(a) Cooked beef and roast beef, including sectioned and formed roasts and chunked and formed roasts, and cooked corned beef shall be prepared by one of the time and temperature combinations in the following table. The stated temperature is the minimum that shall be produced and maintained in all parts of each piece of meat for at least the stated time:(1) Table for Time/Temperature Combination for Cooked Beef, Roast Beef, and Cooked Corned Beef. | Minimum internal temperature | Minimum processing time in minutes after minimum temperature is reached |
| Degrees Fahrenheit (°F) | Degrees Centigrade (°C) | | |
| 130 | 54.4 | 121 | |
| 131 | 55.0 | 97 | |
| 132 | 55.6 | 77 | |
| 133 | 56.1 | 62 | |
| 134 | 56.7 | 47 | |
| 135 | 57.2 | 37 | |
| 136 | 57.8 | 32 | |
| 137 | 58.4 | 24 | |
| 138 | 58.9 | 19 | |
| 139 | 59.5 | 15 | |
| 140 | 60.0 | 12 | |
| 141 | 60.6 | 10 | |
| 142 | 61.1 | 8 | |
| 143 | 61.7 | 6 | |
| 144 | 62.2 | 5 | |
| 145 | 62.8 | Instantly | |
(b) Cooked beef, including sectioned and formed roasts and chunked and formed roasts, and cooked corned beef shall be moist cooked throughout the process or, in the case of roast beef or corned beef to be roasted, cooked as provided in paragraph (c) of this section. The moist cooking may be accomplished by (1) placing the meat in a sealed, moisture impermeable bag, removing the excess air, and cooking; (2) completely immersing the meat, unbagged, in water throughout the entire cooking process; or (3) using a sealed oven or steam injection to raise the relative humidity above 90 percent throughout the cooking process.(c) Roast beef or corned beef to be roasted shall be cooked by one of the following methods: (1) Heating roasts of 10 pounds or more in an oven maintained at 250 °F (121 °C) or higher throughout the process;(2) Heating roasts of any size to a minimum internal temperature of 145 °F (62.8 °C) in an oven maintained at any temperature if the relative humidity of the oven is maintained either by continuously introducing steam for 50 percent of the cooking time or by use of a sealed oven for over 50 percent of the cooking time, or if the relative humidity of the oven is maintained at 90 percent or above for at least 25 percent of the total cooking time, but in no case less than 1 hour; or(3) Heating roasts of any size in an oven maintained at any temperature that will satisfy the internal temperature and time requirements of subsection (a) of this section if the relative humidity of the oven is maintained at 90 percent or above for at least 25 percent of the total cooking time, but in no case less than 1 hour. The relative humidity may be achieved by use of steam injection or by sealed ovens capable of producing and maintaining the required relative humidity.(d) Except as provided in subsection (d)(1) of this section, establishments producing cooked beef, roast beef, or cooked corned beef shall have sufficient monitoring equipment, including recording devices, to assure that the time (within 1 minute), the temperature (within 1 °F), and relative humidity (within 5 percent) limits of these processes are being met. Data from the recording devices shall be made available to a program employee upon request. (1) In lieu of recording devices, establishments may propose, in the written procedures prescribed in subsection (f) of this section, an alternative means of providing inspection personnel with evidence that finished product has been prepared in compliance with the humidity requirements of subsections (b) and (c) of this section, and the 145 °F (62.8 °C) temperature requirement of subsection (a) of this section.(e) Each package of finished product shall be plainly and permanently marked on the immediate container with the date of production either in code or with the calendar date.(f) In order to assure that cooked beef, roast beef, and cooked corned beef are handled, processed, and stored under sanitary conditions, the establishment shall submit a set of written procedures for approval by the Department. The written procedures shall include the following information: (1) The temperature to which raw frozen product is thawed and the time required.(2) The lot identification procedure for lots of product during processing.(3) The storage time and temperature combinations that the establishment intends to use before cooking, the cooking time and temperature the establishment intends to use, and the time, if any, the establishment intends to wait after cooking and before cooling.(4) If a code, instead of the calendar date, is used on the immediate container of the finished product, its meaning shall also be included.(5) Any other steps in the procedures that could affect the safety of the product and where control can be applied to prevent, eliminate, or reduce potential food safety hazards.(6) In lieu of recording devices, the alternate means permitted by section 910.11(d)(1) of providing evidence to inspection personnel that the finished product will be prepared in compliance with temperature or humidity requirements.(7) Any other alternate procedure used that is permitted in this section.(g) The establishment shall maintain records and reports that document the time, temperature, and humidity at which any cooked beef, roast beef, or cooked corned beef is cooked and cooled at the establishment. Such records shall be kept by the establishment for 6 months or for such further period as the Department may require for purposes of any investigation or litigation under the Act, by written notice to the person required to keep such records. Such records shall be made available to the inspector or any duly authorized representative of the Department upon request.