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Back to Environmental Health
PART I: FOOD
Q. Where can I take a class to
learn about Food Safety?
A. For detailed information
on approved certification courses, or for general food safety education
opportunities, contact your food sanitarian at the health department.
Clinton Branch
office – (989) 224-2195
Montcalm Branch office – (989) 831-5237
Gratiot Branch office – (989) 875-3681
Q. Our organization is putting
on a temporary food event. How long before the event should I apply for
my temporary food establishment license?
A. The Michigan Food Law
(P.A. 92 of 2000) states that a temporary food establishment license shall
be applied for at least 30 calendar days before the planned date of the
temporary food event.
Q. I forgot to apply for my
temporary food establishment license at least 30 days before the event.
Will I still be able to apply for my license so I can hold the event?
A. Yes, you can still apply
for the license. However, you will be charged a nominal late fee in
addition to the normal temporary food license fee.
Q. What is a consumer advisory?
A. Consumer advisory is a
means to inform a consumer that a particular ready-to- eat food of an
animal origin is raw, undercooked, or otherwise not processed to eliminate
pathogens. Such items must be disclosed on the menu, by effective written
means, as being raw or undercooked. Also, a reminder of the increased
risk of consuming raw or undercooked foods of animal origin must placed on
the menu. For detailed information regarding your menu items that require
a consumer advisory, contact your food sanitarian at your local branch
office of the health department.
Q. How often does the health
department perform inspections of food service establishments?
A. An unannounced compliance
inspection of each food service establishment shall be performed at least
once every 6 months by the health department. Based on inspection
performance, some establishments may be inspected at shorter intervals,
such as every 3 months. A food service establishment that operates for 9
or fewer months each year shall be inspected at least once during the
period of operation. This means that some establishments, such as
schools, or ice cream parlors, are only inspected once a year.
Q. I heard that with the
Michigan Food Law of 2000 the requirements for refrigeration have
changed. What are the requirements?
A. Under Michigan’s Food
Law, a cold holding unit must be capable of maintaining food at a
temperature of 41o F, or below. If you have an existing cold holding
unit, that was in operation in the facility before 8 November 2000, and it
is not capable of maintaining food temperature at 41o F, or below, you can
still keep the unit in operation, as long as it can keep food at 45o F, or
less. Any cold holding unit put in operation in a food service
establishment after 8 November 2000, must be capable of maintaining food
at a temperature of 41o F, or below. On 8 May 2006, all cold holding
units will be required to capable of 41o F, or below. Consult your food
sanitarian for date marking requirements relative to your cold holding
capabilities.
Q. How do I thaw foods in my
operation?
A. Potentially hazardous
foods, such as raw meats, shall be thawed one of four ways:
- Under refrigeration that
maintains the food at 41o F, or below;
- Completely submerged under
running water that is 70o F, or below, and for a period of time that
does not allow any portion of the food to exceed 41o F, or;
- As part of a cooking process if
the food that is frozen is cooked according to proper time and
temperature requirements, or;
- Thawed in a microwave oven and
immediately transferred to conventional cooking equipment, with no
interruption in the process.
Q. Do I have to wear a hair net?
A. The Michigan Food Law
requires that food employees shall wear hair restraints. This is not
limited to hair nets. You can wear a hair net, scarf, hat, beard net, or
clothing that covers body hair. Whatever item you choose, it must be
designed and worn to effectively keep hair from contacting exposed food;
clean equipment, utensils, and linens; and unwrapped single-service and
single-use articles. This requirement for hair restraints does not apply
to those food employees that present a minimal contamination risk, such as
counter and wait staff, or hostesses.
Q. What are food employees
required to report to their person in charge regarding their health?
A. In order to prevent the
likelihood of foodborne disease transmission, a food employee has the
responsibility to report certain situations, or diagnoses to their person
in charge. A food employee must report to their person in charge a
diagnosis of an illness due to Salmonella Typhi, Shigella species,
Escherichia Coli O157:H7, or Hepatitus A virus. These are known as the
Big Four pathogens. Food employees must also report to their person in
charge if they live with someone diagnosed with a Big Four pathogen, or
the person they live with works or attends a setting where there is a
confirmed outbreak of illness caused by the Big Four. A food employee
must report to the person in charge if they are suspected of causing, or
being exposed to a confirmed disease outbreak due to the Big Four. Food
employees must report if they have been diagnosed in the past with any of
the Big Four Pathogens.
