STATE OF GEORGIA I 
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
TOM LINDER, Commissioner 
 
GEORGIA SANITARY LAW 
and 
Rules and Regulations 
Address all communications concerning this Law aL Regulations to the Commissioner of Agriculture or to State Department of Agriculture, Capitol Building, Atlanta, Ga. 
 
 SANITARY LAW 
BILL 454 
An Act relating to the public health, authorizing and empowering the Department of Agriculture to make a.nd publish sanitary rules and regulations, providing penalties for their violation. 
Section 1. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Georgia, That every place occupied or used for the preparation for sale, manufacture, packing, storage, sale or distribution of any food shall be properly lighted, drained, ventilated, screened and conducted with strict regard to the influence of such conditions upon the health of employees, operatives, clerks, or other persons therein employed, and the purity and wholesomeness of the foods therein produced. 
Section 2. Be it further enacted, That the Commissioner of Agriculture, State Veterinarian, and State Chemist are hereby authorized and directed to make and cause to be published such sanitary rules and regulations as are necessary in food inspection and to carry out the provisions of this Act, and any person or persons or associations violating the provisions of this Act or any of the rules and regulations made or published under the provisions of this Act shall, upon conviction, be fined in a sum not exceeding one hundred dollars. 
Section 3. Be it further enacted, That all laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act be and the same are hereby repealed. 
Approved. August 14, 1914, page 134, Georgia Code of 1933, Sections 42-117, 42-118 and 429906. 
 
 RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE 
SANITARY LAW 
Ruling 1. Every building, room, basement or cellar occupied or used as a bakery, confectionery, cannery, grocery, meat market or other place used for the preparation for sale, manufacture, packing, sale or distribution of food, shall be properly lighted, drained, plumbed, ventilated and conducted with strict regard to the influence of such conditions upon the health of operatives, employees, clerks, or other persons therein employed, and the purity and wholesomeness of the food therein produced; and for the purpose of this Act the term "Food," as used herein, shall include all articles usedfor food, drink, confectionery, condiment whether simple, mixed or compounds, and all other substances or ingredients used in the preparation thereof. 
Ruling 2. The floors, side-walls, ceilings, furniture, receptacles, implements, and machinery of every establishment, or place where food is manufactured, packed, sold, or distributed and vehicles used in the transportation of food shall at no time be kept in an unclean, unhealthful and unsanitary condition; and for the purpose of this Act, "Unclean, unhealthful and unsanitary condition" shall be deemed to exist if food in the process of manufacture, preparation, packing, storing, sale, distribution or transportation is not securely protected from flies, dust, dirt, and as far as may be necessary by all reasonable means, from all foreign or injurious contamination, and if the refuse, dirt, and waste products subject to decomposition and fermentation incident to the manufacture, preparation, packing, selling, distribution and transportation of food are not removed daily, and if all trucks, trays, boxes, baskets, buckets and other receptacles, chutes, platforms, racks, tables, shelves and all knives, saws,- cleaners and other utensils and machinery used in the moving, handling, cutting, chopping, mixing, canning, and all other processes are not cleaned thoroughly daily; 
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 and if the clothing of the employees, operatives, clerks or other persons therein employed is not clean. 
Ruling 3. The side-walls, ceilings, proof rooms or proof boxes of every bakery, confectionery, creamery, cheese factory shall be plastered and wainscoted, bricked or sealed with metal or lumber, and shall be oil painted and all interior woodwork in every bakery, confectionery, creamery, cheese factory shall be kept washed clean with soap and water; and every building, room, basement occupied or used for the preparation, manufacture, packing, sale or distribution of food shall have an impermeable floor made of cement or tile laid in cement, brick, wood, or other suitable nonabsorbent material which can be flushed and washed with water. 
Ruling 4. The doors, windows, or other openings of every food-producing establishment or distributing establishment during the fly season shall be fitted with self-closing doors, and wire windows of not coarser than 14-mesh wire, gauze or other mechanical device for the exclusion of flies, except where food is otherwise protected. 
Ruling 5. Every building, room, basement, or cellar occupied or used for the preparation, manufacture, packing, canning, sale or distribution of food, shall have convenient toilets or toilet room, separate and apart from the room or rooms where the process of production, manufacture, packing, canning, selling or distributing is conducted. The floors of such toilet rooms shall be of cement, tile, wood, brick, or any other non-absorbent material, and shall be washed and scoured daily. Such toilet or toilets shall be furnished with separate ventilating flues or pipes discharging into said pipes, or on the outside of the building in which they are situated. Lavatories and wash-rooms shall be adjacent or convenient to the toilet rooms and shall be supplied with soap and water and towels and shall be maintained in a sanitary condition. 
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 Operatives, clerks, and all persons who handle the material from which food is prepared or the finished product, before beginning work or after visiting toilet or toilets, shall wash their hands thoroughly in clean water. 
Ruling 6. Cuspidors, for the use of operatives, employees, clerks or other persons shall be provided whenever necessary, and each cuspidor shall be thoroughly emptied and washed out daily with a disinfect~nt solution, and some of such solution shall be left in each cuspidor while it is in use. No operative, employee or other person, shall expectorate on the floors, side-walls of any building, room, basement or cellar where the production, manufacture, packing, preparation or sale of food is conducted. 
Ruling 7. No person or persons shall be allowed to live or sleep in any room of a bake shop, dining room, confectionery, creamery, cheese factory, or place where food is prepared for sale, served or sold.  
Ruling 8. The Pure Food Inspector or other legal agent of the Commissioner of Agriculture shall have full power at all times to enter every building, room, basement, or cellar occupied or used for the producing for sale, manufacture, distribution or transportation of food, or any building suspected of being used therefor, and to inspect the premises and all utensils, fixtures, furniture, and machinery used aforesaid; and if upon inspection any food producing or distributing establishment, conveyance, employer, operative, employee, clerk, driver, or other persons found to be violating the provisions of this Act, or if the production, preparation, manufacture, packing, sale, distribution or transportation is being conducted in a manner detrimental to the health of the employees, and operatives, or to the character or quality of the food therein produced, manufactured, packed, sold, distributed or conveyed, the officer or inspector making the examination or inspection shall report 
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 such violations to the Commissioner of Agriculture, and shall issue an order to the person or persons in authority at the aforesaid establishment to abate the conditions and violations or make such improvements as may be necessary to abate them, within the period of five days, or such reasonable time as may be required to abate them. Such order shall be in writing, and the persons receiving the order may within five days of the issuance of the order appear in person or by attorney before the Commissioner of Agriculture, to give reason why such instructions should not be obeyed. 
Ruling 9. All such operators, employees, clerks or other persons employed, whose duties involve the handling of food for human consumption, or containers, or utensils, or equipment used in the preparation or storage of such food shall be required to have a health certificate showing the freedom .of such person from any contagious or infectious disease, signed by the Board of Health or such person in authority to sign in the county or city where such persons or businesses are located, and if such places are not located in a city, town, or county having duly constituted boards of health, then such health certificate shall be signed by some licensed medical practitioner of thi~ State. 
Ruling 10. Every bottling establishment, soda fount, restaurant, or place where food or drink is prepared or served shall be provided with a washroom, and if a toilet is attached it must be of sanitary construction and such toilet shall be separate and apart from any room used for the manufacture of bottling of soft drinks, or for the preparing and serving of food or drink. 
Ruling 11. All straws, ice cream cones, syrups, concentrates, crushed fruits and other fountain supplies used in preparing ice' cream or soft drinks, shall at all times be protected from flies, dirt, dust, and other forms of contamination. 
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 Rull.ng 12. All persons, while working at any soda fountain, or in any ice cream or soft drink establishment, must wear clean clothing, preferable white suits or aprons, and white caps. 
Ruling 13. All soda founts, restaurants, and other places where food or drink is handled must have a supply of hot water at all times. 
Ruling 14. Bottling plants shall be well protected from flies and dust. 
Ruling 15. Ice coolers and refrigerators for beverages and milk shall be drained and washed at least once daily. They shall be free from foul or unpleasant odors, molds and slime. 
Ruling 16. Storerooms shall be well lighted and well ventilated and maintained in a clean and sanitary condition at all times. 
Ruling 17. No person who is affected with any contagious or venereal disease is allowed to work in any such establishment nor is any person allowed to sleep therein. 
Ruling 18. No wearing apparel, boots, shoes, or any other wearing effects, not being worn, shall be kept in any restaurant kitchen, but same shall be kept in a place provided for the purpose separate from the kitchen and such place shall be of ample size and well ventilated. 
Ruling 19. No dish, glass, or utensil shall be used to hold or convey food or drink if it is chipped, cracked, or broken, or constructed in such a manner as to render its cleansing and sterilzation impossible or doubtful. No silverware shall be used when found to be rusted, broken or tarnished. 
Ruling 20. Drinking classes used at soda founts and restaurants shall be thoroughly cleaned with soap and hot water, then sterilized in a chlorine solution. 
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 SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS AS PROVIDED BY RULES AND REGULATIONS UNDER THE SANITARY LAW. 
1. The floors, walls and ceilings of every room, building or establishment occupied or used for the preparation, manufacture, packing, storage, sale or distribution of food must at all times be kept in a clean and sanitary condition. 
2. All utensils, implements, machinery, and equipment used in moving, handling, cutting, chopping, mixing, canning, and preparing food, must be thoroughly cleaned daily. 
3. All food in the process of manufacture, packing, storage, sale or distribution must be securely protected from flies, dust and dirt. 
4. All refuse and dirt, and all waste products subject to decomposition and fermentation, must be removed daily. 
5. The clothing of all operatives, employees and clerks who handle or come in contact with the food, must be clean at all times. 
6. All towels or cloths used for wiping or polishing glasses, dishes, spoons, and other utensils shall be kept clean. 
7. Toilets and washrooms shall be supplied with soap and water and towels, and shall be cleaned daily. 
8. All employees who handle food or the material from which it is prepared shall wash their hands thoroughly in clean water before beginning work and after visiting toilet. 
9. Cuspidors shall be emptied and washed out daily, and when in use shall contain at least 5 ounces of water or disinfectant solution. 
10. Employees shall not spit on the raw material, the utensils, floors or walls. 
11. Soda fountains, syrup and fruit cans, jars, bottles or urns shall be thoroughly washed and cleaned before refilling. 
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 WHOEVER VIOLATES OR FAILS TO OBSERVE ANY OF THE ABOVE PROVISIONS IS SUBJECT TO A FINE OF ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS. 
The foregoing rules and regulations are hereby adopted and promulgated under authority vested in and duly imposed upon the Commisioner of Agriculture, State Veterinarian and State Chemist in the Act of the Sanitary Law, Bill 454, approved August 14, 1914. 
This the first day of October, 1945. 
/ewt 
Commissioner of Agriculture. 
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