Township of Upper Darby, PA Health and Sanitation

The purpose of this article is to ensure that every food establishment shall be conducted, operated and maintained in accordance with the requirements prescribed in the following sections and with such additional requirements as Council may by regulation prescribe to protect the health of the ultimate consumers of food handled in such establishments.

§ 328-2 Adoption of standards by reference.

The provisions of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Agriculture, Title 3, Part VII, Chapter 57, codified at 3 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 5701 through 5737, as amended, and Chapter 65, codified at 3 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 6501 through 6510, as amended, are hereby adopted and incorporated into this article as if fully set out herein.

§ 328-3 Definitions.

In addition to the definitions contained in Title 3, Part VII of the statutes, the following words or terms shall have the meaning prescribed below:

COUNCIL

Upper Darby Township Council.

FOOD ESTABLISHMENT

Any place, restaurant, coffee shop, cafeteria, tavern, food stand, private club; kitchen, dining room or snack bar at a hospital or care facility; industrial kitchen, dining room, cafeteria or snack bar; school lunchroom or cafeteria; grocery, market or convenience store; vehicle or any other place where food, drinks or refreshments are served, sold, handled or prepared, and sold or given away over any period of time; provided, however, that this definition shall not be interpreted to include group homes or private homes.

ITINERANT PUBLIC EATING AND DRINKING PLACE

One operating for a temporary period in connection with a fair, carnival, circus, public exhibition, or other similar gathering.

LICENSE

The permission granted to a licensee to conduct a food establishment.

LICENSEE

A holder of a license.

LICENSOR or DEPARTMENT

The Upper Darby Township Department of Public Health.

[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]

PROPRIETOR

Any person, partnership, association, corporation, or other business entity conducting or operating, within the limits of Upper Darby Township, a public eating or drinking place.

§ 328-4 License requirements; fees.

It shall be unlawful for any proprietor to conduct or operate a food establishment within Upper Darby Township without first obtaining a license, as herein provided. Such license shall be issued by the Department.

Application for a license shall be made on forms provided by the licensor and shall be accompanied by the appropriate license and inspection fees.

No license shall be issued until inspection of the premises, facilities, and equipment has been made by the licensor and found to be adequate for the protection of the public health and comfort of the patrons and to be in compliance with the rules and regulations of this and any other applicable provisions of this article.

Licenses issued pursuant to this article shall specify the license and place licensed, shall be valid for one calendar year or portion thereof, and shall be conspicuously displayed at all times at/in the licensed facility. Licenses are not transferable.

Application for a renewal license must be submitted 30 days before the expiration of the existing license. If after an inspection the licensed facility is found to comport with the provisions of this article, the Department will issue a renewal license.

The fees for such licenses shall be fixed by resolution of Township Council and may be amended from time to time.

Whenever a license is denied, the licensor shall state in writing to the applicant the reasons for such refusal. The Department will issue no license until such time as the provisions of this article have been satisfied.

§ 328-5 License revocation; refusal to issue or renew; appeals.

Any licensee, who, after inspection and/or investigation by the Department and after having been offered the opportunity to be heard by Council, has failed or refused, after a reasonable interval, to correct conditions found to constitute a violation of this article or the rules and regulations adopted hereunder, shall have his/her license revoked or suspended. Refusal of a licensee to provide access to its operations to a representative of the Department in the performance of its duty to inspect shall cause the immediate suspension of the license, pursuant to § 328-7A of this article.

Any applicant who has been refused a license or any licensee whose license has been revoked or suspended and who feels aggrieved by the action of the licensor may appeal that decision to and be heard by Township Council by providing written notice to the Township Chief Administrative Officer within 30 days from the date of written notice of the revocation or suspension of such license. The licensee and licensor shall be given written notice of any such hearing no less than 10 days prior to the date of the hearing, and the licensor shall present all applicable Department records to Township Council.

Any licensee who denies access to its operations to a duly appointed representative of the Department, after providing proper identification, shall be deemed to be in violation of this article, and such license shall be immediately suspended.

Any applicant or licensee who is aggrieved by an action of Township Council may file an appeal to the Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County.

§ 328-6 Submission of plans required; approval or disapproval.

Unless otherwise specifically exempted from the requirements of this article, no person shall undertake to remodel or alter any existing building or portion thereof which is being used or is proposed for use as a food establishment or shall undertake to construct a new building which is to be used, in whole or in part, as a food establishment without first having submitted plans thereof, in duplicate, to the Department for approval.

