Arizona Administrative Code
Title 9 - HEALTH SERVICES
Chapter 3 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SERVICES - CHILD CARE GROUP HOMES
Article 4 - PROGRAM AND EQUIPMENT STANDARDS
Section R9-3-407 - General Food Service and Food Handling Standards

Universal Citation: AZ Admin Code R 9-3-407

Current through Register Vol. 30, No. 38, September 20, 2024

A. A certificate holder shall ensure that:

1. Except as provided in subsection (B), each staff member washes the staff member's hands with soap and running water before handling food, after handling potentially hazardous food, and before serving food;

2. Except as provided in subsection (B), enrolled children, except infants and children with special needs who cannot wash their own hands, wash their hands with soap and running water before and after handling or eating food;

3. A staff member:
a. Washes with a washcloth, paper towel, disposable wipe, or soap and running water the hands of an enrolled infant or child with special needs who cannot wash the child's own hands before and after the enrolled infant or child with special needs handles or eats food; and

b. If using a washcloth, paper towel, or disposable wipes, uses each washcloth, paper towel, or disposable wipe only once before it is laundered or discarded;

4. A staff member:
a. Encourages, but never forces, an enrolled child to eat;

b. Assists each enrolled child who needs assistance with eating; and

c. Teaches self-feeding skills and habits of good nutrition to each enrolled child as necessary;

5. Food served to an enrolled child younger than five years of age is prepared so as not to present a choking hazard;

6. Each enrolled child is supplied with drinking and eating utensils for the child's own use;

7. Each enrolled child's bottle or sippy cup is marked with an identifier that is specific to the enrolled child;

8. An enrolled child is not allowed to drink from the bottle, sippy cup, cup, or glass of another individual;

9. An enrolled child is not allowed to eat food directly off the floor, carpet, or ground;

10. An enrolled child's parent is notified when the child consistently refuses to eat or exhibits unusual eating behavior;

11. Each staff member is informed of a modified diet prescribed for an enrolled child by the child's parent, physician, physician assistant, or registered nurse practitioner, as specified in R9-3-303(B)(8), and is written and posted in the kitchen;

12. The food served to an enrolled child is consistent with a modified diet prescribed for the child by the child's parent, physician, physician assistant, or registered nurse, as specified in R9-3-303(B)(8), and is written and posted in the kitchen;

13. After each use, non-single-use utensils and equipment used in preparing, eating, or drinking food are:
a. Washed in an automatic dishwasher and air dried or heat dried; or

b. Washed in hot soapy water, rinsed in clean water, and air dried or heat dried;

14. Single-use utensils and equipment are disposed of after being used;

15. Perishable foods are covered and stored in a refrigerator;

16. A refrigerator at the child care group home maintains a temperature of 41° F or below, as shown by a thermometer kept in the refrigerator at all times;

17. A freezer at the child care group home maintains a temperature of 0° F or below, as shown by a thermometer kept in the freezer at all times;

18. Foods are prepared as close as possible to serving time and, if prepared in advance, are either:
a. Cold held at a temperature of 45° F or below or hot held at a temperature of 130° F or above until served, or

b. Cold held at a temperature of 45° F or below and then reheated to a temperature of at least 165° F before being served;

19. When fresh milk is poured from the original-commercial milk container into a serving container used at a meal or a cup, the unused milk is not returned to the original-commercial milk container;

20. Food leftover from a meal where enrolled children pass a serving container from individual to individual or from the provider's family meal is not served to an enrolled child; and

21. A food is not served past its expiration date or after it has begun to spoil.

B. If soap and running water are not available at the location where food is served, such as on a field trip, a staff member may use disposable wipes or hand sanitizer as a substitute for washing hands with soap and running water.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Arizona may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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