This chapter shall be known and may be cited
as the "Food Establishment Code of the City of Passaic."
The purpose of this chapter shall be to provide
rules, regulations and standards for operating, designing, constructing,
and maintaining food establishments in the City of Passaic. This chapter
shall be administered to safeguard the public health and to ensure
that food offered and served to consumers at food establishments operating
within the City of Passaic is safe and unadulterated.
This chapter applies to all retail, wholesale,
mobile, and temporary food establishments located within the City
of Passaic.
A.
No person shall operate a retail food establishment,
wholesale food establishment, mobile food establishment, or temporary
food establishment in the City of Passaic, whether for compensation
or not, without complying with the requirements of this chapter, as
well as the regulations of the State of New Jersey, including the
New Jersey Administrative Code at N.J.A.C. 8:24-1.1 et seq. and N.J.A.C.
8:21-13.1 et seq., as the same may be from time to time amended and
supplemented.
B.
In all allied matters that are regulated by the laws
of the State of New Jersey, such laws shall control where the requirements
are in excess of this chapter. This chapter shall control in all cases
where the state law requirements are less than herein contained.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following
words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to
them by this section:
Water activity, which is a measure of the free moisture in
a food, is the quotient of the water vapor pressure of the substance
divided by the vapor pressure of pure water to the same temperature
and is indicated by the symbol "AW."[1]
A motorized vehicle from which approved, prepackaged foods
are sold or conveyed and wherein no food preparation is conducted.
Catering trucks shall be of such design to contain single food service
compartments on the driver's side, passenger side, and rear of the
vehicle that are only accessible from hinged doors which extrude upwards
when opened.
A food establishment used for preparing, fabricating, packaging,
and storage of food or food products for distribution and sale through
the food establishment's own food establishment outlets.
[Added 2-21-2012 by Ord. No. 1890-12]
A temporary food establishment organized and managed by the
Department of Human Services, Division of Recreation of the City of
Passaic and in which at least one vendor is a farmer who holds a current
and valid Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and Seniors Farmers’
Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) certification from the New Jersey
Department of Agriculture and the New Jersey Department of Health
and Senior Services and provided that:
The certified farmer is authorized by the New Jersey Department
of Agriculture and the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior
Services to receive FMNP checks or vouchers distributed through local
WIC programs and County Offices of Aging;
The certified farmer is present at the farmers’ market
on all days it is in operation;
The certified farmer grows and produces at least 80% of fruits,
vegetables, and herbs to be sold at the market;
Food preparation, including the cutting of fruits, vegetables, or herbs shall be limited as specified at § 149-59C;
[Amended 8-8-2017 by Ord.
No. 2116-17]
Only non-potentially hazardous food shall be served or provided
to the public with or without charge unless otherwise authorized by
the Passaic Health Division.
[Amended 8-8-2017 by Ord.
No. 2116-17]
A farmers’ market as defined in this section shall be deemed a temporary food establishment and shall be subject to all provisions relating thereto, provided that a farmers’ market shall also be subject to provisions prescribed at § 149-49 et seq., and any other applicable state and federal regulations governing the same.
Fresh or saltwater finfish, crustaceans and other forms of
aquatic life (including alligator, frog, aquatic turtle, jellyfish,
sea cucumber, and sea urchin and the roe of such animals), and all
mollusks, if such animal life is intended for human consumption.
A raw, cooked, or processed edible substance, ice, beverage,
or ingredient used or intended for use or for sale in whole or in
part for human consumption, or chewing gum.
The duly licensed agent of the local board of health and/or
State Department of Health and Senior Services to act in the enforcement
of its ordinances and sanitary laws of the state.
[Added 2-21-2012 by Ord. No. 1890-12]
The Health Officer of the City or any of his duly authorized
representatives.
A group of persons who are more likely than other populations
to experience food-borne disease because they are immunocompromised
or older adults and in a facility that provides health care or assisted-living
services, such as a hospital or nursing home, or preschool age children
in a facility that provides custodial care, such as a day-care center.
The flesh of animals used as food, including the dressed
flesh of cattle, swine, sheep, or goats and other edible animals,
except fish and poultry.
Any movable restaurant, agricultural market, truck, van,
trailer, catering truck, ice cream truck, cart, bicycle, or other
movable unit, including hand-carried, portable containers in or on
which food or beverage is transported, stored, or prepared for retail
sale or given away at temporary locations.
Any mobile food establishment that is not a motor vehicle.
A public notice posted by the Health Officer at the public
entrance of a premises wherein a retail, wholesale, mobile, or temporary
food establishment is operated and that results in the immediate closure
of the establishment and the discontinuance of all operations, by
order of the Health Officer, because of violations of applicable federal,
state, and local regulations, orders, embargos, or quarantines.
