Article 1. Protection From Contamination of California Health And Safety Code >> Division 104. >> Part 7. >> Chapter 4. >> Article 1.

All food shall be manufactured, produced, prepared, compounded, packed, stored, transported, kept for sale, and served so as to be pure and free from adulteration and spoilage; shall have been obtained from approved sources; shall be protected from dirt, vermin, unnecessary handling, droplet contamination, overhead leakage, or other environmental sources of contamination; shall otherwise be fully fit for human consumption; and shall conform to the applicable provisions of the Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law (Part 5 (commencing with Section 109875)).

(a) Food shall be transported in a manner that meets the following requirements:
  (1) The interior floor, sides, and top of the food holding area shall be constructed of a smooth, washable, impervious material capable of withstanding frequent cleaning.
  (2) The food holding area shall be constructed and operated so that no liquid wastes can drain onto any street, sidewalk, or premises.
  (3) Except as provided in subdivision (a) of Section 113996, potentially hazardous food shall be maintained at the required holding temperatures.
  (b) This section shall not apply to the transportation of prepackaged nonpotentially hazardous foods.

(a) Adequate and suitable counter space shall be provided for all food preparation operations.
  (b) Except as specified in subdivision (c), food preparation shall be conducted within a fully enclosed food facility.
  (c) Limited food preparation shall be conducted within a food compartment or as approved by the enforcement agency. Subject to subdivision (g), this subdivision does not require an additional food compartment when adding ingredients to a beverage or dispensing into a serving container when the beverage is prepared for immediate service in response to an individual consumer order.
  (d) Food shall be prepared with suitable utensils and on surfaces that, prior to use, have been cleaned, rinsed, and sanitized as specified in Section 114117 to prevent cross-contamination.
  (e) Overhead protection shall be provided above all food preparation, food display, warewashing, and food storage areas.
  (f) All food shall be thawed, washed, sliced, and cooled within an approved fully enclosed food facility.
  (g) Based upon local environmental conditions, location, and other similar factors, the enforcement officer may establish additional structural or operational requirements, or both, for mobile food facilities as necessary to ensure that foods, food-contact surfaces, and utensils are of a safe and sanitary quality.

Consumer access to a food facility through the food preparation area is permissible, at the discretion of the permitholder, if ready-to-eat foods are prepared in approved areas separated from sources of contamination by a space of at least three feet from the consumer and in areas that are separate from raw or undercooked foods. The route of access shall be separated from the required space by a rail or wall at least three feet high or otherwise clearly delineated.

(a) Food shall be protected from cross-contamination by utilizing one or more of the following methods:
  (1) Separating raw food of animal origin during transportation, storage, preparation, holding, and display from raw ready-to-eat food, including other raw food of animal origin such as fish for sushi or molluscan shellfish, or other raw ready-to-eat food such as produce, and cooked ready-to-eat food in any of the following ways:
  (A) Using separate equipment of each type.
  (B) Arranging each type of food in equipment so that cross-contamination of one type with another is prevented.
  (C) Preparing each type of food at different times or in separate areas.
  (D) Except as specified in subdivision (b), storing the food in packages, covered containers, or wrappings.
  (E) Cleaning hermetically sealed containers of food of visible soil before opening.
  (F) Protecting food containers that are received packaged together in a case or overwrap from cuts when the case or overwrap is opened.
  (G) Storing damaged, spoiled, or recalled food being held in the food establishment as specified in Section 114055.
  (H) Separating fruits and vegetables before they are washed, as specified in Section 113992, from ready-to-eat food.
  (2) Except when combined as ingredients, separating types of raw foods of animal origin from each other during transportation, storage, preparation, holding, and display in the following ways:
  (A) Using separate equipment for each type.
  (B) Arranging each type of food in equipment so that cross-contamination of one type with another is prevented.
  (C) Preparing each type of food at different times or in separate areas.
  (D) Except as specified in subdivision (b), storing the food in packages, covered containers, or wrappings.
  (E) Cleaning hermetically sealed containers of food of visible soil before opening.
  (F) Protecting food containers that are received packaged together in a case or overwrap from cuts when the case or overwrap is opened.
  (G) Storing damaged, spoiled, or recalled food being held in the food establishment as specified in Section 114055.
  (H) Separating fruits and vegetables before they are washed, as specified in Section 113992, from ready-to-eat food.
  (b) Subparagraph (D) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of this section shall not apply to any of the following:
  (1) Whole, uncut, raw fruits and vegetables and nuts in the shell that require peeling or hulling before consumption.
  (2) Primal cuts, quarters, or sides of raw meat or slab bacon that are hung on clean, sanitized hooks or placed on clean, sanitized racks.
  (3) Whole, uncut, processed meats, such as country hams, and smoked or cured sausages that are placed on clean, sanitized racks.
  (4) Food being cooled as specified in subdivision (b) of Section 114002.1.
  (5) Shellstock.

(a) Food shall be protected from contamination that may result from the addition of unsafe or unapproved food or color additives or unsafe or unapproved levels of approved food and color additives.
  (b) A food employee may not apply sulfiting agents to fresh fruits and vegetables intended for raw consumption, or to any potentially hazardous food.

Ice that has been used as a medium for cooling the exterior surfaces of food such as melons or fish, prepackaged foods such as canned beverages, or cooling coils and tubes of equipment, shall not be used as food.

(a) Produce shall be thoroughly washed in potable water to remove soil and other contaminants before being cut, combined with other ingredients, cooked, served, or offered for human consumption in ready-to-eat form, except as specified in subdivision (b) and except when intended for washing by the consumer before consumption.
  (b) Chemicals used to wash or peel produce shall meet the requirements specified in 21 C.F.R. 173.315.