Manual of Naval Preventive Medicine
Chapter 1: Food Service Sanitation
Section II: Standards and Sanitation of Food Service Equipment and Utensils

1-8. Standards.

Department of the Navy
Bureau of Medicine and Surgery

1. All equipment and utensils used in food service facilities under Navy and Marine Corps jurisdictionmust be constructed of sanitary, nontoxic, corrosion resistant materials and so designed, assembled, and installed to provide for ease of cleaning. Sanitary standards for the equipment shall not be less than those promulgated by the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) or equivalent. CHBUMED represents the Navy on the NSF Committee that establishes standards for food service equipment. Such equipment will not contain cracks, crevices, or inaccessible voids which might harbor vermin or accumulate moisture, food waste, or other extraneous matter. Equipment containing inaccessible spaces will be sealed to prevent the entrance of food particles. Equipment and utensils shall be so constructed as to be easily maintained in a state of good repair. Food service personnel cannot be expected to maintain proper sanitary standards if equipment or utensils are not easily cleanable because of improper construction or deteriorated condition, or if special or unusual dismantling tools are required, or if the labor required is excessively tedious, heavy, or time consuming. The foregoing undesirable features of equipment and utensils can be avoided or eliminated if sanitation factors are considered at the time purchases are made, or when the specifications are written, or before the equipment is installed. Procurement and medical department personnel will be familiar with applicable standards. Major shipboard food service equipment must comply with NAVSUP PUB 533, Shipboard Food Service Equipment Catalog. In order for food service equipment to comply with Navy sanitary standards, it is mandatory that medical department personnel be consulted prior to local procurement and installation of such equipment. The food service officer is responsible for the overall conditions of each item of equipment regarding safety, operation, sanitation, and maintenance.

2. Stationary equipment will be installed so as to permit proper cleaning and sanitary maintenance of such equipment, adjacent equipment, and floor and wall surfaces in the immediate vicinity. Where stationary equipment unavoidably interferes with access to floor and wall areas for cleaning, it must be installed so that accumulations of water, food, debris or vermin will not collect in inaccessible spaces. Floor-mounted equipment which is not easily moved must be sealed to the floor or elevated on legs that provide at least a 6-inch clearance (aboard ship, 8 inches) between the floor and equipment. However, if no part of the floor under the floor-mounted equipment is more than 6 inches from cleaning access the clearance space may be only 4 inches. Display shelving, refrigeration, and freezer units are exempt from this requirement if they are installed so that the floor beneath the units can be cleaned. Unless there is space that will permit access for cleaning alongside, behind, and above a unit of fixed equipment, the space between it and the adjoining equipment, walls and ceilings must not be more than 1/32 inch or be sealed if exposed to seepage.

3. All food service spaces and equipment will be free from saltwater connections, cross-connections with a nonpotable water supply, and submerged fresh water inlets. Exceptions to the salt water requirement are those shipboard spaces which contain food waste disposers that have been specifically approved by CHBUMED to use salt water during the food waste grinding or pulping process and approved refrigeration units which use salt water.

4. Surfaces of Equipment or Utensils

a. Food-Contact Surfaces. Food-contact zone surfaces will be of materials which are smooth, corrosion resistant, nontoxic (the FDA Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act is used as a general guide), stable, and nonabsorbent under use conditions and will not impart an odor, color or taste, nor contribute to adulteration of food. All joints and seams in the food-contact zone will be sealed and smooth at the surfaces being joined. Wherever feasible and practical, equipment parts in the food zone will be stamped, extruded, formed or cast in one piece. Exposed screws, projecting screws, projecting studs or rivet heads will be eliminated from food-contact surfaces. Low profile type (brazier head) rivets properly affixed and without open joints and seams may be used to attach handles on pots and pans.

 

b. Splash-Contact Surfaces. Food splash zone materials will be smooth, easily cleanable, and corrosion resistant, or rendered corrosion resistant with a material which is noncracking and nonchipping. Paint will not be used except for surfaces which are normally dry. Lead base paint will not be used. If food service equipment is to be refinished, only the manufacturer's standard practice will be used. All joints and seams will be sealed and made smooth. Screw or bolt heads in the splash zone will be low profile, e.g., brazier or modified brazier rivets or pan and oval screw or bolt heads.

 

c. Nonfood Zone. Exposed screws, projecting screws, studs and rivet heads will be used only when other fastening methods are impractical. In areas subject to cleaning, projections, ledges and recesses will be minimized. The ends of all hollow sections of reinforcing and framing members will be closed.

5. General. All possible sources of contamination of equipment from within (such as cross-connections and improper plumbing connections) and without will be prohibited. Faucets, drain valves, drain lines, and other fittings will be of seamless construction and easily disassembled for thorough cleaning. Large food paddles used in steam kettles will be constructed of aluminum or other approved material. Wooden paddles will not be used.

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The listing of any non-Federal product in this CD is not an endorsement of the product itself, but simply an acknowledgement of the source. 

Operational Medicine 2001

Health Care in Military Settings

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