Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 36, September 6, 2024
Section 64-43-2 - Definitions2.1. Acidified foods. -- Low-acid foods to which acid(s) or acid food(s) are added. These foods include, but are not limited to, beans, cucumbers, cabbage, artichokes, cauliflower, puddings, peppers, tropical fruits, and fish, singly or in any combination. They have a water activity (aw) greater than 0.85 and have a finished equilibrium pH of 4.6 or below. These foods may be called, or may purport to be, "pickles" or "pickled.'' Carbonated beverages, jams, jellies, preserves, acid foods (including such foods as standardized and non-standardized food dressings and condiment sauces) that contain small amounts of low-acid food(s) and have a resultant finished equilibrium pH that does not significantly differ from that of the predominant acid or acid food, foods that are stored, distributed, and retailed under refrigeration, and fermented are excluded.2.2. Better process control school. -- A course recognized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to meet the requirements of 21 CFR 113.10 and 21 CFR 114.10.2.3. Commissioner. -- Commissioner of the bureau for public health or his or her designee.2.4. Food Manufacturing Facility. -- Any person that manufactures, processes, or packs food for human consumption and conducts wholesale operations. This term does not include: farms, facilities regulated by legislative rule 64CSR17, "Food Establishments," and facilities under the regulatory authority of the West Virginia department of agriculture.2.5. Low-acid foods. -- Any foods, other than alcoholic beverages, with a finished equilibrium pH greater than 4.6 and a water activity (aw) greater than 0.85. Tomatoes and tomato products having a finished equilibrium pH less than 4.7 are not classed as low-acid foods.2.6. Permit. -- A document issued by the commissioner to operate a food manufacturing facility.2.7. Person. -- Individual, partnership, association, syndicate, company, firm, trust, corporation, government corporation, institution, department, division, bureau, agency, or any entity recognized by law.2.8. Preventative controls qualified individual. -- An individual who has successfully completed training in the development and application of risk-based preventive controls at least equivalent to that received under a standard curriculum recognized as adequate by the food and drug administration or is otherwise qualified through job experience to develop and apply a food safety system.2.9. Processing Authority. -- A person who has been recognized by the association of food and drug officials as having expert knowledge of thermal processing requirements for low-acid foods packaged in hermetically-sealed containers or has expert knowledge in the acidification and processing of acidified foods and is found in the food processing authorities directory at: https://www.afdo.org/directories/fpa/.2.10. Very small business. -- A business (including any subsidiaries and affiliates) averaging less than $1,000,000 per year, adjusted for inflation, during the three-year period preceding the applicable calendar year in sales of human food plus the market value of human food manufactured, processed, packed, or held without sale.2.11. Wholesale. -- The sale or distribution of food to other business entities such as, but not limited to, retail stores, other food manufacturers, or food establishments.