D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 25, r. 25-A9901
The following terms and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed:
Accredited program - consists of the following:
(a) A food protection manager certification program accredited by the Conference for Food Protection Standards for Accreditation of Food Protection Manager Certification Programs;
(b) Refers to the certification process and is a designation based upon an independent evaluation of factors such as the sponsor's mission; organizational structure; staff resources; revenue sources; policies; public information regarding program scope, eligibility requirements, recertification, discipline and grievance procedures; and test development and administration; and
(c) Does not refer to training functions or educational programs.
(a) Without obvious symptoms; not showing or producing indications of a disease or other medical condition, such as an individual infected with a pathogen but not exhibiting or producing any signs or symptoms of vomiting, diarrhea, or jaundice; or
(b) Not showing symptoms because symptoms have resolved or subsided, or because symptoms never manifested.
(a) Combining shellstock harvested on different days or from different growing areas as identified on the tag or label; or
(b) Combining shucked shellfish from containers with different container codes or different shucking dates.
(a) A provision in this Code that is not designated as a priority item or a priority foundation item; and
(b) An item that usually relates to general sanitation, operational controls, sanitation standard operating procedures (SSOPs), facilities or structures, equipment design, or general maintenance.
(a) The shell egg of avian species such as chicken, duck, goose, guinea, quail, ratites, or turkey.
(b) Egg does not include:
(1) A balut;
(2) The egg of a reptile species such as alligator; or
(3) An egg product.
(a) All, or a portion of, the contents found inside eggs separated from the shell and pasteurized in a food processing plant, with or without added ingredients, intended for human consumption, such as dried, frozen, or liquid eggs; and
(b) Does not include food which contains eggs only in a relatively small proportion such as cake mixes.
(a) Includes but is not limited to an operation that stores, prepares, packages, serves, vends food directly to the consumer, or otherwise provides food for human consumption such as:
(1) A restaurant, grocery store, convenience store, bakery, delicatessen, hotel or bed and breakfast operation where food is provided;
(2) A satellite or catered feeding location;
(3) A catering operation where the operation provides food directly to a consumer or to a conveyance used to transport people such as trains or airplanes;
(4) A market; vending location; conveyance used to transport people such as trains or airplanes; institution; or food bank;
(5) An operation that relinquishes possession of food to a consumer directly, or indirectly through a delivery service such as home delivery of grocery orders or restaurant takeout orders, or delivery service that is provided by common carriers;
(6) An element of the operation such as a transportation vehicle or a central preparation facility that supplies a vending location or satellite feeding location licensed by the Mayor;
(7) An operation that is conducted in a mobile, stationary, temporary, or permanent facility or location; where consumption is on or off the premises; and regardless of whether there is a charge for the food; and
(8) All restaurants, coffee shops, cafeterias, short-order cafés, luncheonettes, soda fountains, and all other eating and drinking establishments operated within the District of Columbia on premises owned or held under lease by the government of the United States or any federal department or agency, irrespective of whether such establishments are operated by the United States or any federal department or agency or by any other person, firm, association, or corporation, and also irrespective of whether such establishments are operated for profit or otherwise. See Chapter 613 of An Act To Extend the health regulations of the District of Columbia to Government restaurants within the District of Columbia, approved December 20, 1944 (58 Stat. 826; D.C. Official Code § 7-2701(a) (2008 Repl.)).
(b) But does not include:
(1) An establishment that offers only prepackaged foods that are not potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) foods;
(2) A produce stand that only offers whole, uncut, fresh fruits and vegetables;
(3) A food processing plant, including those that are located on the premises of a food establishment;
(4) A kitchen in a private home where only food that is not potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) food, is prepared for sale or service at a function such as a religious or charitable organization's bake sale where the consumer is informed by a clearly visible placard at the sales or service location that the food is prepared in a kitchen that is not subject to regulation and inspection by the Department;
(5) An area where food that is prepared as specified in Paragraph (4) of this definition is sold or offered for human consumption;
(6) A kitchen in a private home, including a child development home; a community residential home; or a bed-and-breakfast operation that prepares and offers food to guests if the home is owner occupied, the number of available guest bedrooms do not exceed three (3), breakfast is the only meal offered, the number of guests served does not exceed nine (9), and the consumer is informed by statements contained in published advertisements, mailed brochures, and placards posted at the registration area that the food is prepared in a kitchen that is not regulated and inspected by the Department;
(7) A private home that receives catered or home-delivered food;
(8) A private club, or a church, which serves occasional meals at not more than twenty-four (24) events during a twelve (12) month period; and
(9) United States Senate and House of Representative's restaurants, as set forth in Chapter 613 of An Act To Extend the health regulations of the District of Columbia to Government restaurants within the District of Columbia, approved December 20, 1944 (58 Stat. 826; D.C. Official Code § 7-2701(b) (2008 Repl.).
