Code of Maine Rules
01 - DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, CONSERVATION AND FORESTRY
001 - AGRICULTURE - GENERAL
Chapter 331 - STATE OF MAINE FOOD CODE 2001
INFORMATION TO ASSIST THE USER
Many of the improvements contained in the Food Code are provided to make the document easier to use. Other characteristics, if they are understood by the user, make it easier to follow and apply. These include structure, nomenclature, and methodology.
Food Code provisions address essentially four areas: personnel (Chapter 2), food (Chapter 3), equipment/facilities/supplies (Chapters 4,5,6,7), and compliance and enforcement (Chapter 8). A new user will find it helpful to review the table of contents in order to quickly gain an understanding of the scope and sequence of subjects included within these four areas.
The structural nomenclature of the document is as follows: (EXAMPLE ONLY)
Chapter 9
Part 9-1
Subpart 9-101
Section (§) 9-101.11
Paragraph (¶) 9-101.11(A)
Subparagraph 9-101.11(A)(1)
Internal cross referencing is widely used throughout the document to eliminate the need for restating provisions. For example, fixtures and devices necessary for handwashing are relevant to both the plumbing (Chapter 5) and the facilities (Chapter 6) portions. To alert the reader to relevant information and provide a system by which each violation is recorded under the one most appropriate provision, the Code uses the phrase "...as specified under (followed by a Code cite such as a section or paragraph)." It must be determined within the context of the provision whether the cross reference simply provides information to explain the requirement or whether the observed violation is properly recorded against the provision that is cited after the word "under."
The Food Code presents requirements by principle rather than by subject. For example, equipment requirements are presented under headings such as Materials, Design and Construction, Numbers and Capacities, Location and Installation, and Maintenance and Operation rather than by refrigerators, sinks, and thermometers. In this way provisions need be stated only once rather than repeated for each piece or category of equipment. Where there are special requirements for certain equipment, the requirement is delineated under the appropriate principle (e.g., Design and Construction) and listed separately in the index.
Portions of some sections are written in italics. These provisions are not requirements, but are provided to convey relevant information about specific exceptions and alternative means for compliance.
Requirements contained in the Food Code are presented as being in one of 3 categories of importance: critical; "swing" (i.e., those that may or may not be critical depending on the circumstances); and noncritical. An asterisk * after a tagline (which is the language immediately following a section number that introduces the subject of the section) indicates that all of the provisions within that section are critical unless otherwise indicated, as follows:
Any provisions that are "swing" items, are followed by the bold, superscripted letter S and any provisions that are noncritical are followed by the bold, superscripted letterN.
Any unmarked provisions within a section that has an asterisked tagline are critical. All provisions following a tagline that is not marked with an asterisk are noncritical.
Defined words and terms are capitalized in the text of the Food Code chapters to alert the reader to the fact that there is a specific meaning assigned to those words and terms and that the meaning of a provision is to be interpreted in the defined context. A concerted effort was also made to capitalize all forms and combinations of those defined words and terms that were intended to carry the weight of the definition.
