A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE NOTIFICATION OF THE OPERATION OF WHOLESALE FOOD AND/OR BEVERAGE STORAGE FACILITIES
Food, beverage, fruit and vegetable, grocery, and/or wholesale beverage warehouses are defined as premises where food, fruit and vegetables, grocery items, and/or beverages are stored and sold at retail. As an exception, these stores may sell the above items at retail if at least 60% of their turnover (revenue) comes from wholesale sales.
The warehouses referred to in this article shall be of permanent construction (stone, brick, concrete, etc.), shall be fully ventilated and adequately lit, and shall be free of moisture.
In addition to the above, wholesale food and/or beverage warehouses shall also meet the following conditions to prevent mice from entering and breeding in them:
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The floors will be covered entirely by continuous, impermeable and non-slip material (mosaic, stone slabs, concrete etc.). The surfaces of the floors will be preferably smooth, unless it is a matter of large warehouses, in which they enter for loading and unloading trucks cars and the placement of goods is done with mechanical means (lifting forklift machines), the movement of which requires special conditions floors for the avoidance of slipping and collisions. The surfaces of the floors shall have slopes towards floor drains, equipped with drains, for the easy cleaning and rinsing with water. The mouths of these wells will be covered with metal grates in which the gaps will not will be greater than 5 millimeters.
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The walls at a height of 0.30 m from the floor surface will be covered with hard cement mortar at least 2 cm thick. The walls shall be kept in good condition throughout their entire length, without any damage, and shall be whitewashed frequently so that they are always clean.
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If the doors are not made of metal, they shall be covered at the bottom and at a height of 0.30 m from the floor surface with thick sheet metal, and there shall be no gaps between them and the floor larger than 5 mm, through which mice could pass.
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The windows and every opening in the walls will have thick wire mesh, with openings no larger than 5 mm.
If mice appear in a wholesale food and/or beverage warehouse, the person in charge of the business must take all necessary measures to exterminate them, requesting, if necessary, relevant instructions from the Health Service.
Bags, boxes, containers, etc., containing foodstuffs shall be placed on pedestals at least 0.30 m above the floor and at least 0.20 m away from walls from the walls and, in general, in such a way as to ensure ventilation and easy cleaning of the premises. Perishable food shall be stored in refrigerated chambers of sufficient capacity under constant refrigeration or freezing and at a suitable humidity level, depending on the type of food and the desired storage time, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Food and Beverage Code. Canned preserved food (canned goods) shall be stored in dry areas at a constant low temperature (ideal temperature +10°C, while higher temperatures reduce their storage time accordingly). The packaging containers of canned foods shall not show any swelling or oxidation or subsequent welding at various points or any loss of their tightness and shall meet all the conditions of the provisions of the Food and Beverage Code relating to food packaging materials of the Food and Beverage Code. The competent health inspection authorities must exclude from consumption any cans whose containers show the above deviations, applying the relevant provisions of the food legislation in force at the time.
Food and beverages must not be placed in containers that were previously used to package pesticides, insecticides, or any similar poisons. In cases where the container’s markings (container type, labels, etc.) indicate that it was previously used as a container for packaging insecticides, pesticides, or poisons in general, its contents shall be seized without laboratory testing and shall then be destroyed or, if possible, recycled in accordance with Article 7(3) of Joint Ministerial Decision 2805/60 (Government Gazette 179/60, vol. B), and its owner shall be prosecuted. The provision of this paragraph shall also apply to shops and laboratories dealing in food or beverages in general.
Wholesale food and/or beverage warehouses shall be kept tidy and clean. Any empty packaging items shall be stored in a separate area of the above warehouses. No items unrelated to food shall be stored in the above warehouses. As an exception, items permitted for sale in grocery stores, such as cleaning products, air fresheners, insecticides, standardized animal feed, etc., may be kept in a separate, even if only conceptually separated, area of the warehouse. Any processing, handling, or packaging of food or beverages in their storage areas is prohibited. In the warehouses referred to in this article, it is necessary to have a number of staff toilets proportional to the number of employees, in accordance with Article 25 hereof. Employees shall wear special work uniforms and shall be provided with a health booklet.
The provisions of this article shall apply and to food storage facilities that which are intended for the supply of ships etc. as well as and in warehouses for fruit and vegetables wholesale trade.
