South Carolina Code of Regulations
Chapter 114 - DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES
Article 5 - LICENSING
Subarticle 1 - DAY CARE FACILITIES
Section 114-508 - Meal Requirements; Food Preparation and Serving; Storage and Protection of Food Supplies, Utensils and Equipment
Universal Citation: SC Code Regs 114-508
Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 3, March 22, 2024
A. Meal requirements
(1) If food is provided by the facility, the
following requirements shall be met:
(a)
Daily menus shall be dated and posted in a conspicuous location in public
view.
(b) Meals and snacks provided
shall be in compliance with the USDA Child Care Food Program Guidelines.
Centers that do not provide overnight care shall serve at least one meal and at
least one snack that meet USDA Child Care Food Program Guidelines. Centers
providing care between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and midnight shall additionally
meet USDA Child Care Food Program Guidelines in serving dinner and at least one
additional snack. Meal components and serving sizes shall be in accordance with
these guidelines.
(c) Only Grade A
pasteurized fluid milk and fluid milk products may be given to any child less
than 24 months old, except with a written permission from the child's health
provider.
(d) Whole milk may not be
served to children less than 12 months of age, except with a written permission
from the child's health provider.
(e) Reconstituted milk shall not be served to
any child, regardless of age.
(2) Food served shall be suited to the
child's age and appetite. Second portions shall be available.
(3) Round, firm foods shall not be offered to
children younger than four years old. Examples of such foods include: hot dogs,
grapes, hard candy, nuts, peanuts, and popcorn. Hot dogs may be served if cut
lengthwise and quartered; grapes may be served if cut in halves.
(4) All food in child care centers shall be
from a source approved by the health authority and shall be clean, wholesome,
unspoiled, free from contamination, properly labeled, and safe for human
consumption.
(5) The use of food in
hermetically sealed containers that was not prepared in an approved
food-processing establishment is prohibited.
(6) The use of home-canned foods is not
allowed.
(7) The following
requirements shall be met when it is necessary to provide meals through a
catering service:
(a) Catered meals shall be
obtained from a food service establishment approved by the DHEC.
(b) If adequate cleaning and sanitizing
equipment is not available, only disposable eating and drinking utensils shall
be used to serve catered meals or food; and
(c) The procedures and equipment used to
transport catered meals shall be approved by the DHEC.
(8) Meals and snacks may be provided by the
center or the parent. The center shall have a small supply of nutritional food
and beverages available in the event a parent neglects to bring the child's
food on an unanticipated basis.
(9)
Dietary alternatives shall be available for a child who has special health
needs or religious beliefs.
(10)
Written permission/instructions for dietary modifications signed by the child's
health care provider or parent or legal guardian are required.
B. Food preparation
(1) Adequate hand-washing facilities,
separate from food preparation sinks, equipped with hot and cold water under
pressure supplied through a mixing faucet, shall be provided in the food
preparation area. Hot water shall meet current DHEC regulations for Retail Food
Establishments: 61-25. (Facilities shall not be required to install an
additional hand-washing sink in the food preparation area if, in the opinion of
the health authority, the existing hand-washing facilities are adequate.)
(2) Sanitary soap and towels shall
be provided.
(3) Utensils, such as
forks, knives, tongs, spoons, and scoops shall be provided and used to minimize
handling of food in all food preparation areas.
(4) Staff shall thoroughly wash their hands
and exposed areas of arms with soap and warm water in an approved hand-washing
sink before starting work, during work as often as is necessary to keep them
clean, e.g., after smoking, eating, drinking, or using the toilet. Staff shall
keep their fingernails clean and trimmed.
(5) The outer clothing of all staff shall be
clean. The director shall ensure proper hair restraints are worn to protect
from falling hair.
(6) Potentially
hazardous foods requiring cooking shall be cooked to heat all parts of the food
to an internal temperature of at least 140 degrees Fahrenheit, with the
following exceptions:
(a) Hamburger shall be
cooked to at least 155 degrees Fahrenheit.
(b) Poultry, poultry stuffing, stuffed meats,
and stuffing-containing meat shall be cooked to heat all parts of the food to
at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit with no interruption of the cooking
process.
(c) Pork and any food
containing pork shall be cooked to heat all parts of the food to at least 150
degrees Fahrenheit.
(d) Rare roast
beef and rare beefsteak shall be cooked to surface temperature of at least 130
degrees Fahrenheit.
(7)
Potentially hazardous food such as meats, cooked rice, and cream-filled
pastries shall be prepared (preferably from chilled products) with a minimum of
manual contact and on surfaces with utensils that are clean and sanitized prior
to use.
(8) Metal, stem-type,
numerically-scaled indicating thermometers, accurate to plus or minus three
degrees Fahrenheit, shall be provided and used to ensure that proper internal
cooking, holding, or refrigeration temperatures of all potentially hazardous
foods are maintained.
(9)
Potentially hazardous foods shall be thawed as follows:
(a) In refrigerated units at a temperature
not to exceed 45 degrees Fahrenheit;
(b) Under potable running water from the cold
water supply with sufficient water velocity to remove loose food
particles;
(c) In a microwave oven
only when food will be immediately transferred to conventional cooking
equipment as part of a continuous cooking process or when the entire,
uninterrupted cooking process takes place in the microwave oven; or
(d) As part of the conventional cooking
process.
