Sauce containers touching food.
My company here in the US is making meals for consumers. Precooked, with instructions to heat and eat. The meals are not intended for immediate consumption but the portions are single serve. We will be getting a grant of inspection from USDA. We currently produce sauces at another of our facilities, filling plastic cups with the sauce and heat sealing film on top. The sauces are not acidified or acid, and are labeled keep refrigerated. My boss wants to add the sauce cups directly into the packages with the food, touching said food. I need some direct references in the CFR as to why this can not be done. He is analytical and this seems like a no brainer for people that understand it, but any help narrowing this down to the exact reference would be helpful. Thanks.
My company here in the US is making meals for consumers. Precooked, with instructions to heat and eat. The meals are not intended for immediate consumption but the portions are single serve. We will be getting a grant of inspection from USDA. We currently produce sauces at another of our facilities, filling plastic cups with the sauce and heat sealing film on top. The sauces are not acidified or acid, and are labeled keep refrigerated. My boss wants to add the sauce cups directly into the packages with the food, touching said food. I need some direct references in the CFR as to why this can not be done. He is analytical and this seems like a no brainer for people that understand it, but any help narrowing this down to the exact reference would be helpful. Thanks. All of the food in the container and sauce containers are labeled to keep refrigerated or freeze.