18 AAC 32.990. Definitions

Unless the context indicates otherwise, in this chapter

(1) "approved" means approved in writing by the department;

(2) "adequate" means necessary to accomplish the intended purpose in keeping with good public health practices;

(3) "bed system" means a cradle used to support the reindeer carcass during the skinning process;

(4) "brisket" means the anterior lower portion of the chest of the reindeer;

(5) "bung" means the rectum or terminal portion of the intestine of the reindeer;

(6) "carcass" means all parts, including viscera, of slaughtered reindeer;

(7) "clean" or "cleaned" means, with regard to equipment or utensils, made free of soil, or to make free of soil, by

(A) washing in warm, soapy water and rinsing; or

(B) using another approved method if using water is inappropriate for the equipment or utensil being cleaned;

(8) "commissioner" means the commissioner of environmental conservation;

(9) "critical control point" means a point, step, or procedure in a slaughtering or processing facility at which control can be applied, and a food safety hazard can, as a result, be prevented, eliminated, or reduced to acceptable levels;

(10) "critical violation" means

(A) food unfit for human consumption;

(B) potentially hazardous food that is not kept at required temperatures during storage, preparation, processing, display, service, and transportation;

(D) a person working as a food handler who has a disease communicable by food;

(E) employee conduct in violation of 18 AAC 32.650(a) - (b), the results of which might be a disease communicable by food;

(F) food-contact surfaces of equipment or utensils that are not washed, rinsed, and sanitized effectively and that might contaminate food;

(G) a water supply that

(i) is not in compliance with 18 AAC 32.625; or

(ii) has a cross-connection with a nonpotable supply or a back siphonage potential;

(H) sewage or liquid waste not disposed of in an approved manner;

(I) toilets and handsinks not installed or inaccessible;

(J) insects, rodents, or other pests that are on the premises;

(K) poisonous or toxic material that is improperly labeled, stored, or used;

(L) a violation of a critical control point in a HACCP plan described under 18 AAC 32.660;

(M) a foodborne illness associated with operation of the facility; or

(N) a condition or practice that affects the wholesomeness or safety of food;

(11) "department" means the Department of Environmental Conservation;

(12) "easily cleanable" means readily accessible and designed so that residue may be effectively removed by normal cleaning methods;

(13) "equipment" means machinery, apparatus, and appurtenances used in connection with the operation of a facility; "equipment" includes fixtures, containers, vessels, tools, devices, implements, storage areas, and sinks;

(14) "evisceration" means the process of removing viscera from a carcass;

(15) "extensively remodeled" means modified or improved at an expense equal to or exceeding 25 percent of the taxable value of the facility before initiation of the modification or improvement;

(16) "facility" means the premises used to conduct activities described in this chapter;

(17) "FDA" means the United States Food and Drug Administration;

(18) "food" or "food product" means a product made wholly or in part from reindeer that is intended for human consumption;

(19) "food additive" or "food ingredient" means a substance, the intended use of which results or might result, directly or indirectly, in its becoming a part of or otherwise affecting the characteristics of a food product;

(20) "food-contact surface" means the surface of equipment and utensils with which food or food ingredients normally comes in contact, or from which drippage, drainage, or splashback onto a surface that contacts food might occur;

(21) "footcandles" means the illumination

(A) on a surface one square foot in area on which a flux of one lumen is uniformly distributed; or

(B) produced on a surface all points of which are at a distance of one foot from a directionally uniform point source of one candela;

(22) "formula" means each ingredient used, the amount of each ingredient used, and the process used to make the milk or milk products;

(23) "gloves" means items that are

(A) made of natural rubber, vinyl, or synthetic material, including neoprene, polyvinyl chloride, and styrene butadiene; and

(B) worn on the hands to prevent contamination between food and an operator or employee;

(24) "HACCP plan" means a written document that delineates the formal procedures for following the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point Principles and Application Guidelines, by the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods; the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point Principles and Application Guidelines are adopted by reference in 18 AAC 32.601;

(25) "handsink" means a lavatory

(A) equipped with hot and cold running water under pressure that can be tempered to a temperature between 100УИ F - 120УИ F by a mixing valve or combination faucet; and

(B) used solely for washing hands, arms, or other portions of the body;

(26) "hazard," with respect to food, food products, and food ingredients, has the meaning given in 18 AAC 31.990;

(27) "hermetically sealed" has the meaning given in 18 AAC 31.990;

(28) "imminent health hazard" means a condition with the potential to affect public health adversely; "imminent health hazard" includes

(A) the extended loss of a potable water supply;

(B) an extended power outage;

(D) a natural disaster;

(E) an employee sick with a disease communicable by food; and

(F) a major insect or rodent infestation;

