Republic of the Philippines

Department of Health
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
Manila

February 14, 1974

ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER
No. 208 s. 1974

SUBJECT: Human Foods; Current Good Manufacturing Practice (Sanitation) in

Manufacture, Processing, Packing of Holding

1. Definitions – The definitions and interpretations contained in section 10 of the Food, Drug and
Cosmetic Act (R.A. 3720) are applicable to such terms when used in this part. The following
definitions shall also apply:

a. "Adequate" means that which is needed to accomplish the intended purpose in

keeping with good public health practice.

b. "Plant" means the building or buildings or parts thereof, used for or in connection with
the manufacturing, processing, packaging, labeling, or holding of human food.

c. "Sanitize" means adequate treatment of surfaces by a process that is effective in

destroying vegetative cells of pathogenic bacteria and in substantially reducing other
micro-organisms. Such treatment shall not adversely affect the product and shall be safe
for the consumer.

2. Current good manufacturing practice (sanitation)

The criteria in paragraphs 3 through 8 shall apply in determining whether the facilities,
methods, practices and controls used in the manufacturing, processing, packing, or
holding of food are in conformance with or are operated or administered in conformity
with good manufacturing practices to assure that food for human consumption is safe and
has been prepared, packed, and held under sanitary conditions.

3. Plant and grounds

a. Grounds. The grounds about a food plant under the control of the operator shall be free
from conditions which may result in the contamination of food including, but not limited to,
the following:

(1) Improperly stored equipment, litter, waste, refuse and uncut weeds or grass
within the immediate vicinity of the plant buildings or structures that may
constitute an attractant, breeding place, or harborage for rodents, insects and
other pests.

(2) Excessively dusty roads, yards, or parking lots that may constitute a source of
contamination in areas where food is exposed.

(3) Inadequately drained areas that may contribute contamination to food

products through seepage or foot-borne filth and by providing a breeding place
for insects or micro-organisms.
 If the plants grounds are bordered by grounds not under the operator’s
control of the kind described in subparagraph (1) through (3) of this
paragraph, care must be exercised in the plant by inspection,
extermination, or other means to effect exclusion of pests, dirt, and other
filth that may be a source of food contamination.

b. Plant construction and design. Plant buildings and structures shall be suitable in size,
construction, and design to facilitate maintenance and sanitary operations for food-
processing purposes. The plant and facilities shall:

(1) Provide sufficient space for such placement of equipment and storage of
materials as is necessary for sanitary operations and productions of safe food.
Floors, walls, and ceilings in the plant shall be of such construction as to be
adequately cleanable and shall be kept clean and in good repair. Fixtures, ducts,
and pipes shall not be so suspended over working areas that drip or condensate
may contaminate foods, raw materials, or food-contact surfaces. Aisles or
working spaces between equipment and between equipment and walls shall be
unobstructed and of sufficient width to permit employees to perform their duties
without contamination of food or food-contact surfaces with clothing or personal
contact.

(2) Provide separation by partition, location, or other effective means for those
operations which may cause contamination of food products with undesirable
micro-organisms, chemicals, filth, or other extraneous material.

(3) Provide adequate lighting to hand-washing areas, dressing and locker rooms,
and toilet rooms and to all areas where food or food ingredients and utensils are
cleaned. Light bulbs, fixtures, skylights, or other glass suspended over exposed
food in any step of preparation shall be of the safety type or otherwise protected
to prevent food contamination in case of breakage.

(4) Provide adequate ventilation or control equipment to minimize odors and

noxious fumes or vapors (including steam) in areas where they may contaminate
food. Such ventilation or control equipment shall not create conditions that may
contribute to food contamination by airborne contaminants.

(5) Provide, where necessary, effective screening or other protection against

bird, animals, and vermin (including, but not limited to, insects and rodents).

4. Equipment and Utensils

All plants must be (a) suitable for their intended use, (b) so designed and of such material
and workmanship as to be adequately cleanable, and (c) properly maintained. The
design, construction, and use of such equipment and utensils shall preclude the
adulteration of food with lubricants, fuel, metal fragments, contaminated water of any
other contaminants. All equipment should be so installed and maintained as to facilitate
the cleaning of the equipment and of all adjacent spaces.

5. Sanitary facilities and controls

Each plant shall be equipped with adequate sanitary facilities and accommodations
including, but not limited to the following:

(a) Water supply. This water supply shall be sufficient for the operations intended and
shall be derived from an adequate source. Any water that contacts foods or food-contact
surfaces shall be safe and of adequate sanitary quality. Running water at a suitable
 temperature and under pressure as needed shall be provided in all areas where the
processing of food, the cleaning of equipment, utensils, or containers, or employee
sanitary facilities require.

(b) Sewage disposal. Sewage disposal shall be made into an adequate sewerage system
or disposed of through other adequate means.

