The Florida Senate

381.0072  Food service protection.--It shall be the duty of the Department of Health to adopt and enforce sanitation rules consistent with law to ensure the protection of the public from food-borne illness. These rules shall provide the standards and requirements for the storage, preparation, serving, or display of food in food service establishments as defined in this section and which are not permitted or licensed under chapter 500 or chapter 509.

(1)  DEFINITIONS.--As used in this section, the term:

(a)  "Department" means the Department of Health or its representative county health department.

(b)  "Food service establishment" means any facility, as described in this paragraph, where food is prepared and intended for individual portion service, and includes the site at which individual portions are provided. The term includes any such facility regardless of whether consumption is on or off the premises and regardless of whether there is a charge for the food. The term includes detention facilities, child care facilities, schools, institutions, civic or fraternal organizations, bars and lounges and facilities used at temporary food events, mobile food units, and vending machines at any facility regulated under this section. The term does not include private homes where food is prepared or served for individual family consumption; nor does the term include churches, synagogues, or other not-for-profit religious organizations as long as these organizations serve only their members and guests and do not advertise food or drink for public consumption, or any facility or establishment permitted or licensed under chapter 500 or chapter 509; nor does the term include any theater, if the primary use is as a theater and if patron service is limited to food items customarily served to the admittees of theaters; nor does the term include a research and development test kitchen limited to the use of employees and which is not open to the general public.

(c)  "Operator" means the owner, operator, keeper, proprietor, lessee, manager, assistant manager, agent, or employee of a food service establishment.

(2)  DUTIES.--

(a)  The department shall adopt rules consistent with law prescribing minimum sanitation standards and manager certification requirements as prescribed in s. 509.039, which shall be enforced in food service establishments as defined in this section. The sanitation standards must address the construction, operation, and maintenance of the establishment; plan review; design, construction, installation, maintenance, sanitation, and storage of food equipment; employee training, health, hygiene, and work practices; food supplies, preparation, storage, transportation, and service; and sanitary facilities and controls, including water supply and sewage disposal; plumbing and toilet facilities; garbage and refuse collection, storage, and disposal; and vermin control. Public and private schools, hospitals licensed under chapter 395, nursing homes licensed under part II of chapter 400, child care facilities as defined in s. 402.301, and residential facilities colocated with a nursing home or hospital if all food is prepared in a central kitchen that complies with nursing or hospital regulations shall be exempt from the rules developed for manager certification. The department shall administer a comprehensive inspection, monitoring, and sampling program to ensure such standards are maintained. With respect to food service establishments permitted or licensed under chapter 500 or chapter 509, the department shall assist the Division of Hotels and Restaurants of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services with rulemaking by providing technical information.

(b)  The department shall carry out all provisions of this chapter and all other applicable laws and rules relating to the inspection or regulation of food service establishments as defined in this section, for the purpose of safeguarding the public's health, safety, and welfare.

(c)  The department shall inspect each food service establishment as often as necessary to ensure compliance with applicable laws and rules. The department shall have the right of entry and access to these food service establishments at any reasonable time. In inspecting food service establishments as provided under this section, the department shall provide each inspected establishment with the food recovery brochure developed under s. 570.0725.

(d)  The department or other appropriate regulatory entity may inspect theaters exempted in subsection (1) to ensure compliance with applicable laws and rules pertaining to minimum sanitation standards. A fee for inspection shall be prescribed by rule, but the aggregate amount charged per year per theater establishment shall not exceed $300, regardless of the entity providing the inspection.

(3)  LICENSES REQUIRED.--

(a)  Licenses; annual renewals.--Each food service establishment regulated under this section shall obtain a license from the department annually. Food service establishment licenses shall expire annually and shall not be transferable from one place or individual to another. However, those facilities licensed by the department's Office of Licensure and Certification, the Children and Families Program Office, or the Developmental Services Program Office are exempt from this subsection. It shall be a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 381.0061, s. 775.082, or s. 775.083, for such an establishment to operate without this license. The department may refuse a license, or a renewal thereof, to any establishment that is not constructed or maintained in accordance with law and with the rules of the department. Annual application for renewal shall not be required.

(b)  Application for license.--Each person who plans to open a food service establishment not regulated under chapter 500 or chapter 509 shall apply for and receive a license prior to the commencement of operation.

(4)  LICENSE; INSPECTION; FEES.--

(a)  The department is authorized to collect fees from establishments licensed under this section and from those facilities exempted from licensure under paragraph (3)(a). It is the intent of the Legislature that the total fees assessed under this section be in an amount sufficient to meet the cost of carrying out the provisions of this section.

(b)  The fee schedule for food service establishments licensed under this section shall be prescribed by rule, but the aggregate license fee per establishment shall not exceed $300.

(c)  The license fees shall be prorated on a quarterly basis. Annual licenses shall be renewed as prescribed by rule.

(5)  FINES; SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF LICENSES; PROCEDURE.--

(a)  The department may impose fines against the establishment or operator regulated under this section for violations of sanitary standards, in accordance with s. 381.0061. All amounts collected shall be deposited to the credit of the County Health Department Trust Fund administered by the department.

(b)  The department may suspend or revoke the license of any food service establishment licensed under this section that has operated or is operating in violation of any of the provisions of this section or the rules adopted under this section. Such food service establishment shall remain closed when its license is suspended or revoked.

(c)  The department may suspend or revoke the license of any food service establishment licensed under this section when such establishment has been deemed by the department to be an imminent danger to the public's health for failure to meet sanitation standards or other applicable regulatory standards.

(d)  No license shall be suspended under this section for a period of more than 12 months. At the end of such period of suspension, the establishment may apply for reinstatement or renewal of the license. A food service establishment which has had its license revoked may not apply for another license for that location prior to the date on which the revoked license would have expired.

(6)  IMMINENT DANGERS; STOP-SALE ORDERS.--

(a)  In the course of epidemiological investigations or for those establishments regulated under this chapter, the department, to protect the public from food that is unwholesome or otherwise unfit for human consumption, may examine, sample, seize, and stop the sale or use of food to determine its condition. The department may stop the sale and supervise the proper destruction of food when the State Health Officer or his or her designee determines that such food represents a threat to the public health.

(b)  The department may determine that a food service establishment regulated under this section is an imminent danger to the public health and require its immediate closure when such establishment fails to comply with applicable sanitary and safety standards and, because of such failure, presents an imminent threat to the public's health, safety, and welfare. The department may accept inspection results from state and local building and firesafety officials and other regulatory agencies as justification for such actions. Any facility so deemed and closed shall remain closed until allowed by the department or by judicial order to reopen.

(7)  MISREPRESENTING FOOD OR FOOD PRODUCTS.--No operator of any food service establishment regulated under this section shall knowingly and willfully misrepresent the identity of any food or food product to any of the patrons of such establishment. Food used by food establishments shall be identified, labeled, and advertised in accordance with the provisions of chapter 500.

History.--ss. 31, 59, 60, ch. 91-297; ss. 4, 5, ch. 91-429; s. 4, ch. 92-180; s. 14, ch. 93-53; s. 3, ch. 93-267; s. 41, ch. 94-218; s. 1034, ch. 95-148; s. 1, ch. 95-314; s. 39, ch. 97-101; s. 8, ch. 98-151; s. 3, ch. 98-283.