N.J. Admin. Code § 8:24-3.4

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 9, May 6, 2024

Section 8:24-3.4 - Destruction of organisms of public health concern

(a) Cooking temperature requirements for raw animal foods include the following:

1. Except as specified under (a)2 and 3 below, raw animal foods such as eggs, fish, meat, poultry, and foods containing these raw animal foods, shall be cooked to heat all parts of the food to a temperature and for a time that complies with one of the following methods based on the food that is being cooked:

i. 145 degrees Fahrenheit or above for 15 seconds for fish, meat, pork and commercially raised game animals except as specified under (a)1ii and iii and (a)2 below.

ii. 155 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 seconds or the temperature specified in the following chart that corresponds to the holding time for raw shell eggs, ratites and injected meats; and to the following if they are comminuted: fish, meat, commercially raised game animals.

Minimum Temperature	Minimum Holding Time
145 degrees Fahrenheit	3 minutes
150 degrees Fahrenheit	1 minute
158 degrees Fahrenheit	1 second (instantaneous)

iii. 165 degrees Fahrenheit or above for 15 seconds for poultry, stuffed fish, stuffed meat, stuffed pasta, stuffed poultry, stuffed ratites, or stuffing containing fish, meat, poultry, or ratites.

2. Whole beef roasts, corned beef roasts, pork roasts, and cured pork roasts such as ham, shall be cooked as specified in the following chart, to heat all parts of the food to a temperature and for the holding time that corresponds to that temperature:

Temperature	Time *
130 degrees Fahrenheit	112 minutes
132 degrees Fahrenheit	77 minutes
134 degrees Fahrenheit	47 minutes
136 degrees Fahrenheit	32 minutes
138 degrees Fahrenheit	19 minutes
140 degrees Fahrenheit	12 minutes
142 degrees Fahrenheit	8 minutes
144 degrees Fahrenheit	5 minutes
145 degrees Fahrenheit	3 minutes
* Holding time may include post oven heat rise.

3. A raw animal food, such as raw shell eggs, raw fish, raw-marinated fish, or raw molluscan shellfish; or a partially cooked food such as lightly cooked comminuted meat, lightly cooked fish, soft cooked eggs, or rare meat may be served or offered for sale in a ready-to-eat form only if:

i. The retail food establishment serves a population that is not a highly susceptible population; and

ii. The food is prepared in response to a consumer order and for immediate service.

(b) Raw animal foods cooked in a microwave oven shall be heated to a temperature of at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit in all parts of the food; rotated or stirred throughout or midway during cooking to compensate for uneven distribution of heat; covered to retain surface moisture; and allowed to stand covered for two minutes after cooking to obtain temperature equilibrium.

(c) Fruits and vegetables that are cooked for hot holding shall be cooked to a temperature of 135 degrees Fahrenheit.

(d) Requirements for parasite destruction include the following:

1. Before service or sale in ready-to-eat form, raw, raw-marinated, partially cooked, or marinated-partially cooked fish shall be frozen throughout to a temperature of:

i. Minus four degrees Fahrenheit or below for 168 hours (seven days) in a freezer; or

ii. Minus thirty-one degrees Fahrenheit or below for 15 hours in a blast freezer, except as specified in (d)2 below.

2. If the fish are tuna of the species Thunnus alalunga, Thunnus albacares (Yellowfin tuna), Thunnus atlanticus, Thunnus maccoyli (Bluefin tuna, Southern), Thunnus obesus (Bigeye tuna), or Thunnus thynnus (Bluefin tuna, Northern), the fish may be served or sold in a raw, raw-marinated, or partially cooked ready-to-eat form without freezing.

(e) Records creation and retention requirements include the following:

1. If raw, raw-marinated, partially cooked, or marinated-partially cooked fish are served or sold in ready-to-eat form, the person in charge shall record the freezing temperature and time to which the fish are subjected and shall retain the records at the retail food establishment for 90 calendar days beyond the time of service or sale of the fish, except as specified in (d)2 above and (e)2 below.

2. If the fish are frozen by a supplier, a written agreement or statement from the supplier stipulating that the fish supplied are frozen to a temperature and for a time specified under (d) above may substitute for the records specified under (e)1 above.

(f) Cooked and refrigerated food that is prepared for immediate service in response to an individual consumer order, such as a roast beef sandwich au jus, may be served at any temperature.

(g) The following applies to reheating for hot holding:

1. Potentially hazardous food that is cooked, cooled, and reheated for hot holding shall be reheated so that all parts of the food reach a temperature of at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 seconds, except as specified under (g)2, 3 and 5 below.

2. Potentially hazardous food reheated in a microwave oven for hot holding shall be reheated so that all parts of the food reach a temperature of at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit and the food is rotated or stirred, covered, and allowed to stand covered for two minutes after reheating, except as specified in (g)3 below.

3. Ready-to-eat food taken from a commercially processed, hermetically sealed container, or from an intact package from a food processing plant that is inspected by the health authority that has jurisdiction over the plant, shall be heated to a temperature of at least 135 degrees Fahrenheit for hot holding.

4. Reheating for hot holding shall be done rapidly and the time the food is between refrigeration temperatures and 165 degrees Fahrenheit may not exceed two hours. Steam tables, bain maries, warmers, and similar hot holding facilities are prohibited for the rapid reheating of potentially hazardous foods.

5. Remaining unsliced portions of roasts of beef that are cooked may be reheated for hot holding using the oven parameters and minimum time and temperature conditions specified under (a)2 above.

N.J. Admin. Code § 8:24-3.4