SECTION 746.3317. What general requirements apply to food service and preparation?

All food and drinks must be of safe quality and must be stored, prepared, distributed, and served under sanitary and safe conditions, including but not limited to the following:

(1) You must sanitize food service equipment, dishes, and utensils after each use;

(2) If your child-care center lacks adequate facilities for sanitizing dishes and utensils, you must use only disposable, single-use items;

(3) You must wash re-useable napkins, bibs, and tablecloths after each use;

(4) You must discard single-service napkins, bibs, dishes, and utensils after use;

(5) Caregivers with open wounds and/or any injury that inhibits hand washing, such as casts, bandages, or braces, must not prepare food;

(6) You must serve children's food on plates, napkins, or other sanitary holders such as a high chair tray, and you must not place food on a bare table or eating surface, which includes the floor;

(7) You must not serve foods that present a risk of choking for infants and toddlers;

(8) You must cover all food stored in the refrigerator;

(9) When meals are prepared at the child-care center, the food preparation area must be separated from the eating, play, and bathroom areas. You must not use the food preparation area as a passageway while food is being prepared; and

(10) You must not store poisonous or toxic materials and cleaning supplies with food.

Source Note: The provisions of this §746.3317 adopted to be effective September 1, 2003, 28 TexReg 1402; transferred effective March 9, 2018, as published in the Texas Register February 16, 2018, 43 TexReg 909