[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Health
of the Township of Stafford 6-3-1985 by Ord. No. 85-7. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
A code regulating retail food handling establishments,
providing for the inspection of such establishments and fixing penalties
for violations is hereby established pursuant to the provisions of
P.L. 1950, c. 188 (N.J.S.A. 26:3-69.1 to 3-69.6). A copy of the code
is annexed to this section and made a part of it without the inclusion
of the text herein.
The code established and adopted by this section
is described and commonly known as the "New Jersey State Sanitary
Code, Chapter Twelve."
[Amended 3-4-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-31]
Three copies of the New Jersey State Sanitary
Code, Chapter Twelve, have been placed on file in the Township office
for the use and examination of the public.
Raw meat, fruit, fish, vegetables or other foods
which are commonly cooked before consumption shall be at all times
securely protected from contamination and shall be stored, transported
or displayed for sale in a sanitary manner satisfactory to the Board.
Fruits or vegetables or similar food that is commonly eaten raw and
which is commonly washed or peeled before consumption shall be stored,
transported or displayed for sale in a manner that will securely protect
them from contamination and spoilage.
[Amended 3-4-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-31]
The Township shall make and adopt such written
rules and regulations as may be necessary for the proper enforcement
of the provisions of the code.
[Amended 3-4-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-31]
The Township or its enforcing official may exempt
a retail food handling establishment from any provision of the code
where the health and welfare of the inhabitants of the Township is
not adversely affected or endangered by reason of such exemption.
[Amended 2-22-1988; 12-19-1988 by Ord. No.
88-4; 8-20-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-71; 3-4-2003 by Ord. No.
2003-31]
A.
No person shall operate a restaurant, box-lunch establishment,
delicatessen, bakery, luncheonette, catering business, soda fountain,
mobile retail food establishment or any other place where food is
in any manner processed, prepared or served for final consumption
anywhere by the public, but not including the proper storage and vending
of raw meats, fruits or vegetables which are commonly washed or cooked
before consumption, unless a license to operate the same shall have
been issued by the Township. There shall be a charge of $100 for each
license, and said license shall be displayed in a conspicuous place
in such establishment. The fee for such license shall be prorated
according to the effective date of the license in the year in which
the license application was submitted and based on the annual fee
herein provided. A fee of $25 will be assessed against any such applicant
for a license, in addition to the license fee, for each and every
inspection of the premises or establishment after the first inspection.
B.
The license described herein shall not be issued unless an application for the same, properly executed on a form supplied by the Township, shall have been signed by the applicant or his responsible representative and submitted to the office of the Township, together with the fee described in Subsection A, and they shall have presented themselves or their representative to the Ocean County Board of Health and shall have received from the Ocean County Board of Health written approval of their facilities prior to the issuance of the license. Thereafter, the license shall be issued, provided that, in the opinion of the Township or its enforcing official, the applicant shall have complied with all provisions of this code and all applicable law, codes and regulations of the State of New Jersey.
Notwithstanding the adoption of the New Jersey State Sanitary Code, Chapter 12, the following regulations shall supersede the provisions of said code pertaining to mobile food-vending units, but only to the extent that they are inconsistent therewith.
A.
MOBILE FOOD UNITS
OWNER and/or OPERATOR
As used in this section. the following terms shall
have the meanings indicated:
Any movable restaurant, truck, van, trailer, cart, bicycle
or other movable unit, including hand-carried portable containers,
in or on which food or beverage is cooled or prepared and transported
for retail sale, or given away at temporary or fixed locations.
Any person, persons, partnership, franchise holder, company
or corporation which owns the business of selling cooked or prepared
food to persons from mobile units.
B.
The owner and all employees shall comply with all applicable sections of Chapter 12 of the New Jersey State Sanitary Code.
C.
Mobile food units shall comply with the following
specifications:
(1)
A potable water supply tank, minimum capacity of 30
gallons, heated electrically or otherwise and tilted toward a capped
drain cock, shall be provided. The water inlet pipe shall be of removable
flexible copper or other tubing approved by the Township, with a nozzle
for a hose connection capped when not being used. A hose for connection
to a potable water supply shall be provided and shall be equipped
with an approved vacuum breaker and check valve.
[Amended 3-4-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-31]
(2)
A seamless three-compartment sink which shall have
a swivel faucet supplied with running hot and cold water shall be
provided, and it shall be large enough to accommodate the largest
piece of equipment to be cleansed therein.
(3)
A hand-wash sink, seamless, with running hot and cold
water, soap and single-service individual towels or mechanical hand
dryer shall be provided.
(4)
A suitable waste tank, with an adequate method of
gauging the contents and having a capacity at least equal to the capacity
of the water supply tank shall be provided and shall be tilted toward
a drain cock. It shall be emptied and flushed into a sanitary sewer
or septic system as often as necessary, in a sanitary manner, in order
to maintain sanitary conditions.
(5)
A mechanical refrigerated box that shall maintain
a temperature of 45º F. or below and that shall be equipped with
an indicating thermometer shall be provided for various ingredients
carried, with metal racks or platforms provided to store ingredients.
(6)
Floors shall be of metal or similar approved material
and properly sloped to provide proper drainage. Junctures of floor,
wall and adjoining fixtures shall be watertight and covered.
(7)
A refuse container with cover must be available for
the deposit of papers and other solid wastes by customers and operators
and must be so constructed, designed and placed so that it can be
readily used, cleaned and kept clean, and located where it will not
create a nuisance.
