Health Concerns

So, Has Anyone In California Heard About This New Food Handler Card Law?

It seems the State of California quietly passed a law last year that requires all restaurant workers to pass an online written exam and obtain a Food Handler Card by July 1, 2011 (that would be Friday), and then forgot to tell anyone. San Francisco Chronicle critic Michael Bauer caught wind of the law this week and paid the fifteen dollars required to take the exam himself. He also made some inquiries around City Hall, since the law leaves enforcement up to city and county health departments, to figure out if they’re going to start penalizing anyone next week. It sounds like the situation is still pretty disorganized, and S.F.’s Director of Environmental Health Regulatory Programs, Richard Lee, says they won’t be mailing out any information until September, and probably won’t start enforcing it until January. “I don’t think there will be a fine,” Lee says. “We’ll just note it as a violation.” Let’s hope they do a better job of getting the word out about this than they have so far.

Food safety law takes effect Friday; and no one knows [Between Meals/Scoop]
California Food Handler Card [CRA]

So, Has Anyone In California Heard About This New Food Handler Card Law?