Rule 40-7-1-.19. Equipment, Utensils, and Linens: Location and Installation

1. (1) Equipment, Clothes Washers and Dryers, and Storage Cabinets, Contamination Prevention.

   1. (a) Except as specified in (b) of this section, EQUIPMENT, a cabinet used for the storage of FOOD, or a cabinet that is used to store cleaned and SANITIZED EQUIPMENT, UTENSILS, laundered LINENS, and SINGLE-SERVICE and SINGLE-USE ARTICLES may not be located:

      1. 1. In locker rooms;
      2. 2. In toilet rooms;
      3. 3. In garbage rooms;
      4. 4. In mechanical rooms;
      5. 5. Under sewer lines that are not shielded to intercept potential drips;
      6. 6. Under leaking water lines including leaking automatic fire sprinkler heads or under lines on which water has condensed;
      7. 7. Under open stairwells; or
      8. 8. Under other sources of contamination.
   2. (b) A storage cabinet used for LINENS or SINGLE-SERVICE or SINGLE-USE ARTICLES may be stored in a locker room.
   3. (c) If a mechanical clothes washer or dryer is provided, it shall be located so that the washer or dryer is protected from contamination and only where there is no exposed FOOD; clean EQUIPMENT, UTENSILS, and LINENS; and unwrapped SINGLE-SERVICE and SINGLE-USE ARTICLES.

2. (2) Fixed Equipment, Spacing or Sealing.

   1. (a) EQUIPMENT that is fixed because it is not EASILY MOVABLE shall be installed so that it is:

      1. 1. Spaced to allow access for cleaning along the sides, behind, and above the EQUIPMENT;
      2. 2. Spaced from adjoining EQUIPMENT, walls, and ceilings a distance of not more than 1 millimeter or one thirty-second inch; or
      3. 3. SEALED to adjoining EQUIPMENT or walls, if the EQUIPMENT is exposed to spillage or seepage.

   2. (b) COUNTER-MOUNTED EQUIPMENT that is not EASILY MOVABLE shall be installed to allow cleaning of the EQUIPMENT and areas underneath and around the EQUIPMENT by being:

      1. 1. SEALED; or
      2. 2. Elevated on legs as specified under 40-7-1-.19(3)(d).

3. (3) Fixed Equipment, Elevation or Sealing.

   1. (a) Except as specified in (b) and (c) of this section, floor-mounted EQUIPMENT that is not EASILY MOVABLE shall be SEALED to the floor or elevated on legs that provide at least a 15 centimeter (6 inch) clearance between the floor and the EQUIPMENT.
   2. (b) If no part of the floor under the floor-mounted EQUIPMENT is more than 15 centimeters (6 inches) from the point of cleaning access, the clearance space may be only 10 centimeters (4 inches).
   3. (c) This section does not apply to display shelving units, display refrigeration units, and display freezer units located in the CONSUMER shopping areas of a retail FOOD store, if the floor under the units is maintained clean.
   4. (d) Except as specified in (e) of this section, COUNTER-MOUNTED EQUIPMENT that is not EASILY MOVABLE shall be elevated on legs that provide at least a 10 centimeter (4 inch) clearance between the table and the EQUIPMENT.

   5. (e) The clearance space between the table and COUNTER-MOUNTED EQUIPMENT may be:

      1. 1. 7.5 centimeters (3 inches) if the horizontal distance of the table top under the EQUIPMENT is no more than 50 centimeters (20 inches) from the point of access for cleaning; or
      2. 2. 5 centimeters (2 inches) if the horizontal distance of the table top under the EQUIPMENT is no more than 7.5 centimeters (3 inches) from the point of access for cleaning.

Authority: O.C.G.A. Secs. 26-2-1 et. seq.

History. Original Rule entitled "Food Standards" adopted. F. and eff. June 30, 1965.

Repealed: New Rule entitled "Reheating" adopted. F. Apr. 30, 1996; eff. May 20, 1996.

Amended: F. Oct. 29, 2003; eff. Nov. 28, 2003, as specified by the Agency.

Amended: F. Aug. 7, 2012; eff. Aug. 27, 2012.

Repealed: New Rule entitled "Equipment, Utensils, & Linens: Location and Installation" adopted. F. Sep. 11, 2015; eff. Oct. 1, 2015.