Such plans shall be accompanied by specifications or other data completely describing the food establishment, including, where applicable, data relating to the following: surrounding grounds, buildings; equipment; water supply including plumbing, sewage disposal; refuse disposal; and any other such information required by the Department. If approved, one set of plans bearing such approval in writing shall be returned to the applicant. If not approved, the Department will call out the noncompliance with the requirements of this chapter in writing or by causing the notation on one copy of the plan set to the applicant.

§ 328-7 Inspections.

The licensor shall conduct periodic inspections of all food establishments licensed under this article and keep accurate records of such inspections. A duly appointed official of the Department shall have the right to enter any food establishment in order to conduct inspections and obtain samples to determine compliance with the requirements of this article. Any license issued under this article shall be immediately suspended in the event an authorized representative of the licensor, after presenting proper identification, is denied entry to any area of any food establishment when the establishment is open to the public or during other reasonable hours. Such suspension shall continue until entry is allowed to the authorized representative of the licensor, an inspection is completed, and conditions are found to be satisfactory. If entry is denied for seven or more consecutive days, the license may be revoked.

Whenever an inspection produces samples which indicate adulterated food, the cost of laboratory testing shall be borne by the food establishment, and the licensor shall issue a statement therefor.

§ 328-8 Procedure for food establishment employees with communicable diseases.

No employee with any disease in a communicable form or who is a carrier of such diseases shall work in any food establishment in any capacity which brings him/her into contact with the production, handling, storage or transportation of food or equipment used in food establishments.

No proprietor shall employ in any capacity any such person suspected of having any disease in a communicable form or being a carrier of such disease.

Any employee who has a discharging or infected wound, sore or lesion on the hands, arms or any exposed portion of the body shall be excluded from those operations which will bring him/her into contact with food, beverages, utensils or equipment used in food establishments.

When reasonable grounds exist to indicate that there is a possibility of transmission of infection from any employee, the proprietor and/or the licensor shall be authorized to require any or all of the following measures:

(1)

The immediate exclusion of the employee from the food establishment.

(2)

Restriction of the services of the employee to some work area where there is no danger of transmission of disease.

(3)

Adequate medical examinations of the employee and his/her associates, with such laboratory examination as may be necessary.

When there are reasonable grounds to indicate that there is a danger of foodborne disease outbreak, the licensor, with the concurrence of a physician, may require the immediate closing of the establishment until no further danger of an outbreak exists.

The licensor may establish, at its own discretion, medical and/or screening programs and may require any or all employees of food establishments to be tested.

§ 328-9 Food employee certification.

The provisions of 3 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 6501 through 6510, also known as the "Food Employee Certification Act," shall govern the food protection provisions in this article.

The licensor shall enforce the provisions therein.

§ 328-10 Water supply.

Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:

BOTTLED WATER

Includes any artificial or natural mineral, spring or other water bottled for drinking purposes.

PRIVATE WATER SUPPLY

Any water system not classified as public, intended primarily for the use of the occupants of one premises. The system shall include all sources, treatment works and distribution piping by which water is furnished to water taps or outlets of the system.

PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY

Any water system serving or intended to serve water for human consumption or for domestic uses or purposes to more than one service connection, irrespective of payments to be made for water service. The system shall include all of the sources, treatment works, and distribution lines to the point-of-service connection at the meter, property line, or any similar premises' connection point which are under one ownership, management and operation.

No person shall provide or make accessible a public water supply or bottled water for human consumption or domestic use unless the source, treatment, and distribution of such water shall be so protected from pollution and so maintained as to deliver a water of safe, sanitary quality. Such delivered water shall not contain bacterial, chemical, or other contamination in such quantity as may be injurious to health or as may indicate such water to be unsatisfactory for human consumption as determined by tests in a laboratory approved for this purpose by the Department. Public water supplies shall conform to the United States Public Health Service drinking water standards now in effect or hereafter adopted.

No spring or well classified as a public water supply shall be used as a source of domestic water supply which does not conform to the requirements and standards set forth in this § 328-10.

No person shall provide or maintain a private water supply to be used for drinking or other domestic purposes by any person, other than the owner thereof, unless such water supply shall be potable, protected against pollution and free from bacterial contamination in accordance with the prevailing bacterial standards of water quality as defined in this section.

No new or repaired water supply system or any structure which may have become contaminated, accidentally or otherwise, shall be placed in use before such system or structure has been effectively cleaned and disinfected in accordance with accepted practices and standards of the American Water Works Association now in effect or hereafter adopted.

