N.J. Admin. Code § 8:21-11.2
The following words and terms, when used in this subchapter, shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
"Adulteration" means the term "adulteration" as defined in N.J.S.A. 24:5-8.
"Clean" means free of visible soil and thoroughly cleaned to sight and touch.
"Department" or "State department" means the New Jersey State Department of Health.
"Distressed foods" means foods which have been subject to "natural" or "local disaster" situations. The term also applies to food which has been involved in railroad and highway accidents, long-term bankruptcy proceedings, and foods which are otherwise suspected of being adulterated, misbranded or otherwise unsafe or unfit for human consumption.
"Embargo" means the term "embargo" as defined in N.J.S.A. 24:4-12.
"Flipper" means a container in which only one end is slack or slightly bulged. That end will remain flat if pressed in. Cans which bulge when sharply and squarely struck end-down on a flat surface are flippers, provided that the bulged end remains flat when pressed. Flippers result from a lack of vacuum.
"Food" means the following.
1. Articles used for food or drink for man or any other animal.
2. Chewing gum.
3. Articles used for components of any such article.
4. The term includes any raw, cooked or processed edible substance, beverage or ingredient used or intended for use or for sale in whole or in part for food.
"Food establishment" means any place used in the production, preparation, manufacture, packaging, storage, transportation, service or handling of food intended for sale or distribution at the wholesale or retail levels.
"Health officer" means the duly appointed official in charge of the local board of health who holds a currently effective health officer's license issued by the department.
"Industrial mishandling" means damage to food containers through faulty manufacturing processes, faulty closure, denting of cans at the place of manufacture, mishandling during storage and transportation, damage caused at warehouse facilities and damage caused by mishandling at the retail level.
"Inspector" means a duly appointed official of the State department or the local health authority who holds a currently effective sanitary inspector license, grade 1, issued by the department.
"Leaker" means a faulty hermetically sealed container which allows its contents to leak therefrom due to faulty seaming, rupture of the seal, industrial mishandling, severe denting, holes which develop in the container, and pressure which develops within the food container.
"Local disaster" means a fire, local flooding, disruption of electrical service, fuel shortage, leaking sprinkler system, faulty roofing, traffic accident, or similar conditions which may adversely affect the quality and safety of foods within a food establishment. "Local health authority" means the local board or local board of health of any municipality or the boards, body or officers in such municipality lawfully exercising any of the powers of the local board of health under the laws governing such municipality, and includes any consolidated board of health or county local board of health created and established pursuant to law.
"Misbranding" means the term "misbranded" or "misbranding" as defined in N.J.S.A. 24:5-16, 17.
"Natural disaster" means a violent upheaval of nature in the form of heavy rainfall, tornado, hurricane, snow, hail, lightning, flood, wind, earthquake, or similar phenomena in which normal operations in a food establishment or foods during transit are disrupted.
"Person" means an individual, a firm, partnership, company, corporation, trustee, association, or any public or private entity.
"Reconditioning" means subjecting "distressed foods" to inspection, examination and treatment by washing, cleaning, buffing, sanitizing and any other process that will render the foods free from contamination and safe for use as food.
"Salvage food" means food which has been subjected to a "natural" or "local disaster" or suspected of being adulterated, misbranded, or otherwise unsafe for human consumption. The term also applies to "distressed foods". Foods in this category are subject to complete and thorough examination and/or sampling by the State department or the local board of health to determine if they are fit for consumption.
"Sanitize" means effective bactericidal treatment of clean surfaces by a process which has been approved by the department as being effective in destroying microorganisms, including pathogens.
"Springers" means containers in which one end of the can bulges. Manual pressure of the bulged end forces the opposite end out, or the same end will spring out when released of pressure. If both ends bulge but only one end remains flat when pressed, the can is a springer. Springers result from a moderate positive pressure within the can. Bulging or extensive denting of the side walls may produce a springer.
"Swells" means containers in which both ends of the can are bulged. Neither end will remain flat without pressure. Soft swells yield to manual pressure, but no impression can be made manually on hard swells. Swells result from positive pressure in the can usually because of spoilage of the contents. Some swells, especially in acidic products, may result from chemical reaction between the contents and the container.
"Wholesome" means in sound condition, clean, free from adulteration, and otherwise safe and suitable for use as food.
N.J. Admin. Code § 8:21-11.2
See: 22 New Jersey Register 2465(a), 22 New Jersey Register 3559(a).
Text on definitions recodified from 11.1; text on damaged cans unsuitable for sale recodified to 11.3.
Notice of readoption with technical change, effective 12/20/2021.
See: 53 N.J.R. 2191(a).