The following words and terms, when used in this subchapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Those definitions and interpretations of terms of the Texas Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 431, are also applicable when used in this subchapter.

1. (1) Acid foods or acidified foods--Foods that have an equilibrium pH of 4.6 or below.
2. (2) Act--Texas Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, Health and Safety Code, Chapter 431.
3. (3) Adequate--That which is needed to accomplish the intended purpose in keeping with good public health practice.
4. (4) Approved source--A supplier of food that complies with applicable state and federal laws and is licensed, if required, and inspected by the regulatory authority having jurisdiction over the processing and distribution of food.
5. (5) Batter--A semifluid substance, usually composed of flour and other ingredients, into which principal components of food are dipped or with which they are coated, or which may be used directly to form bakery foods.
6. (6) Blanching (except for tree nuts and peanuts)--A prepackaging heat treatment of foodstuffs for a sufficient time and at a sufficient temperature to partially or completely inactivate the naturally occurring enzymes and to effect other physical or biochemical changes in the food.
7. (7) Control point--Any point, step, or procedure at which biological, physical, or chemical factors can be controlled.
8. (8) Food--Articles used for food or drink for human consumption; chewing gum; and articles used for components of any such article.
9. (9) Food-contact surfaces--Those surfaces that contact human food and those surfaces from which drainage onto the food or onto surfaces that contact the food ordinarily occurs during the normal course of operations. "Food-contact surfaces" includes utensils and food-contact surfaces of equipment.
10. (10) Lot--Food produced during a period of time indicated by a specific code.
11. (11) Microorganisms--Yeasts, molds, bacteria, and viruses which include, but are not limited to, species having public health significance. The term "undesirable microorganisms" includes those microorganisms that are of public health significance; that subject food to decomposition; that indicate that food is contaminated with filth; or that otherwise may cause food to be adulterated within the meaning of the Act. Occasionally in these regulations, the adjective "microbial" is used instead of using an adjectival phrase containing the word microorganism.
12. (12) Pests--Any objectionable animal or insect including, but not limited to, birds, rodents, flies, and larvae.
13. (13) Plant--The building or facility, or parts thereof, used for or in connection with the manufacturing, packaging, labeling, or holding of human food.

14. (14) Potentially hazardous food--A food that is natural or synthetic and requires temperature control because it is in a form capable of supporting the rapid and progressive growth of infectious or toxigenic microorganisms; the growth and toxin production of Clostridium botulinum; or in raw shell eggs, the growth of Salmonella enteritidis.

    1. (A) The term includes a food of animal origin that is raw or heat-treated; a food of plant origin that is heat-treated or consists of raw seed sprouts; cut melons; and garlic and oil mixtures that are not acidified or otherwise modified at a food processing plant in a way that results in mixtures that do not support growth as specified in this definition.
    2. (B) The term does not include an air-cooled hard-boiled egg with shell intact; a food with a water activity (a_w) value of 0.85 or less; a food with a pH level of 4.6 or below when measured at 24 degrees Celsius (75 degrees Fahrenheit); and a food, in an unopened hermetically sealed container that is commercially processed to achieve and maintain commercial sterility under conditions of non-refrigerated storage and distribution. The term also does not include a food for which laboratory evidence demonstrates that the rapid and progressive growth of infectious or toxigenic microorganisms or the growth of S. enteritidis in eggs or C. botulinum cannot occur, such as a food that has an (a_w) and a pH that are above the levels specified above and that may contain a preservative, other barrier to the growth of microorganisms, or a combination of barriers that inhibit the growth of microorganisms. The term also does not include a food that may contain an infectious or toxigenic microorganism or chemical or physical contaminant at a level sufficient to cause illness, but that does not support the growth of microorganisms as specified in the definition of a potentially hazardous food.
15. (15) pH--(Potential of Hydrogen) A measure of the degree of the acidity or the alkalinity of a solution.
16. (16) Processing--Including, but not limited, to the preparing, blending, filtering, preserving, treating, changing into different market forms, manufacturing, packing, repacking, or labeling of food ingredients and or products.
17. (17) Quality control operation--A planned and systematic procedure for taking all actions necessary to prevent food from being adulterated within the meaning of the Act.
18. (18) Raw agricultural commodity--Any food in its raw or natural state, including all fruits that are washed, colored, or otherwise treated in their unpeeled natural form prior to marketing.
19. (19) Reduced oxygen packaging--The reduction of the amount of oxygen in a package by mechanically evacuating the oxygen; displacing the oxygen with another gas or combination of gases; or otherwise controlling the oxygen content in a package to a level below that normally found in the surrounding atmosphere, which is 21% oxygen. The term includes methods that may be referred to as altered atmosphere, modified atmosphere, controlled atmosphere, low oxygen, and/or vacuum packing including sous vide.
20. (20) Rework--Clean, unadulterated food that has been removed from processing for reasons other than insanitary conditions or that has been successfully reconditioned by reprocessing and that is suitable for use as food.
21. (21) Safe-moisture level--A level of moisture low enough to prevent the growth of undesirable microorganisms in the finished product under the intended conditions of manufacturing, storage, and distribution. The maximum safe moisture level for a food is based on its water activity (a_w). An (a_w) will be considered safe for a food if adequate data are available that demonstrate that the food at or below the given (a_w) will not support the growth of undesirable microorganisms.
22. (22) Sanitization--The application of cumulative heat or chemicals on cleaned food-contact surfaces that, when evaluated for efficacy, yield a reduction of 5 logs, which is equal to a 99.999% reduction of representative disease microorganisms of public health importance.
23. (23) Shall--Term to state mandatory requirements.
24. (24) Should--Term to state recommended or advisory procedures or identify recommended equipment.
25. (25) Water activity (a_w)--A measure of the free moisture in a food. The quotient of the water vapor pressure of the substance divided by the vapor pressure of pure water at the same temperature.

Source Note:The provisions of this §229.211 adopted to be effective August 15, 1999, 24 TexReg 6082; amended to be effective March 19, 2001, 26 TexReg 2195; amended to be effective August 31, 2006, 31 TexReg 6746.