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:
AW
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]
CATERING TRUCK
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.
COMMISSARY
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.
FARMERS' MARKET
[Added 2-21-2012 by Ord. No. 1890-12]
A. 
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:
(1) 
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;
(2) 
The certified farmer is present at the farmers’ market on all days it is in operation;
(3) 
The certified farmer grows and produces at least 80% of fruits, vegetables, and herbs to be sold at the market;
(4) 
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]
(5) 
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]
B. 
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.
FISH
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.
FOOD
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.
HEALTH AUTHORITY
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]
HEALTH OFFICER
The Health Officer of the City or any of his duly authorized representatives.
HIGHLY SUSCEPTIBLE POPULATION
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.
MEAT
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.
MOBILE RETAIL FOOD ESTABLISHMENT
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.
NONMOTORIZED MOBILE FOOD ESTABLISHMENT
Any mobile food establishment that is not a motor vehicle.
NOTICE OF CLOSURE
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.
OPERATOR
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.
PERSON IN CHARGE
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.
POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS FOOD
A. 
A food that is natural or synthetic and that requires temperature control because it is in a form capable of supporting:
(1) 
The rapid and progressive growth of infectious or toxigenic microorganisms;
(2) 
The growth and toxin production of Clostridium botulinum; or
(3) 
In raw shell eggs, the growth of Salmonella enteritidis.
B. 
"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.
C. 
Potentially hazardous food does not include:
(1) 
An air-cooled hard-boiled egg with shell intact;
(2) 
A food with an AW value of 0.85 or less;
(3) 
A food with a pH level of 4.6 or below when measured at 75° F.;
(4) 
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;
(5) 
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
(6) 
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.
POULTRY
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.
PREMISES
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.
RATITE
A flightless bird such as an emu, ostrich, or rhea.
RETAIL FOOD ESTABLISHMENT
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. 
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;
B. 
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;
C. 
An element of the operation such as a transportation vehicle or a central preparation facility that supplies a vending location or satellite feeding location;
D. 
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
E. 
Agricultural markets, including produce stands, that only offer whole, uncut fresh fruits and vegetables.
RISK TYPE 3 FOOD ESTABLISHMENT
Any retail food establishment that:
A. 
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
B. 
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.
SANITIZATION
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.
SEASONAL FARMERS' MARKET LICENSE
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]
TEMPERATURE MEASURING DEVICE
A thermometer, thermocouple, thermistor, or other device that indicates the temperature of food, air, or water.
TEMPORARY FOOD ESTABLISHMENT
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.
WHOLESALE FOOD ESTABLISHMENT
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.