01-001-342 Me. Code R. § I

Current through 2024-44, October 30, 2024

Section 001-342-I - Definitions

For purposes of this chapter and unless the context otherwise indicates, the following words shall have the following meanings:

A. "Adequate" means that which is needed to accomplish the intended purpose in keeping with good public health practice.

B. "Apple Cider and Apple Juice" means a beverage consisting of natural juice extracted from apples. Apple cider and apple juice may contain chemical preservatives.

C. "Clean" means free from foreign material.

D. "Critical Control Point" means a procedure or practice in food handling or preparation that will reduce, eliminate or prevent hazards. It is a step that eliminates microorganisms or a control step that prevents or slows their growth.

E. "Critical Limit(s)" means the upper and lower boundaries of food safety. If these boundaries are not adhered to, a food safety hazard can exist or develop in the future. These boundaries include time, temperature, water activity and acidity.

F. "Department" means the Maine Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources.

G. "Dropped Apples" means apples that have dropped from trees and been in contact with the ground.

H. "Easily Cleanable" means constructed in a manner that is capable of being readily assembled and disassembled for cleaning and of such material and finish that residue can be effectively removed by normal cleaning methods.

I. "Food Contact Surfaces" means those surfaces of equipment and utensils with which apples, apple cider and apple juice come in contact, and those surfaces from which food may drain, drip, or splash back onto surfaces in contact with food.

J. "Good Manufacturing Practices" means processing in a planned, logical sequence to ensure that the facilities, methods, practices and controls to process apple cider and juice are safe, and the finished product has been processed under sanitary conditions.

K. "HACCP" means Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point, it is a food safety control system based on technical and scientific principles that assure safe food. The system is designed to identify and control potential problems before they occur. It provides the framework for monitoring the total food system from harvesting to consumption.

L. "HACCP Plan" means a written document that delineates the formal procedures for following the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point principles and is approved by the Department for apple cider and juice production.

M. "Hazard" means a biological, chemical, or physical condition that may cause a health hazard.

N. "Monitoring" means written records documenting observations of conditions and practices during processing designed to ensure product safety.

O. "Pasteurization" means the process of heating every particle of apple cider or juice to a temperature and length of time that destroys pathogenic microorganisms in equipment that is maintained and operated in accordance with manufacturer's specifications and otherwise in a manner suitable for its purpose.

P. "Plant" means any building or part thereof used for the manufacturing, processing, bottling, labeling or, storage of cider and apple juices prior to being placed in commerce.

Q. "Principal Display Panel" means that part, or those parts of a product label designed to be displayed and examined under normal conditions of display at retail markets.

R. "Sanitary" means promoting health and healthful conditions by the elimination of dirt and agents of infection or disease.

S. "Sanitized" means the application of heat or chemicals after the cleaning of a food contact surface that are sufficient to destroy pathogenic microorganisms that might result in disease.

T. "Sound" means free of decay.

U. "Ultraviolet Light" means non-thermal treatment of apple cider by pumping the cider past ultraviolet light(s) in equipment that is designed to destroy pathogenic microorganisms and is operated and maintained in accordance with manufacturer's specifications and otherwise in a manner suitable for its purpose.

V. "Warewashing" means the cleaning and sanitizing of food contact surfaces of equipment and utensils.

01-001 C.M.R. ch. 342, § I