Manual of Naval Preventive Medicine
Chapter 1: Food Service Sanitation
Section I. General Information

1-3. Definitions.

Department of the Navy
Bureau of Medicine and Surgery

The following definitions of words and terms apply in the interpretation of this chapter.

1. "Approved" means acceptable to the Chief, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (CHBUMED) based on a determination of conformity with widely accepted public health principles, practices and generally recognized industry standards.

2. "Code of Federal Regulations" (CFR) means the compilation of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government. It is published annually by the U.S. Government Printing Office. FDA rules appear in Title 21, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) rules in Title 7 and Environmental Protection Agency rules in Title 40.

3. "Cross-connection" means any physical connection or arrangement between two otherwise separate piping systems, one of which contains potable water, and the other, water of unknown or questionable safety, or steam, gases, or chemicals, whereby there may be a flow from one system to the other; any actual or potential connection between a public water supply and a source of contamination or pollution.

4. "Easily cleanable" means surfaces that are readily accessible and are fabricated, finished and made of materials that permit effective removal of soil by normal cleaning methods.

5. "Equipment" means articles that are used in the operation of a food service establishment such as ranges, ovens, hoods, slicers, grinders, mixers, scales, cutting boards, tables, food shelving, reach-in refrigerators, freezers, sinks, ice makers, transport vehicles, vending machines, and similar items. The term does not include utensils, forklifts, trucks, or dollies.

6. "Food" means any raw, cooked, or processed edible substance, ice, beverage, or ingredient used or intended for use or sale, in whole or in part, for human consumption.

7. "Food additives" means substances the intended use of which results or may reasonably be expected to result, directly or indirectly, either in their becoming a component of food or otherwise affecting the characteristics of food. This term does not include substances exempted by Section 201(s) of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

8. "Food-contact surfaces" means those surfaces of equipment and utensils with which food normally comes into contact, and those surfaces from which food may drain, drip, or splash back onto surfaces normally in contact with food.

9. "Food service facility" means any place where food is prepared and intended for individual portion service and includes the site at which individual portions are provided. A food service facility includes any such place regardless of whether consumption is on or off the premises and regardless of whether there is a charge for the food. Food service facilities include, but are not limited to, galleys, bakery areas, meat/vegetable preparation areas, general mess facilities (pantries and dining rooms), food storage and refrigeration spaces, and sculleries plus appurtenances thereto. Also included are those sections of Navy and Marine Corps exchanges, commissioned officers' messes, chief petty officer and enlisted clubs (including U.S. Marine Corps equivalents), temporary facilities operating for short periods of time, civilian cafeterias, delicatessens, snack bars and any other facility or equipment which serves or dispenses food or drinks and is under the cognizance of the command concerned. Those areas of the retail food stores such as commissaries in which perishable foods are processed and stored including the butcher shop, produce area and refrigerated storage spaces, are also included. The term does not include food vending machines and supply vehicles.

10. "Food service personnel" means all persons, military and civilian, who supervise, cook, prepare or serve food or drinks at facilities mentioned in Article 1-3.9. above, including commissary personnel (supervisors butchers, meat cutters and wrappers, produce handlers and any other personnel who prepare-or handle food products that are not prepared or canned). Also included are those in a supervisory capacity and those who provide accessory services (e.g., bussing personnel, whether full time, part-time, or temporary employees).

11. "Homogenized" means that milk or a milk product has been treated to ensure breakup of fat globules to such an extent that, after 48 hours of quiescent storage at 40 degrees F, no visible cream separation occurs on the milk; and the fat percentage of the top 100 milliliters of milk in a quart, or of proportionate volumes in containers of other sizes, does not differ by more than 10 percent from the fat percentage of the remaining milk as determined after thorough mixing.

12. "Leftover" means any unserved food remaining at the end of the meal period for which it is prepared. (Examples: food remaining on the hot food table, unused or partially used meat, roasts, etc.)

13. "Organoleptically acceptable" means acceptable to taste, smell, touch, and appearance.

14. "Pasteurization," "pasteurized," and similar terms shall mean the process of heating every particle of milk or milk product in properly designed and operated equipment to one of the temperatures given in the following table and held continuously at or above that temperature for at least the corresponding specified time.

If the fat content of the milk product is 10 percent or more, or if it contains added sweeteners, the specified temperature shall be increased by 5 degrees F: provided that eggnog shall be heated to at least the following:

Nothing in this definition shall be construed as barring other pasteurization processes which have been recognized by the FDA to be equally efficient and which are approved by CHBUMED.

