No persons affected with any disease capable of being transmitted to others through the contamination of food shall work at a milk plant in any capacity which brings them into direct contact with pasteurized milk or milk products or which brings them into direct contact with associated pasteurized or aseptically processed milk or milk product-contact surfaces. In the case of milk plants, receiving stations, or transfer stations that have HACCP Systems, which are regulated under the NCIMS HACCP Program, the HACCP System shall address the public health concerns described in this Section in a manner that provides protection equivalent to the requirements in this Section.
Milk plant operators who have received reports, under this Section, from employees who have handled pasteurized milk or milk products or associated milk or milk product-contact surfaces shall immediately report these facts to the appropriate Milk Regulatory Agency. Milk plant employees, or applicants to whom a conditional offer of employment has been made, shall be instructed by the milk plant that the employee or applicant or applicants to whom a conditional offer of employment has been made is responsible to report to the milk plant management, in a manner that allows the milk plant to prevent the likelihood of the transmission of diseases that are transmissible through foods, if the employee or applicant to whom a conditional offer of employment has been made:
- Is diagnosed with an illness due to Hepatitis A virus, Salmonella typhi, Shigella species, Norwalk and Norwalk-like Viruses, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Escherichia coli 0157:H7, enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli, enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, Campylobacter jejuni, Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia lamblia, Non-typhoidal Salmonella, Rotovirus, Taenia solium, Yersinia enterocolitica, Vibrio cholerae O1 or other infectious or communicable disease that has been declared by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to be transmissible to others through the handling of food, or has been clearly shown to be so based upon verifiable epidemiological data; or
- Is exposed to, or suspected of causing, a confirmed foodborne disease outbreak of one (1) of the diseases specified in Item 1 above, including an outbreak at an event such as a family meal, church supper or ethnic festival because the employee or applicant to whom a conditional offer of employment has been made:
- Prepared food implicated in the outbreak; or
- Consumed food implicated in the outbreak; or
- Consumed food at the event prepared by a person who is infected or ill.
Lives in the same household as a person who attends or works in a day care center or school, similar institution experiencing a confirmed outbreak of one (1) of the diseases specified in Item 1 above.
Similarly, milk plant employees shall be instructed by the milk plant management to report to the milk plant management if the employee, or applicant to whom a conditional offer of employment has been made.
- Has a symptom associated with acute gastrointestinal illness such as: Abdominal cramps or discomfort, diarrhea, fever, loss of appetite for three (3) or more days, vomiting, jaundice; or
- Has a pustular lesion such as a boil or infected wound that is:
- On the hands, wrists or exposed portions of the arms, unless the lesion is covered by a durable, moisture proof, tight-fitting barrier; or
- On other parts of the body if the lesion is open or draining, unless the lesion is covered by a durable, moisture proof, tight-fitting barrier.