[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 9, Volume 2]
[Revised as of January 1, 2008]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 9CFR318.304]

[Page 288]
 
                  TITLE 9--ANIMALS AND ANIMAL PRODUCTS
 
     CHAPTER III--FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF 
                               AGRICULTURE
 
                  Subpart G_Canning and Canned Products
 
Sec. 318.304  Operations in the thermal processing area.

    (a) Posting of processes. Process schedules (or operating process 
schedules) for daily production, including minimum initial temperatures 
and operating procedures for thermal processing equipment, shall be 
posted in a conspicuous place near the thermal processing equipment. 
Alternatively, such information shall be available to the thermal 
processing system operator and the inspector.
    (b) Process indicators and retort traffic control. A system for 
product traffic control shall be established to prevent product from 
bypassing the thermal processing operation. Each basket, crate or 
similar vehicle containing unprocessed product, or at least one visible 
container in each vehicle, shall be plainly and conspicuously marked 
with a heat sensitive indicator that will visually indicate whether such 
unit has been thermally processed. Exposed heat sensitive indicators 
attached to container vehicles shall be removed before such vehicles are 
refilled with unprocessed product. Container loading systems for 
crateless retorts shall be designed to prevent unprocessed product from 
bypassing the thermal processing operation.
    (c) Initial temperature. The initial temperature of the contents of 
the coldest container to be processed shall be determined and recorded 
by the establishment at the time the processing cycle begins to assure 
that the temperature of the contents of every container to be processed 
is not lower than the minimum initial temperature specified in the 
process schedule. Thermal processing systems which subject the filled 
and sealed containers to water at any time before process timing begins 
shall be operated to assure that such water will not lower the 
temperature of the product below the minimum initial temperature 
specified in the process schedule.
    (d) Timing devices. Devices used to time applicable thermal 
processing operation functions or events, such as process schedule time, 
come-up time and retort venting, shall be accurate to assure that all 
such functions or events are achieved. Pocket watches and wrist watches 
are not considered acceptable timing devices. Analog and digital clocks 
are considered acceptable. If such clocks do not display seconds, all 
required timed functions or events shall have at least a 1-minute safety 
factor over the specified thermal processing operation times. 
Temperature/time recording devices shall correspond within 15 minutes to 
the time of the day recorded on written records required by Sec. 
318.306.
    (e) Measurement of pH. Unless other methods are approved by the 
Administrator, potentiometric methods using electronic instruments (pH 
meters) shall be used for making pH determinations when a maximum pH 
value is specified as a critical factor in a process schedule.

(Approved by Office of Management and Budget under control number 0583-
0015)