State-Mandated Food Safety Certification Requirements For Restaurants: A 2002 Review Of States

The Food and Drug Administration publishes a Standard Food Code which individual states either ratify, or amend and ratify, as the State Food Code. New Jersey has not adopted any revisions to the FDA Standard Food Code since 1993. Currently, the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services is considering the implementation of a mandatory food safety certification program for all of the state's foodservice establishments beginning in April 2003. Foodservice businesses serving "high risk" populations, such as the young, ill, or elderly, will be the first segment of the industry required to comply with the new guidelines. Other segments of the industry would be phased in over three years. The exact nature of the revision is yet to be determined; however, it will likely require at least one individual from each foodservice establishment to be certified in proper food safety/food handling techniques. This revision will affect more than 21,000 foodservice businesses that collectively employ 180,000 workers. To proactively respond to the upcoming changes in the State Food Code, the New Jersey Restaurant Association (NJRA) requires information on the status and nature of other state-mandated food safety certification programs. As a service to the foodservice industry, and at the request of the NJRA, the Food Policy Institute at Rutgers University conducted a study to determine the status of state food safety certification requirements across the country. The Institute interviewed all 50 state restaurant associations and found that 16 states presently have some form of state-mandated food safety certification requirement for restaurant workers. Local (municipal or county) food safety certification requirements exist in many states, even in the absence of a state mandate, but these are beyond the scope of this review.