(8)
Mobile units operating after dark shall be well lighted
with at least 30 footcandles of light intensity on all working surfaces.
(9)
Notice shall be posted in the service area of the
mobile unit with instructions as to proper handling of food materials
and containers, proper cleansing of equipment, utensils and appurtenances
and proper waste disposal.
(10)
Persons handling food shall be clothed in clean,
washable uniforms, preferably white ones.
(11)
Serving windows shall be glassed or screened
and shall be kept closed at all times except when being used to serve
customers.
(12)
A hose and hose connection equipped with a vacuum
breaker shall be provided for supplying water to the mobile unit as
well as a method of handling the hose for draining to prevent contamination.
(13)
Suitably-covered storage facilities or containers
shall be provided for all refuse and waste which must be removed daily.
(14)
Every mobile unit shall be constructed of such
acceptable material as to enable it to be readily cleaned, and equipment
shall be installed in such a manner that the unit can be kept clean
and food will not become contaminated. The unit or equipment shall
be provided with a close-fitting cover where required.
(15)
The water supply shall be adequate, of a safe
sanitary quality and derived from an approved source. Cold water and
hot water, of a temperature not less than 140º F. under pressure,
shall be provided in all processing and washing areas.
(16)
All residues shall be removed from equipment
after use each day, and product contact surfaces shall be sanitized
just prior to use each day. Interior surfaces contacted by foods shall
be completely disassembled daily for cleaning; provided, however,
that installations and methods used for cleaning equipment without
disassembling the same may be utilized by approval of Stafford Township.
[Amended 3-4-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-31]
(17)
After cleaning and sanitizing, all product contact
surfaces of equipment and all utensils shall be so stored and handled
as to be protected from contamination.
D.
Mobile food units shall be subject to inspection as
often as it may be deemed necessary by the Township and at such locations
as the Township may direct.
[Amended 3-4-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-31]
E.
Commissaries which supply mobile food units shall
be subject to inspection. Whenever such commissary shall be located
outside the jurisdiction of the Township, inspection by the authority
of the jurisdiction responsible for the enforcement of laws relating
to public health and food preparation and processing may be accepted.
[Amended 3-4-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-31]
F.
The Township, having reason to suspect that any mobile
food unit is or may be the source of food-borne infection, shall advise
the owner, operator or employees thereof and order that appropriate
action be taken which will eliminate the source of infection.
[Amended 3-4-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-31]
G.
In the event that such action is not taken immediately,
the Township may cause an order to be issued requiring the mobile
unit to be closed or banned from operation in the Township of Stafford
in order to protect the public health. The order will give the alleged
violator an opportunity to be heard before the Township within a reasonable
time, not to exceed 15 days, while the order remains in effect.
[Amended 3-4-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-31]
H.
If the Township suspects that an employee of any mobile
food unit is ill or infected with a disease or may be a carrier of
a disease which may be transmitted through food, it may order him
or her to leave the unit and refrain from returning to work in or
about such unit, and it may order the employer to prohibit such employee
from returning to work until permission is granted to return by the
Township, which permission to return shall be granted upon satisfactory
proof to the Township that the employee's condition does not constitute
a health hazard.
[Amended 3-4-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-31]
A.
Any person who violates any provision of or regulation
promulgated under this code shall, upon conviction thereof, be liable
to a penalty of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 for each violation.
Every day a particular violation continues shall constitute a separate
offense.
[Amended 2-22-1988]
B.
Any license issued under the terms and provisions
of this chapter may be suspended or revoked by the Township of Stafford
for any of the following reasons:
[Amended 3-4-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-31]
(1)
The licensee has violated any provisions of this chapter or of the New Jersey State Sanitary Code, Chapter 12.
(2)
The licensee has violated any law of the United States,
the State of New Jersey or any ordinance of this municipality affecting
the licensee's right to said license.
(3)
Any person operating the retail food establishment
is of an unfit character to conduct the same.
(4)
The purpose for which the license has been issued
is abused to the detriment of the public.
C.
A license under the terms and provisions of this chapter
shall not be revoked, canceled or suspended until a hearing thereon
has been held by the Township of Stafford. Written notice of the time
and place of such hearing shall be served upon the licensee at least
three days prior to the date set for such hearing. Such notice shall
also contain a brief statement of the grounds to be relied upon for
revoking, canceling or suspending such license. The written notice
of said hearing shall be served upon the licensee personally or mailed
to said licensee by certified mail, return receipt requested, at the
business address appearing on the license of said licensee. At the
hearing before the Township of Stafford, the person aggrieved shall
be given a full opportunity to be heard. Upon completion of the hearing,
the Township may either dismiss the complaint, revoke or suspend the
license or take whatever action may be necessary to implement the
purposes and intent of this chapter and the code adopted hereby.
[Amended 3-4-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-31]
Licenses issued under the provisions of the
code shall expire January 1 of each year. Application and fee for
renewal of the same shall be submitted to the Board prior to January
1 of each year.
[Amended 3-4-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-31; 9-2-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-11]
License fees established by the Code may be
waived by the Township where, in its opinion, the establishment licensed
is operated by a religious, charitable, veterans or fraternal organization
or by a hospital or other institution whose facilities are available
to the general public, provided that the licensed establishment is
operated by and for the benefit of such organization or institution.
Nonprofit organizations and veterans shall not be required to post
a fee.
