Section 410IAC7-24-191. Ready-to-eat, potentially hazardous food; date marking

   (a) Except as specified in subsection (d), refrigerated, ready-to-eat, potentially hazardous food prepared and held in a retail food establishment for more than twenty-four (24) hours shall be clearly marked to indicate the date or day by which the food shall be consumed on the premises, sold, or discarded, based on one (1) of the temperature and time combinations specified as follows and the day of preparation shall be counted as day one (1):

(1) Forty-one (41) degrees Fahrenheit or less for a maximum of seven (7) days.

(2) Forty-five (45) degrees Fahrenheit or between forty-one (41) degrees Fahrenheit and forty-five (45) degrees Fahrenheit for a maximum of four (4) days in existing refrigeration equipment that is not capable of maintaining the food at forty-one (41) degrees Fahrenheit or less if:

(A) the equipment is in place and in use in the food establishment; and

(B) the equipment is upgraded or replaced to maintain food at a temperature of forty-one (41) degrees Fahrenheit or less as specified in section 187(a)(2)(B)(ii) of this rule.

  (b) Except as specified in (d) and (e) of this section [subsections (d) and (e)], refrigerated, ready-to-eat, potentially hazardous food prepared and packaged by a food processing plant shall be clearly marked, at the time the original container is opened in a retail food establishment and if the food is held for more than twenty-four (24) hours, to indicate the date or day by which the food shall be consumed on the premises, sold, or discarded, based on the temperature and time combinations specified in subsection (a) and:

(1) the day the original container is opened in the retail food establishment shall be counted as day one (1); and

(2) the day or date marked by the retail food establishment may not exceed a manufacturer's "use by" date if the manufacturer determined the "use by" date based on food safety.

  (c) A refrigerated, ready-to-eat, potentially hazardous food that is frequently rewrapped, such as lunchmeat or a roast, or for which date marking is impractical, such as soft serve mix or milk in a dispensing machine, may be marked as specified in subsection (a) or (b) of this section, or by an alternative method, such as:

(1) a logging system that tracks the batch or lot;

(2) tagging the batch or lot in a manner that effectively identifies the food to be monitored; or

(3) any other method that identifies the date by which the food must be consumed or discarded.

  (d) Subsections (a) and (b) do not apply to individual meal portions served or repackaged for sale from a bulk container upon a consumer's request.

  (e) Subsection (b) does not apply to the following when the face has been cut, but the remaining portion is whole and intact:

(1) Fermented sausages produced in a federally inspected food processing plant that are not labeled "Keep Refrigerated" and which retain the original casing on the product.

(2) Shelf stable, dry, fermented sausages; and

(3) Shelf stable salt-cured products such as prosciutto and parma (ham) produced in a federally inspected food processing plant that are not labeled "Keep Refrigerated".

  (f) A refrigerated, ready-to-eat, potentially hazardous food ingredient or a portion of a refrigerated, ready-to-eat, potentially hazardous food that is subsequently combined with additional ingredients or portions of food shall retain the date marking of the earliest-prepared or first-prepared ingredient.

  (g) For the purposes of this section, a violation of subsections [subsection] (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), or (f) is a critical item. (Indiana State Department of Health; 410 IAC 7-24-191; filed Oct 13, 2004, 12:30 p.m.: 28 IR 858; errata filed Dec 13, 2004, 8:20 a.m.: 28 IR 1485; readopted filed Jul 15, 2010, 12:12 p.m.: 20100728-IR-410100261RFA; readopted filed Nov 10, 2016, 8:45 a.m.: 20161207-IR-410160371RFA)