(a) An animal, the products of which are food, that is not classified as livestock, sheep, swine, goat, horse, mule, or other equine in 9 C.F.R. § 301.2(Definitions) or as poultry as fish.
(b) Includes mammals such as reindeer, elk, deer, antelope, water buffalo, bison, rabbit, squirrel, opossum, raccoon, nutria, or muskrat, and nonaquatic reptiles such as land snakes.
(c) But does not include ratites.
(a) Immune-compromised, preschool age children, or older adults; and
(b) Obtaining food at a facility that provides services including custodial care, health care, assisted living, or nutritional or socialization services, such as a child or adult day care center, kidney dialysis center, hospital, nursing home, or senior center.
(a) The aqueous liquid expressed or extracted from one (1) or more fruits or vegetables, purées of the edible portions of one (1) or more fruits or vegetables, or any concentrates of such liquid or purée.
(b) But does not include, for purposes of HACCP, liquids, purées, or concentrates that are not used as beverages or ingredients of beverages.
(a) Consists of the following:
(1) Milk, egg, fish (such as bass, flounder, cod, and including crustacean shellfish such as crab, lobster, or shrimp), tree nuts (such as almonds, pecans, or walnuts), wheat, peanuts, and soybeans; and
(2) A food ingredient that contains protein derived from a food, as specified in Subparagraph (a)(1) of this definition.
(b) Does not include:
(1) Any highly refined oil derived from a food specified in Subparagraph (a)(1) of this definition and any ingredient derived from such highly refined oil; or
(2) Any ingredient that is exempt under the petition or notification process specified in Inventory of Petitions Received under 21 U.S.C. § 343(w)(6) for Exemption from Food Allergen Labeling June 13, 2006.
(a) Manipulating meat with deep penetration by processes which may be referred to as "blade tenderizing," "jaccarding," "pinning," "needling," or using blades, pins needles or any mechanical device.
(b) But does not include processes by which solutions are injected into meat.
(a) The cooking of food in a food establishment using a process in which the initial heating of the food is intentionally halted so that it may be cooled and held for complete cooking at a later time prior to sale or service.
(b) But does not include cooking procedures that only involve temporarily interrupting or slowing an otherwise continuous cooking process.
(a) Cleaners and sanitizers, including cleaning and sanitizing agents and agents such as caustics, acids, drying agents, polishes, and other chemicals;
(b) Pesticides except sanitizers, including insecticides and rodenticides;
(c) Substances necessary for the operation and maintenance of the establishment including nonfood grade lubricants and personal care items that may be deleterious to health; or
(d) Substances that are not necessary for the operation and maintenance of the establishment and are on the premises for retail sale, including petroleum products and paints.
(a) A food that requires time/temperature for safety (TCS) to limit pathogenic microorganism growth or toxin formation; and
(b) Foods that include:
(1) An animal food that is raw or heat-treated; a plant food that is heat- treated or consists of raw seed sprouts, cut melons, cut leafy greens, cut tomatoes or mixtures of cut tomatoes that are not modified in a way so that they are unable to support pathogenic microorganism growth or toxin formation, or garlic-in-oil mixtures that are not modified in a way so that they are unable to support pathogenic microorganism growth or toxin formation; and
(2) Except as specified in Subparagraph (c)(4) of this definition, a food that because of the interaction of its Aw and pH values is designated as Product Assessment Required (PA) in Table A or B of this definition:
Table A . Interaction of pH and Aw for control of spores in food heat-treated to destroy Vegetative cells and subsequently packaged | |||
Aw values | pH values | ||
4.6 or less | > 4.6 - 5.6 | > 5.6 | |
<0.92 | Non-PHF*/non- TCS food** | Non-PHF/non- TCS food | Non-PHF/non- TCS food |
> 0.92 - .95 | Non-PHF/non- TCS food | Non-PHF/non- TCS food | PA*** |
> 0.95 | Non-PHF/non- TCS food | PA | PA |
* PHF means Potentially Hazardous Food ** TCS Food means Time/Temperature Control For Safety Food *** PA means Product Assessment required | |||
Table A . Interaction of pH and Aw for control of spores in food heat-treated to destroy Vegetative cells and subsequently packaged
Aw values
pH values
4.6 or less
> 4.6 - 5.6
> 5.6
<0.92
Non-PHF*/non-
TCS food**
Non-PHF/non-
TCS food
Non-PHF/non-
TCS food
> 0.92 - .95
Non-PHF/non-
TCS food
