Public Sanitation and Retail Food Safety Group ● PO Box 149347, Mail Code 1987 ● Austin, Texas 78714-9347

(512) 834-6753 ● Facsimile: (512) 834-6683 ● http://www.dshs.texas.gov/foodestablishments/

Pub # -E23-14626 Rev. 02/21/2017

October 31, 2011 (Revised: February 21, 2017)

PSRFSGRC - No. 15

§228.2(100) Plumbing fixture.

§228.2(101) Plumbing system.

§228.2(130) Sewage.

Subchapter E: Water, Plumbing, and Waste

§228.143(b) Water quantity and availability, pressure.

§228.143(c) Water quantity and availability, hot water.

§228.146 Plumbing design, construction, and installation.

§228.147 Plumbing, numbers and capacities, service sink.

§228.149 Plumbing, operation and maintenance.

Response:

A retail food establishment is required to provide at least one service (mop) sink or

a curbed cleaning facility equipped with a drain for the cleaning of mops and similar

wet floor cleaning tools, and for the disposal of mop water and similar waste. The

service sink or facility must be lawfully plumbed with hot and cold water under

pressure and with drainage that provides for proper sewage disposal.

PSRFSG – No. 15 – Requirements for Service (Mop) Sinks

October 31, 2011 (Rev. February 21, 2017)

Page 2 of 4

Public Sanitation and Retail Food Safety Group ● PO Box 149347, Mail Code 1987 ● Austin, Texas 78714-9347

(512) 834-6753 ● Facsimile: (512) 834-6683 ● http://www.dshs.texas.gov/foodestablishments/

titled “Water, Plumbing, and Waste,” support the conclusion that a retail food

establishment is required to have at least one service (mop) sink or a curbed

cleaning facility that meets the following conditions:

1) lawfully plumbed with hot and cold water;

2) under pressure; and

3) with drainage that provides for proper sewage disposal.

Section 228.147(c)(1) titled “Plumbing, numbers and capacities” for a “Service

sink,” specifically requires a retail food establishment to have “At least one service

or “sewage”

must be properly disposed of. We will look now at the other portions

of Subchapter E which set forth the requirements for plumbing fixtures and systems

in a retail food establishment.

Section 228.143(b) requires that “Water under pressure” be “provided to all

fixtures” that use water; Section 228.143(c) provides that “Hot water generation

and distribution systems” in a retail food establishment must be “sufficient to meet

the peak hot water demands throughout the food establishment.” Further, Section

§228.2(100) defines a “plumbing fixture” as a “receptacle or device” that either “is temporarily or permanently connected to

the water distribution system of the premises and demands a supply of water from the system” or that “discharges used

water, waste materials, or sewage directly or indirectly to the drainage system of the premises”.

§228.2(101) defines a “plumbing system” as “the water supply and distribution pipes; plumbing fixtures and traps; soil,

waste, and vent pipes; sanitary and storm sewers and building drains, including their respective connections, devices, and

appurtenances within the premises; and water-treating equipment”.

plumbing code currently in effect and applied to determine whether plumbing is performed “according to law” is the 2009

version (or an earlier version) of either the Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC) or the International Plumbing Code (IPC).

PSRFSG – No. 15 – Requirements for Service (Mop) Sinks

October 31, 2011 (Rev. February 21, 2017)

Page 3 of 4

Public Sanitation and Retail Food Safety Group ● PO Box 149347, Mail Code 1987 ● Austin, Texas 78714-9347

(512) 834-6753 ● Facsimile: (512) 834-6683 ● http://www.dshs.texas.gov/foodestablishments/

requirements are substantial. It is through the implementation in a food

establishment of well-recognized sanitation procedures, particularly the proper

cleaning of floors and the safe disposal of resulting filthy water and other liquid

waste, that the growth of and contamination by Listeria monocytogenes (Lm),

Salmonella species and other microorganisms that result in food-borne illnesses,

can be prevented. Lm is a ubiquitous organism that can be found throughout a

food establishment. Primary areas of concern are floors, drains, along floor seams

and corners, and any other areas where water and moisture can stand or

accumulate. It is this major public health concern that supports the TFER

requirement that food establishments provide at least one lawfully plumbed service

Administration’s (FDA), 2013 Food Code Annexes, Chapter 5 “Water, Plumbing, and

Waste,” Section 5-203.13, Service Sink states, “Mop water and similar liquid

wastes are contaminated with microorganisms and other filth. Waste water must be

disposed of in a sanitary manner that will not contaminate food or food equipment.

A service sink or curbed cleaning facility with a drain allows for such disposal.”

In reference to water quantity and availability, the FDA’s 2013 Food Code Annexes,

Chapter 5 “Water, Plumbing, and Waste,” Section 5-103.11, Capacity, clarifies the

establishment.

According to FDA’s Food Code 2013 Annexes, Chapter 5 “Water, Plumbing, and

Waste,” Section 5-103.12, Pressure, adequate water under pressure is required in

order to eliminate conditions that could lead to situations that place the public

health at risk. In reference to water capacity, FDA states that the “Availability of

PSRFSG – No. 15 – Requirements for Service (Mop) Sinks

October 31, 2011 (Rev. February 21, 2017)

Page 4 of 4

Public Sanitation and Retail Food Safety Group ● PO Box 149347, Mail Code 1987 ● Austin, Texas 78714-9347

(512) 834-6753 ● Facsimile: (512) 834-6683 ● http://www.dshs.texas.gov/foodestablishments/

Christopher Sparks, MPA, R.S.

Manager

Public Sanitation and Retail Food Safety Group

This Food Establishment Group Regulatory Clarification supersedes any previous

clarifications, guidance documents, or policy letters on this subject and remains in