(c) Plumbing. Plumbing shall be of adequate size and design and adequately installed
and maintained to:

(1) Carry sufficient quantities of water to required locations throughout the plant.

(2) Properly convey sewage and liquid disposal waste from the plant.

(3) Not constitute a source of contamination to foods, food products or

ingredients, water supplies, equipment or utensils or create an insanitary
conditions.

(4) Provide adequate floor drainage in all areas where floors are subject to
flooding-type cleaning or where normal operations release or discharge water or
other liquid waste on the floor.

(d) Toilet facilities. Each plant shall provide its employees with adequate toilet and
associated hand-washing facilities within the plant. Toilet rooms shall be furnished with
toilet tissue. The facilities shall be maintained in a sanitary condition and kept in good
repair at all times. Door to toilet rooms shall be self-closing and shall not open directly
into areas where food is exposed to airborne contamination, except where alternate
means have been taken to prevent such contamination. (such as double doors, positive
air-flow systems, etc.) signs shall be posted directing employees to wash their hands with
cleaning soap or detergents after using toilet.

(e) Hand-washing facilities. Adequate and convenient facilities for hand-washing and,
where appropriate, hand sanitizing shall be provided at each location in the plant where
good sanitary practices require employees to wash or sanitize and dry their hands. Such
facilities shall be furnished with running water at a suitable temperature for hand washing,
effective hand-cleaning and sanitizing preparations, sanitary towel service or suitable
drying devices, and, where appropriate, easily cleanable waste receptacles.

(f) Rubbish and offal disposal. Rubbish and any offal shall be so conveyed, stored, and
disposed of as to minimize the development of odor, prevent waste from becoming an
attractant and harborage or breeding place for vermin and prevent contamination of food,
food-contact surfaces, ground surfaces.

6. Sanitary operations

(a) General Maintenance. Buildings, fixtures, and other facilities of the plant shall be kept in good
repair and shall be maintained and in a sanitary condition. Cleaning operations shall be
conducted in such a manner as to minimize the danger of contamination of food and food-
contact surfaces. Detergents, sanitizers, and other supplies employed in cleaning and
sanitizing procedures shall be free of significant micro-biological contamination and shall be
safe and effective for their intended uses. Only such toxic materials as are required to
maintain sanitary conditions, for use in laboratory testing procedures, for plant and equipment
maintenance and operation, or in manufacturing or processing operations shall be used or
stored in the plant. These materials shall be identified and used only in such manner and
under conditions as will be safe for their intended uses.
(b) Animal and vermin control. No animals or birds, other than those essential as raw materials,
shall be allowed in any area of a food plant. Effective measures shall be taken to exclude
pests from the processing areas and to protect against the contamination of foods in or on
the premises by animals, birds, and vermin (including, but not limited to, rodent and insects).
The use of insecticides or rodenticides is permitted only under such precautions and
restrictions as will prevent the contamination of food or packaging materials with illegal
residues.

(c) Sanitation of equipment and utensils. All utensils and product-contact surfaces of equipment
shall be cleaned as frequently as necessary to prevent contamination of food and food
products. Nonproduct-contact surfaces of equipment used in the operation of food plants
should be cleaned as frequently as necessary to minimize accumulation of dust, dirt, food
particles, and other debris. Single-service articles (such as utensils intended for one-time
use, paper cups, paper towels, etc.) should be stored in appropriate containers and handled,
dispensed, used, and disposed of in a manner that prevents contamination of food or food-
contact surfaces.

Where necessary to prevent the introduction of undesirable microbiological organisms into

food products, all utensils and product-contact surfaces of equipment used in the plant shall
be cleaned and sanitized prior to such use and following any interruption during which such
utensils and contact surfaces may have become contaminated. Where such equipment and
utensils are used in a continuous production operation, the contact surfaces of such
equipment and utensils shall be effective and safe under conditions of use. Any facility,
cleaning and sanitizing equipment and utensils if it is established that such facility, procedure,
machine, or device will routinely render equipment and utensils clean and provide adequate
sanitizing treatment.

(d) Storage and handling of cleaned portable equipment and utensils. Cleaned and sanitized
portable equipment and utensils with product-contact surfaces should be stored in such a
location and manner that product-contact surfaces are protected from splash, dust, and other
contamination.

7. Processes and controls

All operations in the receiving, inspecting, transporting, packaging, segregating,

preparing, processing, and storing of food shall be conducted in accord with adequate
sanitation principles. Overall sanitation of the plant shall be under the supervision of an
individual assigned responsibility for this function. All reasonable precautions, including the
following shall be taken to assure that production procedures do not contribute contamination
for such as filth, harmful chemicals, undesirable micro-organisms, or any other objectionable
material to the processed products.