(h) The handling and processing of cooked beef, roast beef, and cooked corned beef before, during, and after cooking shall be such as to prevent the finished product from being adulterated. As a minimum, they shall be controlled as follows: (1) The establishment shall notify the inspector which processing procedure will be used on each lot, including time and temperature.(2) In order to assure uniform heat penetration and consequent adequate cooking of each piece of beef, individual pieces of raw product in any one lot shall either not vary in weight by more than 2 pounds or not vary in thickness by more than 2 inches at the thickest part. Alternate methods of assuring uniform heat penetration may be submitted in writing for approval to the Department.(3) A water-based solution that is used for injecting or immersing the meat shall be refrigerated to 50 °F (10 °C) or lower from the time it contacts the meat, and shall be filtered each time it is recirculated or reused.(4) Any non-meat ingredient, including the water-based solution in subsection (h)(3) above, that has contacted meat shall be discarded at the end of that day's production unless it is in continuous contact with one batch of product.(5) Product prepared for cooking shall be entered into the cooking cycle within 2 hours of completion of precooking preparation, or be placed immediately in a cooler at a temperature of 40 °F (4.4 °C) or lower.(6) The time and temperature requirements shall be met before any product in the lot is removed from the cooking units. Unless otherwise specified in the written procedures approved in accordance with subsection (f) of this section, the heat source shall not be shut off until these requirements are met.(7) Other than incidental contact caused by water currents during immersion cooking or cooling, product shall be placed so that it does not touch or overlap other products. This provision does not apply to product that is stirred or agitated to assure uniform heat transfer.(8) Temperature sensing devices shall be so placed that they monitor product in the coldest part of the cooking unit; and when an oven temperature is required by paragraph (c) of this section, the oven temperature shall also be monitored in the coldest part of the cooking unit.(9) If a humidity sensing device is required in an oven, it shall be placed so that it measures humidity in either the oven chamber or at the exit vent.(10) Chilling shall begin within 90 minutes after the cooking cycle is completed. (A) All product shall be chilled from 120 °F (48.8 °C) to 55 °F (12.7 °C) in no more than 6 hours.(B) Chilling shall continue and the product shall not be packed for shipment until it has reached 40 °F (4.4 °C).(11) Any establishment that has experienced a cooking process deviation during preparation of product may either reprocess the product completely, continue the heating to 145 °F (62.8 °C), or contact the Department for a review of the process schedule for adequacy and, if needed, for a cooking schedule to finish that one batch of product.(12) An establishment that has experienced a cooling deviation after the product has been cooked shall contact the Department to determine the disposition of that retained product.(13) Cooked beef, roast beef, and cooked corned beef shall be so handled as to assure that the product is not recontaminated by direct contact with raw product. To prevent direct contamination of the cooked product, establishments shall: (A) Physically separate areas where raw product is handled from areas where exposed cooked product is handled, using a solid impervious floor to ceiling wall; or(B) Handle raw and exposed cooked product at different times, with a cleaning of the entire area after the raw material handling is completed and prior to the handling of cooked product in that area; or(C) Submit a written procedure for approval to the Department detailing the steps to be taken which would avoid recontamination of cooked product by raw product during processing.(14) To prevent indirect contamination of cooked product: (A) Any work surface, machine, or tool that contacts raw product shall be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized with a solution germicidally equivalent to 50 ppm chlorine before it contacts cooked product;(B) Employees shall wash their hands and sanitize them with a solution germicidally equivalent to 50 ppm chlorine whenever they enter the heat processed product area or before preparing to handle cooked product, and as frequently as necessary during operations to avoid product contamination; and(C) Outer garments, including aprons, smocks, and gloves, shall be specially identified as restricted for use in cooked product areas only, changed at least daily, and hung in a designated location when the employee leaves the area.(15) Cooked product shall not be stored in the same room as raw product unless it is first packaged in a sealed, watertight container or is otherwise protected by a covering that has been approved, upon written request, by the Department.Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 3, § 910.11
1. New section filed 5-31-2007; operative 6-30-2007 (Register 2007, No. 22). Note: Authority cited: Sections 407, 18693, 18735, 18960, 18961 and 19014, Food and Agricultural Code. Reference: Sections, 18652, 18656, 18661, 18664, 18665, 18669, 18676, 18724, 18725, 18726, 18727, 18730, 18731, 18736, 18737, 18751, 18752, 18753, 18754, 18755, 18756, 18757, 18758, 18759, 18845, 18941, 18942, 18942.2, 18947, 18948, 18970, 18971, 18972, 18973, 19011, 19012, 19013, 19014, 19015 and 19017, Food and Agricultural Code.
1. New section filed 5-31-2007; operative 6-30-2007 (Register 2007, No. 22).