The Florida Senate

509.039  Food service manager certification.--It is the duty of the division to adopt, by rule, food safety protection standards for the training and certification of all food service managers who are responsible for the storage, preparation, display, or serving of foods to the public in establishments regulated under this chapter. The standards adopted by the division shall be consistent with the Standards for Accreditation of Food Protection Manager Certification Programs adopted by the Conference for Food Protection. These standards are to be adopted by the division to ensure that, upon successfully passing a test, approved by the Conference for Food Protection, a manager of a food service establishment shall have demonstrated a knowledge of basic food protection practices. The division may contract with an organization offering a training and certification program that complies with division standards and results in a certification recognized by the Conference for Food Protection to conduct an approved test and certify all test results to the division. Other organizations offering programs that meet the same requirements may also conduct approved tests and certify all test results to the division. The division may charge the organization it contracts with a fee of not more than $5 per certified test to cover the administrative costs of the division for the food service manager training and certification program. All managers employed by a food service establishment must have passed an approved test and received a certificate attesting thereto. Managers have a period of 30 days after employment to pass the required test. All public food service establishments must provide the division with proof of food service manager certification upon request, including, but not limited to, at the time of any division inspection of the establishment. The ranking of food service establishments is also preempted to the state; provided, however, that any local ordinances establishing a ranking system in existence prior to October 1, 1988, may remain in effect.

History.--s. 24, ch. 92-180; s. 4, ch. 93-53; s. 2, ch. 2002-299; s. 3, ch. 2008-55.