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Significant Changes & Issues in the State Food Code Temperatures:
All hot holding temperatures for Potentially Hazardous
Foods have changed from 140ºF to 135ºF. throughout the
code. 3-501.16(A) (1)
Time as a Public Health Control: Cold Holding:
Cold Holding of Potentially Hazardous Foods has been
modified in Chapter 3-501.16 (C). Holding of a
potentially hazardous food for up to 6 hours at an
internal temperature of
41- 70ºF. may now occur under
monitored conditions. Before a
business is permitted to do this, a
written regulatory approved
procedure is required. It must be
maintained on the premise.
The food shall be cooked and
served if ready-to-eat, or discarded, within 6 hours from
the point in time when the food is removed from cold
holding temperature control. The food product must be
discarded if the 6-hour time limit is exceeded, the food
temperature rises above 70ºF., or the food is removed
from service. All other food products that do not exceed
these limits can be cooked and used for immediate
service or discarded.
THERE CAN BE NO LEFTOVERS AND NO REUSE
OF THE FOOD!
Benefits of Having No "Risk Factor" Violations
to Demonstration of Knowledge
Requires permit holder or person in charge to
demonstrate to the regulatory authority, upon request,
knowledge of foodborne disease prevention as it relates
to their specific food processes and general food code
requirements.
One method of compliance is to have no Risk Factor
Violations noted on the most recent inspection form from
the food safety regulatory authority. Section 2-102.11. A
Risk Factor means one of the improper practices or
procedures that have been identified by the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention as the most prevalent
contributing factors to foodborne illness or injury. 1-
201.10(B) (79t)
A Risk Factor is a condition of:
a) Poor Personal Hygiene/Food Handling Method
b) Food from an Unsafe Source
c) Inadequate Cooking
d) Improper Holding Temperatures
e) Contaminated Equipment
Employee Health:
Workers must be excluded or restricted (terms now
defined in the code) from food preparation and service
based on their signs and symptoms of a foodborne
illness. A sudden onset of vomiting and diarrhea (2-
201.12) requires REMOVAL AND PROHIBITED
REENTRY OF THE EMPLOYEE TO THE
ESTABLISHMENT. 1-201.10(B) (30).
The Person in Charge may remove an exclusion for an
employee if the person excluded is asymptomatic for 24
hours after having a noninfectious condition. 2-
201.13(A) (3). Documentation from an appropriate
medical professional is no longer required for removal of
exclusion or restriction if approval is granted by the local
health department or regulatory authority. 2-201.13(A)
& (B)
"Ready-to-Eat Foods" Further Clarified:
Consult this expanded definition as it may reinforce
handling practices where direct hand contact needs to be
avoided! 1-201.10(B)(71)
Hand Washing Before Gloving:
If gloves are used, employees must effectively wash their
hands prior to putting on gloves when working with
food. 2-301.14 (H).
Date Marking:
Ready-to-eat (RTE) potentially hazardous food held for
more than 24 hours in an establishment must be clearly
marked at the time of preparation to indicate that the
food shall be consumed on the premise, or sold or
discarded within 7 calendar days or less from the day
that the food is prepared, including the day of
preparation. This is an internal quality control system
especially for the control of the bacteria Listeria
monocytogenes that grows well at refrigeration
temperatures.
Refrigerated RTE potentially hazardous food items
prepared in advance must be discarded after seven (7)
days if held at 41
o
F or less.
The following clarification has
been made to Chapter 3-
501.17: Types of Foods
Exempt from Date Marking:
Aged Hard Cheeses such as
Cheddar, Parmesan, Asiago
old, Asiago Medium cheese
or Romano; Semisoft
Cheeses, such as Colby, Asiago fresh & soft, Edam, Monterey
Significant Changes & Issues in the State Food Code
July 2005 Jack, Muenster, or Swiss; Pasteurized process cheeses or
Cheese Curds.
When the surface is cut but the remaining portion is whole and
intact: Fermented sausage not labeled Keep refrigerated
and original casing is intact;
shelf stable, dry fermented sausages; and shelf stable salt-
cured products: Prosciutto, Parma ham (that are not labeled
"Keep Refrigerated").
Ready-to-eat potentially hazardous food items which are
prepared, frozen, and thawed must be controlled by date
marking to ensure that the item is consumed within a
total of seven (7) days held at refrigeration temperatures
(freezer time minus days held at refrigerated
temperature). 3-501.17.
The Regulatory Authority Will Verify Your Procedures
for an Alternate Plan to No Bare Hand Contact
Bare hand contact with ready-to-eat foods is prohibited.
Deli paper, tongs or other suitable utensils may be used
to handle ready-to-eat foods. Section 3-301.11(B). Prior
approval of a procedure/plan is no longer needed to
allow bare hand contact with ready-to-eat foods. The
Regulatory Authority will verify the procedure/plan
during onsite inspections. A template will be available
to develop bare hand contact policies.
Consumer Information/Advisory:
The consumer advisory must now include a written
reminder statement warning the consumer about eating
foods containing a raw or
undercooked animal product.
A correctly written consumer
advisory statement includes
these two elements:

A disclosure statement
that provides the raw
product description. (Ex. "The Caesar dressing
contains raw eggs." "Eggs and Beef that are ordered
soft/rare/medium rare may be undercooked and will
only be served on consumer request.") and

A reminder statement warning that illness may
occur. (Ex. "Consuming raw or undercooked
meats, poultry, seafood, shellfish, or eggs may
increase your risk of foodborne illness, especially if
you have certain medical conditions.") 3-603.11
Plan to modify your menus to include these consumer
alerts. Other methods include brochures, deli case/menu
advisories, label statements, table tents, placards or other
effective written means. Asterisk identification with
footnotes is a helpful way to provide these on the menu.
Temporary Food Establishments:
As approved by the regulatory authority, warewashing
facilities are not needed on site for temporary food
stands, if an adequate number of spare utensils are
provided and the operator returns to an approved facility
(licensed restaurant with approved equipment) each day
to conduct ware washing. 10-104.11 (C)
Source-Shell Fish:
Shucked shell fish may be
removed from the container from
which it was received and may be
repacked in consumer self service
containers if: (3-203.11)

Each container is labeled.

Information is retained in a written log correlating
the dates of sale/or service.

The written log must be maintained for 90 days.
eneral Educational Information has been
added to make operators more aware of the
state and federal public health concerns
about Food Allergens and the importance of proper
ingredient labeling. 3-101.11
Hands Free Faucets:
Non-hand operated faucets at all hand sinks (includes
restrooms) are required for new construction or when a
hand sink or sink faucet requires replacement.
5-202.12(C)
Building and Plumbing Code Compliance:
The structure must be built in compliance with all state
applicable commercial building and plumbing codes. 6-
202.10. General references to the WI Department of
Commerce statutes and rules appear throughout the code.
Ice Beverage Storage Standard Eliminated:
50 ppm of bleach in solution has been eliminated for an
ice waterbath for beverage storage. 3-303.12 (E).
Chapter 11 Special Organizations Serving Meals
This chapter's provisions have been removed from the
WI Food Code and incorporated into the DHFS
Administrative Code Chapter HFS 196.045.
Enhancing Security and Reducing Contamination:
Public entrances/exits shall be located so that it is not
necessary for patrons to pass through a food preparation,
processing or warewashing area. 6-201.19
Please take the time to obtain, carefully read and reference the entire
updated WI Food Code. All changes are not contained in this Fact
Sheet.
Other more specific Food Code Fact Sheets wi