113947-113948
HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE
SECTION 113947-113948
113947. (a) The person in charge and all food employees shall have adequate knowledge of, and shall be properly trained in, food safety as it relates to their assigned duties. (b) For purposes of this section, "person in charge" means a designated person who has knowledge of safe food handling practices as they relate to the specific food preparation activities that occur at the food facility. 113947.1. (a) Food facilities that prepare, handle, or serve nonprepackaged potentially hazardous food, except temporary food facilities, shall have an owner or employee who has successfully passed an approved and accredited food safety certification examination as specified in Sections 113947.2 and 113947.3. There shall be at least one food safety certified owner or employee at each food facility. No certified person at a food facility may serve at any other food facility as the person required to be certified pursuant to this subdivision. The certified owner or employee need not be present at the food facility during all hours of operation. (b) Food facilities that are not subject to the requirements of subdivision (a) that prepare, handle, or serve nonprepackaged, nonpotentially hazardous foods, except temporary food facilities, shall do one of the following: (1) Have an owner or employee who has successfully passed an approved and accredited food safety certification examination as specified in Sections 113947.2 and 113947.3. (2) Demonstrate to the enforcement officer that the employees have an adequate knowledge of food safety principles as they relate to the specific operation involved in their assigned duties. (c) On and after July 1, 2007, temporary food facilities that prepare, handle, or serve nonprepackaged food shall have an owner or person in charge who can demonstrate to the enforcement officer that he or she has an adequate knowledge of food safety principles as they relate to the specific food facility operation. (d) (1) For the purposes of this section, multiple contiguous food facilities permitted within the same site and under the same management, ownership, or control shall be deemed to be one food facility, notwithstanding the fact that the food facilities may operate under separate permits. (2) This subdivision shall not apply to the premises of a licensed winegrower or brandy manufacturer utilized for wine tastings conducted pursuant to Section 23356.1 of the Business and Professions Code of wine or brandy produced or bottled by, or produced and prepackaged for, that licensee when use is limited to wine tasting. (e) A food facility that commences operation, changes ownership, or no longer has a certified owner or employee pursuant to this section shall have 60 days to comply with this subdivision. (f) The responsibilities of a certified owner or employee at a food facility or an owner or person in charge of a temporary food facility described in subdivision (c) shall include the safety of food preparation and service, including ensuring that all employees who handle, or have responsibility for handling, nonprepackaged foods of any kind, have sufficient knowledge to ensure the safe preparation or service of the food, or both. The nature and extent of the knowledge that each employee is required to have may be tailored, as appropriate, to the employee's duties related to food safety issues. (g) The food safety certificate issued pursuant to Section 113947.3 shall be retained on file at the food facility at all times, and shall be made available for inspection by the enforcement officer. (h) Certified individuals shall be recertified every five years by passing an approved and accredited food safety certification examination. (i) A food safety program that was not in effect prior to January 1, 1999, shall not be enacted, adopted, implemented, or enforced, unless the program fully conforms to the requirements of this part. 113947.2. The food safety certification examination for purposes of Section 113947.1 shall include, but need not be limited to, all of the following elements of knowledge: (a) Foodborne illness, including terms associated with foodborne illness, micro-organisms, hepatitis A, and toxins that can contaminate food and the illness that can be associated with contamination, definition and recognition of potentially hazardous foods, chemical, biological, and physical contamination of food, and the illnesses that can be associated with food contamination, and major contributing factors for foodborne illness. (b) The relationship between time and temperature with respect to foodborne illness, including the relationship between time and temperature and micro-organisms during the various food handling, preparation, and serving states, and the type, calibration, and use of thermometers in monitoring food temperatures. (c) The relationship between personal hygiene and food safety, including the association of hand contact, personal habits and behaviors, and food employee health to foodborne illness, and the recognition of how policies, procedures, and management contribute to improved food safety practices. (d) Methods of preventing food contamination in all stages of food handling, including terms associated with contamination and potential hazards prior to, during, and after delivery. (e) Procedures for cleaning and sanitizing equipment and utensils. (f) Problems and potential solutions associated with facility and equipment design, layout, and construction. (g) Problems and potential solutions associated with temperature control, preventing cross-contamination, housekeeping, and maintenance. 113947.3. (a) Food safety certification required pursuant to Section 113947.1 shall be achieved by successfully passing an examination from an accredited food protection manager certification organization. The certification organization shall be accredited by the American National Standards Institute as meeting the requirements of the Conference for Food Protection's "Standards for Accreditation of Food Protection Manager Certification Programs." Those food employees who successfully pass an approved certification examination shall be issued a certificate by the certifying organization. The issuance date for each original certificate issued pursuant to this section shall be the date when the individual successfully completes the examination. Certificates shall be valid for five years from the date of original issuance. Any replacement or duplicate certificate shall have as its expiration date the same expiration date that was on the original certificate. (b) (1) By July 20, 2008, the department, in consultation with the California Conference of Directors of Environmental Health, representatives of the retail food industry, and other interested parties, shall develop and implement a program for the purposes of demonstrating adequate knowledge for operators of temporary food facilities. (2) At least one of the accredited food safety certification examinations shall cost no more than sixty dollars ($60), including the certificate. However, the department may adjust the cost of food safety certification examinations to reflect actual expenses incurred in producing and administering the food safety certification examinations required under this section. If a food safety certification examination is not available at the price established by the department, the certification and recertification requirements relative to food safety certification examinations imposed by this section shall not apply. (3) At least one of the accredited food safety certification examinations shall be offered online. 