Section He-C 4002.31 - Nutrition, Food Service and Food Safety(a) Programs shall provide developmentally appropriate individual eating utensils, cups, and bottles, as applicable, for each meal and snack, which children shall not share.(b) Eating and drinking utensils shall be free from defects, cracks, and chips.(c) Child care staff shall clean all dishes and cooking utensils in a dishwasher or manually wash them in clean hot water and detergent, rinse them in hot water, and allow manually washed dishes to air dry.(d) Child care staff shall serve all food items on a plate or napkin, except foods for infants and toddlers, which can be served on a chair tray or table that has been cleaned and sanitized before being used as an eating surface.(e) Child care staff shall sanitize all tables used for meals and snacks, both before and after serving meals or snacks.(f) Only food contact surfaces that are easily cleanable, smooth, free of cracks, breaks, open seams, or similar difficult to clean imperfections which are kept clean, shall be used for food preparation.(g) Children shall have access to drinking water and be encouraged to drink water throughout the day.(h) Child care programs that provide meals and snacks shall ensure they meet the daily meal patterns listed in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) "Child Meal Pattern" (11/26/2016) and USDA "Infant Meal Pattern" (11/29/2016) available as listed in Appendix B and copies of which are available in Appendix C.(i) Child care staff shall thoroughly wash all fruit and vegetables before cutting or serving those foods to children.(j) Except for the requirements in (k)(1) below, child care program personnel shall assure that no more than 3 hours elapse between meals and snacks offered to the children.(k) Child care program personnel shall: (1) Follow individual feeding schedules provided by the parent of each child who has not reached a developmental level which enables them to eat on schedule; and(2) Comply with dietary restrictions as requested in writing by the parents of each child, due to food allergies, religious, or philosophical beliefs.(l) Notwithstanding (k) above, the center director, site director, or family child care provider may require the parents of any child to obtain and provide to the program a written note from the child's licensed health care practitioner authorizing the dietary restrictions requested by a parent.(m) Child care staff shall not serve foods that can cause a choking hazard to children younger than 3 years of age or to children who have been identified as having chewing and swallowing difficulties, including, but not limited to: (1) Spoonsful of peanut butter;(2) Whole or rounds of hot dogs or sausage;(4) Hard candy and chewing gum;(5) Raw carrot rounds, peas, or celery;(6) Chips or hard pretzels;(10) Other hard or cylinder shaped foods that may pose a choking hazard.(n) Child care staff shall not serve low fat or non-fat milk, or other non-dairy milk products such as soymilk, oat milk, and almond milk, to children younger than 2 years of age unless authorized to do so in writing by the child's parent and the child's licensed health care practitioner.(o) Programs that provide formula or cereal shall provide iron fortified formula or cereal unless restricted in writing by a child's parent and the child's licensed health care practitioner.(p) Programs that provide meals and snacks for children shall: (1) Ensure that snacks and meals are prepared and served in a safe and sanitary manner, including washing fruits and vegetables before serving them;(2) Not serve food to children beyond the recommended dates of use, or beyond 3 days of storage in the refrigerator for perishable leftover food;(3) Store all food in the original containers or in a clean, covered container labeled with the date open and expiration date;(4) Store all unopened food at least 6 inches above the floor, separate from non-food items;(5) Store food items separate from non-food items that could contaminate food or be mistaken for food;(6) In addition to (c) above, properly wash and sanitize all infant bottles between each use;(7) Prepare and make available to parents on request written menus, including snacks, for each week; and(8) Keep previous menus on file for one year. (q) Child care program personnel shall store perishable food in accordance with the following: (1) Refrigeration and storage for food shall be at not less than 32°F, nor more than 40°F for all food requiring refrigeration;(2) There shall be a non-mercury, food service approved thermometers verifying temperatures maintained in all refrigerators; and(3) Refrigerators and freezers used to store foods intended for serving to children shall be maintained in clean condition.