§ 68-7 — Food Plans

68-7. Food Plans.

1. PLANS REQUIRED. a. General. All food establishments requiring licensure and all food establishments requiring registration under s. 68-21-2-c or d shall submit food operation plans and food facilities plans, on forms approved by the commissioner, to the department and the city clerk’s office. Plans shall be retained by the commissioner for as long as the plans are in effect. b. Food Operation Plans. Food operation plans shall be approved by the department before a license or registration is issued. Plans shall include sufficient operational detail to evaluate the potential risk of the proposed operation, as determined by the commissioner, including: b-1. The size of the food operation, including anticipated gross sales. b-2. The types of food sold, including any menus. b-3. The methods of food preparation and sale. c. Food Facilities Plans. Food facilities plans shall be approved by the department before any person may erect, construct, enlarge or alter a licensed or registered food establishment or otherwise make any substantial operational changes to a food establishment. Implementing a process specified in the Wisconsin Food Code as requiring a HACCP plan or requiring regulatory approval prior to implementation shall be considered a substantial operational change requiring plan submission. Plans shall consist of drawings which clearly show and describe the nature and extent of the work proposed, including: c-1. Floor plans, equipment plans and specifications. c-2. Wall, floor and ceiling finishes. c-3. Plans and specifications for food service kitchen ventilation. c-4. Any other information necessary to demonstrate compliance with applicable health code provisions. 2. EXCEPTION. At the discretion of the commissioner, the requirement for plan submission may be waived for minor alterations to a food establishment. 3. SHARED KITCHEN AGREEMENT. A signed shared kitchen agreement shall be submitted with any application proposing to share space in a commercial kitchen operated by an agent other than the applicant. 4. SITE EVALUATION. a. A site evaluation may be conducted by the department upon written request of a food establishment. b. A site evaluation shall include an assessment of the general suitability of a facility for use as a food establishment, and shall identify general modifications to the facility needed to meet the requirements of this chapter. c. If a site evaluation has already been conducted for a particular location and is in conformance with all current requirements of this chapter, the evaluation shall be provided free of charge upon request of the operator. d. A site evaluation shall provide general guidance rather than guidance based on a food establishment’s planned operation and shall not replace the need to submit and obtain approval for a food establishment operation or facilities plan. 5. VARIANCE. a. For processes identified in the Wisconsin Food Code as requiring a variance for situations where strict adherence to any public health-related provision of this chapter, ch. 214, or any state regulations adopted in s. 68-3 is impractical for a particular food establishment, or at the commissioner’s discretion, the commissioner may approve a variance for that food establishment if the commissioner is provided with satisfactory proof that the granting of the variance will not jeopardize public health, safety or welfare. b. Application for a variance shall be submitted in writing to the commissioner on a form provided by the department. The application shall be accompanied by the documentation specified in par. e. c. Upon receipt of a complete application, the commissioner shall review the request and grant or deny the request in writing within 30 days. If a variance is granted, the commissioner shall maintain a copy of the variance in the food establishment’s file. d. No variance shall be issued until the applicant paid the application fee specified in s. 81-55.3. e. Documentation supporting a proposed variance shall include the following information: e-1. A description of the proposed variance from this chapter, ch. 214 or state regulations, citing relevant code provisions or regulations. e-2. A description of how any potential public health hazards or nuisances will be addressed if the variance is granted. e-3. If requested by the commissioner and relevant to the variance request, a hazard analysis and HACCP plan. f. A variance shall be valid for 5 years from the date of issuance unless revoked for non-compliance. An operator wishing to extend a variance approval shall be required to submit a variance renewal request. Failure to file a request for variance renewal prior to expiration shall result in any subsequent application being considered a new application. g. Failure by a food establishment to adhere to the terms of a variance approval shall be grounds for corrective action, including revocation of the variance approval. 6. FEES. Plan examination and modification fees, site evaluation fees, and inspection fees shall be submitted and paid as required in ss. 81-55 and 81-55.3. Fees shall be nonrefundable and include the cost of all inspections required for a plan, if applicable.