Florida Administrative Code › 61 - DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL REGULATION › 61C - Division of Hotels and Restaurants › Chapter 61C-4 - PUBLIC FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENTS › Section 61C-4.023 - Food Protection Manager Certification and Public Food Service Employee Training

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
(1) All managers who
				are responsible for the storage, preparation, display, and serving of foods to
				the public shall have passed a certification test approved by the division
				demonstrating a basic knowledge of food protection practices as adopted by the
				division. Those managers who successfully pass an approved certification
				examination shall be issued a certificate by the certifying organization, which
				is valid for a period of five years from the date of issuance. Each licensed
				establishment shall have a minimum of one certified food protection manager
				responsible for all periods of operation. The operator shall designate in
				writing the certified food protection manager or managers for each location. A
				current list of certified food protection managers shall be available upon
				request in each establishment. When four or more employees, at one time, are
				engaged in the storage, preparation or serving of food in a licensed
				establishment, there shall be at least one certified food protection manager
				present at all times when said activities are taking place. The certified food
				protection manager or managers need not be present in the establishment during
				those periods of operation when there are three or fewer employees engaged in
				the storage, preparation, or serving of foods. It shall be the responsibility
				of the certified food protection manager or managers to inform all employees
				under their supervision and control who engage in the storage, preparation, or
				serving of food, to do so in accordance with acceptable sanitary practices as
				described in this chapter.
(2)
				Temporary food service vendors and vending machine operators, licensed pursuant
				to Chapter 509, Part I, F.S., are exempt from the manager certification
				requirements of this section.
(3)
				The Conference for Food Protection Standards for Accreditation of Food
				Protection Manager Certification Programs, as adopted by the Conference for
				Food Protection on August 4, 2008 and herein adopted by reference, shall be the
				division standard for the recognition of certifying organizations who provide
				food manager certification examinations. A copy of the Standards for
				Accreditation of Food Protection Manager Certification Programs is available on
				the Conference for Food Protection website at
www.foodprotect.org
. The
				Division of Hotels and Restaurants shall accept all certification examinations
				approved by the Conference for Food Protection. Certifying organizations that
				are accredited by a Conference for Food Protection sanctioned accreditor shall
				be recognized by the division as approved providers of a Food Protection
				Manager Certification Program.
(4)
				Public Food Service Employee Training.
(a)
				All public food service employees must receive training on professional hygiene
				and foodborne disease prevention. Professional hygiene includes personal
				cleanliness and hygienic practices in accordance with the Food Code, as adopted
				by reference in Rule 61C-1.001, F.A.C., and
				techniques to prevent cross contamination. Foodborne disease prevention
				training must include the types and causes of foodborne illness, identification
				of time/temperature control for safety (potentially hazardous) food, and how to
				control or eliminate harmful bacteria in a public food service
				establishment.
(b) Public food
				service employees must receive training which relates to their assigned duties.
				Employees who prepare foods must be knowledgeable about safe methods of
				thawing, cooking, cooling, handling, holding and storing foods. Service
				personnel must be knowledgeable about safe methods of serving food. Employees
				who clean equipment and facilities must be knowledgeable about proper cleaning
				and sanitization methods. Employees responsible for maintaining the premises
				must be knowledgeable about proper vermin control methods as specified in the
				Food Code, as adopted by reference in Rule
				61C-1.001, F.A.C.
(c) Licensees who provide in-house employee
				training shall make available on the premises of the establishment, or in a
				theme park or entertainment complex in a central location, upon the division's
				request, the curriculum and materials used to conduct training. If training is
				obtained from an outside provider, the licensee must provide, upon the
				division's request, information about the selected training program and methods
				used to evaluate training outcomes. Training outcomes include employees
				correctly applying procedures and answering questions relative to assigned
				duties. Employees must safely perform their work duties in a manner consistent
				with the requirements of the Food Code, as adopted by reference in Rule
				61C-1.001, F.A.C.
(d) Public food service employee training may
				be provided through written materials, interactive distance learning, in-person
				instruction, or any other method of delivery that conveys the necessary
				information, so long as the training program has been approved by the division
				and complies with all requirements in this subsection and Section
				509.049, F.S. Regardless of the
				delivery method, each employee training certificate and card provided to the
				student upon completing the public food service employee training program must
				include the provider number assigned by the division, and the name and
				certificate number of the certified food manager responsible for providing the
				training.
1. For the purpose of this rule,
				"interactive distance learning" means the delivery of an approved public food
				service employee training program via the internet or other interactive
				electronic media. Such training must be interactive, providing for the exchange
				of information at regular intervals to promote student involvement, and must
				provide for the registration, evaluation, monitoring, and verification of
				public food service employee training. Interactive distance learning training
				programs must require the student to complete and submit a statement at the end
				of the course that the student personally completed each module of instruction.
				Interactive distance learning must not require passage of an examination to
				complete the training.
2. Each
				provider of an approved public food service employee training program provided
				through interactive distance learning is responsible for verifying student
				identification upon each log-in and at regular intervals, and ensuring that one
				student registration cannot be used to complete the training program more than
				one time. Student identification verification may be based upon information
				obtained at the time of registration.
3. Each provider of an approved public food
				service employee training program must notify the division in writing that it
				will provide the training program through interactive distance learning. Such
				notification must include the approved program provider number; the form of
				electronic media utilized; the internet address for the training program, if
				provided through the internet; and the name and certificate number of the
				certified food manager responsible for maintaining and updating the information
				provided by the training program. The approved provider must notify the
				division in writing of any changes to the required information within 30 days
				of the change.