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| Buildings and Plant Facilities | 354.220 – 354.226 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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7 U.S.C. 1622, 1624; 7 CFR 2.17 (g) and (i), 2.55.
41 FR 23702, June 11, 1976, unless otherwise noted.
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Subscribe to: 9 CFR Part 354 - Buildings and Plant Facilities
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The buildings shall be of sound construction and kept in good repair, and shall be of such construction as to prevent the entrance or harboring of vermin.
(a) Outside openings.
(1) The doors, windows, skylights, and other outside openings of the plant, except receiving rooms and live rabbit holding rooms, shall be protected by properly fitted screens or other suitable devices against the entrance of flies and other insects.
(2) Outside doors, except in receiving rooms and live rabbit holding rooms, shall be self-closing and so hung that not over 1⁄4-inch clearance remains when closed. Screen doors shall open toward the outside of the building.
Rooms and compartments used for edible products shall be separate and distinct from inedible products departments and from rooms where rabbits are slaughtered and skinned. Separate rooms shall be provided when required for conducting processing operations in a sanitary manner, and all rooms shall be of sufficient size to permit the installation of the necessary equipment for processing operations and the conduct of such operations in a sanitary manner.
(a) Rooms for separate operation. The official plant should have separate rooms for each of the following operations depending upon the various types of operations conducted, but, in no case, shall the receiving or holding of live rabbits or killing operations be permitted in rooms in which eviscerating operations are performed:
(1) The receiving and feeding of live rabbits.
(2) Killing and skinning operations.
(3) Eviscerating, chilling, and packing operations for ready-to-cook rabbits.
(4) Inedible products departments.
(5) Refuse room.
(b) Rooms for holding carcasses for further inspection. Rooms and compartments in which carcasses or parts thereof are held for further inspection shall be in such number and such location as the needs of the inspection in the plant may require. They shall be equipped with locks and keys and the keys shall not leave the custody of the inspector in charge of the plant. All such rooms and compartments shall be marked conspicuously with the word “retained” in letters not less than 2 inches high.
(c) Coolers and freezers. Coolers and freezers of adequate size and capacity shall be provided to reduce the internal temperature of ready-to-cook rabbits prepared and otherwise handled in the plant to 36 °F. within 24 hours unless other cooling facilities are available.
(d) Refuse rooms. Refuse rooms shall be entirely separate from other rooms in the plant, and shall have tight fitting doors and be properly ventilated.
(e) Storage and supply rooms. The storage and supply rooms shall be in good repair, kept dry, and maintained in a sanitary condition.
(f) Boiler room. The boiler room shall be a separate room, if necessary, to prevent its being a source of dirt and objectionable odors entering any room where ready-to-cook rabbits are prepared, processed, handled, and stored.
(g) Inspector's office. Furnished office space, including, but not being limited to, light, heat, and janitor service shall be provided rent free in the official plant for the exclusive use for official purposes of the inspector and the Administration. The room or rooms set apart for this purpose must meet with the approval of the regional supervisor and be conveniently located, properly ventilated, and provided with lockers or cabinets suitable for the protection and storage of supplies and with facilities suitable for inspectors to change clothing.
(h) Toilet rooms. Toilet rooms opening directly into rooms where rabbit products are exposed shall have self-closing doors and shall be ventilated to the outside of the building.
(a) Floors. All floors in rooms where exposed products are prepared or handled shall be constructed of or finished with materials impervious to moisture, so they can be readily and thoroughly cleaned. The floors in killing, ice cooling, ice packing, eviscerating, cooking, boning, and cannery rooms shall be graded for complete runoff with no standing water.
(b) Walls, posts, partitions, doors. All walls, posts, partitions, and doors in rooms where exposed products are prepared or handled shall be smooth and constructed of materials impervious to moisture to a height of 6 feet above the floor to enable thorough cleaning. All surfaces above this height must be smooth and finished with moisture-resistant material.
