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<section article="ghg" article_name="Health - General" number="21-301" title_number="21" title_name="Food, Drugs, and Cosmetics" subtitle_number="3" subtitle_name="Food Establishments">
  <level label="a">
    <text>In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="b">
    <level label="1">
      <text>“Bottled water” means any water that is sealed in bottles, packages, or other containers and offered for sale for human consumption, including bottled mineral water.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>“Bottled water” does not include:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>Soft drinks; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>A beverage that is labeled “club soda” or “seltzer water”.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="b–1">
    <text>“Cottage food business” means a business that:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>Produces or packages cottage food products in a residential kitchen;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>Sells the cottage food products in accordance with § 21–330.1 of this subtitle and regulations adopted by the Department; and</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>Has annual revenues from the sale of cottage food products in an amount not exceeding $100,000.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="b–2">
    <text>“Cottage food product” means a nonhazardous food, as specified in regulations adopted by the Department, that is sold in the State in accordance with § 21–330.1 of this subtitle and regulations adopted by the Department:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>Directly to a consumer from a residence, at a farmer’s market, at a public event, by personal delivery, or by mail delivery; or</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>To a retail food store, including a grocery store, or a food cooperative.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="c">
    <text>“Crab meat” means the edible meat of steamed or cooked crabs.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="d">
    <text>“Crab meat plant” means:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>A picking plant; or</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>A place where crab meat is heat–treated to improve the keeping quality of the crab meat.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="e">
    <text>“Excluded organization” means:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>A bona fide nonprofit fraternal, civic, war veterans’, religious, or charitable organization or corporation that does not serve food to the public more often than 4 days per week except that once a year an organization may serve food to the public for up to 30 consecutive days; and</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>A volunteer fire company that does not serve food to the public more often than 4 days per week except that once a year a volunteer fire company may serve food to the public for up to 30 consecutive days.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="f">
    <text>“Food establishment” means:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>A food service facility; or</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>A food processing plant.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="g">
    <level label="1">
      <text>“Food processing plant” means any place used for, or in connection with, the commercial manufacturing, preparing, processing, packaging, canning, freezing, storing, distributing, labeling, or holding of food or drink for human consumption.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>“Food processing plant” includes:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>A bakery plant;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>A cannery;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>A confectionery plant;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iv">
        <text>A crab meat picking plant;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="v">
        <text>A food manufacturing plant;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="vi">
        <text>A food warehouse or distribution center;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="vii">
        <text>A frozen food processing plant;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="viii">
        <text>An ice manufacturing plant;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ix">
        <text>A shellfish plant;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="x">
        <text>A soft drink manufacturing plant; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="xi">
        <text>A bottled water plant.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>“Food processing plant” does not include:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>A warehouse or distribution center that:</text>
        <level label="1">
          <text>Does not process food; and</text>
        </level>
        <level label="2">
          <text>Stores only sealed containers of whole bean, ground or instant coffee, leaf or instant teas, nondairy dehydrated whiteners, sugar, or sugar–free sweeteners; or</text>
        </level>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>A cottage food business.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="h">
    <level label="1">
      <text>“Food service facility” means:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>A place where food or drink is prepared for sale or service on the premises or elsewhere; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>Any operation where food is served to or provided for the public, with or without charge.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>“Food service facility” includes a micro market licensed under Title 17, Subtitle 17 of the Business Regulation Article.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>“Food service facility” does not include:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>A kitchen in a private home where food is prepared at no charge for guests in the home, for guests at a social gathering, or for service to unemployed, homeless, or other disadvantaged populations;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>A food preparation or serving area where food is prepared or served only by an excluded organization;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>A location in a farmer’s market or at a public festival or event where raw agricultural products, as defined in § 21–304(d)(1)(iii) of this subtitle, are sold; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iv">
        <text>A cottage food business.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="i">
    <text>“License” means a license issued by the Department under this subtitle to operate a food establishment.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="i–1">
    <text>“Mobile food service facility” means a food service facility which is a mechanically, electrically, manually, or otherwise propelled vehicle operating on land or water.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="j">
    <text>“Picking plant” means a place where:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>Crabs are steamed or cooked;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>Crab meat is picked from crabs; and</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>Crab meat is packed for sale.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="j–1">
    <text>“Public festival or event” means a planned gathering that is open to the public and is regulated by the State or local jurisdiction in which it takes place.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="j–2">
    <level label="1">
      <text>“Semipermanent food service facility” means a food service facility that:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>Is built at a location other than where it operates;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>Is transported as a complete unit that does not require a building permit to install on the location at which it operates;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>Has no indoor seating for patrons; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iv">
        <text>When serving cooked food, serves only foods cooked for immediate service.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>“Semipermanent food service facility” does not include a food service facility that is a mechanically, electrically, manually, or otherwise propelled vehicle operating on land or water that moves as part of its routine operation to:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>Change location for sales;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>Obtain food and other supplies;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>Fill potable water supply holding tanks;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iv">
        <text>Empty wastewater holding tanks; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="v">
        <text>Provide for the cleaning and sanitation of equipment and utensils.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="k">
    <level label="1">
      <text>Except as provided under paragraph (2) of this subsection, “soft drink” means any nonalcoholic beverage.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>“Soft drink” does not include:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>Apple cider;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>Soft drinks that are manufactured on the premises of a soda fountain and used at that soda fountain; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>Bottled water.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="l">
    <text>“Surimi” means an intermediate manufactured seafood product derived from minced fish meat, washed to remove water–soluble protein and blood or other undesirable components and mixed with additives to enhance its frozen storage and functional characteristics.</text>
  </level>
</section>
