Under California Retail Food Code §113996, what is the maximum permitted internal temperature for raw shell eggs that are being received and stored in a food facility's refrigerator?
Explanation
California Retail Food Code HSC §113996 and §114037 set the storage requirement for raw shell eggs at 41°F or below internal/ambient. The FDA Food Code allows raw shell eggs to be RECEIVED at an ambient air temperature of 45°F or below (because the egg-distribution cold chain is allowed slightly warmer), but once at the food facility, raw shell eggs must be moved to refrigeration that holds at 41°F or below for storage. The 41°F ceiling is critical to slow growth of Salmonella Enteritidis, which can be present inside the intact egg from transovarian transmission in laying hens. Option B (55°F) is above the danger-zone floor and permits rapid Salmonella growth — egg-related Salmonella outbreaks frequently trace to refrigeration failures of this magnitude. Option C ignores temperature control entirely. Option D invents a 'sealed' exception that does not exist for shell eggs (which are biologically alive and have a porous shell). Pasteurized shell eggs and pasteurized liquid eggs have the same 41°F storage requirement once opened.
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