15. "Potentially hazardous food" means any food or ingredient, natural or synthetic, in a form capable of supporting: (1) the rapid and progressive growth of infectious or toxigenic microorganisms or, (2) the slower growth of C. botulinum. Included is any food of animal origin, either raw or heat treated, and any food of plant origin which has been treated (heated, chopped, cut, etc,) or which is raw seed sprouts. Excluded are the following:

• Air dried hard boiled eggs with shells intact;

• Foods with a water activity (Aw) value of 0.85 or less;

• Foods with a hydrogen ion concentration (pH) level of 4.6 or below;

• Foods, in unopened hermetically sealed containers, which have been commercially processed to achieve and maintain commercial sterility under conditions of nonrefrigerated storage and distribution; and

• Foods for which laboratory evidence (acceptable to CHBUMED) demonstrates that rapid and progressive growth of infectious and toxigenic microorganisms or the slower growth of C. botulinum cannot occur.

16. "Pathogen" means a specific causative agent (as a bacterium or virus) of disease.

17. "Perishable food" means any food of such type or in such condition that it may easily spoil unless maintained under specified storage or serving conditions.

18. "Pull date" means the expiration of the shelf life for a product. It may be expressed in open Standard or Julian date (e.g., "16 April 1978" or "106" respectively). This date is not to be used as the sole basis for discarding or determining that items are unfit for intended use or consumption. This date can be used as an inspection test date to determine when the items should be inspected by a veterinary food inspector or designated medical personnel (i.e., medical officers, their representatives, or other MDRs).

19. "Reconstitute" means to recombine dehydrated food products with potable water or other liquids.

20. "Reconstituted or recombined milk and milk products" means milk or milk products which result from reconstituting or recombining of milk constituents with potable water when appropriate.

21. "Safe holding temperatures," as applied to potentially hazardous food, shall mean a temperature of below 40 degrees F (4.4 degrees C) or above 140 degrees F (60 degrees C) except during necessary periods of preparation, cooking or cooling.

22. "Sanitize" and "sanitization" mean the act of reducing microbial organisms on cleaned food-contact surfaces to a safe level. A safe level is demonstrated by achieving a five log (99.999 percent) reduction in either Escherichia cold American Type Culture Collection (ATCC Number 11229) or Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC Number 6538) within 30 seconds by the Official Methods of Analysis of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists, method 4.020-4.028, 14th Edition, or as prescribed in subsequent editions.

23. "Sealed" means free of cracks or other openings that permit the entry or passage of moisture or air.

24. "Semiperishable" refers to food items that are canned, dried, dehydrated, or otherwise processed to the extent that such items under normal circumstances may be stored in nonrefrigerated spaces.

25. "Single-service articles" means tableware, including flatware and hollowware, containers, stirrers, straws, toothpicks, and wrappers which are designed, fabricated and intended by the manufacturer for one-time use.

26. "Smooth":

a. For food-contact surfaces, means having a uniform surface free of pits and inclusions with a cleanability equal to or exceeding that of (100 grit number three) stainless steel.

b. For splash areas and nonfood-contact surfaces of equipment, means having a surface equal to that of commercial grade hot-rolled steel free of visible scale.

c. For floors, walls and ceilings, means having an even level surface having no roughness or projections.

27. "Tableware" means eating and drinking utensils for table use such as flatware (eating and serving utensils that are more or less flat), hollowware (eating and serving utensils that have a significant depth and volume), napkins, place mats and plates.

28. "Utensil" means any food-contact implement used in the storage, preparation, transportation, dispensing, service or sale of food.

29. "Vending machine" means any self-service device which upon insertion of a coin, paper currency, token, card or key, dispenses unit servings of food, either in bulk or in packages, without the necessity of replenishing the device between each vending operation. It shall also include self-service dispensers equipped for optional manual operation. Unless otherwise stated, "vending machine" includes a controlled location vending machine.

Approved for public release; Distribution is unlimited.

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

This web version is provided by The Brookside Associates Medical Education Division.  It contains original contents from the official US Navy NAVMED P-5139, but has been reformatted for web access and includes advertising and links that were not present in the original version. This web version has not been approved by the Department of the Navy or the Department of Defense. The presence of any advertising on these pages does not constitute an endorsement of that product or service by either the US Department of Defense or the Brookside Associates. The Brookside Associates is a private organization, not affiliated with the United States Department of Defense.

Contact Us  ·  ·  Other Brookside Products