Title 21 CFR reference

All operators of processing and packaging systems shall be under the operating supervisions of a person who has attended a school approved by the Commissioner for giving instruction in food-handling techniques, food-protection principles, personal hygiene and plant sanitation practices, pH controls and critical factors in acidification, and who has been identified by that school as having satisfactorily completed the prescribed course of instruction. The Commissioner will consider students who have satisfactorily completed the required portions of the courses presented under § 108.35 and part 113 of this chapter before March 16, 1979, to be in compliance with the requirement of this section.

(a) Records shall be maintained of examinations of raw materials, packaging materials, and finished products, and of suppliers' guarantees or certifications that verify compliance with Food and Drug Administration regulations and guidance documents or action levels. (b) Processing and production records showing adherence to scheduled processes, including records of pH measurements and other critical factors intended to ensure a safe product, shall be maintained and shall contain sufficient additional information such as product code, date, container size, and product, to permit a public health hazard evaluation of the processes applied to each lot, batch, or other portion of production. (c) All departures from scheduled processes having a possible bearing on public health or the safety of the food shall be noted and the affected portion of the product identified; these departures shall be recorded and made the subject of a separate file (or log identifying the appropriate data) delineating them, the action taken to rectify them, and the disposition of the portion of the product involved. (d) Records shall be maintained identifying initial distribution of the finished product to…

For the purposes of this part, the following definitions apply. Acid foods(a) means foods that have a natural pH of 4.6 or below. Acidified foodsw52(b) means low-acid foods to which acid(s) or acid food(s) are added; these foods include, but are not limited to, beans, cucumbers, cabbage, artichokes, cauliflower, puddings, peppers, tropical fruits, and fish, singly or in any combination. They have a water activity (a) greater than 0.85 and have a finished equilibrium pH of 4.6 or below. These foods may be called, or may purport to be, “pickles” or “pickled ______.” Carbonated beverages, jams, jellies, preserves, acid foods (including such foods as standardized and nonstandardized food dressings and condiment sauces) that contain small amounts of low-acid food(s) and have a resultant finished equilibrium pH that does not significantly differ from that of the predominant acid or acid food, and foods that are stored, distributed, and retailed under refrigeration are excluded from the coverage of this part. Lot(c) means the product produced during a period indicated by a specific code. Low-acid foodsw52(d) means any foods, other than alcoholic beverages, with a finished equilibrium…

The criteria in §§ 114.10, 114.80, 114.83, 114.89, and 114.100, as well as the criteria in parts 110 and 117 of this chapter, apply in determining whether an article of acidified food is adulterated: (a) Within the meaning of section 402(a)(3) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act in that it has been manufactured under such conditions that it is unfit for food; or (b) Within the meaning of section 402(a)(4) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act in that it has been prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby it may have become contaminated with filth, or whereby it may have been rendered injurious to health. [80 FR 56144, Sept. 17, 2015]

Processing operations.(a) The manufacturer shall employ appropriate quality control procedures to ensure that finished foods do not present a health hazard. (1) Acidified foods shall be so manufactured, processed, and packaged that a finished equilibrium pH value of 4.6 or lower is achieved within the time designated in the scheduled process and maintained in all finished foods. Manufacturing shall be in accordance with the scheduled process. Acidified foods shall be thermally processed to an extent that is sufficient to destroy the vegetative cells of microorganisms of public health significance and those of nonhealth significance capable of reproducing in the food under the conditions in which the food is stored, distributed, retailed and held by the user. Permitted preservatives may be used to inhibit reproduction of microorganisms of nonhealth significance (in lieu of thermal processing). (2) Sufficient control, including frequent testing and recording of results, shall be exercised so that the finished equilibrium pH values for acidified foods are not higher than 4.6. Measurement of acidity of foods in-process may be made by potentiometric methods, titratable acidity, or…

The scheduled process shall be established by a qualified person who has expert knowledge acquired through appropriate training and experience in the acidification and processing of acidified foods.

Whenever any process operation deviates from the scheduled process for any acidified food and/or the equilibrium pH of the finished product is higher than 4.6, the commercial processor of the acidified food shall either: (a) Fully reprocess that portion of the food by a process established by a competent processing authority as adequate to ensure a safe product; (b) thermally process it as a low-acid food under part 113 of this chapter; or (c) set aside that portion of the food involved for further evaluation as to any potential public health significance. The evaluation shall be made by a competent processing authority and shall be in accordance with procedures recognized by competent processing authorities as being adequate to detect any potential hazard to public health. Unless the evaluation demonstrates that the food has undergone a process that has rendered it safe, the food set aside shall either be fully reprocessed to render it safe, or be destroyed. A record shall be made of the procedures used in the evaluation and the results. Either upon completion of full reprocessing and the attainment of a safe food, or after the determination that no significant potential for…

Methods that may be used to determine pH or acidity for acidified foods include, but are not limited to, the following: Potentiometric method for the determination of pHPrinciples.(a) —(1) The term “pH” is used to designate the intensity or degree of acidity. The value of pH, the logarithm of the reciprocal of the hydrogen ion concentration in solution, is determined by measuring the difference in potential between two electrodes immersed in a sample solution. A suitable system consists of a potentiometer, a glass electrode, and a reference electrode. A precise pH determination can be made by making an electromotive force (emf) measurement of a standard buffer solution whose pH is known, and then comparing that measurement to an emf measurement of a sample of the solution to be tested. Instruments.(2) The primary instrument for use in pH determination is the pH meter or potentiometer. For most work, an instrument with a direct-reading pH scale is necessary. Battery and line-operated instruments are available commercially. If the line voltage is unstable, line-operated instruments should be fitted with voltage regulators to eliminate drifting of meter-scale readings. Batteries…