Non-PHF/non-
TCS food
PA***
> 0.95
Non-PHF/non-
TCS food
PA
PA
* PHF means Potentially Hazardous Food
** TCS Food means Time/Temperature Control For Safety Food
*** PA means Product Assessment required
Table B. Interaction of pH and Aw for control of vegetative cells and spores in food not heat-treated but not packaged | ||||
Aw values | pH values | |||
< 4.2 | 4.2 - 4.6 | < 4.6 - 5.0 | < 5.0 | |
< 0.88 | non-PHF*/non- TCS food** | non-PHF/ non-TCS food | non-PHF/ non- TCS food | non-PHF/ non -TCS food |
0.88 - 0.90 | non-PHF/ non-TCS food | non-PHF/ non-TCS food | non-PHF/ non-TCS food | PA*** |
> 0.90 - 0.92 | non-PHF/non- TCS food | non-PHF/ non-TCS food | PA | PA |
> 0.92 | non-PHF/non- TCS food | PA | PA | PA |
* PHF means Potentially Hazardous Food ** TCS Food means Time/Temperature Control For Safety Food *** PA means Product Assessment required | ||||
Table B. Interaction of pH and Aw for control of vegetative cells and spores in food not heat-treated but not packaged
Aw values
pH values
< 4.2
4.2 - 4.6
< 4.6 - 5.0
< 5.0
< 0.88
non-PHF*/non-
TCS food**
non-PHF/
non-TCS food
non-PHF/
non- TCS food
non-PHF/
non -TCS food
0.88 - 0.90
non-PHF/
non-TCS food
non-PHF/
non-TCS food
non-PHF/
non-TCS food
PA***
> 0.90 - 0.92
non-PHF/non-
TCS food
non-PHF/
non-TCS food
PA
PA
> 0.92
non-PHF/non-
TCS food
PA
PA
PA
* PHF means Potentially Hazardous Food
** TCS Food means Time/Temperature Control For Safety Food
*** PA means Product Assessment required
(c) Potentially hazardous food (Time/Temperature Control for Safety Food) does not include:
(1) An air-cooled hard-boiled egg with shell intact, or an egg with shell intact that is not hard-boiled, but has been pasteurized to destroy all viable salmonellae;
(2) A food in an unopened hermetically sealed container that is commercially processed to achieve and maintain commercial sterility under conditions of non-refrigerated storage and distribution;
(3) A food that because of its pH or Aw value, or interaction of Aw and pH values, is designated as a non-PH/non-TCS food in Table A or B of this definition;
(4) A food that is designated as Product Assessment Required (PA) in Table A or B of this definition and has undergone a Product Assessment showing that the growth or toxin formation of pathogenic microorganisms that are reasonably likely to occur in that food is precluded due to:
(A) Intrinsic factors including added or natural characteristics of the food such as preservative, antimicrobials, humectants, acidulants, or nutrients;
(B) Extrinsic factors including environmental or operational factors that affect the food such as packaging, modified atmosphere such as reduced oxygen packaging, shelf life and use, or temperature range of storage and use; or
(C) A combination of intrinsic and extrinsic factors; or
(d) A food that does not support the growth or toxin formation of pathogenic microorganisms in accordance with one of the sections specified in Subparagraphs (c)(1) through (c)(4) of this definition even though the food may contain a pathogenic microorganism or chemical or physical contaminant at a level sufficient to cause illness or injury.
(a) A provision in this Code whose application contributes directly to the elimination, prevention or reduction to an acceptable level, of hazards associated with foodborne illness or injury when there is no other provision that more directly controls the hazard;
(b) Items with a quantifiable measure to show control of hazards such as cooking, reheating, cooling, and handwashing; and
(c) An item that is denoted in this Code with a superscript P- P.
(a) A provision in this Code where the application supports, facilitates or enables one (1) or more priority items;
(b) An item that requires the purposeful incorporation of specific actions, equipment or procedures by industry management to attain control of risk factors that contribute to foodborne illness or injury such as personnel training, infrastructure or necessary equipment, HACCP plans, documentation or recordkeeping, and labeling; and
(c) An item that is denoted in this Code with a superscript Pf- Pf.
(a) Food that is:
(1) In a form that is edible without additional preparation to achieve food safety that has been prepared according to one of the following: § 900.1 or § 900.2; § 901.1, or § 903, or as specified in § 900.4; or
(2) A raw or partially cooked animal food and the consumer is advised as specified in § 900.3(a); or
(3) Prepared in accordance with a variance that is granted as specified in § 900.3(c), and
(b) Notwithstanding Subparagraph (a), ready-to-eat food may receive additional preparation for palatability or aesthetic, epicurean, gastronomic, or culinary purposes.
