Alaska Administrative Code
Title 18 - Environmental Conservation
Chapter 31 - Alaska Food Code
Article 9 - Compliance Procedures and General Provisions
18 AAC 31.990 - Definitions

(1) "acid food" means a food that has a natural pH of 4.6 or below;

(2) "acidified food" has the meaning given in 21 C.F.R. 114.3, adopted by reference in 18 AAC 31.011

(3) "adequate" means that which is necessary to accomplish the intended purpose, in keeping with good public health practices, while complying with this chapter;

(4) "adulterated" has the meaning given in AS 17.20.020 and AS 17.20.030; in addition, "adulterated" means food that contains

(5) "approved" means acceptable to the department or its authorized agent, based upon conformance with applicable local, state, and federal standards and good public health practices;

(6) "approved facility" means a place that is acceptable to the department for a specific activity in support of a temporary food service or limited food service;

(7) "approved source" means a food establishment or facility that is permitted or certified by the federal, state, or local government agency with jurisdiction; for purposes of this paragraph, food from an approved source includes

(8) "asymptomatic" means without obvious symptoms, and not showing or producing indications of a disease or other medical condition, including an individual infected with a pathogen but

(9) "bottled water" has the meaning given to "bottled drinking water" in 21 C.F.R. 129.3, adopted by reference in 18 AAC 31.011;

(10) "bulk food" means processed or unprocessed nonpotentially hazardous food displayed in containers from which consumers withdraw desired amounts;

(11) "caterer" means an individual operating a food establishment that, either as the primary function of the food establishment or as an additional activity of another food establishment, under an agreement or contract,

(12) "certified food protection manager" means an individual who has passed a food safety certification examination and received a certificate or other documentation from a certification program accredited by the Conference for Food Protection;

(13) "certified laboratory" means a laboratory certified under 18 AAC 80.1100 - 18 AAC 80.1110;

(14) "cold-hold" and "cold-holding" means to maintain the temperature of a potentially hazardous food at 41º F or below while that food is being held whether during transportation, storage, preparation, processing, display, or service;

(15) "commercially processed" means prepared at an approved food processing establishment;

(16) "commissary" means a permitted food establishment where support services are provided to one or more vending machines, mobile food units, limited food services, or temporary food services; a "commissary" may provide support services that include

(17) "contaminate" or "contamination" means exposure to or contact with a contaminant; actions that may cause contamination include unsanitary food-contact surfaces, coughing, sneezing, spitting, unnecessary handling, flooding, draining, leakage from overhead, and condensation;

(18) "contaminant" means a substance, organism, or entity that might cause disease or threaten public health; "contaminant" includes dust, insects, rodents, other pests, and poisonous or toxic materials;

(19) "continental breakfast" means a morning meal consisting of ready-to-eat packaged products from an approved source such as pastries, cold cereals, dairy products, juices, coffees and teas, and cut fruit;

(20) "convenience store" means a small market selling predominantly any of the following:

(21) "corrosion resistant material" means a material that maintains acceptable surface cleanability characteristics under prolonged influence of the food contacted, the normal use of cleaning compounds and sanitizing solutions, and other conditions of the use environment;

(22) "critical control point" means a point, step, or procedure in a specific food safety management system where loss of control may result in an unacceptable health risk;

(23) "cross-contamination" means the process by which a contaminant is transferred from raw or other food to a food-contact surface or a ready-to-eat food;

(24) "cure" or "cured" means to preserve by means of salting, smoking, or aging;

(25) "custom processing" means the processing of a customer's sport-caught seafood or game meat for the consumption of that customer, and which will not be subsequently sold or distributed in commerce for human consumption;

(26) "department" means the Department of Environmental Conservation;

(27) "disclosure" means a written statement that clearly identifies the

(28) "disease communicable by food" means a physical condition that can be transmitted from one individual to another; "disease communicable by food" includes amebiasis, cholera, colds, diarrhea, hepatitis A, hepatitis type unspecified, influenza, salmonellosis, shigellosis, Enterohemorrhagic or Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli, staphylococcal skin infections, streptococcal infections, and vomiting;

(29) "distressed food commodities" means food that has been subjected to possible damage from an accident, a fire, a flood, adverse weather, or a similar cause;

(30) "dormitory" means a room with more than two beds;

(31) "durable" means capable of withstanding expected use and remaining easily cleanable;

(32) "dwelling" means a building or portion of a building that contains living facilities, including provisions for sleeping, eating, cooking, and sanitation;