Whenever the Department shall determine that the water delivered to consumers for drinking or other domestic use does not meet the requirements of these rules and regulations, it shall so notify the person in responsible charge of such water supply and may order the treatment, abandonment, sealing or posting of that portion of the distribution system or connections within the Township which do not meet the requirements of these rules and regulations.

Cross-connections and interconnections. No person shall permit any connection between a potable water supply and an unapproved auxiliary water supply or any structure containing sewage, nonpotable water or other substance injurious to health.

Abandoned wells. No well shall be used for any other purpose than as a source of water. Abandoned wells shall be filled with clean earth or capped with substantial watertight slabs to prevent the contamination of the underground water supply.

§ 328-11 Water and ice.

As used in this § 328-11, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:

ICE

Includes the product in any form obtained as the result of freezing water mechanically or naturally.

ICE PLANT

Any place, vehicle or establishment where ice is manufactured, stored or processed for sale as ice.

Applications for licenses shall be on forms provided by the Department, which shall set forth the name, residence, and business address of the applicant and the names of the persons operating the vehicle or establishment where the ice is manufactured, stored or processed.

Every ice vendor shall, upon demand, furnish to the Department such additional information as the Department may require, enabling it to determine whether the provisions of these rules and regulations are being complied with. Failure to furnish such information promptly or failure to secure written permission to inspect or reinspect sources of ice shall result in the refusal to issue or the revocation of the ice vendor's license.

It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, or distribute to the public, ice from any ice-vending vehicle or from any other type of vending equipment without obtaining a license from the Department. The fee for such license shall be fixed by resolution of Township Council, which may be amended from time to time.

A license will not be issued to any person until the Department has inspected and approved the establishment and equipment from which the ice is to be obtained. Written permission for the Department to inspect or reinspect such establishment or equipment shall be provided by the applicant. Any such establishment shall be equipped and operated in compliance with the provisions of this section and requirements of the Department now in effect or hereafter adopted. The license shall always be kept posted prominently in the ice-vending vehicle or on the equipment. Applications for renewal of licenses shall be made prior to January 1 of each year for a further period of 12 months.

Such licensee, manufacturer, or processor of ice shall be required to pay a fee for such inspection in an amount fixed by resolution of the Township Council, which may be amended from time to time. Such fee shall be collected annually.

Revocation. Licenses may be suspended or revoked for violation by the holder thereof of these rules and regulations. No license shall be suspended or revoked without a licensee being given a hearing before the Department.

The water from which ice is produced shall be obtained from an approved water supply meeting the requirements set forth in § 328-10 of this article.

The ice at the time of delivery to a customer shall meet the standards of water quality set forth in § 328-10 of this article and shall be free of all foreign substances.

All equipment used for the manufacture, cutting, grinding, chipping, crushing, storage, transportation or delivery of ice which may come in direct or indirect contact with the ice or the water used while manufacturing ice shall be of a sanitary design approved by the Department.

Ice shall be so handled while in storage and delivery as to be protected from dust, dirt, filth and contamination.

All cans, buckets, tubs, pails or other containers used in the manufacture, storage, transportation or distribution of ice shall be kept thoroughly clean by methods acceptable to the Department.

§ 328-12 Violations and penalties.

Failure to secure a permit when required or operating after suspension or revocation of a permit by the Department shall constitute a violation of this article. When written notice of a violation of any of the provisions of the rules and regulations contained in this article has been served upon any person, such violation shall be discontinued immediately.

Any person, firm or corporation who violates any provision of the rules and regulations contained in this chapter shall, upon summary conviction before any Magisterial District Judge, pay a fine not exceeding $1,000, plus costs of prosecution, plus the Township's attorneys' fees and, in default of the payment of the fine, costs, and fees, the violator may be sentenced to the County Jail for a term of not more than 90 days. Whenever such person shall have been officially notified by the Department or by the service of a summons in a prosecution or in any other official manner that a violation of the rules and regulations of this article is being committed, each day that such violation continues unabated after such notification and each section of this article that is violated shall constitute a separate offense punishable by a like fine or penalty. Such fines or penalties shall be collected as like fines or penalties are now by law collected.

§ 328-13 Repealer.

Ordinance No. 1912 is hereby repealed in its entirety. Section 1 of Ordinance No. 2673 is repealed in its entirety and shall read, "Intentionally Left Blank." All other ordinances or parts thereof inconsistent with this article are hereby repealed to the extent of the inconsistency.

§ 328-14 Severability.

The provisions of this article are declared to be severable. If any provision of this article is declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid of unconstitutional, such determination shall have no effect on the remaining provisions of this article.

§ 328-15 Effective date.

This article shall go into effect immediately upon its legal enactment.