The entity that is responsible for the operation of the retail,
wholesale, mobile, or temporary food establishment, such as the owner,
the owner's agent, or other person.
The individual present at a retail food, wholesale, mobile,
or temporary food establishment who is responsible for or who is the
apparent supervisor for the operation at the time of inspection.
A food that is natural or synthetic and that
requires temperature control because it is in a form capable of supporting:
"Potentially hazardous food" includes an animal
food (a food of animal origin) that is raw or heat-treated; a food
of plant origin that is heat-treated or consists of raw seed sprouts;
cut melons; and garlic and oil mixtures that are not acidified or
otherwise modified at a food processing plant in a way that results
in mixtures that do not support growth as specified under the first
subsection of this definition.
Potentially hazardous food does not include:
An air-cooled hard-boiled egg with shell intact;
A food with an AW value of 0.85 or less;
A food with a pH level of 4.6 or below when
measured at 75° F.;
A food, in an unopened, hermetically sealed
container, that is commercially processed to achieve and maintain
commercial sterility under conditions of nonrefrigerated storage and
distribution;
A food for which laboratory evidence demonstrates
that the rapid and progressive growth of infectious or toxigenic microorganisms
or the growth of S. enteritidis in eggs or C. botulinum cannot occur,
such as a food that has an AW and a pH that are above the levels specified
under Subsection C(2) and (3) above and that may contain a preservative,
other barrier to the growth of microorganisms, or a combination of
barriers that inhibit the growth of microorganisms; or
A food that does not support the growth of microorganisms
as specified under the first subsection of this definition even though
the food may contain an infectious or toxigenic microorganism or chemical
or physical contaminant at a level sufficient to cause illness.
Any domesticated bird (chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, or
guineas) and any migratory waterfowl, game bird, or squab such as
pheasant, partridge, quail, grouse, or guineas. The term excludes
ratites.
A retail, wholesale, mobile, or temporary food establishment's
physical facility, its contents, and the contiguous land or property
under the control of the licensee.
A flightless bird such as an emu, ostrich, or rhea.
Any room, building or place, or portion thereof, maintained,
used or operated for the purpose of storing, preparing, packaging,
serving, vending, or otherwise providing food for human consumption
within the corporate limits of the City of Passaic, including:
A restaurant, satellite, or catered feeding
location; catering operation if the operation provides food directly
to a consumer or to a conveyance used to transport people; market;
vending location; conveyance used to transport people; institution;
or food bank;
An operation that relinquishes possession of
food to a consumer directly or indirectly through a delivery service
such as home delivery of grocery orders or restaurant takeout orders,
or delivery service that is provided by common carriers;
An element of the operation such as a transportation
vehicle or a central preparation facility that supplies a vending
location or satellite feeding location;
An operation that is conducted in a stationary,
short-term, or permanent facility or location, where consumption is
on or off the premises, and regardless of whether there is a charge
for the food; or
Agricultural markets, including produce stands,
that only offer whole, uncut fresh fruits and vegetables.
Any retail food establishment that:
Has an extensive menu which requires the handling
of raw ingredients and is involved in the complex preparation of menu
items that includes the cooking, cooling, and reheating of at least
three or more potentially hazardous foods; or
Prepares and serves potentially hazardous foods,
including the extensive handling of raw ingredients, and whose primary
service population is a highly susceptible population. Such establishments
may include, but are not limited to, full-service restaurants, diners,
commissaries, and catering operations, or hospitals, nursing homes,
and preschools preparing and serving potentially hazardous foods.
The application of cumulative heat or chemicals on cleaned
food contact surfaces that, when evaluated for efficacy, is sufficient
to yield a reduction of five logs, which is equal to a 99.999% reduction.
Any grocery or supermarket that sells produce consistently year round which operates at a fixed location for a temporary period of time during the dates of April 15 through November 1. A seasonal farmers' market shall be subject to all provisions prescribed at § 149-49 et seq., and all other applicable state and federal regulations governing the same.
[Added 2-21-2012 by Ord. No. 1890-12; amended 8-8-2017 by Ord. No. 2116-17]
A thermometer, thermocouple, thermistor, or other device
that indicates the temperature of food, air, or water.
Any retail food establishment which operates at a fixed location
for a temporary period of time not exceeding seven consecutive days
in conjunction with a single event or celebration such as a fair,
carnival, circus, public exhibition, or similar transitory gathering,
including church suppers, picnics, or similar organizational meetings.
Any room, building or place, or portion thereof, maintained,
used, or operated for the purpose of manufacturing, packaging, cooking,
mixing, processing, bottling, canning, repackaging, or otherwise preparing
or handling food for wholesale purposes, including distribution to
another entity for resale or redistribution.
[1]
Editor’s Note: The former definition of “agricultural
market,” which immediately preceded this definition, was repealed
8-8-2017 by Ord. No. 2116-17.