There are also certain symptoms that
must be reported to the person in charge. These include diarrhea, fever,
vomiting, jaundice, or sore throat with a fever. Also a food employee
must report if they have a lesion containing pus, such as a boil or
infected wound that is open or draining.
A person in charge will need to
either exclude or restrict a food employee based on what is reported.
Q. Do I have to wear gloves when
I work in a restaurant?
A. Not necessarily.
Michigan Food Law 2000 prohibits bare hand contact with exposed food that
is in a ready-to-eat form. The Law directs that ready-to-eat food shall
be handled with suitable utensils such as deli tissue, spatulas, tongs,
single use gloves, or dispensing equipment. You may wish to wear gloves
when handling ready to eat food, but you have other options for utensils.
It is important to understand what constitutes a ready to eat food. If a
food is not ready to eat, it can be handled with bare hands, but bare hand
contact shall be minimized.
Q. What is ready-to-eat food?
A. Ready-to-eat food means
food that is in a form that is edible without washing, cooking, or
additional preparation by the food establishment or the consumer and that
is reasonably expected to be consumed in that form.
Q. What are the food cooling
requirements under the Michigan Food Law of 2000?
A. Cooked potentially
hazardous food shall be cooled from 140o F to 70o F within 2 hours; and
within the next 4 hours the food must be cooled from 70o F to 41o F or
below. Potentially hazardous food that is prepared from ingredients at
ambient temperatures, such as reconstituted food and canned meats, must be
cooled to 41o F or lower within 4 hours from preparation.
Q. What can I do to make sure I
am meeting the time and temperature requirements for cooling potentially
hazardous food?
A. According to the Food
Law, in order to meet the time and temperature requirements for cooling,
one or more of the following methods shall be used:
- Placing the food in shallow pans;
- Separating the food into smaller
or thinner portions;
- Using rapid cooling equipment/
- Stirring the food in a container
placed in an ice water bath;
- Using containers that facilitate
heat transfer;
- Adding ice as an ingredient
Containers of food being cooled in
cooling or cold holding equipment shall be arranged in the equipment to
provide maximum heat transfer through the container walls, and loosely
covered, or uncovered if protected from overhead contamination, during the
cooling period.
Q. Why is time and temperature
in the cooling process important?
A. Proper cooling requires
removing heat from food quickly enough to prevent microbial growth.
Excessive time for cooling of potentially hazardous food has been
consistently identified as one of the leading contributing factors to
foodborne illness. During extended cooling, potentially hazardous foods
are subject to the growth of a variety of pathogenic microorganisms. The
temperature “danger zone” for microbial growth in foods is 41o F to 140o
F. The ideal bacterial incubation temperatures lie in the range of 70o F
to 120o F. It is important to cool foods through this worst part of the
“danger zone” quickly. If food is not cooled quickly, using proper
methods, pathogens may grow to sufficient numbers to cause foodborne
illness.
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PART II: WELLS
Q. What is a well?
A. “Well” means an opening
in the surface of the earth for the purpose of obtaining ground water,
monitoring the quality or quantity of groundwater, obtaining geological
information on aquifers, recharging aquifers, purging aquifers, utilizing
the geothermal properties of earth formations, or removing groundwater for
any purpose.
Q. What is an abandoned well?
A. An abandoned well is a
water well whose use has been permanently discontinued; a water supply or
portion thereof which is in such disrepair that its continued use for the
purpose of obtaining water is impractical; a water supply which has been
left uncompleted; a water supply which is a threat to other sources of
water; or a water supply which is or may be a health or safety hazard.
Q. Water is a well record
(log)?
A. A well record (log)
contains information relating to a well that has been constructed. A well
record includes the well owners name, well location, well depth, materials
(soils) penetrated and thickness, static water levels and type of well
constructed. Within 60 days of the date of completion of a well, a well
drilling contractor shall furnish the well owner with 1 copy and a Health
Officer with 2 copies of a well log that contains the information required
on the form furnished by the director. The Health Officer shall send 1
copy of the well log to the department of natural resources within 30 days
after the Health Officer receives the copies of the well log. A well
drilling contractor shall retain a copy of the well log. Rule 325.1675,
Part 127-Act 368 of 1978 Groundwater Quality Control.