(a) Raw materials and ingredients shall be inspected and segregated as necessary to assure
that they are clean, wholesome, and fit for processing into human food and shall be stored
under conditions that will protect against contamination and minimize deterioration. Raw
materials shall be washed or cleaned as required to remove soil or other contamination.
Water used for washing, rinsing, or conveying of food products shall be of adequate quality,
and water shall not be reused for washing, rinsing, or conveying products in a manner that
may result in contamination of food products.

(b) Containers and carriers of raw ingredients should be inspected on receipt to assure that
their condition has not contributed to the contamination or deterioration of the products.

(c) When ice is used in contact with food products, it shall be made from potable water and
shall be used only if it has been manufactured in accordance with adequate standards and
stored, transported, and handled in a sanitary manner.
 (d) Food-processing areas and equipment used for processing human food should not be used
to process non-human food-grade animal feed or inedible products unless there is no
reasonable possibility for the contamination of the human food.

(e) Processing equipment shall be maintained in a sanitary condition through frequent cleaning
including sanitation where indicated. Insofar as necessary, equipment shall be taken apart
for thorough cleaning.

(f) All food processing, including packaging and storage, should be conducted under such
conditions and controls as are necessary to minimize the potential for undesirable bacterial
or other microbiological growth, toxin formation, or deterioration or contamination of the
processed product or ingredients. This may require careful monitoring of such physical
factors as time, temperature, humidity, pressure, flow-rate and such processing operations
as freezing, dehydration, heat processing, and refrigeration to assure the mechanical
breakdowns, time delays, temperature fluctuations, and other factors do not contribute to
the decomposition or contamination of the processed products.

(g) Chemical microbiological, or extraneous-material testing procedures shall be utilized where

necessary to identify sanitation failures or for contamination, and all foods and ingredients
that have become contaminated shall be rejected or treated or processed to eliminate the
contamination where this may be properly accomplished.

(h) Packaging processes and materials shall not transmit contaminants or objectionable
substances to the products, shall conform to any applicable food additive regulation and
should provide adequate protection from contamination.

(i) Meaningful coding of products sold or otherwise distributed from a manufacturing,

processing, packing, or repacking activity should be utilized to enable positive lot
identification to facilitate, where necessary, the segregation of specific food lots that may
have become contaminated or otherwise unfit for their intended use. Records should be
retained for a period of time that exceeds the shelf life of the product, except that they need
not be retained more than 2 years.

(j) Storage and transportation of finished products should be under such conditions as will
prevent contamination, including development of pathogenic or toxigenic micro-organisms,
and will protect against undesirable deterioration of the product and container.

8. Personnel

The Plant management shall take all reasonable measures and precautions to assure the
following:

(a) Disease control. No person affected by disease in a communicable form, or while a carrier
of each disease or while affected with in any capacity in which there is a reasonable
possibility of food or food ingredients becoming contaminated by such person, or of disease
being transmitted by such person to other individuals.

(b) Cleanliness. All person, while working in direct contact with food preparation, food
ingredients, or surfaces coming into contact therewith shall:

(1) Wear clean outer garments, maintain high degree of personal cleanliness, and conform
to hygienic practices while on duty, to the extent necessary to prevent contamination of
food product.
 (2) Wash their hands thoroughly( and sanitize if necessary to prevent contamination by
undesirable micro-organism) in an adequate hand-washing facility before work, after
each absence from the work station, end at any other time when the hands may have
become soiled or contaminated.

(3) Remove all insure jewelry and, during periods where food is manipulated by hand,
remove from hands any jewelry that cannot be adequately sanitized.

(4) If gloves are used in food handling, maintain them in an intact, clean, and sanitary
condition. Such gloves should be of an impermeable material expert where their usage
would be inappropriate or incompatible with the work involved.

(5) Wear hair nets, headbands, caps, or other effective hair restraints.

(6) Not stores clothing or other personal belongings, eat food or drink beverages, or use
tobacco in any form in areas where food ingredients are exposed of in areas used for
washing equipment or utensils.

(7) Take any other necessary precautions to prevent contamination of foods, with micro-
organisms or foreign substances including, but not limited to, perspiration, hair
cosmetics, tobacco, chemicals, and medicants

(c) Education and training. Personnel responsible for identifying sanitation failures or food
contamination should have a back ground of education or experiences, or a combination
thereof, to provide a level of competency necessary for production of clean and safe food.
Food handlers and supervisors should receive appropriate training in proper food- handling
techniques and food-protection principles and should be cognizant of the danger of poor
personal hygiene and insanity practices.

(d) Supervision. Responsibility for assuring compliance by all personal with all these
requirements shall be clearly assigned to competent supervisory personnel.

This regulation shall take effect 30 days after application in the Official Gazette.

(Sgd) CLEMENTE S. GATMAITAN, M.D., M.P.H.

Secretary of Health

Recommended by:

(Sgd) L. M. PESIGAN
Food & Drug Administrator