(a) The commissioner is authorized to:

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 53-8-104

  • Agriculture: means :
    (i) The land, buildings and machinery used in the commercial production of farm products and nursery stock. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
  • Code: includes the Tennessee Code and all amendments and revisions to the code and all additions and supplements to the code. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Commissioner: means the commissioner of agriculture, the commissioner's duly authorized representative, and in the event of the commissioner's absence or vacancy in the office of commissioner, the deputy commissioner. See Tennessee Code 53-8-103
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Department: means the department of agriculture. See Tennessee Code 53-8-103
  • Employee: means a person:
    (A) In charge of a food establishment. See Tennessee Code 53-8-103
  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • Food Code: means the 2009 Food Code as published by the United States department of health and human services, public health service, food and drug administration. See Tennessee Code 53-8-103
  • Food establishments: means retail food stores, and food service establishments located within retail food stores. See Tennessee Code 53-8-103
  • Food service establishment: includes places identified in subdivision (10)(A), regardless of whether there is a charge for the food. See Tennessee Code 53-8-103
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
  • Person: means any individual, partnership, firm, corporation, agency, municipality, state or political subdivision, or the federal government and its agencies and departments. See Tennessee Code 53-8-103
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(1) Carry out or cause to be carried out all provisions of this chapter;
(2) Collect all fees established pursuant to this chapter and apply the fees in accordance with the procedures of the department of finance and administration to the necessary and incidental costs of the administration of this chapter. Nothing in this subdivision (a)(2) shall be construed to prohibit the department from receiving, by way of general appropriation, such sums as may be required to fund adequately the implementation of this chapter, as recommended in the annual budget by the governor to the general assembly;
(3) Prescribe rules and regulations, including emergency rules, governing the alteration, construction, sanitation, safety of food, and operation of food establishments as may be necessary to protect the health and safety of the public, and require food establishments to comply with these rules and regulations. A non-elected body of any municipality, county, or metropolitan government shall not enact any ordinance or issue any rule or regulation pertaining to food safety or the provision of nutritional information related to food or drink, or otherwise regulate menus at food establishments. If, on July 1, 2015, the federal government takes action regarding the provision of food nutritional information at food establishments, and the federal action specifically authorizes state agencies to enforce such action, then the department of agriculture shall be the department that is primarily responsible for the implementation and supervision of any new requirements and shall have the authority to promulgate rules and regulations in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5, as necessary to effectuate the purposes of such requirements. The commissioner shall not prescribe any such rules and regulations that are in conflict with the minimum statewide building construction standards established by the state fire marshal pursuant to § 68-120-101. The rules with respect to food temperature shall be specific with respect to the types of food prepared and the risks presented by those foods. Except as specifically provided herein, the commissioner may, by the promulgation of rules and regulations, adopt all or part of the Food Code;
(4) Inspect or cause to be inspected as often as the commissioner, in the commissioner’s discretion may deem necessary, every food establishment in the state as authorized by this chapter, to determine compliance with this chapter and with rules and regulations;
(5) Issue or cause to be issued, suspend, and revoke permits to operate food establishments as provided in this chapter;
(6) Notify the owner, proprietor, or agent of any food establishment of such changes or alterations as may be necessary, to effect complete compliance with this chapter and with rules and regulations governing the construction, alteration, and operation of the facilities, and close the facilities for failure to comply within specified times as provided in this chapter and in rules and regulations;
(7) Enter into agreements or contracts with the Shelby, Davidson, and Knox county health departments for the health departments to implement this chapter in their areas of jurisdiction, if the commissioner deems it appropriate; provided, that the following conditions shall apply:

(A) State reporting requirements shall be met by the county health department or departments;
(B) The county health department program standards shall be identical to those of the state law, and to rules and regulations;
(C) The commissioner shall retain the right to exercise oversight and evaluation of performance of the county health department or departments and terminate the agreement or contract for cause immediately, or otherwise upon reasonable notice;
(D) The commissioner may set such other fiscal, administrative, or program requirements as the commissioner deems necessary to maintain consistency and integrity of the statewide program;
(E) Staffing and resources shall be adequate to implement and enforce the program in the local jurisdiction;
(F) Contract county health departments that collect the applicable permit fees from food establishments located within the county shall retain one hundred percent (100%) of the permit fees and penalty fees. Contract counties that utilize the services of the department for the collection of permit fees shall receive ninety-five percent (95%) of permit fees collected within a contract county pursuant to §§ 53-8-104 – 53-8-106. This amount shall be calculated based upon fees collected in the contract county during the state’s fiscal year multiplied by ninety-five percent (95%).
(b)

(1) Upon the application of a food establishment for a variance based on a showing of good cause and an affirmative demonstration that the risks to the public attendant to the limited activities have been mitigated, the commissioner shall grant the establishment a variance from the limitations in the Food Code regarding restrictions pertaining to bare hand contact. A request for a variance shall be granted or denied within sixty (60) days of the commissioner’s receipt of the application for variance. A request for a variance shall include the following:

(A) A listing of the specific ready-to-eat foods that are touched by bare hands;
(B) Diagrams and other information showing that hand washing facilities are located and equipped as prescribed by the applicable provisions of the Food Code;
(C) An employee health policy documenting that the food service establishment complies with:

(i) The person in charge requirements; and
(ii) Requirements for monitoring the health of food service employees;
(D) Documentation that food service employees have received training on the:

(i) Risks of contacting ready-to-eat foods with bare hands;
(ii) Practice of proper hand washing;
(iii) Proper fingernail maintenance;
(iv) Prohibition on jewelry; and
(v) Good hygienic practices;
(E) Documentation that food employees contacting ready-to-eat foods with bare hands used two (2) or more of the following control measures:

(i) Double hand washing;
(ii) Nail brushes;
(iii) A hand antiseptic after hand washing;
(iv) Incentive programs that assist or encourage food service employees not to work when they are ill; or
(v) Other control measures approved by the commissioner.
(2) Notwithstanding any provisions of the Food Code to the contrary, the commissioner shall not require any further documentation for the granting of a variance other than those contained in this section.
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