Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
The licensor
will determine the risk level based on the
highest risk level activity of the food service operation in accordance with
the following criteria:
(A) Risk level
I poses potential risk to the public in terms of sanitation, food labeling,
sources of food, storage practices, or expiration dates. Examples of risk level
I activities include, but are not limited to, an operation that offers for sale
or serves:
(1) Coffee,
self-service hot beverage dispenser drinks,
self-service fountain drinks, prepackaged non-time/temperature controlled for
safety beverages;
(2) Pre-packaged
refrigerated or frozen time/temperature controlled for safety foods;
(3)
Fresh,
unprocessed fruits and vegetables;
(4)
Pre-packaged non-time/temperature controlled for safety foods; or
(5)
Baby food or formula.
A "food delivery sales operation" as defined in division (H) of
section 3717.01 of the Revised Code
will be
classified as a risk level I.
(B) Risk level II poses a higher potential
risk to the public than risk level I because of hand contact or employee health
concerns but minimal possibility of pathogenic growth exists. Examples of risk
level II activities include, but are not limited to:
(1) Handling, heat treating, or preparing
non-time/temperature controlled for safety food;
(2) Holding for sale or serving
time/temperature controlled for safety food at the same proper holding
temperature at which it was received;
(3)
Heating individually packaged, commercially processed time/temperature
controlled for safety foods for immediate service; or
(4)
Hand dipping of
commercially manufactured ice cream.
(C) Risk level III poses a higher potential
risk to the public than risk level II because of the following concerns: proper
cooking temperatures, proper cooling procedures, proper holding temperatures,
contamination issues or improper heat treatment in association with longer
holding times before consumption, or processing a raw food product requiring
bacterial load reduction procedures in order to sell
the product as
ready-to-eat. Examples of risk level III activities include, but are not
limited to:
(1) Handling, cutting, or grinding
raw meat products;
(2) Cutting or
slicing ready-to-eat meats and cheeses;
(3) Assembling,
partially cooking, or cooking time/temperature controlled for safety food
that is immediately served, held hot or cold, or cooled;
(4) Operating a soft serve ice cream or frozen yogurt
machine;
(5) Reheating in
individual portions only; or
(6)
Heating of a product, from an intact, hermetically sealed package and holding
the
product hot.
(D)
Risk level IV poses a higher potential risk to the public than risk level III
because of concerns associated with: handling or preparing food using a
procedure with several preparation steps that includes reheating of a product
or ingredient of a product where multiple temperature controls are needed to
preclude bacterial growth. Examples of risk level IV activities include, but
are not limited to:
(1) Reheating bulk
quantities of leftover time/temperature controlled for safety food more than
once every seven days;
(2)
Operating a heat
treatment dispensing freezer;
(3)
Catering as defined in division (G) of section
3717.01 of the Revised
Code;
(4)
Offering as
ready-to-eat a raw time/temperature controlled for safety animal food or a food
with these raw ingredients;
(5)
Using freezing as
a means to achieve parasite destruction;
(6)
Preparing food
for a primarily high risk clientele including immuno-compromised or elderly
individuals in a facility that provides either health care or assisted
living;
(7)
Using time as a public health control for
time/temperature controlled for safety food;
(8)
Non-continuous
cooking of raw time/temperature controlled for safety animal
food;
(9)
Performing activities requiring a HACCP plan;
or
(10)
Activities requiring a variance for the
process.
(E)
Mobile food service operations based on the highest
risk level activity in accordance with the following criteria:
(1)
Low risk poses a
potential risk to the public in terms of sanitation, food labeling, sources of
food, storage practices, hand contact, hand washing, and employee health
concerns but minimal possibility of pathogenic growth exists and includes the
following activities:
(a)
Holding for sale or service pre-packaged refrigerated
or frozen time/temperature controlled for safety foods in equipment that
complies with paragraph (KK)(3) of rule
3717-1-04.1 of the
Administrative Code; and
(b)
Offering for sale or serving pre-packaged
non-time/temperature controlled for safety foods;
(2)
High risk poses a
higher potential risk to the public than low risk because of concerns
associated with: proper receiving, holding, and cooking temperatures; proper
cooling procedures; processing a raw food product requiring bacterial load
reduction procedures in order to sell or serve it as ready-to-eat; handling or
preparing food using a procedure with several preparation steps that includes
reheating of a product or ingredient of a product where multiple temperature
controls are needed to preclude bacterial growth; offering as ready-to-eat a
raw time/temperature controlled for safety meat, poultry product, fish, or
shellfish or a food with raw time/temperature controlled for safety items as
ingredients; or using time in lieu of temperature as a public health control
for time/temperature controlled for safety food. Examples of high-risk
activities include, but are not limited to:
(a)
Assembling or
cooking time/temperature controlled for safety food that is immediately served,
held hot or cold, or cooled;
(b)
Operating a heat
treatment dispensing freezer;
(c)
Reheating bulk
quantities or individual portions of leftover time/temperature controlled for
safety food;
(d)
Heating of a product, from an intact, hermetically
sealed package and holding it hot; or
(e)
Operating as a
mobile catering food service operation as defined in paragraph (L) of rule
3701-21-01 of the Administrative
Code.
