Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 49, December 7, 2024
Section 59a.302 - Buildings(a)General. Manufacturing plant buildings must be of sound construction and kept in good repair to prevent the entrance or harboring of rodents, birds, insects, vermin, dogs and cats. Service pipe openings through outside walls shall be effectively sealed around the opening or provided with tight metal collars.(b)Outside doors, windows and openings. Openings to the outer air, including doors, windows, skylights and transoms, shall be effectively protected or screened against the entrance of flies and other insects, rodents, birds, dust and dirt. Outside doors opening into processing rooms must be in good condition and fit properly. Hinged, outside screen doors must open outward. Doors and windows shall be kept clean and in good repair. Outside conveyor openings and other special-type outside openings shall be effectively protected to prevent the entrance of flies and rodents, by the use of doors, screens, flaps, fans or tunnels. Outside openings for sanitary pipelines shall be covered when not in use. On new construction, window sills should be slanted downward at a 45° angle.(c)Walls, ceilings, partitions and posts. The walls, ceilings, partitions, posts of rooms in which milk or dairy products are processed, manufactured, handled, packaged or stored (except dry storage of packaged finished products and supplies) or in which utensils are washed and stored, must be smoothly finished with a suitable material of light color, which is substantially impervious to moisture and kept clean. They shall be refined as often as necessary to maintain a neat, clean surface.(d)Floors.(1) The floors of all rooms in which milk or dairy products are processed, manufactured, packaged or stored or in which utensils are washed must be constructed of tile properly laid with impervious joint material, concrete or other equally impervious material. The floors must be smooth, kept in good repair, graded so that there will be no pools of standing water or milk products after flushing, and the openings to the drains must be equipped with traps properly constructed and kept in good repair. On new construction, bell-type traps may not be used. The plumbing shall be installed to prevent the backup of sewage into the drain lines and to the floor of the plant.(2) Sound, smooth wood floors which can be kept clean, may be used in rooms where new containers and supplies and certain packaged finished products are stored.(e)Lighting and ventilation. Lighting and ventilation must comply with the following: (1) Light must be ample, natural or artificial, or both, of good quality and well distributed. Rooms in which dairy products are manufactured or packaged or where utensils are washed must have at least 30 foot-candles of light intensity on all working surfaces and at least 50 foot-candles of light intensity in areas where dairy products are graded or examined for condition and quality. In other rooms, there must be at least 5 foot-candles of light intensity when measured at a distance of 30 inches from the floor. Where contamination of a product by broken glass is possible, light bulbs, fluorescent tubes, fixtures, skylight or other glass suspended over the product must be protected against breakage.(2) There must be adequate heating, ventilation or air conditioning for all rooms and compartments to permit maintenance of sanitary conditions. Exhaust or inlet fans, vents, hoods or temperature and humidity control facilities shall be provided where and when needed to minimize or eliminate undesirable room temperatures, objectionable odors, moisture condensation or mold. Inlet fans shall be provided with an adequate air filtering device to eliminate dirt and dust from the incoming air. Ventilation systems shall be cleaned periodically as needed and maintained in good repair. Exhaust outlets must be screened or provided with self-closing louvers to prevent the entrance of insects when not in use.(f)Certain rooms and compartments. Rooms and compartments in which raw material, packaging, ingredient supplies or dairy products are handled, manufactured, packaged or stored shall be designed, constructed and maintained to assure desirable room temperatures and clean and orderly operating conditions free from objectionable odors and vapors. Enclosed bulk milk receiving rooms must be separated from the processing rooms by a partition. Rooms for receiving can milk must be separated from the processing rooms by a partition-partial or complete-by suitable arrangement of equipment or by allowing enough distance between receiving and processing operations to avoid possible contamination of milk or dairy products during manufacturing and handling. Processing rooms shall be kept free from equipment and materials not regularly used. Rooms and compartments must comply with the following:(1)Coolers and freezers. Coolers and freezers where dairy products are stored must be clean, reasonably dry and maintained at the proper uniform temperature and humidity to adequately protect the product and minimize the growth of mold. Adequate circulation of air must be maintained at all times. Coolers and freezers must be free from rodents, insects and pests. Shelves shall be kept clean and dry. Refrigeration units must have provisions for collecting and disposing of condensate.(2)Supply room. The supply rooms used for the storing of packaging materials, containers and miscellaneous ingredients shall be kept clean, dry, orderly, free from insects, rodents and mold and maintained in good repair. Items stored in supply rooms shall be adequately protected from dust, dirt or other extraneous matter and arranged on racks, shelves or pallets to permit access to the supplies and cleaning and inspection of the room. Insecticides, rodenticides, cleaning compounds and other nonfood products must be properly labeled and segregated, and stored in a separate room or cabinet away from milk, dairy products, ingredients or packaging supplies.(3)Boiler rooms, shop room and service areas. The boiler rooms, shop room and service areas must be separated from other rooms where milk and dairy products are processed, manufactured, packaged, handled or stored. The rooms shall be kept orderly and reasonably free from dust and dirt.(4)Toilet and dressing rooms. Adequate toilet and dressing rooms facilities must be conveniently located.(i) Toilet rooms may not open directly into a room where milk or dairy products are processed, manufactured, packaged or stored. Doors must be self-closing. Ventilation must be provided by mechanical means or screened openings to the outer air. Fixtures shall be kept clean and in good repair.(ii) Employees shall be furnished with a locker, or other suitable facility, and the lockers and dressing rooms shall be kept clean and orderly. Adequate handwashing facilities shall be provided and durable, legible signs shall be posted conspicuously in each toilet or dressing room directing employees to wash their hands before returning to work.(5)Laboratory. The permitholder may establish its own laboratory to perform required tests on milk received as milk for manufacturing purposes. The laboratory shall be adequately equipped and maintained and be properly staffed with qualified, trained personnel and operate in accordance with the current Evaluation of Milk Laboratories, Recommendations of the United States Public Health Service/Food and Drug Administration and current FDA 2400 Laboratory Series forms. If the permitholder does not establish its own laboratory, an existing approved laboratory is acceptable if services are conveniently available so that samples and results can be transmitted without delay.(6)Starter facilities. Adequate sanitary facilities shall be provided for the handling of starter cultures.(7)Lunch rooms and eating areas. When eating areas are provided, they shall be kept clean and orderly and not open directly into a room in which milk or dairy products are processed, manufactured or packaged. Signs shall be posted directing employees to wash their hands before returning to work. This section cited in 7 Pa. Code § 59a.321 (relating to requirements for rooms and compartments); and 7 Pa. Code § 59a.323 (relating to packaging room for bulk products).