(29) "inspected and passed" means determined by the department to be unadulterated, at the time a product was inspected under this chapter;

(30) "low acid food" has the meaning given in 18 AAC 31.990;

(31) "meat" means the flesh and organs of a reindeer;

(32) "midline" means the the median line of the carcass;

(33) "milk" means the normal lacteal secretion, practically free of colostrum, obtained by milking a cow, goat, or sheep;

(34) "milk distributor" means a person who sells or offers to sell milk or milk products for wholesale;

(35) "milk hauler" means a person who transports raw milk or raw milk products to or from a milk processing plant, receiving station, or transfer station;

(36) "milk processing plant" means a place, premise, or facility where milk or milk products are collected, handled, processed, stored, pasteurized, processed, bottled, or prepared for wholesale distribution;

(37) "milk producer" means a person who owns or operates a dairy farm and provides, sells, or offers milk for sale to a milk processing plant, receiving station, or transfer station;

(38) "milk product" means a product made from fluid milk that is intended for human consumption, including cheese, yogurt, sour cream, and ice cream;

(39) "on-the-rail system" means an overhead rail from which carcasses are hung during the skinning process;

(40) "operation" means the premises, practices, and procedures associated with a specific type of activity within a facility subject to this chapter;

(41) "operator" means a person who controls, operates, manages, or conducts an activity described in this chapter;

(42) "packaging" means canning, cartoning, or tightly wrapping;

(43) "pesticide" has the meaning given in 18 AAC 90.990;

(44) "PMO" means the Grade "A" Pasteurized Milk Ordinance, adopted by reference in 18 AAC 32.020;

(45) "potentially hazardous food" has the meaning given in 18 AAC 31.990;

(46) "ppm" means parts per million;

(47) "premises" means a place or location used in conjunction with the activities of a facility described in this chapter; "premises" includes all or portions of structures, land, vehicles, equipment, a water supply, a wastewater system, and plumbing;

(48) "processing" means an activity that changes the physical condition of a reindeer product; "processing" includes butchering, cutting, slicing, grinding, cooking, dehydrating, freezing, packaging, smoking, or thermal processing;

(49) "public water system" has the meaning given in 18 AAC 80.1990;

(50) "raw milk" or "raw milk product" means milk or a milk product that has not been pasteurized or processed;

(51) "ready-to-eat," with respect to food, food products, and food ingredients, has the meaning given in 18 AAC 31.990;

(52) "reduced oxygen packaging" has the meaning given in 18 AAC 31.990;

(53) "receiving station" means a place, premise, or facility where raw milk is received, collected, handled, stored, or cooled, and then prepared for further transporting;

(54) "rodding" means positioning the looped end of a metal rod around the esophagus and pushing it through the thoracic cavity up to the diaphragm, to separate the esophagus from the trachea and lungs and permit its removal, through the diaphragm and thoracic cavity, without breaking during evisceration;

(55) "rumping" means the stage in dressing a reindeer carcass on half-hoist

(A) where the hide is removed from the hind legs, rump, and tail, and the bung is cut out and tied; and

(B) that takes place between the skinning and the gutting operation;

(56) "safe," with respect to food, food products, and food ingredients, has the meaning given in 18 AAC 31.990;

(57) "sanitize" means to reduce the number of microorganisms on cleaned surfaces, equipment, and utensils to a safe level by application of an appropriate sanitizing agent that is registered as required under 18 AAC 90;

(58) "slaughtering or processing facility" means a facility where reindeer intended to be sold as part of commerce and intended for human consumption is slaughtered or processed; "slaughtering or processing facility" does not include a

(A) food service described in 18 AAC 31.205 that accepts and processes a donation of reindeer in compliance with 18 AAC 31.205(1) - (6);

(B) site described in 18 AAC 31.820(a) (1) where reindeer are slaughtered and dressed for purposes of sales in compliance with 18 AAC 31.820(a) (1) - (a)(4); or

(C) retail meat market that is permitted under 18 AAC 31 and that processes reindeer in accordance with 18 AAC 31.820(b) ;

(59) "splitting" means to separate, cut, or divide into two or more parts;

(60) "stunned" means rendered unconscious;

(61) "thermally process" means to perform thermal processing as defined in 18 AAC 31.990 of food, food products, or food ingredients;

(62) "transfer station" means a place, premises, or facility where milk or milk products are transferred directly from one milk tank truck to another;

(63) "utensil" means an implement used to prepare, transport, or store food, food products, or food ingredients;

(64) "water activity" has the meaning given in 18 AAC 31.990;

(65) "wholesome" has the meaning given in 18 AAC 31.990.

History: Eff. 5/23/98, Register 146; am 1/14/2001, Register 157; am 9/6/2003, Register 167

Authority: AS 03.05.011

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