further cooled to 41° F
or below within four hours;
(C) the
food must be frozen completely to below 10° F within 24 hours;
(D) for seafood, the food must be removed
from the packaging
(i) before thawing in
accordance with
18 AAC 31.230(2)(A); or
(ii) immediately after completion of thawing
in accordance with
18 AAC 31.230(2)(B);
(4) food that is always
(A) labeled with the production time and
date;
(B) held at 41° F or less
during refrigerated storage; and
(C) removed from its package in the food
establishment not later than 48 hours after packaging.
(c) Except as provided in (e),
(h), and (i) of this section, the operator of a food service or market may
reduce oxygen package food in addition to the food described in (b) of this
section if the food has characteristics that will present a barrier to the
growth of infectious or toxigenic microorganisms, including Listeria
monocytogenes and Clostridium botulinum, and a HACCP
plan is developed and followed as required in 18 AAC 31.260. Food subject to
this subsection includes
(1) food with a
water activity that measures below 0.91;
(2) food with a pH of 4.6 or less;
(3) food cured onsite using a standard recipe
approved by the department with an initial sodium nitrite concentration of 120
ppm and 3.5 percent water phase salt concentration;
(4) a meat or poultry that is product cured
at a food processing plant regulated by the USDA using substances specified in
9 C.F.R.
424.21, adopted by reference in
18 AAC
31.011, and that is received in an intact package; and
(5) food with a high level of
competing organisms, including raw meat, raw poultry, or raw
vegetables.
(d) Except
as specified in (h) and (i) of this section, and except for seafood subject to
18 AAC 34, if food is reduced oxygen packaged under (c) of this section, the
operator of a food service or market shall
(1) discard the food if, later than 30 days
after packaging, it is not served or sold for consumption;
(2) limit the refrigerated shelf life of the
reduced oxygen packaged food to the earlier of the following:
(A) not more than 30 days from packaging to
sale, service, or consumption, except the time the product is maintained
frozen;
(B) the original
manufacturer's "sell by" or "use by" date; and
(3) attach the following labels:
(A) "Keep refrigerated at 41° F or below
and use within 30 days of purchase, unless frozen."; and
(B) "Sell by month/day/year.", with the date
specified being not more than 30 days after packaging.
(e) The following food products
may not be reduced oxygen packaged at a food service or market:
(1) uncured meat and poultry cooked at a food
service or market unless they meet the requirements of (i) of this
section;
(2) ricotta cheese,
cottage cheese, cheese spread, and combinations of cheese and other
ingredients, such as vegetables or meat;
(3) seafood products that are acidified,
dehydrated, smoked, or thermally processed unless the food service or market
also has a current permit issued under 18 AAC 34; and
(4) other seafood products unless they meet
requirements in (b)(2) or (3) of this section.
(f) In addition to meeting the requirements
in (a) - (e) of this section, the operator of a food service or market shall
ensure that
(1) all aspects of a reduced
oxygen packaging process are conducted in an area completely separated by
partition or space from areas used for raw or fully cooked products, except
those raw or fully cooked products being reduced oxygen packaged, and that the
dedicated reduced oxygen packaging area is not used for any other
purpose;
(2) conspicuous signs are
posted in the reduced oxygen packaging area that
(A) list products that may be reduced oxygen
packaged; and
(B) warn against
packaging or reduced oxygen packaging any other product in that area;
(3) only persons who are trained
regarding use of the equipment, procedures, and concepts required for safe
packaging are allowed to use reduced oxygen packaging equipment;
(4) potentially hazardous food approved for
reduced oxygen packaging is refrigerated at a temperature of 41° F or below
or frozen at a temperature of 0° F or below, as appropriate, at all times
except during short periods of processing, not to exceed 30 minutes;
(5) gases, if used in reduced oxygen
packaging, are of food grade; and
(6) reduced oxygen packaging material is
appropriate and adequate for the food, associated pathogens, and method of
processing, including the type of gas, if any.
(g) In addition to meeting the labeling
requirements of this section, the operator of a food service or market shall
ensure that reduced oxygen packaging meets the applicable requirements of
18 AAC 31.060.
(h) Except as provided in (e)(2) of this
section, the operator of a food service or market may package cheeses using a
reduced oxygen packaging method if the operator
(1) limits the cheeses that are reduced
oxygen packaged to those that
(A) are
commercially processed in a food processing plant with no ingredients added in
the food service or market; and
(B)
meet the standards of identity as specified in
21
C.F.R. 133.150, 21 C.F.R. 133.169, or
21 C.F.R.
133.187, adopted by reference in
18 AAC
31.011;
(2) has a HACCP plan developed and followed
as required in 18 AAC 31.260;
(3)
complies with (a), (b), (f), and (g) of this section;
(4) labels the reduced oxygen package on the
principal display panel with a "use by" date that does not exceed 30 days or
the original manufacturer's "sell by" or "use by" date, whichever occurs first;
and
(5) discards the reduced oxygen
packaged cheese if it is not sold, served, or consumed 30 days or fewer after
its packaging.
(i) The
operator of a food establishment who reduced oxygen packages potentially
hazardous food using a cook-chill or sous vide process shall
ensure that
(1) the food is 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;
(2) the food is cooked to heat all parts of
the food to a temperature and time as specified under
18 AAC 31.232;
(3) the food is placed
(A) in a package with an oxygen barrier and
sealed before cooking; or
(B)
placed in a package with an oxygen barrier and sealed immediately after cooking
and before reaching a temperature below 135° F;
(4) the food is cooled to 41 ° F or below
in the sealed package or bag as specified under
18 AAC 31.234(2) and either
(A) once the food is cooled to 41° F,
cooled to 34° F or below within 48 hours and held at that temperature until
consumed or discarded within 30 days after the date of packaging;
(B) held at 41° F or below for not more
than seven days after the date of packaging, at which time the food must be
consumed or discarded; or
(C) held
frozen with no shelf life restriction while frozen until consumed or
used;
(5) the food is
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;
(6) if the
food is transported off site to a satellite location of the same food
establishment, the transport vehicle or container is equipped with verifiable
electronic monitoring devices to ensure that times and temperatures are
monitored during transportation;
(7) the food is labeled with the product name
and date packaged; and
(8) records
are
(A) maintained to confirm that cooling
and cold-holding refrigeration time and temperature requirements are met as
required as part of the HACCP plan;
(B) retained for at least six months;
and
(C) available upon request of
the department.
The subject matter addressed in 18 AAC 31.265 was formerly
addressed in
18 AAC 31.760. The history for 18 AAC 31.265 does not
include the history of the earlier
section.
Authority:AS
17.20.005
AS
17.20.010
AS
17.20.020
AS
17.20.040
AS
17.20.072
AS
17.20.180
AS
17.20.290
AS
44.46.020