Q. What are Nitrates?
A. Nitrate is a form of
nitrogen combined with oxygen. Nitrate is found in food and water.
Sources of nitrate include livestock waste, septic tank/drainfield
effluent, crop/lawn fertilizers, natural geologic nitrogen. The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency has established a maximum contaminant
level (MCL) for nitrates at 10 mg/L.
Q. What are Nitrites?
A. Nitrite is a product that
is produced when oxygen is removed from nitrate. Nitrites may act
directly to cause methemoglobinemia (blue baby syndrome) in infants due to
the reduction of oxygen in the red blood cells. The maximum contaminant
level for nitrites established by U.S. Environmental Health Agency at 1.0
mg/L.
Q. What are coliform bacteria?
A. Coliform bacteria are a
natural part of the microbiology of the intestinal tract of warm-blooded
mammals, including man. Coliform bacteria can also be found in soil, other
animals, insects, etc. The total coliform group is relatively easy to
culture in the lab, and therefore, has been selected as the primary
indicator bacteria for the presence of disease causing organisms.
Q. What is arsenic?
A. Arsenic is a metal often
found in nature in low amounts. Arsenic is found in two forms: organic and
inorganic. Elevated levels of inorganic arsenic, the more harmful form to
humans, have been found in the ground water in some areas of Michigan.
Organic arsenic is not found in ground water. Inorganic arsenic is
believed to exist naturally in certain sandstone layers in the state.
Q. What is the minimum
isolation distance between a well and any portion of a septic system for a
single-family residential dwelling?
A. 50 feet is the minimum
isolation distance between a non-shared single family residential well and
any portion of the septic system. The Health Officer has the discretion
to increase or decrease distances under Part 127-Act 368 of 1978,
Groundwater Quality Control.
Q. Does the Mid-Michigan
District Health Department have water sample bottles?
A. Coliform bacteria and
partial chemical sample bottles are available at the Mid-Michigan District
Health Department.
- There is no charge to obtain a
set of bottles.
- A processing fee payable to the
State of Michigan
- Please call your Local Health
Department for specific tests, questions about testing procedures and
availability of specific water bottles.
- The partial chemistry tests for
Fluoride, Chloride, Hardness Nitrate, Nitrite, Sulfate, Sodium and
Iron.
- The specific tests and required
unit” bottle include: *Prices subject to change
| Test |
Required Unit
Bottle |
Fee ($)
|
| Drinking Water
Coliforms |
30 |
12.00 |
| Swimming Pool
Coliform |
30 |
12.00 |
| Fecal Coliform
for Surface or Wastewater |
30 |
15.00 |
| E. Coli for
Surface or Wastewater |
30 |
15.00 |
| Partial
Chemistry |
32 |
14.00 |
| Arsenic |
36ME |
16.00 |
| Iron, Manganese,
Copper, and Zinc |
36ME |
20.00 |
| Lead |
36ME |
16.00 |
| Lead/Copper for
corrosion control |
36CC |
22.00 |
| Organic Solvents
Screen |
36VO |
90.00 |
Q. What is bentonite?
A. A swelling clay
specifically mined from Montana and Wyoming used primarily for abandoning
water wells and grouting new wells. Bentonite is composed mainly of the
mineral montmorillonite. Bentonite has the ability “to absorb” water and
swell in volume and act as a barrier against contaminants.
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PART III: SEWAGE
Q. What is an alternative sewage
system?
A. An alternative on-site
sewage system shall mean any proven method of on-site sewage treatment
other than the conventional treatment tank wit absorption trenches, bed,
or seepage pit. Alternative systems include but are not limited to
aeration treatment systems, gravity drained mounds, pressurized mounds and
sand filters due to restrictive soil conditions.
Q. What is an effluent
filter?
A. A filtering device (used
in conjunction with or to replace the effluent baffle as part of the
septic tank) designed to remove suspended and/or excessive solids from the
sewage effluent. (Click to see attached
illustration.)
Q. What is meant by high
ground water?
A. The elevation of the
ground water during the normally wet periods of the year, as interpreted
by the physical presence of water and/or interpreted by the presence of
mottling in the soil.
