Food businesses: the water, plumbing, sewage and physical-facility requirements

It is Rule 4.3.5 of Chapter 4.3 of Joint Regulation No. 9473, the Health Licence chapter, with its nine sections: the one authorising the Food Code as a reference guide, the four on potable water, the one on plumbing, the one on sewage, the one on refuse and the one on physical facilities. This site’s general Health Licence guide was written from other rules of the same chapter and carries none of these; our AAA, well-water and septic-tank guides deal with the service connection and the disposal system, not with the business’s own plumbing. This is the food establishment’s internal standard.

The rule applies to food establishments subject to the Health Licence. Several of its provisions have special rules for temporary establishments: they are exempt from the requirement of water under pressure to all fixtures and equipment, their floor may be concrete, asphalt, earth or gravel if covered with a mat, removable platforms or duckboards treated against dust and mud, and the prohibition on studs, joists and rafters in areas subject to moisture does not apply to them. There are also express provisions for mobile vending, whose waste is removed to an approved service area or by a transport vehicle.

• Potable water from an approved source, from a public or private system built, maintained and operated under the Puerto Rico Construction Code; that from a public system under 40 CFR 141 and that from a private system under the state standards.Verified against the official source
• If the supply is from a private system: sampling and analysing the water at least annually and keeping the most recent report on file at the establishment.Verified against the official source
• Flushing and disinfecting the potable water system after construction, repair or modification, before restoring service, or after an emergency such as a flood that could have introduced contaminants.Verified against the official source
• Handwash basins equipped to provide water at at least 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) through a mixing valve or combination taps, without using steam mixing valves, and with self-closing, slow-closing or metering taps providing a flow of at least fifteen seconds without reactivating them.Verified against the official source
• At least one service sink, with a floor drain, located outside the preparation area, for cleaning cloths and disposing of wash water.Verified against the official source
• Drainage systems including grease traps accessible for easy cleaning, installed under the Puerto Rico Plumbing Code and any applicable AAA regulation.Verified against the official source
• Sewage disposal at a treatment plant or in the public sanitary sewer, or in an individual system under the Puerto Rico Private Wastewater Systems Code.Verified against the official source
• Interior floors, walls and ceilings smooth, durable and easily cleaned, impervious in areas subject to moisture, with floor-wall junctions coved and closed and no greater than 1/30 of an inch where no flushing is used.Verified against the official source
• Light bulb protectors — a shield, coating or shatter-resistant bulbs — where food, clean equipment, utensils, linens or unwrapped single-service articles are exposed.Verified against the official source

• The most recent water sampling and analysis report, if the supply comes from a private system; it is kept on file at the establishment.
• The approval of the use of non-potable water, if it will be used for non-culinary purposes such as air conditioners, cooling equipment with no food, fire protection or irrigation.

1. 1

   Step 1: The Food Code as a reference guide

   Section 4.3.5.1 authorises the Food Code of the US Food and Drug Administration and Public Health Service as a reference guide for four things: evaluating the Health Licence requirements, regulating the design and construction of these establishments, providing for the filing and approval of plans, and providing on single-permit requirements. That wording is worth reading carefully: the regulation adopts it as a reference guide, and the requirements listed afterwards are the regulation’s own.

2. 2

   Step 2: The water: potable, from an approved source and analysed

   The water must be potable and come from an approved source: a public or private system built, maintained and operated under the Puerto Rico Construction Code. If it comes from a public system, it complies with 40 CFR 141; if from a private one, with the state standards. And water from a private system is sampled and analysed at least annually, with the most recent report kept on file at the establishment. Non-potable water is allowed only if its use is approved, and only for non-culinary purposes: air conditioners, cooling equipment containing no food, fire protection and irrigation.

3. 3

   Step 3: Flushing and disinfecting after works or a flood

   Section 4.3.5.3 requires the potable water system to be flushed and disinfected at three moments: after construction, repair or modification; before restoring service; and after an emergency, such as a flood, that could have introduced contaminants. It is the section most often forgotten after a hurricane, and it is exactly the one that applies in that scenario.

4. 4

   Step 4: Capacity, pressure and alternate supply

   Capacity must be sufficient for demand, and hot-water systems sufficient for peak-demand periods. Water must reach all fixtures and equipment under pressure, with an exemption for temporary establishments or during temporary interruptions. Distribution may be through an approved main, or through a private main, pumps, piping, hoses and connections, through water transport vehicles or through water containers. And if an alternate supply is needed, the regulation lists five: bottled water, closed portable containers, a closed tank to transport water, a tank on the premises, or piping, tubing or hose connected to an adjacent approved source.

5. 5

   Step 5: The handwash basins: a hundred degrees and fifteen seconds

   Plumbing materials must comply with the Puerto Rico Plumbing Code. Handwash basins must be equipped to provide water at at least one hundred degrees Fahrenheit — thirty-eight degrees Celsius — through a mixing valve or combination taps. The regulation expressly prohibits using steam mixing valves on handwash basins. And if the tap is self-closing, slow-closing or metering, it must provide a flow of at least fifteen seconds without needing to be reactivated. On quantity: at least one, or as many as needed, and no fewer than the Construction Code requires; with a single basin, it may be replaced by an automatic one able to remove the kinds of soil; and if approved and food exposure is limited, employees may use disposable towelettes moistened with a chemical solution. On location: accessible in the preparation, service and utensil-washing areas, and in or near the toilets.

