SANITATION LAWS AND

REGULATIONS AND GUIDELINES

Since thousands of laws, regulations, and
guidelines are currently in effect to control
the production, processing, and preparation
of food in the United States, it would be
impossible to address all of these rules in this
book. Thus, it is not the intent of this chapter
or this book to emphasize the specific
details of food processing, or preparation,
regulations. Only the major agencies involved
with food safety and their primary responsibilities
are discussed. The reader should
consult regulations available from various
jurisdictions to determine specific requirements
for the food operation and area where
it is located. It is inappropriate to discuss
regulatory requirements for cities and countries
because they have designated governmental
entities with their own food safety
criteria (Bauman, 1991), which often differ
from one area to another and can change
periodically.
Sanitation requirements developed by legislative
bodies and regulatory agencies in
response to public demands are detailed
in laws and regulations. They are not static
but change in response to sanitation, public
health, and new scientific and technical
information regarding biological, chemical,
and physical hazards and other important
issues brought to public attention.
Laws are passed by legislators and must be
signed by the chief executive. After a law has
been passed, the agency responsible for its
enforcement prepares regulations designed to
implement the intention of the law or the
act. Regulations are developed to cover a wide
range of requirements and are more specific
and detailed than are laws. Regulations for
food provide standards for building design,
equipment design, commodities, tolerances
for chemical or other food additives, sanitary
practices and qualifications, labeling requirements,
and training for positions that require
certification.
Regulation development is a multistep
process. For example, in the federal process,
the relevant agency prepares the proposed
regulation, which is then published as a proposed
rule in the Federal Register. The Federal
Register is the official daily publication for

rules, proposed rules, and notices of federal

agencies and organizations as well as executive
orders and other presidential documents.
Accompanying the proposal is information
related to background. Any comments, suggestions,
or recommendations are to be
directed to the agency, usually within 60 days
after proposal publication, although time
extensions are frequently provided. The regulation
is published in final form after comments
on the proposal have been reviewed,
with another statement of how the comments
were handled and specifying effective dates
for compliance. This statement suggests that
comments on matters not previously considered
in the regulations may be submitted for
further review. Amendments may be initiated
by any individual, organization, other government
office, or by the agency itself. A petition
is necessary, with appropriate documents that
justify the request.
There are two types of regulations: substantive
and advisory. Substantive regulations
are more important because they have
the power of law. Advisory regulations are
intended to serve as guidelines. Sanitation
regulations are substantive because food
must be made safe for the public. In regulations,
the use of the word shall means a
requirement, whereas should implies a recommendation.
Several regulations important
to sanitation by various governmental
agencies will now be addressed.