Section 1 — Definitions
Summary of abbreviations of terms used in these Regulations
|EBL||Elevated Blood Lead|
|EHS||Environmental Health Specialist|
|FDA||United States Food and Drug Administration|
|LOQ||Limit of quantification|
|µg/dl||microgram(s) per deciliter|
|µg/g||microgram(s) per gram|
|NAC||Nevada Administrative Code|
|NRS||Nevada Revised Statutes|
|ppb||parts per billion|
|ppm||parts per million|
|SNHD||Southern Nevada Health District|
As used in these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires, the following words and terms defined have the meanings ascribed to them in this document.
1.1 “Adulterated candy” defined. Adulterated candy is any candy with lead in excess of 0.100 parts per million (ppm). Moreover, candy is adulterated if its wrapper or the ink on the wrapper contains any amount of lead.
1.2 “Adulterated product” defined. An adulterated product is either adulterated candy as defined by this section or any other manufactured food items, consumed by children with elevated blood lead levels, which contain lead in excess of 0.100 ppm.
1.3 “Approved” defined. Approved means acceptable to the Health Authority based on conformance with any applicable, adopted Regulations, good public health practices, and recognized industry standards.
1.4 “Candy” defined. Candy is any confectionary intended for individual consumption, including those that contain chile, tamarind, salt, or any other ingredient identified as posing a health risk. Candy also includes powdered snack mix products, containing combinations of salt, chile powder, sugar, and flavoring that are marketed to children.
1.5 “Children” defined. For the purposes of these Regulations, children are defined as people twelve (12) years of age and younger.
1.6 “Concentration” defined. Concentration means the relative content of a specific substance contained within larger mass, such as the amount of lead [in micrograms per gram (µg/g) or ppm by weight] in a sample.
1.7 “Distribution stream” defined. The distribution stream is the method of distributing a product within Clark County. The distribution stream may include the manufacturer, wholesaler, distributor and retailer along with any method of conveyance of a product between any manufacturer, wholesaler, distributor and retailer.
1.8 “Elevated blood lead (EBL) level” defined. An elevated blood lead (EBL) level is an excessive absorption of lead that is at or above a concentration in whole blood of 10 µg/dL (micrograms of lead per deciliter) confirmed by a single venous test.
1.9 “Enforcement” defined. Enforcement means diligent effort to secure compliance, including review of plans and permit applications, response to complaints, issuance of Notices of Violation or Hold Orders, and other legal processes.
1.10 “Food” defined. Food includes articles used for food or drink for man or other animals; chewing gum; and articles used for components of any such article.
1.11 “Food and Drug Administration (FDA)” defined. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the federal agency responsible for ensuring that foods are safe, wholesome and sanitary; human and veterinary drugs, biological products, and medical devices are safe and effective; cosmetics are safe; and electronic products that emit radiation are safe. The FDA also ensures that these products are honestly, accurately and informatively represented to the public.
1.12 “Graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS)” defined. Graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) is a technique based on the fact that free atoms will absorb light at frequencies or wavelengths characteristic of the element of interest (hence the name atomic absorption spectrometry). In GFAAS, samples are deposited in a small graphite tube, which can then be heated to vaporize and atomize the analyte.
1.13 “Health Authority” defined. Health Authority means the officers and agents of the Southern Nevada District Board of Health and the SNHD.
1.14 “Health hazard” defined. A health hazard is any biological, physical, or chemical exposure, condition, or public nuisance that may adversely affect the health of a person.
1.15 “Health-Permitted facilities” defined. Health-Permitted facilities are those facilities or businesses, which have been issued a document by the Health Authority that authorizes a person to operate a business legally regulated by the Health Authority.
1.16 “Hold Order” defined. A Hold Order is a directive by the Health Authority to the Health Permit holder or responsible person to prohibit the use, serving, selling, or re-location from the establishment of any consumer product, including candy and other food products, which is suspected or confirmed to be adulterated with lead or any other adulterant at concentrations prohibited by law or regulation. A Hold Order may be vacated or released only by the Health Authority who issued it.
1.17 “Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS)” defined. Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) is a highly sensitive analytical technique used to determine the mass of individual elements at the parts per billion level. The technique involves coupling together an inductively coupled plasma as an ion source with a mass spectrometer as a method of detecting the ions.
1.18 “Lead” defined. Lead is a naturally occurring heavy metal element that is widely present in the environment due to both its natural occurrence and human activities. Lead toxicity in humans has been well documented and adversely impacts many body systems. Even low exposures to lead have been shown to severely affect the development of children under the age of six.
1.19 “Limit of Quantification (LOQ)” defined. The limit of quantification (LOQ) is the minimum concentration or amount of an analyte that a method can measure with a specified degree of precision.
1.20 “Nevada State Health Division” defined. The Nevada State Health Division promotes and protects the health of all Nevadans and visitors to the state through its leadership in public health and enforcement of laws and regulations pertaining to public health. In fulfilling its mission, the Nevada State Health Division is guided by the State Board of Health and administers four bureaus.
1.21 “Nuisance” defined. A nuisance is anything, which is injurious to health, or offensive to the senses, so as to interfere with the comfort or endanger the health or safety of the public as defined by NRS 202.450.
1.22 “Operator” defined. The operator is the person who holds the license of a Health-Permitted or other business or is responsible for the management of such a location at the direction of the owner.
1.23 “Person” defined. The term person includes individuals, firms, partnerships, associations, public or private institutions, municipalities, political subdivisions of the state of Nevada, governmental agencies, or public or private corporations.
1.24 “Product” defined. A product is a manufactured food item that has been found to be an adulterated food or found to resemble in labeling an adulterated food.
1.25 “Recall” defined. A recall is a firm’s removal or correction of marketed products, including its labeling and/or promotional materials, that SNHD considers to be in violation of these Regulations. SNHD can initiate legal action, for example, seizure or other administrative or civil actions available to the Health Authority if the product was not recalled. Recall does not include market withdrawal or a stock recovery.
1.26 “Responsible person” defined. The responsible person is the individual designated by the operator as being responsible for compliance with these Regulations.
1.27 “Wrapper” defined. The wrapper includes all packaging materials in contact with the candy, including, but not limited to, the paper cellophane, plastic container, stick handle, spoon, small pot (olla), straw, and squeeze tube, or similar devices. Wrapper does not include any part of the packaging from which lead will not leach, as demonstrated by the operator of the manufacturing facility, to the satisfaction of the Health Authority.
Phone: (702) 759-1258
Updated on: October 11, 2018