(10) All raw
fruits and vegetables shall be washed thoroughly before being cooked, served,
or placed in refrigerators.
C. Food service
(1) No child shall be deprived of a meal or
snack if he/she is in attendance at the time the meal or snack is
served.
(2) Easily breakable
dinnerware shall not be used.
(3)
Children shall not be forced to eat.
(4) Food shall not be used as a
punishment.
(5) Children shall not
be allowed in the kitchen except during supervised activities.
(6) Portions of food once served shall not be
served again.
(7) Single-service
articles shall be stored in closed cartons or containers to protect them from
contamination.
(8) Use of "common
drinking cups" is prohibited.
(9)
Disposable cups, if used, shall be handled and stored properly to prevent
contamination.
(10) Reuse of single
service articles is prohibited.
(11) If potentially hazardous foods that have
been cooked and then refrigerated are to be served hot, they shall be reheated
rapidly to 165 degrees Fahrenheit or higher throughout before being served or
before being placed in a hot food-storage facility. Steam tables, double
boilers, warmers, and similar hot food holding facilities are prohibited from
use for the rapid reheating of potentially hazardous foods.
D. Storage
(1) All food shall be properly labeled and
stored, and shall be protected against contamination.
(2) The director shall provide refrigeration
units and insulated facilities, as needed, to ensure that all potentially
hazardous foods are maintained at 45 degrees Fahrenheit or below or 130 degrees
Fahrenheit or above, except during necessary periods of preparation.
(3) Thermometers shall be accurate to plus or
minus 3 degrees and conspicuously placed in the warmest area of all cooling and
warming units to ensure proper temperatures.
(4) Containers of food, food preparation
equipment and single service articles shall be stored at least 6" above the
floor, on clean surfaces, and in such a manner to be protected from splash and
other contamination.
(5) Food not
subject to further washing or cooking before serving shall be stored in such a
manner to be protected against contamination from food requiring washing or
cooking.
(6) The storage of food or
food equipment, utensils, or single-service articles in toilet rooms and under
exposed sewer lines is prohibited.
(7) Custards, cream fillings, or similar
products which are prepared by hot or cold processes shall be kept at safe
temperatures except during necessary periods of preparation and
service.
(8) All cleaning supplies,
detergents, and other potentially poisonous items shall be stored away from
food items and shall be inaccessible to children.
E. Cleaning, storage, and handling of utensils and equipment
(1) Tableware shall be
washed, rinsed, and sanitized after each use.
(2) All kitchenware and food-contact surfaces
of equipment shall be washed, rinsed, and sanitized.
(3) The cooking surfaces of cooking devices
shall be cleaned as often as necessary and shall be free of encrusted grease
deposits and other soil.
(4)
Non-food contact surfaces of all equipment, including tables, counters, and
shelves, shall be cleaned at such frequency as is necessary to be free of
accumulation of dust, dirt, food particles, and other debris.
(5) After sanitation, all equipment and
utensils shall be air-dried.
(6)
Prior to washing, all equipment and utensils shall be rinsed or scraped, and
when necessary, presoaked to remove gross food particles and soil.
(7) When manual dishwashing is employed,
equipment and utensils shall be thoroughly washed in a detergent solution that
is kept reasonably clean, be rinsed thoroughly of such solution, sanitized by
one of the following methods:
(a) Complete
immersion for at least 30 seconds in a clean solution containing at least 50
parts per million of available chlorine as a hypochlorite and at a temperature
of at least 75 degrees Fahrenheit;
(b) Complete immersion for at least 30
seconds in a clean solution containing at least 12.5 parts per million of
available iodine and having a pH no higher than 5.0 and at a temperature of at
least 75 degrees Fahrenheit;
(c)
Complete immersion for at least 30 seconds in a clean solution containing at
least 200 parts per million of quaternary ammonium at a temperature of at least
75 degrees Fahrenheit; or
(d)
Complete immersion in hot water at a temperature of 170 degrees Fahrenheit in a
three-compartment sink.
(8) Other chemical sanitizing agents may be
used which have been demonstrated to the satisfaction of the health authority
to be effective and non-toxic under use conditions, and for which suitable
field tests are available. Such sanitizing agents, in use solution, shall
provide the equivalent bactericidal effect for a solution containing at least
50 parts per million of available chlorine at a temperature not less than 75
degrees Fahrenheit.
(9) A test kit
or other device that accurately measures the parts per million concentration of
the solution shall be available and used.
(10) All dishwashing machines shall be
approved by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control
(DHEC) and shall meet applicable installation requirements.
(11) Food-contact surfaces of cleaned and
sanitized equipment and utensils shall be handled in such a manner as to be
protected from contamination.
(12)
Cleaned and sanitized utensils shall be stored above the floor in a clean, dry
location so that food-contact surfaces are protected from
contamination.
(13) Clean spoons,
knives, and forks shall be picked up and touched only by their handles. Clean
cups, glasses, and bowls shall be handled so that fingers and thumbs do not
contact inside surfaces or lip-contact surfaces.
(14) Dish tables or drain boards of adequate
size to properly handle soiled utensils prior to washing and for cleaned
utensils following rinsing and sanitizing shall be provided.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. South Carolina 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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