Md. Code Regs. 10.62.37.07

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 8, April 19, 2024

Section 10.62.37.07 - Equipment

A. General Requirements.

(1) The permittee shall prevent any ingredient or edible cannabis product from coming into contact with a surface or substance other than a clean and sanitary surface or substance intended for food contact or incorporation into food.

(2) Any heating and cooling equipment in close contact with ingredients or edible cannabis products shall be:

(a) Food grade;

(b) Approved for use in food processing areas; or

(c) Designed to prevent any contact with any ingredient or edible cannabis product.

(3) The permittee shall ensure that:

(a) The warewashing area includes a three-compartment sink able to hold and wash cookware and equipment in the kitchen;

(b) Larger cookware or equipment that cannot have at least 50 percent of its contact surface submerged in the three-compartment sink complies with approved standard operating procedures for cleaning and sanitizing the cookware or equipment;

(c) Agents are trained to clean the larger cookware and equipment according to the standard operating procedures; and

(d) A log is maintained for 2 years detailing the date, time, and agent responsible for cleaning and sanitizing the larger cookware or equipment.

(4) Equipment used to process ingredients and edible cannabis products shall be:

(a) Maintained in a sanitary and working condition;

(b) Tested and calibrated according to the equipment manufacturer's instructions to ensure accuracy; and

(c) Positioned in a manner that does not impede proper cleaning and sanitation procedures.

(5) Equipment used to process ingredients and edible cannabis products shall meet design standards intended for food production equipment, such as those established by the:

(a) National Sanitation Foundation (NSF);

(b) Bakery Industry Sanitation Standards Committee;

(c) National Automatic Merchandising Association;

(d) International Association of Milk and Food Sanitarians;

(e) American Society of Mechanical Engineers; or

(f) U.S. Department of Agriculture.

(6) A thermometer used to monitor the temperature of any ingredient, edible cannabis product, or storage area shall be:

(a) Validated at least once per month using standard operating procedures approved by the Commission; and

(b) Calibrated based on the manufacturer's recommendations to ensure accuracy, and at a minimum:

(i) Annually; or

(ii) When validation procedures identify a thermometer is not accurate to plus or minus 2°F.

B. Contact Surfaces.

(1) Materials used as contact surfaces of equipment or cookware shall be:

(a) Nontoxic;

(b) Inert to ingredients;

(c) Nonporous and nonabsorbent;

(d) Corrosion-resistant;

(e) Durable;

(f) If stainless steel, made of stainless steel of American Iron and Steel Institute Type 304, or equivalent; and

(g) Maintained in good condition.

(2) Contact surfaces of equipment or cookware shall be designed, constructed, and maintained to be:

(a) Smooth;

(b) Easily cleanable;

(c) Free of difficult-to-clean internal surfaces;

(d) Self-emptying or self-draining if an interior surface;

(e) Visible for inspection or readily disassembled for inspection;

(f) If manually cleaned:

(i) Readily accessible for cleaning without tools; or

(ii) If not readily accessible, readily disassembled for cleaning with the use of simple tools kept available near the equipment; and

(g) If cleaned and sanitized by pressurized cleaning-in-place system, readily accessible to the cleaning and sanitizing solutions without disassembly.

Md. Code Regs. 10.62.37.07

Regulation .07 adopted effective 48:8 Md. R. 309, eff. 4/19/2021