(r) Child care program personnel shall not serve to children any canned goods that are dented, bulging or rusted.(s) Programs shall have a method of providing nutritious meals and snacks to children whose parents fail to send meals or snacks from home.(t) During meals and snacks, child care personnel shall: (1) Encourage children to serve themselves, when appropriate;(2) Help children with disabilities to participate in meal and snack times with their peers; and(3) Encourage children to eat a well-balanced diet.(u) Children shall be encouraged to try all foods, but shall not be required to try or to eat any food before they are served other food components or additional servings, or before they are allowed to be done with their meal or snack.(v) In programs serving infants and toddlers, child care personnel shall: (1) Follow individual feeding schedules provided by the parent of each child who has not reached a developmental level, which enables them to eat on schedule;(2) Not introduce new or solid foods to any child without the consent of their parent(s), and as appropriate based upon their chewing and swallowing capability;(3) Hold infants younger than 6 months of age or who are unable to sit in feeding chairs while being fed;(4) Not hold more than one infant at a time to bottle-feed them;(5) Not prop bottles; and(6) Not feed infants or children while in a crib, or while on rest mats, beds, cots, or sleeping bags;(w) Child care personnel shall dispose of, or return to the parent, milk, formula, or food unfinished by a child, as directed by the parent.(x) Breast milk and prepared formula shall be stored in covered containers, labeled with the child's name and, dated.(y) Breast milk shall be: (1) Used immediately or stored in the refrigerator no longer than 72 hours;(2) Labeled as used and returned to the refrigerator after each feeding if there is any left-over in the bottle, if being returned to the parent; and(3) Not fed to the child if left unrefrigerated for more than one hour.(z) Prepared formula shall be: (1) Used immediately or stored in the refrigerator no longer than 24 hours;(2) Discarded if not fed to an infant and left unrefrigerated for more than one hour; and(3) Discarded after each feeding, if there is any leftover in the bottle.(aa) Frozen breast milk shall be labeled and dated and stored in a freezer at 0 degrees Fahrenheit for no longer than 6 months.(ab) Thawed breast milk shall be used within 24 hours.(ac) To thaw breast milk, child care program personnel shall: (1) Place in refrigerator overnight; or(2) Defrost in a container of running cool tap water.(ad) To warm formula or breast milk, child care program personnel shall:(1) Hold under warm running water; or(2) Place in a bowl of warm water, a slow-cooking device, or a bottle warmer; and(3) Gently swirl bottle to recombine contents.(ae) If a slow-cooking device, such as a crock pot, is used for warming infant formula, breast milk, or infant food: (1) It shall be out of children's reach;(2) The water temperature shall not exceed 120°F; and(3) It shall be emptied, cleaned, sanitized, and refilled with fresh water daily.(af) If a bottle warmer is used for warming infant formula, breast milk, or infant food, it shall be out of children's reach and used according to manufacturer's instructions.N.H. Admin. Code § He-C 4002.31
#4871, eff 7-24-90; ss by #5203, eff 8-16-91; ss by #6558, INTERIM, eff 8-16-97, EXPIRED: 12-14-97
New. #6719, eff 3-25-98; ss by #7294, eff 5-26-00; ss by #9160, INTERIM, eff 5-26-08, EXPIRES: 11-22-08; ss by #9310, eff 11-23-08
Amended by Volume XXXVI Number 49, Filed December 8, 2016, Proposed by #12046, Effective 11/19/2016, Expires 5/18/2017.Ss by #12174, EMERGENCY RULE, eff 5-17-17, EXPIRES: 11-13-17;Amended by Volume XXXVII Number 50, Filed December 14, 2017, Proposed by #12415, Effective 11/6/2017, Expires 11/6/2027.Amended by Volume XLII Number 19, Filed May 12, 2022, Proposed by #13373, Effective 4/22/2022, Expires 4/22/2032 (formerly He-C 4002.22)