§ 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 and in subpart B of part 117 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.