81-2,272.27 Food establishment; reduced oxygen packaging method; when. - Nebraska Statutes

81-2,272.27. Food establishment; reduced oxygen packaging method; when.A food establishment may use a reduced oxygen packaging method if a variance has been granted by the regulatory authority or under the following conditions:(1) A food establishment shall only use a reduced oxygen packaging method with potentially hazardous food that does not support the growth of the bacteria Clostridium botulinum because it:(a) Has an AW (water activity) of ninety-one hundredths or less;(b) Has a pH of four and six-tenths or less; or(c) Is a meat product cured and processed in the food establishment that at the time of processing had a concentration of sodium nitrite of one hundred twenty milligrams per liter or higher and has a brine concentration of at least three and one-half percent.(2) A food with a high level of competing organisms such as raw meat, raw poultry, or semi-soft cheese containing live active starter culture organisms may be packaged using a reduced oxygen method. Such products shall be labeled with a "sell by" or "use by" date not to exceed fourteen days and shall be discarded if not sold by that date.(3) Products packaged using a reduced oxygen method shall be maintained at forty-one degrees Fahrenheit (five degrees Celsius) or below.(4) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this section, products packaged using a reduced oxygen method shall be discarded if not sold within thirty days from processing if the food is processed at the food establishment. Food processed by a food processing plant that has been repackaged by the food establishment shall be discarded if not sold within fourteen days from packaging by the food establishment or the original manufacturers "sell by" or "use by" date, whichever occurs first.(5) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this section, products packaged using a reduced oxygen method shall be labeled with a "sell by" or "use by" date which is not more than thirty days from the date it was processed by the food establishment. Food processed by a food processing plant that has been repackaged by the food establishment shall be labeled with a "sell by" or "use by" date which is not more than fourteen days from the date it was repackaged by the food establishment or the original manufacturer's "sell by" or "use by" date, whichever occurs first.(6) Food establishments which process and package food using a reduced oxygen method shall have written policies for operational procedures that:(a) Prohibit contacting ready-to-eat foods with bare hands without proper handwashing;(b) Identify a designated area for reduced oxygen packaging which separates raw foods and ready-to-eat foods to minimize cross contamination;(c) Restrict access to the processing equipment to only responsible trained personnel familiar with the potential hazards of the operation; and(d) Delineate cleaning and sanitation procedures for food contact surfaces.(7) Food establishments which package food using a reduced oxygen method shall have a training program to ensure that the individual responsible for the reduced oxygen packaging operation understands the requirements of the Nebraska Pure Food Act and the procedures, equipment, and facilities required for safe operation.(8) A food establishment shall not package fish using a reduced oxygen method unless the fish remains frozen before, during, and after packaging or a variance has been granted by the regulatory authority. SourceLaws 1997, LB 199, § 52; Laws 2003, LB 250, § 17.