(33) "easily cleanable" means designed, constructed and installed to allow, and made of a material that allows, effective removal of soil by normal cleaning methods, considering the surface's role in introducing pathogenic or toxigenic agents or other contaminants into food, and based on the surface's approved placement, purpose, and use;

(34) "embargo" means an order issued by the department that restricts service, use, or movement of food until laboratory tests or further examination confirms the food is free from spoilage, filth, or other contamination;

(35) "employee" means a person working in a food establishment; "employee" includes an operator, a manager, an owner, a person in charge, under 18 AAC 31.320, a person on the payroll, a family member, a person working under a contractual agreement, a volunteer, and a student;

(36) "equipment" means an article used in the operation of a food establishment; "equipment" includes a freezer, grinder, hood, ice maker, meat block, mixer, oven, reach-in refrigerator, scale, sink, slicer, stove, table, temperature measuring device for ambient air, vending machine, and warewashing machine; "equipment" does not include utensils or apparatuses used for handling or storing large quantities of packaged foods that are received from a supplier in a cased or overwrapped lot, such as a hand truck, forklift, dolly, pallet, rack, or skid;

(37) "event" means an organized occurrence that is promoted for a special purpose, has a definite time limit, and generally includes activities other than food sales;

(38) "exclude" or "exclusion" means to prevent a person from working as an employee in a food establishment or entering a food establishment as an employee;

(39) "extensively remodeled" means a major equipment change or installation or a structural modification or improvement that revises the product flow or that adds a new preparation, service, or processing area to an existing establishment;

(40) "F" means Fahrenheit;

(41) "FDA" means the United States Food and Drug Administration;

(42) "farmers' market" means a seasonal market

(43) "fixture" means a plumbing receptacle or device that

(44) "food" means a raw, cooked, or processed edible substance, ice, beverage, or ingredient used or intended for use or sale, in whole or in part, for human consumption;

(45) "food bank" has the meaning given in AS 17.20.347;

(46) "foodborne illness" means an illness associated with consuming food;

(47) "foodborne outbreak" means an incident in which

(48) "food-contact surface" means a surface of equipment or a utensil

(49) "food demonstration station" means a site within a market at which samples of food are served without charge to publicize, advertise, or promote the sale of that food or associated food preparation equipment;

(50) "food establishment" means the premises where any activity occurs that is related to the display, packaging, preparation, processing, sale, salvaging, service, storage, transportation, or vending of food for human consumption; "food establishment" includes various types of operations, singly or in combination, within the categories of food service, food processing establishment, and market; "food establishment" does not include a kitchen in a private dwelling, including a vessel used solely as a private dwelling, where food is prepared for consumption by family members or nonpaying guests;

(51) "food processing establishment" includes

(52) "food safety management system" means a system that is

(53) "food salvager" means a type of market where distressed food commodities are reconditioned so they comply with this chapter; "food salvager" includes a market that does one or more of the following, if food contents have not been altered or adulterated:

(54) "food service" includes

(55) "game meat" means the flesh and organs of animals that are not classified as "meat" in 9 C.F.R. 301.2, as adopted by reference in 18 AAC 31.011, or "poultry" in 9 C.F.R. 381.1(b), as adopted by reference in 18 AAC 31.011; "game meat" includes

(56) "glacier" means a large body of ice moving slowly down a slope or valley or spreading outward on a land surface; "glacier" does not include a snow field or a frozen or ice-covered stream, river, lake, spring, or other water body;

(57) "good retail practices" means preventive measures to control hazards; "good retain practices" include

(58) "good retail practices violation" means a violation of this chapter other than a risk factor or intervention violation;

(59) "grocery" means a type of market where

(60) "guestroom" means a room used or intended to be used by a guest for sleeping purposes; every 100 square feet of floor area in a dormitory is considered a "guestroom";

(61) "HACCP plan" means a written document that delineates the formal procedures for following the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point Principles and Application Guidelines; the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point Principles and Application Guidelines is adopted by reference in 18 AAC 31.011;

(62) "handwash sink" means a lavatory, a basin or vessel for washing, a wash basin, or a plumbing fixture especially placed for use in personal hygiene and designed for washing of the hands; "handwash sink" includes an automatic handwashing facility;

(63) "hazard" means a biological, chemical, or physical property that might make food unsafe for human consumption or cause an unacceptable public health risk;

(64) "herb vinegar" means commercial vinegar to which a small amount of one or more herbs has been added, with a resultant pH not significantly different from the vinegar to which the herb was added;

(65) "hermetically sealed" means a container that is designed and intended to be secure against the entry of microorganisms and, in the case of low-acid canned foods, to maintain the commercial sterility of its contents after thermal processing;