113947.4. Except as provided in Section 113947.5, no city, county, or city and county may enact, adopt, implement, or enforce any requirement that any food facility or any person certified pursuant to this section do any of the following: (a) Obtain any food safety certificate or other document in addition to the certificate required by Section 113947.1. (b) Post, place, maintain, or keep the certificate other than as specified in subdivision (e) of Section 113947.1. (c) Pay any fee or other sum as a condition for having a certificate verified, validated, or otherwise processed by the city, county, or city and county. 113947.5. Certification conferred pursuant to this part shall be recognized throughout the state. Nothing in this part shall be construed to prohibit any enforcement agency from implementing or enforcing a food handler program that took effect prior to January 1, 1998, but only in the form in which the program existed prior to January 1, 1998. 113947.6. Notwithstanding Section 114395, a violation of any provision in Sections 113947.1 to 113947.5, inclusive, shall constitute an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars ($100) for each day of operation in violation. 113948. (a) (1) Subject to the exceptions described in subdivision (d), a food handler who is hired prior to June 1, 2011, shall obtain a food handler card from a food protection manager certification organization described in Section 113947.3 on or before July 1, 2011. Food handlers hired on or after June 1, 2011, shall obtain a food handler card within 30 days after the date of hire. Each food handler shall maintain a valid food handler card for the duration of his or her employment as a food handler. (2) Food handler cards shall be valid for three years from the date of issuance, regardless of whether the food handler changes employers during that period. (3) A food handler card shall be recognized throughout the state, except in jurisdictions described in subdivision (e). (b) A food handler card shall be issued only upon successful completion of an approved food handler training course and assessment that meets at least all of the following requirements: (1) The course provides basic, introductory instruction on the elements of knowledge described in subdivisions (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), and (g) of Section 113947.2. (2) The course and assessment is designed to be completed within approximately two and one-half hours. (3) The assessment consists of at least 40 questions regarding the required subject matter. (4) A minimum score of 70 percent on the assessment is required to successfully complete the assessment. (c) The food handler training course and assessment may be offered through a trainer-led class and assessment or self-training and assessment. For purposes of this section, "self-training and assessment" means a process where the individual trains, and takes an assessment, without the presence or intervention of a trainer or instructor, and includes, but is not limited to, training and assessment through the use of a computer program or the Internet. (d) This section shall not apply to a food handler who is employed by any of the following: (1) Certified farmer's markets. (2) Commissaries. (3) Grocery stores, except for separately owned food facilities to which this section otherwise applies that are located in the grocery store. For purposes of this paragraph, "grocery store" means a store primarily engaged in the retail sale of canned food, dry goods, fresh fruits and vegetables, and fresh meats, fish, and poultry and any area that is not separately owned within the store where food is prepared and served, including a bakery, deli, and meat and seafood counter. "Grocery store" includes convenience stores. (4) Licensed health care facilities. (5) Mobile support units. (6) Public and private school cafeterias. (7) Restricted food service facilities. (8) Retail stores in which a majority of sales are from a pharmacy, as defined in Section 4037 of the Business and Professions Code. (9) A food facility that provides in-house food safety training to all employees involved in the preparation, storage, or service of food if all of the following conditions are met: (A) The food facility uses a training course that has been approved for use by the food facility in another state that has adopted the requirements described in Subpart 2-103.11 of the 2001 edition of the model Food Code, not including the April 2004 update, published by the federal Food and Drug Administration. (B) Upon request, the food facility provides evidence satisfactory to the local enforcement officer demonstrating that the food facility training program has been approved for use in another state pursuant to subparagraph (A). (C) The training is provided during normal work hours, and at no cost to the employee. (10) A food facility that is subject to a collective bargaining agreement with its food handlers. (e) The requirements of this section shall not apply to a food handler subject to an existing local food handler program that took effect prior to January 1, 2009. (f) Each food facility that employs a food handler subject to the requirements of this section shall maintain records documenting that each food handler employed by the food facility possesses a valid food handler card, and shall provide those records to the local enforcement officer upon request. (g) At least one food handler training course and assessment shall cost no more than fifteen dollars ($15), including a food handler card. If a food handler training course and assessment is not available at that cost, the requirement to obtain a food handler card imposed by this section shall not apply.