21 CFR 117.40
Equipment and utensils
21 CFR 117.40 is the regulation titled “Equipment and utensils” in 21 CFR Part 117, Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis, and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food. Since 2021, 1 FDA warning letter has cited it.
- Letters citing it
- 1 since 2021
- Jan 1 to Oct 30, 2026
- 1 against 0 on the same dates in 2025
- Most often cited with
- 21 CFR 117.135, in 1 letter
- Closed out
- 0% of these letters have a published close-out
Letters citing it, by year issued
It is a drug letter. 2026 runs to Oct 30, 2026. Pick a year to see its letters.
- 02021
- 02022
- 02023
- 02024
- 02025
- 12026
What FDA writes when it cites it
The finding headings that cite 21 CFR 117.40 most often, as written in the letters.
- 1 letterthe FDA investigator observed that the raw dough conveyor belt had two areas of fraying edges, measuring approximately (b)(4) long. Fraying edges of conveyor belts could become harborage points for contaminants and…
The regulation
Read the text of 21 CFR 117.40 (eCFR, as of Sep 1, 2026)
(a)(1) All plant equipment and utensils used in manufacturing, processing, packing, or holding food must be so designed and of such material and workmanship as to be adequately cleanable, and must be adequately maintained to protect against allergen cross-contact and contamination.
(2) Equipment and utensils must be designed, constructed, and used appropriately to avoid the adulteration of food with lubricants, fuel, metal fragments, contaminated water, or any other contaminants.
(3) Equipment must be installed so as to facilitate the cleaning and maintenance of the equipment and of adjacent spaces.
(4) Food-contact surfaces must be corrosion-resistant when in contact with food.
(5) Food-contact surfaces must be made of nontoxic materials and designed to withstand the environment of their intended use and the action of food, and, if applicable, cleaning compounds, sanitizing agents, and cleaning procedures.
(6) Food-contact surfaces must be maintained to protect food from allergen cross-contact and from being contaminated by any source, including unlawful indirect food additives.
(b) Seams on food-contact surfaces must be smoothly bonded or maintained so as to minimize accumulation of food particles, dirt, and organic matter and thus minimize the opportunity for growth of microorganisms and allergen cross-contact.
(c) Equipment that is in areas where food is manufactured, processed, packed, or held and that does not come into contact with food must be so constructed that it can be kept in a clean and sanitary condition.
(d) Holding, conveying, and manufacturing systems, including gravimetric, pneumatic, closed, and automated systems, must be of a design and construction that enables them to be maintained in an appropriate clean and sanitary condition.
(e) Each freezer and cold storage compartment used to store and hold food capable of supporting growth of microorganisms must be fitted with an indicating thermometer, temperature-measuring device, or temperature-recording device so installed as to show the temperature accurately within the compartment.
(f) Instruments and controls used for measuring, regulating, or recording temperatures, pH, acidity, water activity, or other conditions that control or prevent the growth of undesirable microorganisms in food must be accurate and precise and adequately maintained, and adequate in number for their designated uses.
(g) Compressed air or other gases mechanically introduced into food or used to clean food-contact surfaces or equipment must be treated in such a way that food is not contaminated with unlawful indirect food additives.
Text from eCFR as of Sep 1, 2026.
Cited alongside it
Regulations that appear in the same letters as 21 CFR 117.40.
Latest letters citing it
The letter citing 21 CFR 117.40 that FDA posted most recently.
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