§120.6 Sanitation standard operating procedures.
(a) Sanitation controls. Each processor shall have and implement a sanitation standard operating procedure (SSOP) that addresses sanitation conditions and practices before, during, and after processing. The SSOP shall address:
(1) Safety of the water that comes into contact with food or food contact surfaces or that is used in the manufacture of ice;
(2) Condition and cleanliness of food contact surfaces, including utensils, gloves, and outer garments;
(3) Prevention of cross contamination from insanitary objects to food, food packaging material, and other food contact surfaces, including utensils, gloves, and outer garments, and from raw product to processed product;
(4) Maintenance of hand washing, hand sanitizing, and toilet facilities;
(5) Protection of food, food packaging material, and food contact surfaces from adulteration with lubricants, fuel, pesticides, cleaning compounds, sanitizing agents, condensate, and other chemical, physical, and biological contaminants;
(6) Proper labeling, storage, and use of toxic compounds;
(7) Control of employee health conditions that could result in the microbiological contamination of food, food packaging materials, and food contact surfaces; and
(8) Exclusion of pests from the food plant.
(b) Monitoring. The processor shall monitor the conditions and practices during processing with sufficient frequency to ensure, at a minimum, conformance with those conditions and practices specified in part 110 of this chapter that are appropriate both to the plant and to the food being processed. Each processor shall correct, in a timely manner, those conditions and practices that are not met.
(c) Records. Each processor shall maintain SSOP records that, at a minimum, document the monitoring and corrections prescribed by paragraph (b) of this section. These records are subject to the recordkeeping requirements of §120.12.
(d) Relationship to Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan. Sanitation standard operating procedure controls may be included in the HACCP plan required under §120.8(b). However, to the extent that they are implemented in accordance with this section, they need not be included in the HACCP plan.