(c) Ceilings. Ceilings must be moisture-resistant in rooms where exposed products are prepared or handled, and finished and sealed to prevent collection of dirt or dust that might sift through flooring above or fall from collecting surfaces on equipment or exposed product.
There shall be an efficient drainage and plumbing system for the plant and premises.
(a) Drains and gutters. All drains and gutters shall be properly installed with approved traps and vents. The drainage and plumbing system must permit the quick runoff of all water from plant buildings, and surface water around the plant and on the premises, and all such water shall be disposed of in such a manner as to prevent a nuisance or health hazard.
(b) Sewage and plant wastes.
(1) The sewerage system shall have adequate slope and capacity to remove readily all waste from the various processing operations and to minimize, and if possible to prevent, stoppage and surcharging of the system.
(2) Grease traps which are connected with the sewerage system shall be suitably located but not near any edible products department or in any area where products are unloaded from or loaded into vehicles. To facilitate cleaning, such traps shall have inclined bottoms and be provided with suitable covers.
(3) Toilet soil lines shall be separate from house drainage lines to a point outside the buildings unless they are positively trapped to prevent backing up. Drainage from toilet bowls and urinals shall not be discharged into a grease catch basin.
(4) All floor drains shall be equipped with traps, constructed so as to minimize clogging, and the plumbing shall be so installed as to prevent sewerage from backing up and from flooding the floor.
(5) Floor drainage lines should be of metal and at least 4 inches in diameter and open into main drains of at least 6 inches in diameter and shall be properly vented to outside air.
(6) Where refrigerators are equipped with drains, such drains should be properly trapped and should discharge through an air gap into the sewer system. All new installations, and all replacements, or refrigerators equipped with drains shall meet these requirements.
The water supply shall be ample, clean, and potable with adequate facilities for its distribution in the plant and its protection against contamination and pollution.
(a) Hot water at a temperature not less than 180 °F. shall be available for sanitation purposes.
(b) Hose connections with steam and water mixing valves or hot water hose connections shall be provided at convenient locations throughout the plant for cleaning purposes.
(c) The refuse rooms shall be provided with adequate facilities for washing refuse cans and other equipment in the rooms; the rooms, cans, and equipment shall be cleaned after each day's use.
Modern lavatory accommodations and properly located facilities for cleaning utensils and hands shall be provided.
(a) Adequate lavatory and toilet accommodations, including, but not being limited to, running hot water and cold water, soap, and towels, shall be provided. Such accommodations shall be in or near toilet and locker rooms and also at such other places in the plant as may be essential to the cleanliness of all personnel handling products.
(b) Sufficient metal containers shall be provided for used towels and other wastes.
(c) An adequate number of hand washing facilities serving areas where dressed rabbits and edible products are prepared shall be operated by other than hand-operated controls, or shall be of a continuous flow type which provides an adequate flow of water for washing hands.
(d) Durable signs shall be posted conspicuously in each toilet room and locker room directing employees to wash their hands before returning to work.
(e) Toilet facilities shall be provided according to the following formula:
| Persons of same sex | Toilet bowls required |
|---|---|
| 1 to 15, inclusive | 1 |
| 16 to 35, inclusive | 2 |
| 36 to 55, inclusive | 1 3 |
| 56 to 80, inclusive | 1 4 |
| For each additional 30 persons in excess of 80 | 1 1 |
| 1 Urinals may be substituted for toilet bowls but only to the extent of 1⁄3 of the total number of bowls stated. | |
There shall be ample light, either natural or artificial or both, of good quality and well distributed, and sufficient ventilation for all rooms and compartments to insure sanitary conditions.
(a) All rooms in which rabbits are killed, eviscerated, or otherwise processed shall have at least 30 foot candles of light intensity on all working surfaces except that at the inspection stations such light intensity shall be of 50 foot candles. In all other rooms, there shall be provided at least 5 foot candles of light intensity when measured at distance of 30 inches from the floor.
(b) All rooms shall be adequately ventilated to eliminate objectionable odors and minimize moisture condensation.