(1) A HACCP plan must be submitted to the regulatory authority for the following processes:

(a) smoking or curing food;

(b) using food additives as a method of food preservation rather than as a method of flavor enhancement; or

(c) packaging food using a reduced-oxygen packaging unless the regulatory authority finds that a barrier to Clostridium botulinum exists.

(2) For reduced-oxygen packaging that contains no barrier to Clostridium botulinum, the food service establishment shall follow an approved HACCP plan that contains the information specified under ARM 37.110.255 and that does the following:

(a) identifies the food to be packaged;

(b) limits the food packaged to a food that does not support the growth of Clostridium botulism because it complies with one of the following:

(i) has an aw of 0.91 or less;

(ii) has a pH of 4.6 or less;

(iii) is a meat product cured at a food processing plant regulated by the U.S. department of agriculture using a combination of nitrites, nitrates, and salt that at the time of processing consists of 120 mg/L or higher concentration of sodium nitrite and a brine concentration of at least 3.50% and is received in an intact package; or

(iv) is a food with a high level of competing organisms such as raw meat or raw poultry;

(c) specifies methods for maintaining food at 41 º F (5 º C) or below;

(d) describes how the packages must be prominently and conspicuously labeled on the principal display panel in bold type on a contrasting background, with instructions to maintain the food at 41 º F (5 º C) or below and to discard the food within 14 calendar days of its packaging if it is not served for on-premises consumption;

(e) limits the shelf life to no more than 14 calendar days from packaging to consumption or to the original manufacturer's "sell by" or "use by" date, whichever occurs first;

(f) includes operational procedures that do the following:

(i) prohibits contacting food with bare hands;

(ii) identifies a designated preparation area;

(iii) identifies a method of minimizing cross-contamination of raw foods with ready-to-eat foods;

(iv) restricts access to processing equipment to only trained food employees familiar with the potential hazards of the operation; and

(v) delineates cleaning and sanitization procedures for food-contact surfaces;

(g) describes the training program that ensures that the individual responsible for the reduced-oxygen packaging operation understands the following:

(i) concepts required for a safe operation;

(ii) equipment and facilities; and

(iii) procedures specified in (2) (f) of this rule and 37.110.255(1) (d) .

(h) except for fish that is frozen before, during, and after packaging, a food establishment may not package fish using a reduced-oxygen packaging method.