A. 
It shall be unlawful for any person who does not possess a license from the Board of Health of the Borough of Columbia to provide bulk food for self-service by the customer. A bulk-food license, as an endorsement to any existing food-service-facility license, shall be granted for a period of one year from the date of issuance, but not beyond the expiration date of the food-service-facility license. The Health Officer shall be authorized to issue a temporary license when applicable.
B. 
Application for renewal of a license shall be made at least one month before expiration of the existing license. A license shall not be issued until the Heath Officer has inspected and approved the bulk-food operation. Licenses shall be issued for the most restrictive class of food being served and shall not be transferable. Food shall be designated into one of the following classes:
(1) 
Class 1: potentially hazardous food.
(2) 
Class 2: perishable food; and
(3) 
Class 3: non-potentially hazardous or nonperishable food.
C. 
Each applicant for a bulk-food license shall, at the time of application, pay an annual inspection fee based upon the number of locations and the number of items to be served, as set forth in the Borough schedule of fees, as adopted and amended from time to time by the Borough Council of the Borough of Columbia.
No person shall undertake to install any equipment for bulk food without first having submitted to the Health Officer for approval, plans and specifications for such equipment and a listing of the foods to be served.
Bulk-food licensees shall maintain proper sanitary controls as set forth in the rules and regulations of the Board of Health pertaining to bulk-food operations. The license may be suspended or service restricted by order of the Health Officer if the rules and regulations pertaining to bulk-food operations are violated by the establishment or due to handling by customers. The proprietor of the establishment, when so ordered, shall immediately comply with and obey such order and shall not further conduct operations until permission is granted by the Health Officer. The proprietor shall have the right to appeal to the Board of Health, which shall afford a hearing. As a result of the hearing, the Board of Health shall have the right to stay or set aside the order, uphold the order, or permanently revoke the license. Should the proprietor wish, the proprietor may appeal the decision of the Board of Health to the Court of Common Pleas in accordance with the Local Agency Law[1] of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or other applicable laws.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 2 Pa.C.S.A. § 105 et seq.
In addition to the regulations contained in this article pertaining to protection of food, facility construction and cleanliness, right of entry, food samples, condemnation and embargo, and closure, the following guidelines shall apply to the sale or service of bulk foods:
A. 
Equipment.
(1) 
Equipment not currently approved by the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) may be approved by the Health Officer on a trial basis, providing that one of the following conditions are met:
(a) 
It meets or exceeds other acceptable guidelines such as those recommended by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
(b) 
The proprietor of the establishment can provide to the satisfaction of the Health Officer that the bulk-food-product modules have operated satisfactorily in another location for a period in excess of one year.
(c) 
Products will be offered only in dispensers of such design that all components meet with applicable NSF standards and the product, once dispensed, cannot be returned to the stock by the customer.
(2) 
All tongs, ladles, spatulas or other service devices must be of such design and construction that the grasping portion of the utensil cannot come in contact with the product.
(3) 
Proper visual inspection for the customer must be posted, including but not limited to:
(a) 
Washing of hands and clean attire.
(b) 
No smoking.
(c) 
Proper use of equipment.
(d) 
No tasting or sampling of product.
(e) 
The use of clean containers and only those provided by the establishment.
(f) 
Identification of the responsible person on duty and the name and address of the Board of Health in the event of an unresolved complaint.
B. 
Products.
(1) 
All liquid and semiliquid products or any product deemed to be a nuisance by virtue of spillage, cleanability, insect or rodent attraction, or prone to excessive handling or tasting may be prohibited or restricted in self-service from bulk.
(2) 
Product module depth shall be 18 inches or less with a total product volume limited to a maximum of 50 average servings in the case of food or drink intended for human consumption unless food or drinks vended through dispensers where the food or drink is inaccessible to the customer until dispensed.
(3) 
Containers of bulk pet food and nonfood items shall be separated by a barrier or an open space of at least 15 feet from the food containers.
(4) 
All bulk products, once dispensed by the customer, may not be offered for resale or returned to the bulk container.
(5) 
All bulk products containing potentially hazardous foods shall have a maximum turnover time of three hours. Perishable products shall have a turnover time that is adequate to prevent spoilage or degradation of the product.
(6) 
Potentially hazardous foods, once placed out for self-service, must be discarded at the end of the work day, and the recombination cycle shall be broken at least once every six hours during the day. All other bulk food and pet food products shall have their cycle broken on a weekly basis. All bulk food must be rotated to ensure freshness when restocked.
C. 
Food protection.
(1) 
All holders of Class 1 licenses shall maintain direct supervision over the product in addition to visual instruction. The attendant must be on duty at all hours of operation, be located within 10 feet of the product modules and be identified by an appropriate name tag. The attendant shall be responsible for supervision and compliance with the health code.
(2) 
For the purpose of bulk-food licenses, customers shall be considered as employees of the establishment and shall be subject to the standards of sanitation and hygiene as food-service workers. By order of the Board of Health, it shall be the duty of the proprietor, or person in charge, to exclude from self-service all persons with visible signs of illness or disease or with skin rashes or sores, or with bandages on the hands or arms and any person by virtue of cleanliness or behavior that could endanger the welfare of the public in the opinion of the proprietor.
(3) 
Food or pet food products stored in bulk showing signs of contamination in any portion by insects or rodents shall be deemed to be totally contaminated and discarded immediately.
(4) 
Mixing of products shall be considered adulteration. The adulterated product shall be immediately removed from sale.
D. 
Sanitation.
(1) 
All equipment and display areas shall be maintained at all times in a clean and sanitary condition. Product spillage shall not be allowed to remain in a display area for more than 1/2 of an hour.
(2) 
Tongs, scoops, ladles, spatulas, and other utensils, including tethers, shall be cleaned and sanitized at least daily. More frequent intervals may be required based on the type of food and the amount of soiling.
(3) 
Individual product modules shall be designed to be easily removable from the display for serving unless the modules are so designed that they can be effectively cleaned and sanitized when necessary, through a manual in-place cleaning procedure that will not contaminate or otherwise adversely affect bulk food or equipment in the display area.
(4) 
Product modules including utensils containing potentially hazardous foods may not be refilled without cleaning and sanitizing. Other product modules must be cleaned and sanitized at least weekly.
Any person, firm or corporation violating any provision of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a fine of not less than $100 on the first offense, not less than $200 on the second offense, and not less than $300 nor more than $600 on the third and each subsequent offense. Successive violations shall be deemed to have occurred if committed within 365 days of any previous offense under this article. The number of violations shall be decreased by one for each three-hundred-sixty-five-day period without violation. The Health Officer may, at his discretion, issue a warning in lieu of a charge for the first offense. Revocation proceedings may be taken by the Board at the recommendation of the Health Officer.