Sec. 3.20. Cleaning and sanitizing of containers and equipment—Item 12p

(a) All multiuse containers and utensils shall be thoroughly cleaned after each use, and all equipment shall be thoroughly cleaned at least once each day when used, provided that, storage tanks shall be cleaned when emptied and shall be emptied at last once every 72 hours. Storage tanks which are used to store raw milk or whey longer than 24 hours and silo tanks used for the storage of raw milk or whey, and which are installed after the adoption of this Part, shall be equipped with a temperature-recording device complying with the specifications of Appendix 9 of this Title.

(b) Drying equipment, cloth-collector systems, packaging equipment, and multiuse dry milk products and dry whey storage containers, shall be cleaned at intervals and by methods recommended by the manufacturer and approved by the regulatory agency.

Note:

Appendix 11 of this Title contains additional information on dry cleaning of drying equipment, packaging equipment, and dry milk product and dry whey storage containers.

(c) Storage bins used to transport dry products shall be drycleaned after each usage, and washed and sanitized at regular intervals.

(d) Pipelines and equipment designed for mechanical cleaning shall meet the following requirements:

(1) An effective cleaning and sanitizing regimen for each separate cleaning circuit shall be established and utilized.

(2) A temperature-recording device, complying with the specifications in Appendix 9 of this Title, shall be installed in the return-solution line to record the temperature and time during which the line or equipment is exposed to cleaning and sanitizing.

(3) Temperature-recording charts shall be identified, dated, and retained for three months.

(4) During each official inspection, the regulatory agency shall examine and initial temperature-recording charts.

(e) All multiuse containers, equipment and utensils shall be sanitized before use, employing one or a combination of the following methods:

(1) exposure to an enclosed jet of steam for not less than one minute;

(2) complete immersion in hot water at a temperature of at least 170°F (77°C) for at least five minutes, or exposure to a flow of hot water at a temperature of at least 170°F (77°C), as determined by use of an acceptable indicating thermometer located at the outlet, for at least five minutes;

(3) exposure to hot air at a temperature of at least 180°F (83°C) for at least 20 minutes, as measured by an acceptable indicating thermometer located in the coldest zone;

(4) complete immersion for at least one minute in, or exposure for at least one minute to, a flow of chemical sanitizer of acceptable strength. All product-contact surfaces must be wetted by the sanitizing solution and piping so treated must be filled. Sanitizing sprays may be used. Chemical solutions, once used, shall not be reused for sanitizing but may be reused for other purposes. Assembled equipment must be sanitized prior to each day's run. (See Appendix 6 of this Title for a more complete discussion of sanitizers and sanitizing techniques.)

(f) For high-pressure lines, use of an alkaline cleaner at 160°F (72°C) for 30 minutes, followed by an acid cleaner for 30 minutes at the same temperature is satisfactory. Effective sanitization of the dryer may be accomplished by the following procedure:

(1) Operate spray nozzles with water at temperature and rates at least as high as those employed during the drying operation.

(2) Adjust airflow to give at least 0.5-inch (water) pressure in the drying chamber.

(3) Continue the operation for 20 minutes while a temperature of not less than 185°F (85°C) is being registered at the discharge from the dryer.

Portions of the drying system not reached by this treatment, or dryers for which this procedure is not practical, shall be treated by one of the methods prescribed above.

(g) The residual bacteria count of multiuse and single-service containers used for the packaging of dry products shall no exceed one per milliliter of capacity when the rinse test is used, or not over 50 colonies per 8 square inches (one per square centimeter) of product-contact surface when the swab test is used, in three out of four samples taken at random on a given day. All multiuse and single-service containers shall be free of coliform organisims.