10- 144 C.M.R. ch. 200, § 8-1

Current through 2024-49, December 4, 2024
Section 144-200-8-1 - CODE APPLICABILITY

8-101 Use for Intended Purpose

8-101.10 Public Health Protection.

(A) The Regulatory Authority shall apply this Code to promote its underlying purpose, as specified in §1-102.10, of safeguarding public health and ensuring that Food is safe, unadulterated, and honestly presented when offered to the Consumer.
(B) In enforcing the provisions of this Code, the Regulatory Authority shall assess existing facilities or Equipment that were in use before the effective date of this Code based on the following considerations:
(1) Whether the facilities or Equipment are in good repair and capable of being maintained in a sanitary condition;
(2) Whether Food-Contact Surfaces comply with Subpart 4-101;
(3) Whether the capacities of cooling, heating, and holding Equipment are sufficient to comply with §4-301.11; and
(4) The existence of a documented agreement with the Permit Holder that the facilities or Equipment will be replaced as specified under ¶ 8-304.11(G).

8-102 Additional Requirements

8-102.10 Preventing Health Hazards, Provision for Conditions Not Addressed.

(A) If necessary to protect against public health Hazards or nuisances, the Regulatory Authority may impose specific requirements in addition to the requirements contained in this Code that are authorized by Law.
(B) The Regulatory Authority shall document the conditions that necessitate the imposition of additional requirements and the underlying public health rationale. The documentation shall be provided to the Permit applicant or Permit Holder and a copy shall be maintained in the Regulatory Authority's file for the Food or Eating Establishment.

8-103 Variances

8-103.10 Modifications and Waivers.

The Regulatory Authority may grant a Variance by modifying or waiving the requirements of this Code if in the opinion of the Regulatory Authority a health Hazard or nuisance will not result from the Variance. If a Variance is granted, the Regulatory Authority shall retain the information specified under § 8-103.1 1 in its records for the Food or Eating Establishment.

8-103.11 Documentation of Proposed Variance and Justification.

Before a Variance from a requirement of this Code is Approved, the information that shall be provided by the Person requesting the Variance and retained in the Regulatory Authority's file on the Food or Eating Establishment includes:

(A) A statement of the proposed Variance of the Code requirement citing relevant Code section numbers;
(B) An analysis of the rationale for how the potential public health Hazards and nuisances addressed by the relevant Code sections will be alternatively addressed by the proposal; and
(C) A HACCP Plan if required as specified under ¶ 8-201.13(A) that includes the information specified under §8-201.14 as it is relevant to the Variance requested.

8-103.12 Conformance with Approved Procedures.*

If the Regulatory Authority grants a Variance as specified in § 8-103.1 0, or a HACCP Plan is otherwise required as specified under § 8-201.1 3, the Permit Holder shall:

(A)Comply with the HACCP Plans and procedures that are submitted as specified under §8-201.14 and Approved as a basis for the modification or waiver; and
(B)Maintain and provide to the Regulatory Authority, upon request, records specified under¶¶ 8-201.14(D) and (E) that demonstrate that the following are routinely employed;
(1) Procedures for monitoring Critical Control Points,
(2)Monitoring of the Critical Control Points,
(3) Verification of the effectiveness of an operation or process, and
(4) Necessary corrective actions if there is failure at a Critical Control Point.

10- 144 C.M.R. ch. 200, § 8-1