Food safety.

The California Retail Food Code provides for the regulation of health and sanitation standards for retail food facilities by the State Department of Public Health. Under existing law, a violation of these provisions is a misdemeanor. Local health agencies are primarily responsible for enforcing this law. This law generally requires food facilities, except temporary food facilities, to have an owner or employee who has successfully passed an approved and accredited food safety certification examination from an accredited food protection manager certification organization, except as specified. This bill would require at least one of the accredited food safety certification examinations to be offered online. This bill would also require, with specified exceptions, a food handler, as defined, who is hired prior to June 1, 2011, to obtain a food handler card on or before July 1, 2011. The bill would require food handlers hired after June 1, 2011, to obtain a food handler card within 30 days of his or her date of hire. It would require each food handler to maintain a valid food handler card for the duration of his or her employment as a food handler. This bill would exempt from compliance any food handler subject to an existing local food handler program that took effect prior to January 1, 2009, and would also require a food facility that employs food handlers to maintain records documenting that each food handler employed by the facility possesses a food handler card. The bill would require at least one food handler training course to cost no more than $15 and, if a training course is not available at that cost, would remove the requirement to obtain a food handler card. By creating a new crime and expanding the duties of local enforcement officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.