National Shellfish Sanitation Program – Guide for the Control of Molluscan Shellfish, Model Ordinance.
Effect on Small Business
The businesses affected by this rule run the gamut from very small to very large operations. The businesses range from one- and two-person popcorn wholesalers to multi-national corporations that are on the cutting edge of food science. The Department’s challenge is to write and then enforce applicable and consistent requirements that do not penalize either end of this range of business types.
If the proposed rule is adopted, some small food processing plants may incur immediate costs to meet the requirement to have a door that opens to the outside rather than to a residential vestibule. There is also a potential cost for a small number of businesses that have not upgraded their facilities since the “grandfather clauses” were put in place over thirty years ago. They will now need to upgrade warewashing and handwashing sinks or provide a non-residential restroom for the facility. Another cost that may be incurred by a few very small businesses is the $320 canning surcharge, which currently is not assessed for food processing plants manufacturing and selling less than $25,000 of food per year. The Department’s Manufactured Food Specialists spend a disproportionate amount of time working with very small canning businesses, and this surcharge recoups these costs. The service provided by the Department is comparable to that of consultants who are not economically available to operations in the <$25,000/year category.
Much of the focus of the proposed rule revision is on clarification and the updating of existing regulations such as the various exemptions from a food processing plant license, and the clarification of the various record-keeping requirements.
A positive impact of this rule revision on all classes of business is the expanded ability of food processing plants to apply for processing or procedural waivers. This will potentially allow the use of new and innovative techniques and processes so long as the processor can demonstrate that food safety is not compromised.
No economic impact comments were received during the August 8 – September 7, 2017 comment period. However, meat establishments that produce some products under a state license or a federal grant of inspection, as well as other products separate from that inspection, may be required to hold a retail food establishment license from the state or local agency with jurisdiction in that area in addition to holding the state meat establishment license or federal grant of meat inspection. Allowing these meat establishments to also hold a retail food establishment license will make it possible for them to retail the unique meat and poultry products that the state is known for since those products will now be produced under inspection. This additional oversight more closely meets consumer expectations and provides a level playing field between these establishments and other, non-meat inspection establishments that produce the same types of meat and poultry products for sale at retail. These other non-meat inspection establishments have always been subject to licensing and regulation by the state or local food inspection system.
DATCP Contact
Questions and comments (including hearing comments) related to this rule may be directed to:
Peter Haase, Director
Bureau of Food and Recreational Businesses
Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
P.O. Box 8911
Madison, WI 53708-8911
Telephone: (608) 224-4711
Rule comments will be accepted up to two weeks after the last public hearing is held on this rule. Hearing dates will be scheduled after this rule is approved by the Board of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
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Section 1. ATCP 74 is repealed and recreated to read:
FOOD PROCESSING PLANTS
Subchapter I. Scope and Definitions
ATCP 70.01 Scope.
ATCP 70.02 Definitions
ATCP 70.04 Federal Requirements.
Subchapter II. General Requirements
ATCP 70.06 Food processing plants; licensing; fees.
ATCP 70.08 Construction and maintenance.
ATCP 70.10 Personnel standards.
ATCP 70.12 Equipment and utensils.
ATCP 70.14 Cleaning and Sanitizing Equipment and Utensils: General
ATCP 70.16 Cleaning and Sanitizing Equipment: Exemptions
ATCP 70.18 Obtaining Approval of Alternative Cleaning and Sanitizing Frequency
ATCP 70.20 Water supply.
ATCP 70.22 Food ingredients.
ATCP 70.24 Food handling and storage.
ATCP 70.26 Food packaging and labeling.
ATCP 70.28 Sanitizers and sanitizing methods.
ATCP 70.30 Ready-to-eat foods; reporting pathogens and toxins.
ATCP 70.32 Recall plan.
Subchapter III. Canning Operations; Supplementary Requirements
ATCP 70.34 General.
ATCP 70.36 Low-acid foods packaged in hermetically sealed containers.
ATCP 70.38 Acidified foods.
