Section 18 AAC 31.265 - Reduced oxygen packaging at food services or markets(a) In addition to meeting the other applicable requirements of this chapter, the operator of a food service or market who packages potentially hazardous food using reduced oxygen packaging methods shall comply with this section.(b) The operator of a food service or market may reduce oxygen package the following without developing a HACCP plan under 18 AAC 31.260: (1) nonpotentially hazardous food;(2) food that is received frozen and kept frozen until use, subject to (3) of this subsection; and(3) food that is rapidly frozen before or as part of a reduced oxygen packaging process and stored frozen until reheated or thawed for immediate use; food described in this paragraph and (2) of this subsection must meet the following continuous cooling, freezing, and thawing requirements: (A) once a food has been cooled to 135° F, the food must be further cooled to 70° F or below within two hours;(B) once a food has been cooled to 70° F, the food must be further cooled to 41° F or below within four hours;(C) the food must be frozen completely to below 10° F within 24 hours;(D) for seafood, the food must be removed from the packaging(i) before thawing in accordance with 18 AAC 31.230(2)(A); or(ii) immediately after completion of thawing in accordance with 18 AAC 31.230(2)(B);(4) food that is always (A) labeled with the production time and date;(B) held at 41° F or less during refrigerated storage; and(C) removed from its package in the food establishment not later than 48 hours after packaging.(c) Except as provided in (e), (h), and (i) of this section, the operator of a food service or market may reduce oxygen package food in addition to the food described in (b) of this section if the food has characteristics that will present a barrier to the growth of infectious or toxigenic microorganisms, including Listeria monocytogenes and Clostridium botulinum, and a HACCP plan is developed and followed as required in 18 AAC 31.260. Food subject to this subsection includes (1) food with a water activity that measures below 0.91;(2) food with a pH of 4.6 or less;(3) food cured onsite using a standard recipe approved by the department with an initial sodium nitrite concentration of 120 ppm and 3.5 percent water phase salt concentration;(4) a meat or poultry that is product cured at a food processing plant regulated by the USDA using substances specified in 9 C.F.R. 424.21, adopted by reference in 18 AAC 31.011, and that is received in an intact package; and (5) food with a high level of competing organisms, including raw meat, raw poultry, or raw vegetables.(d) Except as specified in (h) and (i) of this section, and except for seafood subject to 18 AAC 34, if food is reduced oxygen packaged under (c) of this section, the operator of a food service or market shall (1) discard the food if, later than 30 days after packaging, it is not served or sold for consumption;(2) limit the refrigerated shelf life of the reduced oxygen packaged food to the earlier of the following: (A) not more than 30 days from packaging to sale, service, or consumption, except the time the product is maintained frozen;(B) the original manufacturer's "sell by" or "use by" date; and(3) attach the following labels: (A) "Keep refrigerated at 41° F or below and use within 30 days of purchase, unless frozen."; and (B) "Sell by month/day/year.", with the date specified being not more than 30 days after packaging.(e) The following food products may not be reduced oxygen packaged at a food service or market: (1) uncured meat and poultry cooked at a food service or market unless they meet the requirements of (i) of this section;(2) ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, cheese spread, and combinations of cheese and other ingredients, such as vegetables or meat;(3) seafood products that are acidified, dehydrated, smoked, or thermally processed unless the food service or market also has a current permit issued under 18 AAC 34; and(4) other seafood products unless they meet requirements in (b)(2) or (3) of this section.(f) In addition to meeting the requirements in (a) - (e) of this section, the operator of a food service or market shall ensure that(1) all aspects of a reduced oxygen packaging process are conducted in an area completely separated by partition or space from areas used for raw or fully cooked products, except those raw or fully cooked products being reduced oxygen packaged, and that the dedicated reduced oxygen packaging area is not used for any other purpose;(2) conspicuous signs are posted in the reduced oxygen packaging area that (A) list products that may be reduced oxygen packaged; and(B) warn against packaging or reduced oxygen packaging any other product in that area;(3) only persons who are trained regarding use of the equipment, procedures, and concepts required for safe packaging are allowed to use reduced oxygen packaging equipment;(4) potentially hazardous food approved for reduced oxygen packaging is refrigerated at a temperature of 41° F or below or frozen at a temperature of 0° F or below, as appropriate, at all times except during short periods of processing, not to exceed 30 minutes;(5) gases, if used in reduced oxygen packaging, are of food grade; and(6) reduced oxygen packaging material is appropriate and adequate for the food, associated pathogens, and method of processing, including the type of gas, if any.(g) In addition to meeting the labeling requirements of this section, the operator of a food service or market shall ensure that reduced oxygen packaging meets the applicable requirements of 18 AAC 31.060.(h) Except as provided in (e)(2) of this section, the operator of a food service or market may package cheeses using a reduced oxygen packaging method if the operator (1) limits the cheeses that are reduced oxygen packaged to those that(A) are commercially processed in a food processing plant with no ingredients added in the food service or market; and(B) meet the standards of identity as specified in 21 C.F.R. 133.150, 21 C.F.R. 133.169, or 21 C.F.R. 133.187, adopted by reference in 18 AAC 31.011;(2) has a HACCP plan developed and followed as required in 18 AAC 31.260;(3) complies with (a), (b), (f), and (g) of this section;(4) labels the reduced oxygen package on the principal display panel with a "use by" date that does not exceed 30 days or the original manufacturer's "sell by" or "use by" date, whichever occurs first; and(5) discards the reduced oxygen packaged cheese if it is not sold, served, or consumed 30 days or fewer after its packaging.(i) The operator of a food establishment who reduced oxygen packages potentially hazardous food using a cook-chill or sous vide process shall ensure that(1) the food is prepared and consumed on the premises, or prepared and consumed off the premises but within the same business entity with no distribution or sale of the packaged product to another business entity or the consumer;(2) the food is cooked to heat all parts of the food to a temperature and time as specified under 18 AAC 31.232;(3) the food is placed (A) in a package with an oxygen barrier and sealed before cooking; or(B) placed in a package with an oxygen barrier and sealed immediately after cooking and before reaching a temperature below 135° F;(4) the food is cooled to 41 ° F or below in the sealed package or bag as specified under 18 AAC 31.234(2) and either (A) once the food is cooled to 41° F, cooled to 34° F or below within 48 hours and held at that temperature until consumed or discarded within 30 days after the date of packaging;(B) held at 41° F or below for not more than seven days after the date of packaging, at which time the food must be consumed or discarded; or (C) held frozen with no shelf life restriction while frozen until consumed or used;(5) the food is held in a refrigeration unit that is equipped with an electronic system that continuously monitors time and temperature and is visually examined for proper operation twice daily;(6) if the food is transported off site to a satellite location of the same food establishment, the transport vehicle or container is equipped with verifiable electronic monitoring devices to ensure that times and temperatures are monitored during transportation;(7) the food is labeled with the product name and date packaged; and(8) records are (A) maintained to confirm that cooling and cold-holding refrigeration time and temperature requirements are met as required as part of the HACCP plan;(B) retained for at least six months; and(C) available upon request of the department. Eff. 6/25/2020, Register 234, July 2020The subject matter addressed in 18 AAC 31.265 was formerly addressed in 18 AAC 31.760. The history for 18 AAC 31.265 does not include the history of the earlier section.
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