Q. What is mottling?
A. The presence of mottling
in the soil indicates poor aeration and impeded drainage. Mottling in a
soil profile is determined by the presence of irregular spots of different
colors in the excavation or boring. Mottling occurs with the seasonal
saturation of the soil for a period of two or more weeks during the year.
As a result, anaerobic activity during the period of saturation triggers a
reduction process changing the color of minerals in the soil.
Q. What is sewage?
A. Sewage is a combination
of the domestic liquid or semi-solid wastes from a dwelling or habitable
building. This includes human excreta, garbage disposal wastes,
dishwater, bath water laundry wastes basement drains, etc; but excludes
roof storm water, water softener backwash discharge, footing drains, and
storm water discharge.
Q. What is meant by sewage
failure?
A. A sewage failure shall
include but not limited to any condition where effluent from any sewage
absorption system is exposed to the surface of the ground or is permitted
to drain on or to the surface of the ground, into any ditch, storm sewer,
lake or streams, or when the odor, appearance, or presence of this
material may have an obnoxious or detrimental effect on or to the senses
and/or health of persons. A sewage absorption system is considered to
have failed if any of the any of the following conditions exists:
- the system does not accept
effluent at the rate of application;
- sewage effluent seeps from, or
ponds on or around the absorption system, or contaminates the surface
and/or ground waters.
Q. When do my permits
expire?
A. Sewage permits issued in
fiscal year 2002 have a two- year time period upon date of issuance.
Permits can be renewed with applicable fees for one more year. At the
request of the applicant, said permit may be extended for a period of not
more one year from the original date of expiration. Therefore, the total
expectancy on a sewage permit is three years.
Q. Can I transfer my
permits?
A. Should the ownership of
the property for which a permit has been issued change, the permit may be
transferred to the new owner. Such transfer must be requested in writing
on forms to be provided the Health Officer and signed by the permit
holder. The permit holder shall be the person to whom the permit was
originally issued.
Q. Can I install my own
septic system?
A. A homeowner can construct
their own septic systems with prior knowledge of permit requirements such
as washed stone, washed sand, approved 4 inch tile lines. Septic systems
issued under a variance i.e., a gravity mound must be installed by a
registered septic installer. Call your local Health Department for
questions.
Q. Can I hook up my softener
into my septic? Link to Septic System The Basics
A. No. Absorption fields
are designed for only sanitary wastewater. Footing drainage, downspouts
or roof drains, water conditioners recharge water and any other wastewater
not defined as sewage shall not be connected to or discharge into the
sewage disposal system. (Please
click here for
details. You need Adobe to view the details properly.)
Download Adobe
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PART IV: WATER WELL
CHLORINATION PROCEDURE
- Turn the power off to the well.
- Add chlorine and water mixture to
the well. This is the space between the drop-pipe and the outer casing.
(Mixture: 1 gal/on household liquid bleach to 4 gallons water.) Use 1/2
gallon bleach per 50' of well casing.
- Where possible connect a clean
garden hose to an outside faucet. Place the end of the hose 1 foot down
the casing and recycle the chlorinated water back into the well rinsing
down the casing, pitless adaptor, and drop-pipe for 1/2 hour. (Power
must be turned back on.)
- Reassemble the well and run the
faucets in the house until you smell the chlorine water coming out; shut
off the faucets and allow the chlorine water to stand in the plumbing
for a minimum of 4-hours (overnight if possible).
- During the chlorination
procedure, use an alternate source of water for drinking and cooking;
such as bottled water. Water usage during chlorination should be limited
to toilet flushing only, and this too, should be restricted as much as
possible. Contact of the skin with the water during this period should
be avoided.
- After the contact time, turn on
the outside faucets and flush with hoses for 48 to 72 hours. NOTE: When
flushing chlorinated water from hoses, discharge water to an area away
from the septic system, flower beds, etc.
- Do not attempt to flush
chlorinated water from the well by using inside plumbing. This can
severely damage the septic system.
- It is important to keep the well
pump motor running continually while flushing the chlorine from the
well. This can be done by flushing as many hoses as needed to keep the
pump running continually. Pumping too small a volume of water causes the
pump motor to shut off and thus increases pump wear.
Click
HERE to
see the illustration.
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