ATCP 70.40 Facilities and equipment; cleaning.
ATCP 70.42 Handling raw agricultural commodities and by-products.
Subchapter IV. Fish Processing Plants; Marine Shellfish Plants; Supplementary Requirements.
ATCP 70.44 Fish processing.
ATCP 70.46 Labeling and sale of smoked fish.
ATCP 70.48 Fish roe.
ATCP 70.50 Marine molluscan shellfish processing.
Subchapter V. Bottling Establishments; Supplementary Requirements
ATCP 70.52 Bottling establishments; general.
ATCP 70.54 Returnable and single-service bottles.
ATCP 70.56 Bottled Water Product sampling; recordkeeping; reports.
ATCP 70.58 Labeling bottled products.
Subchapter VI. Juice and Juice HACCP
ATCP 70.60 Juice HACCP
Subchapter VII. Effect of Rules on Local Ordinances
ATCP 70.62 Effect of rules on local ordinances.
Subchapter VIII. Variances
ATCP 70.64 Variances
Note: Chapter Ag 40 as it existed on October 31, 1989, was repealed and a new chapter Ag 40 was created effective November 1, 1989; Chapter Ag 40 was renumbered ch. ATCP 70 under s. 13.93 (2m) (b) 1., Stats., Register, April, 1993, No. 448.
Subchapter I. Scope and Definitions
ATCP 70.01 Scope. This chapter applies to all food processing plants as defined in s. ATCP 70.02 (23), regardless of whether the food processing plant is subject to licensing under s. 97.29, Stats., or this chapter, and all retail food establishments, as defined in s. 97.30 (1) (c), Stats., performing food processing operations, as defined in ATCP 70.02 (22). ATCP 70.02 Definitions. As used in this chapter:
(1) “Alcohol beverage" means an alcohol beverage as defined in s. 125.02 (1), Stats. (2) “Approved sanitizer" means a substance or compound approved by the department for the sanitizing of equipment or utensils under s. ATCP 70.28 (4). (3) “Bakery" means any place where bread, cookies, crackers, pasta, or pies, or any other food product for which flour or ground meal is the principal ingredient, are baked, cooked, or dried, or prepared or mixed for baking, cooking, or drying, for sale as food.
(4) “Bottle" means the immediate package or container in which bottled drinking water, soda water beverage, or alcohol beverage is sold or distributed for consumption. “Bottle" includes a bottle cap or other seal for a bottle.
(5) “Bottled drinking water" means all water packaged in bottles or similar containers and sold or distributed for drinking purposes. “Bottled drinking water" includes distilled water, artesian water, spring water, and mineral water, whether carbonated or uncarbonated.
(6) “Bottling establishment" means any place where drinking water, soda water beverage, or alcohol beverage is manufactured or bottled for sale. “Bottling establishment" does not include a retail establishment engaged in the preparation and sale of beverages under a license issued under s. 125.26 or 125.51, Stats., a retail food establishment under a license issued under s. 97.30, Stats., or other license issued under s. 97.605, Stats. (7) “C-I-P system" means equipment which is designed, constructed, and installed to be cleaned in place by the internal circulation of cleaning and sanitizing solutions onto product contact surfaces. “C-I-P System” includes separate equipment used to store or deliver cleaning and sanitizing solutions to the food contact surfaces.
(8) “Canning" means the preservation and packaging in hermetically sealed containers of low-acid or acidified foods.
(9) “Cold-process smoked fish" or “cold-process smoke flavored fish" means fish which is treated with smoke or smoke flavoring to give it a smoked flavor, but which is not fully cooked or heat treated to coagulate protein in fish loin muscle. “Cold- process smoked fish” or “cold-process smoke flavored fish”, and may not be heated above 90° F. during processing because the safety of the treatment is partially dependent on the survival of harmless microorganisms indigenous to the fish.
(10) “Confectionary" means any place where candy, fruit, nut meats, or any other food product is manufactured, coated, or filled with saccharine substances for sale as food.