(c) Ready-to-eat food also includes:
(1) Raw animal food that is cooked as specified in § 900 or § 901, or frozen as specified in § 903;
(2) Raw fruits and vegetables that are washed as specified in § 806;
(3) Fruits and vegetables that are cooked for hot holding, as specified in § 902;
(4) All potentially hazardous food (time/temperature control for safety food) that is cooked to the temperature and time required for the specific food as specified in Chapter 9 and cooled as specified § 1003;
(5) Plant food for which further washing, cooking, or other processing is not required for food safety, and from which rinds, peels, husks, or shells, if naturally present are removed;
(6) Substances derived from plants such as spices, seasonings, and sugar;
(7) A bakery item such as bread, cakes, pies, fillings, or icings for which further cooking is not required for food safety;
(8) The following products that are produced in accordance with USDA guidelines and that have received a lethality treatment for pathogens: dry, fermented sausages, such as dry salami or pepperoni; salt-cured meat and poultry products, such as prosciutto ham, country cured ham, and Parma ham; and dried meat and poultry products, such as jerky or beef sticks; and
(9) Foods manufactured as specified in 21 C.F.R. part 113, Thermally Processed Low-Acid Foods Packaged in Hermetically Sealed Containers.
(a) Vacuum packaging, in which air is removed from a package of food and the package is hermetically sealed so that a vacuum remains inside the package, such as sous vide;
(b) Modified atmosphere packaging, in which the atmosphere of a package of food is modified so that its composition is different from air but the atmosphere may change over time due to the permeability of the packaging material or the respiration of the food. Modified atmosphere packaging includes reduction in the proportion of oxygen, total replacement of oxygen, and an increase in the proportion of other gases such as carbon dioxide or nitrogen;
(c) Controlled atmosphere packaging, in which the atmosphere of a packaged food is modified so that until the package is opened, its composition is different from air, and continuous control of that atmosphere is maintained, such as by using oxygen scavengers or a combination of total replacement of oxygen, non-respiring food, and impermeable packaging material;
(d) Cook chill packaging, in which cooked food is hot filled into impermeable bags which have the air expelled and are then sealed or crimped closed. The bagged food is rapidly chilled and refrigerated at temperatures that inhibit the growth of psychotropic pathogens; or
(e) Sous vide packaging, in which raw or partially cooked food is placed in a hermetically sealed, impermeable bag, cooked in the bag, rapidly chilled, and refrigerated at temperatures that inhibit the growth of psychotropic pathogens.
(a) Poor personal hygiene;
(b) Food from unsafe source;
(c) Inadequate cooking;
(d) Improper holding temperatures; and
(e) Contaminated equipment.
(a) An article manufactured from or composed of materials that may not reasonably be expected to result, directly or indirectly, in their becoming a component or otherwise affecting the characteristics of any food;
(b) An additive that is used as specified in § 409; or
(c) Any other material that is not an additive and that is used in conformity with applicable regulations of the FDA.
(a) A food-contact surface having a surface free of pits and inclusions with a cleanability equal to or exceeding that of one hundred (100) grit number three (3) stainless steel;
(b) A nonfood-contact surface of equipment having a surface equal to that of commercial grade hot-rolled steel free of visible scale; and
(c) A floor, wall, or ceiling having an even or level surface with no roughness or projections that renders it difficult to clean.
Snack - any non-potentially hazardous foods and pre-packaged foods that do not require preparation.
Tableware - eating, drinking, and serving utensils for table use, such as flatware including forks, knives, and spoons; hollowware including bowls, cups, serving dishes, tumblers, and plates.
Temperature measuring device - a thermometer, thermocouple, thermistor, or other device that indicates the temperature of food, air, or water.
Temporary food establishment - a food establishment that operates for a period of no more than fourteen (14) consecutive days in conjunction with a single event or celebration.
USDA - the United States Department of Agriculture.
Utensil - a food-contact implement or container used in the storage, preparation, transportation, dispensing, sale, or service of food including kitchenware or tableware that is multiuse, single-service, or single-use; gloves used in contact with food; temperature sensing probes of food temperature measuring devices; and probe-type price or identification tags used in contact with food.
Variance - a written document the Department issues which authorizes a modification or waiver of one (1) or more requirements of this Code if, in the Department's opinion, a health hazard or nuisance will not result from the modification or waiver.
Vending machine - a self-service device, that upon insertion of a coin, paper currency, token, card, or key, or by optional manual operation, dispenses unit servings of food in bulk or in packages without the necessity of replenishing the device between each vending operation.
Vending machine location - the room, enclosure, space, or area where one (1) or more vending machines are installed and operated and includes the storage areas and areas on the premises that are used to service and maintain the vending machines.
"V" type threads - a non-sanitary, non-cleanable industrial thread.
Warewashing - the cleaning and sanitizing of utensils and food-contact surfaces of equipment.
Whole-muscle, intact beef - whole muscle beef that is not injected, mechanically tenderized, reconstructed, or scored and marinated, from which beef steaks may be cut.
D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 25, r. 25-A9901