Code of Maryland Regulations
Title 10 - MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
Part 3
Subtitle 15 - FOOD
Chapter 10.15.01 - Low Acid and Acidified Food Canning
Section 10.15.01.02 - Definitions
Universal Citation: MD Code Reg 10.15.01.02
Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 19, September 20, 2024
A. In this chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated.
B. Terms Defined.
(1) "Acid foods" means foods that have a
natural pH of 4.6 or below.
(2)
Acidified Foods.
(a) "Acidified foods" means
low-acid foods to which acid or acids or acid food or acid foods are added and
that have a:
(i) Water activity (aw) greater
than 0.85; and
(ii) Finished
equilibrium pH of 4.6 or below.
(b) "Acidified foods" includes, but is not
limited to:
(i) Beans, cucumbers, cabbage,
artichokes, cauliflower, puddings, peppers, tropical fruits, and fish, singly
or in combination; and
(ii) Foods
that are called, or may purport to be, "pickles" or "pickled".
(c) "Acidified foods" does not
include:
(i) Carbonated beverages, jams,
jellies, or preserves;
(ii) Acid
foods that contain small amounts of low-acid food or foods and have a resultant
finished equilibrium pH that does not significantly differ from that of the
predominate acid or acid food, including such foods as standardized and
nonstandardized food dressings and condiment sauces; and
(iii) Foods that are stored, distributed, and
retailed under refrigeration.
(3) "Canned foods" means foods that are heat
treated and hermetically sealed in a container for preservation.
(4) "Commercially sterile" means the
condition achieved by the:
(a) Application of
heat that renders the food free of:
(i)
Microorganisms capable of reproducing in the food under normal nonrefrigerated
conditions of storage and distribution; and
(ii) Viable microorganisms, including spores,
that cause disease; or
(b) Control of water activity and the
application of heat that renders the food free of microorganisms capable of
reproducing in the food under normal nonrefrigerated conditions of storage and
distribution.
(5)
"Culinary grade steam" means steam that is free of deleterious or harmful
matter that might adulterate food.
(6) "Department" means the Department of
Health and Mental Hygiene or the Department's designee.
(7) "Lot" means the product produced during a
time period indicated by a specific code.
(8) Low-Acid Foods.
(a) "Low-acid foods" means any foods, other
than alcoholic beverages, with a finished equilibrium pH greater than 4.6 and a
water activity (aw) greater than 0.85.
(b) "Low-acid foods" does not include
tomatoes and tomato products having a finished equilibrium pH less than
4.7.
(9)
"Person-in-charge" means the licensee or other individual responsible for the
overall conditions and operation of a cannery or acidified food processing
plant.
(10) "Process authority"
means an individual having knowledge acquired through training about and
experience with thermal processing requirements or the acidification and
processing of acidified foods.
(11)
"Scheduled process" means the process selected by the processor as adequate
under the conditions of manufacture that:
(a)
Is at a minimum equivalent to the process established by a process
authority;
(b) For thermally
processed low-acid foods packaged in hermetically sealed containers:
(i) Achieves a commercially sterile product;
and
(ii) May be in excess of that
necessary to ensure destruction of microorganisms that cause disease;
(c) For acidified foods:
(i) Achieves and maintains a food that will
not permit the growth of microorganisms that cause disease; and
(ii) Includes the control of pH and other
critical factors; and
(d) For thermally processed acid foods
packaged in hermetically sealed containers:
(i) Achieves a commercially sterile product;
or
(ii) Ensures the destruction of
microorganisms that cause disease and prevents spoilage during the product's
shelf life.
(12) "Thermal process validation study" means
a scientific study conducted by a process authority to determine critical
factors and establish and validate a food process.
(13) "Water activity (aw)" means the measure
of the free moisture in a product and is the quotient of the water vapor
pressure of the substance divided by the vapor pressure of pure water at the
same temperature.
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