15a ncac 18a .3309      FOOD SERVICE EQUIPMENT AND UTENSILS

(a)  Material and Construction:

(1)           Materials used in the construction of utensils and equipment shall, under normal use conditions, be durable; corrosion‑resistant; nonabsorbent; non-toxic; of sufficient weight and thickness to permit cleaning and sanitizing by normal warewashing methods; finished to have a smooth, easily cleanable surface; and resistant to pitting, chipping, cracking, scratching, scoring, distortion, and decomposition;

(2)           Solder shall be comprised of approved, non-toxic; corrosion‑resistant materials.

(3)           Wood and wicker shall not be used as food‑contact surfaces, except hard maple or an equivalent nonabsorbent wood may be used for cutting boards, cutting blocks or bakers' tables.

(4)           Galvanized metal shall not be used for utensils which have general utility or for utensils or food‑contact equipment which contacts beverages or moist or hygroscopic food.

(5)           Linens shall not be used as food‑contact surfaces, except that clean linen may be used in contact with bread and rolls.

(6)           Single‑use and single‑service articles shall be fabricated from approved, clean materials.

(7)           Single-use articles such as formed buckets, bread wrappers, aluminum pie plates and No. 10 cans shall be used only once except that containers made of plastic, glass or other food grade material having smooth sides and of a construction so as to be easily cleaned may be reused.

(8)           Equipment, utensils, and single‑service articles that impart odors, color or taste, or contribute to the contamination of food shall not be used.

(b)  Design and Fabrication:

(1)           Equipment and utensils shall be designed and fabricated to be durable and sufficiently strong to resist denting and buckling under normal‑use conditions.

(2)           Product thermometers and thermometer probes shall be of metal stem‑type construction.

(3)           Multi‑use food‑contact surfaces shall be smooth; free of breaks, open seams, cracks, chips, pits and similar imperfections; free of sharp internal angles, corners and crevices; finished to have smooth welds and joints; and accessible for cleaning and inspection without being disassembled, by disassembling without the use of tools or by easy disassembling with the use of only simple tools such as mallets, screw drivers or wrenches which are kept near the equipment.

(4)           Water filters or any other water conditioning devices shall be designed to be disassembled to provide for periodic cleaning or replacement of the active element.

(5)           Nonfood‑contact surfaces shall be nonabsorbent, cleanable, and free of ledges, projections, and crevices that obstruct cleaning.

(6)           Interior surfaces of nonfood‑contact equipment shall be designed and fabricated to allow easy cleaning and to facilitate maintenance operations.

(7)           Filters and other grease extracting equipment shall be readily accessible for filter replacement and cleaning.

History Note:        Authority G.S. 130A-285;

Eff. August 1, 2002;

Pursuant to G.S. 150B-21.3A, rule is necessary without substantive public interest Eff. July 20, 2019.