37.111.315    FOOD PREPARATION

(1) Food must be prepared with the least possible manual contact, with suitable utensils, and on surfaces that prior to use have been cleaned, rinsed and sanitized to prevent cross contamination. Sinks used for the preparation of foods must be cleaned and sanitized immediately before beginning the preparation of the food.

(2) Raw fruits and raw vegetables must be thoroughly washed with potable water before being cooked or served.

(3) Potentially hazardous foods must be cooked to heat all parts of the food to a temperature of at least 135^oF (57.2 ^oC) , except as follows:

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Food Item	Temperature
Poultry, poultry stuffing, stuffed meats, stuffings containing meat	heat all parts of the food to at least 165�o F (74�o C) with no interruption in the cooking process
Pork and pork products	heat all parts of the food to at least 145oF(63oC)
Rare roast beef, rare beef steak	cook to an internal temperature of at least 130oF(55oC) unless otherwise ordered by customer for immediate service
Ground meat	cook to an internal temperature of 155oF (68oC) , and the food must hold this temperature for at least 15 seconds

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(4) Uncooked, unpasteurized shell eggs may not be used for the preparation of ready-to-eat foods or foods that are not further cooked or baked.

(5) The reheating of food for hot holding must be done as follows:

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Food Item	Temperature
Potentially hazardous food that has been cooked, cooled and reheated for hot holding	reheat to reach at least 165oF (74oC) in all parts of the food and maintain temperature for 15 seconds
Reheating all food for hot holding	reheat rapidly so that temperature of 165oF (74oC) is attained within two hours
Ready-to-eat food taken from commercially processed hermetically sealed container or intact package from a licensed or approved food processing plant	reheat to reach at least 140oF (60oC) prior to hot holding
Cooked and refrigerated food that is for immediate service in response to a consumer's order, such as a roast beef sandwich au jus	serve at any prepared temperature

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(6) Potentially hazardous food reheated for hot holding in a microwave oven must:

(a) be covered;

(b) rotated or stirred throughout or midway during cooking or according to label instructions during heating;

(c) heated to a temperature of at least 165^oF (74^oC) ; and

(d) allowed to stand covered for two minutes after reheating.

(7) Digital or dial type metal stem temperature measuring devices accurate to +2^oF (+1^oC) , must be used to assure the attainment and maintenance of proper internal cooking or holding temperatures of all potentially hazardous foods.

(8) Potentially hazardous foods must be thawed:

(a) in refrigerated units at a temperature not to exceed 45^oF (7^oC) ;

(b) under potable running water of a temperature of 70^oF (22^oC) or below, with sufficient water velocity to agitate and float off loose food particles into the overflow for a period of time that does not allow thawed portions of a raw animal food requiring cooking to be above 45^oF (7^oC) for more than four hours;

(c) in a microwave oven only when the food will be immediately transferred to conventional cooking facilities as part of a continuous cooking process or when the entire, uninterrupted cooking process takes place in the microwave oven; or

(d) as part of the conventional cooking process.

(9) Except for cooking and baking uses, potentially hazardous foods, once served, may not be returned to the preparation area and reserved for later meals.

(10) Serving utensils must be used for the display and service of foods during family style meals.

History: Sec. 50-51-103 and 50-51-108, MCA; IMP, Sec. 50-51-103, MCA; NEW, 2003 MAR p. 1338, Eff. 7/1/03.