(66) "highly susceptible population" means a group of persons who are more likely than other populations to experience foodborne illness because they are

(67) "hot-hold" or "hot-holding" means to maintain the temperature of potentially hazardous food at 135º F or above while the food is being held, whether during transportation, storage, preparation, processing, display, or service, except that for rare beef, "hot-hold" or "hot-holding" means to maintain the temperature at 130º F or above;

(68) "ice" means the product that results from freezing water by natural, chemical or mechanical means;

(69) "imminent health hazard" means a significant threat or danger to health that is considered to exist when the department determines, or has cause to believe, based on the number of potential injuries and the nature, severity, and duration of the anticipated injury, that a product, practice, circumstance, or event creates a situation that requires immediate correction or cessation of operation to prevent injury; "imminent health hazard" includes one or more of the following:

(70) "injected" means to manipulate a meat so that infectious or toxigenic microorganisms may be introduced from its surface to its interior through tenderizing with deep penetration or injecting the meat, including by processes referred to as needling, pinning, or stitch pumping;

(71) "institution" means a public or private school for children of school age, or a place of confinement, secure or custodial care, health care, or assisted living; "institution" includes correctional and juvenile facilities, nursing homes, and hospitals;

(72) "intervention"

(73) "juice" means the aqueous liquid expressed or extracted from one or more fruits or vegetables, a puree of the edible portions of one or more fruits or vegetables, or a concentrate of that liquid or puree;

(74) "kiosk" means a semi-permanent structure that is constructed on a nonpermanent foundation;

(75) "limited food service" means a type of food service operation that is restricted to one or more of the following:

(76) "linens" means fabric items, including cloth hampers, cloth napkins, table cloths, wiping cloths, and work garments, including cloth gloves;

(77) "liquid heat" means a product, either commercial or noncommercial, used to maintain potentially hazardous food at required hot-holding temperatures during display or service;

(78) "lot" means a collection of primary containers of the same size, type, and style produced under conditions as nearly uniform as possible and usually designated by a common code or marking, or a day's production;

(79) "low-acid food" means food, other than alcoholic beverages, with a finished equilibrium pH greater than 4.6 and a water activity greater than 0.85;

(80) "market" includes

(81) "meat" has the meaning set out in 9 C.F.R. 301.2, as adopted by reference in 18 AAC 31.011;

(82) "misbranded" has the meaning given in AS 17.20.040; in addition, "misbranded" means food that is not labeled as specified in 18 AAC 31.060, 18 AAC 31.265, 18 AAC 31.700, 18 AAC 31.740, 18 AAC 31.770, and 18 AAC 31.800 - 18 AAC 31.820;

(83) "ml" means milliliters;

(84) "mobile food unit" means a type of food service that

(85) "mobile retail vendor" means a type of market operated out of a vehicle or trailer, registered by the state as a motor vehicle, from which packaged retail food items or whole or packaged seafood are sold;

(86) "molluscan shellfish" means an edible species of fresh or frozen oysters, clams, mussels, or scallops, or an edible portion of that species; "molluscan shellfish" does not include a scallop product that consists only of the shucked adductor muscle;

(87) "operation" means the premises, practices, and procedures associated with a specific type of activity within a food establishment;

(88) "operator" means an entity that is legally responsible for the operation or a part of the operation of a food establishment; "operator" includes

(89) "owner" means a person with a proprietary or possessory interest in a food establishment;

(90) "package" or "packaged" means bottled, canned, cartoned, securely bagged, or tightly wrapped; "packaged" does not include placing food in a wrapper, carry-out box, or other nondurable container used to containerize food with the purpose of facilitating food protection during service and receipt of the food by the consumer;

(91) "permit" or "permitted" means an authorization issued by the department;

(92) "pest" means an insect, bird, rodent, or animal that can be detrimental to humans or that can create a nuisance' "pest" includes dogs, cats, and bears;

(93) "plants" means wild, edible, nontoxic berries, roots, or leaves of plants that have cultural significance to people; "plants" includes Eskimo potato, Labrador tea, and low bush cranberry;

(94) "poisonous or toxic material" means a substance not intended for ingestion; "poisonous or toxic material" includes

(95) "potable water" means water that is free from disease-producing organisms, poisonous substances, and chemical, biological, and radioactive contaminants that would make the water unfit for human consumption and other uses;

(96) "poultry" has the meaning set out in 9 C.F.R. 381.1(b), as adopted by reference in 18 AAC 31.011;

(97) "ppm" means parts per million; "ppm" is the equivalent to milligrams per liter (mg/l);