6. 6

   Step 6: The service sink, the air gap and the carbonator

   At least one service sink, with a floor drain, located outside the preparation area, is needed for cleaning cloths and disposing of wash water. Backflow prevention is by air gap under the Code, and devices comply with A.S.S.E. standards; filters must be of the replaceable type and removable for cleaning. The carbonator has its own rule: with no air gap, a double-check valve with an intermediate vent is installed, preceded by a screen of no fewer than one hundred threads per inch, upstream of the carbonator and downstream of any copper. And toilets and urinals must be no fewer than the Construction Code requires.

7. 7

   Step 7: Sewage: no direct connection, and the grease traps

   There must be no direct connection between the sewage system and a drain originating in equipment where food is placed, portable equipment or utensils. The rule has two express exceptions: an equipment- or utensil-washing machine, which may have a direct connection to a floor drain with a trap within five feet, with proper venting if the Code allows; and a utensil- or food-washing sink, if the Code allows. Grease traps must be accessible for easy cleaning and installed under the Plumbing Code and any applicable AAA regulation. Sewage is carried by an approved sanitary system; mobile-vending waste is removed to an approved service area or by a transport vehicle, and the holding tank is discharged completely in a sanitary manner. Approved disposal is a treatment plant or the public sanitary sewer, or an individual system under the Puerto Rico Private Wastewater Systems Code. A note on the source: the document prints that distance as "dentro de cinco (5) pies (1.5 mm)". Five feet and one and a half millimetres are not the same distance; we publish the five feet as written in words and report the parenthetical as it appears, without correcting the source.

8. 8

   Step 8: Refuse inside and outside

   The interior refuse area follows what the regulation provides. Outside, the surface must be of impervious materials such as concrete or asphalt, smooth, durable and sloped to drain, and the exterior enclosure of durable, easily cleaned materials. It is a short section but one they look at in inspections: if the bin area sits on earth or grass, it does not comply.

9. 9

   Step 9: The physical facilities: junctions, carpets and light bulbs

   Interior floors, walls and ceilings must be smooth, durable and easily cleaned, and impervious in areas subject to moisture: preparation, refrigerators, equipment washing, toilet rooms, mobile service and flushing or spraying areas. Where no flushing is used, floor-wall junctions must be coved and closed and no greater than one thirtieth of an inch, which is one millimetre; where flushing is used, with a drain and slope, joints must be coved and sealed. Utility lines must not be unnecessarily exposed, must be installed without obstructing cleaning and may not be installed on the floor. Carpeting is prohibited in preparation areas, walk-in refrigerators, equipment washing, toilet rooms, refuse storage and wet areas; if carpeted elsewhere, it is fixed with safe and durable material, installed tight over the skirting or with a metal trim. Interior walls of concrete, porous block or brick must be finished and sealed to achieve a smooth, impervious, easily cleaned surface, except in dry storage. Studs, joists and rafters must not be in areas subject to moisture, a requirement that does not apply to temporary establishments. And light bulbs must carry a shield, coating or be shatter-resistant where food, clean equipment, utensils, linens or unwrapped single-service articles are exposed; they are not needed in areas only storing food in unopened packages, if the package’s integrity is not altered and broken bulbs can be removed before opening them.

These requirements are checked within the Health Licence process before OGPe and in the Department of Health’s inspections. The rule itself refers to other standards for several of its points: the Puerto Rico Plumbing Code for materials and grease traps, the Construction Code for the number of handwash basins and toilets, the Private Wastewater Systems Code for individual disposal, and any applicable AAA regulations. Connecting the water service and installing a septic tank are separate processes and have their own guides on this site.

• Assuming the kitchen’s hot water covers the handwash basin requirement: it must be at least one hundred degrees Fahrenheit at the basin itself.
• Installing a steam mixing valve on a handwash basin.
• Fitting self-closing taps that give less than fifteen seconds of flow.
• Placing the service sink inside the preparation area, or without a floor drain.
• Being supplied from a well and not sampling and analysing the water at least once a year, or not keeping the most recent report at the establishment.
• Serving again after works or a flood without flushing and disinfecting the potable water system.
• Using non-potable water for culinary purposes, or without its use being approved.
• Connecting directly to the sewage system a drain originating in equipment where food is placed.
• Installing grease traps where they cannot be easily cleaned.
• Installing utility lines on the floor.
• Carpeting the preparation area, the walk-in refrigerator, equipment washing, toilet rooms or refuse storage.
• Leaving floor-wall junctions open or greater than one thirtieth of an inch where no flushing is used.
• Leaving porous block walls unfinished and unsealed outside dry storage.
• Leaving the exterior refuse area on earth or grass, with no sloped impervious surface or durable enclosure.
• Leaving light bulbs unprotected where food, utensils or linens are exposed.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Oficina de Gerencia de Permisos (OGPe)

  OGPe

  docs.pr.gov

• Permit Management Office

  ogpe

  ogpe.pr.gov

• Department of Health

  salud

  www.salud.pr.gov