Juice HACCP

In one building

Updated October 2026

On this page10

The wording Why it exists Which constrains the co-packing model And it constrains the kitchen model too Current good manufacturing practices sit underneath For a small producer this is usually the deciding factor Which is why many start untreated Document the layout and the flow It is also a records question References

The bottle is closed where the juice was treated, which rules out a common arrangement.

The wording

Processors "meet the requirements of paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section and perform final product packaging within a single production facility operating under current good manufacturing practices".

Why it exists

Because a treated juice that is then moved, handled and bottled elsewhere has been exposed again. The point of a 5-log reduction is lost if the product is recontaminated after it.

Which constrains the co-packing model

Having juice treated by one business and bottled by another is the arrangement this wording speaks to. It is a question to resolve before building a business on it rather than after.

And it constrains the kitchen model too

A small producer pressing in one place and bottling in another, even across a yard, should read this rather than assume proximity is enough.

Current good manufacturing practices sit underneath

The facility operates under them, which is a standing obligation about the building, the equipment, the people and the records rather than about the juice.

For a small producer this is usually the deciding factor

Not the cost of a pasteuriser. Whether there is a single compliant facility where pressing, treatment and bottling can all happen is the practical question.

Which is why many start untreated

Fresh, local, short shelf life, with the warning on the bottle. It is a smaller business and a legitimate one, and it avoids this requirement by taking the other route rather than by ignoring it.

Document the layout and the flow

Where the juice goes from press to bottle, and what it touches. That description is half of a HACCP plan and it is the thing an inspector will want to walk.

It is also a records question

A single facility under current good manufacturing practices keeps records that connect the treatment to the batch that was bottled. Split the two and that chain has to be rebuilt across two businesses.

References

21 CFR 120.24, process controls for juice. A processor must use "control measures that will consistently produce, at a minimum, a 5 log (i.e., 10 5) reduction" in the pertinent microorganism, effective "for a period at least as long as the shelf life of the product when stored under normal and moderate abuse conditions", with the requirements met and "final product packaging within a single production facility operating under current good manufacturing practices". law.cornell.edu

Written from 21 CFR 120.24 and 101.17(g), and from the catalog as it stood on 18 October 2026. Whether a given product is a juice, an acidified food, a dietary supplement or an alcoholic beverage decides which regime applies, and that determination is specific to a formula and a label.