(98) "premises" means the physical facility, its contents, and the contiguous land or property under the control of the permit holder, including all or portions of land, docks, structures, vessels, vehicles, mobile food units, food-contact surfaces, food, supplies, water supply, wastewater system, and plumbing; for purposes of this paragraph, "physical facility" means the structure and interior surfaces of a food establishment, including accessories and attachments;

(99) "prepackaged" means packaged by an approved source that is a food salvager or food processor;

(100) "preparation" or "prepared" means to thaw, marinate, cook, heat, reheat, smoke as part of the cooking process, cool, freeze, construct, assemble, combine, cut, slice, divide, mix, portion, or package food for consumption as ready-to-eat food;

(101) "processing" means to

(102) "product thermometer" means a quick-registering, metal-stem, numerically-scaled thermometer, digital thermometer, thermocouple, thermistor, or other device that, when the sensor is inserted into food or other substances, indicates the temperature;

(103) "public open house" means a business or organization that invites the general public to that business or organization as part of an event at which food is served;

(104) "public water system" has the meaning given in 18 AAC 80.1990;

(105) "pushcart" means a wheeled, nonmotorized mobile food unit, manually movable by one or two persons, and containing on or within the cart sufficient food, utensils, paper products, cleaning supplies, potable water supply, and wastewater holding capacity necessary for operating daily;

(106) "qualified laboratory" means a laboratory that uses the procedures in the Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater to analyze physical, chemical, or microbial constituents of food; the Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater is adopted by reference in 18 AAC 31.011;

(107) "ready-to-eat" means food that is in a form that is edible without additional cooking, processing, or preparation to achieve food safety, and that is reasonably expected to be consumed in that form; "ready-to-eat" includes

(108) "recognized processing authority" means a qualified person with expert knowledge acquired through appropriate training and experience in the specific process that person is evaluating, including acidification, thermal processing, or atmosphere packaging;

(109) "reconstituted" means dehydrated food combined with potable water or another liquid;

(110) "reduced oxygen packaging"

(111) "refrigeration" means a mechanical means to maintain product temperatures at 41º F or below;

(112) "reminder" means a written statement concerning the health risk of consuming animal foods raw, undercooked, or without otherwise being processed to eliminate pathogens;

(113) "restricted food service transient occupancy establishment" means a business establishment with 12 guestrooms or less that

(114) "retail bakery" means a type of market where baked food items, such as breads, cookies, rolls, muffins, pies, and cakes, are processed for onsite retail sale to consumers;

(115) "retail meat market" means a type of market where limited processing of meat for onsite retail sale to consumers occurs, including

(116) "retail seafood market" means a type of market where raw or ready-to-eat seafood products are displayed for onsite retail sale to consumers; "retail seafood market" includes limited processing, including

(117) "risk factor" means an improper practice or procedure identified as a prevalent contributing factor of foodborne illness or injury; "risk factor" includes unsafe sources, inadequate cooking, improper holding, contaminated food-contact surfaces, and poor personal hygiene;

(118) "risk factor or intervention violation" means

(119) "spp." means species;

(120) "safe" means, with respect to an article, manufactured from or composed of materials that are not reasonably expected to result, directly or indirectly, in their becoming a component or otherwise affecting the characteristics of food, including the food's flavor, color, and microbial quality;

(121) "sanitization" or "sanitized" means the application of cumulative heat or a chemical on a cleaned food-contact surface that, when evaluated for efficacy, is sufficient to yield a reduction of five logs, which is equal to a 99.999 percent reduction, of representative disease microorganisms of public health importance;

(122) "scheduled process" means the process selected by the operator of a food processing establishment as adequate under the conditions of manufacture for a given product to achieve commercial sterility, and which is at least equal to the process established by a recognized processing authority to achieve commercial sterility;

(123) "seafood"

(124) "sealed" means free of cracks or other openings that allow entry or passage of moisture, grease, or other liquid;

(125) "service animal" means an animal, including a guide dog, signal dog, or other animal, individually trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability;

(126) "Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli" means E. coli capable of producing Shiga toxins, also called verocytotoxins or "Shiga-like" toxins; "Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli" includes serotype O157 and non-O157 E. coli;

(127) "shucked molluscan shellfish" means molluscan shellfish that have one or both shells removed;

(128) "single-service" means items that are provided to the consumer and designed to be used by one person and then discarded; "single-service" includes disposable cups, containers, lids, closures, plates, knives, forks, spoons, stirrers, paddles, straws, napkins, placemats, and toothpicks;

(129) "single-use" means utensils and food containers that are used by employees in a food establishment and that are designed and constructed to be used once and then discarded; "single-use" includes wax paper, aluminum foil, butcher paper, plastic wrap, formed aluminum food containers, jars, plastic tubs or buckets, bread wrappers, pickle barrels, milk bottles, juice containers, and other containers that do not meet materials, durability, strength, and cleanability specifications for multi-use utensils under this chapter;

(130) "snack" means food served between meals consisting of prepackaged nonpotentially hazardous food that requires minimal handling or fruits and vegetables that require only washing or peeling;

(131) "soil" or "soiled" means dust, dirt, food particles, grease, or other debris;

(132) "standard operating procedure" means a written document that specifies practices to address measure to prevent food from becoming contaminated due to various aspects of food environment at an establishment;

(133) "sulfiting agent" means a chemical that contains sulfur and that is used to treat food to increase shelf life and enhance appearance; "sulfiting agent" includes sulfur dioxide, sodium sulfite, sodium bisulfite, potassium bisulfite, sodium metabisulfite, and potassium metabisulfite;

(134) "supermarket" means a food establishment that contains a grocery and that also contains two or more other types of operations that are subject to the permit and fee requirements of this chapter;

(135) "sushi" means an assembled food product, usually containing rice wrapped in seaweed, that may or may not contain raw seafood;

(136) "tableware" means multi-use eating and drinking utensils;

(137) "temperature measuring device" means a thermometer, thermocouple, thermistor, or other device that indicates the temperature of food, air, or water; "temperature measuring device" includes a product thermometer;

(138) "temporary food service" means a type of food service that is kept at one location for no more than 21 consecutive days in conjunction with a single event, or operates at the same location no more than two days in any one week for a time period of not more than 120 days;

(139) "thermal process" or "thermal processing" means the application of heat to render food free of microorganisms that are capable of reproducing in the food under normal nonrefrigerated conditions of storage or distribution;

(140) "traditional wild game meat" means game meat that is from wild animals commonly found in and consumed by people in this state; "traditional wild game meat" includes reindeer, caribou, moose, whale, beaver, goat, muskrat, hare, sheep, squirrel, duck, and geese;

(141) "USDA" means the United States Department of Agriculture;

(142) "unpasteurized juice" means juice that has not been specifically processed to prevent, reduce, or eliminate the presence of pathogens, either through heat pasteurization or in another manner allowed under 21 C.F.R. 101.17(g)(7), adopted by reference in 18 AAC 31.011; "unpasteurized juice" includes a beverage containing juice if the juice ingredient or the beverage has not been processed as specified in this paragraph;

(143) "utensil" means a food-contact implement or container used in the storage, preparation, transportation, dispensing, sale, or service of food; "utensil" includes tableware that is multi-use, single-service, or single-use, gloves used in contact with food, spatulas, tissues, tongs, and temperature sensing probes of food temperature measuring devices;

(144) "variance" means a written document issued under 18 AAC 31.930;

(145) "vending machine" means a self-service device that, upon insertion of a coin, paper currency, token, card, or key, dispenses a unit serving of food, whether in a package or into a container, without the necessity of replenishing the device between each vending operation; "vending machine" does not include a semi-automated espresso machine described in 18 AAC 31.630(c);

(146) "warehousing" means the storing of food commodities before distribution, in a food establishment used primarily for that purpose;

(147) "warewashing" means the washing, rinsing, and sanitizing of food-contact surfaces;

(148) "water activity" means a measure of free moisture in a food and is the quotient of the water vapor pressure of the substance divided by the vapor pressure of pure water at the same temperature;

(149) "wholesale" means a food establishment that manufactures, packages, stores, repackages, or transports food to another entity for resale or redistribution;

(150) "wholesome" means in sound condition and free from spoilage, filth, and contamination.

(151) "microgreens" means edible stems and greens of very young plants.

(152) "food hub" means a market that works with food producers and other markets, provides a platform for advertising and selling their food products, and has a location where purchased food can be aggregated and made available to the purchaser;

(153) "major food allergen" has the meaning given in 21 U.S.C. 321(qq), adopted by reference in 18 AAC 31.011;

(154) "marijuana concentrate" has the meaning given in 3 AAC 306.990(b);

(155) "marijuana product" has the meaning given in AS 17.38.900;

(156) "potentially hazardous food" has the meaning given in 18 AAC 31.975;

(157) "product water" has the meaning given in 21 C.F.R. 129.3, adopted by reference in 18 AAC 31.011;

(158) "retail marijuana store" has the meaning given in AS 17.38.900.