[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Health
of the Borough of Paramus 12-13-2004 by Ord. No. 112. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
This chapter shall be known as the "Retail Food
Service Manager's Certification Ordinance" of the Paramus Board of
Health.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
The Borough of Paramus Board of Health.
A commercial establishment in which food is processed or
otherwise prepared and packaged for human consumption.
An on-site supervisory employee of a retail food processing
establishment, responsible for food preparation, service and staff.
The Health Officer shall approve a public education
course for food service manager certification or shall conduct a program
of food service manager certification, recertification, training,
examination and evaluation of food service managers. The content of
the training program shall include but shall not be limited to such
topics as employee health and personal hygiene, foodborne disease,
prevention of food poisonings, etiologic agents, safe food handling
principles and procedures, cleaning and sanitizing, vermin control,
employee training techniques and self-inspection procedures. Examinations
for the training course shall be prepared or approved by the Health
Officer. A minimum passing grade shall be established by the Health
Officer, Applicants who fail to pass the initial examination may repeat
the examination one time. Applicants who fail to pass a second examination
shall be required to repeat the training program. The Health Officer
may also grant reciprocity to other food manager training courses
determined to be equivalent to the Board's course.
A.
No later than 12 months after the effective date of
this chapter, all food processing establishments shall have in their
employ at least one full-time food service manager certified by the
Paramus Board of Health. At least one certified food service manager
shall be physically on the premises of each food processing establishment
at all times when the establishment is open for business.
B.
Each food processing establishment shall notify the
Health Officer within 10 business days when the certified food service
manager's employment is terminated and, at the same time, shall indicate
what measures are being taken to comply with the terms of this chapter.
The Health Officer may issue a waiver of the requirements of this
chapter for a period of no longer than six months while a food processing
establishment is having employees trained or for other extenuating
circumstances.
C.
Persons to be employed as or promoted to food service
manager shall be certified prior to employment or promotion, or the
establishment owner or its representatives must register said person
for participation in the next available training course.
D.
This chapter shall not apply to retail food establishments
that serve, sell or distribute bottled, canned, cartoned or securely
wrapped food.
A.
The Health Officer, with approval by the Board of
Health, shall establish criteria on which to determine whether or
not certification is to be issued to an applicant.
B.
The Health Officer shall issue a food service manager's
certificate to each person meeting the criteria of the previous section.
C.
A valid food service manager's certificate shall be
posted in the establishment so that it may be viewed by a duly authorized
agent of the Board of Health at any time.
D.
The Board of Health may revoke or suspend the certificate
of a food service manager who is determined to be incompetent or unable
to properly perform the duties of a food service manager or who has
been negligent in the discharge of his or her duties or responsibilities.
Before taking action to revoke or suspend the certification, the Board
shall provide the food service manager an opportunity for a hearing
to determine whether good cause exists for the suspension or revocation
of such certificate.
A.
Each food service manager's certificate shall be valid
for a period of five years.
[Amended 5-9-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-22]
B.
In order to be recertified, certified food manager's
must attend a recertification class approved by the Health Officer
and achieve a minimum passing grade on a recertification examination.
A.
The certified food service manager shall maintain
food processing establishment in compliance with Chapter XII, New
Jersey State Sanitary Code (N.J.A.C. 8:24).
B.
The certified food service manager shall conduct a
training program for all personnel under their supervision as it applies
to individual employee's work assignments.
C.
The certified food service manager shall conduct a
minimum of one self-inspection of the retail food service establishment
every three months. The findings of the self-inspection shall be recorded
on forms provided by the Health Officer and retained at the establishment
for a minimum of one year. Said reports shall be made available for
review by a duly authorized agent of the Board of Health upon request.
D.
The certified food service manager shall promptly
notify the Health Officer of known or suspected foodborne illness
of employees or patrons within 24 hours of becoming aware of the incident.
A.
All establishments engaged in the business of preparing,
selling or processing food for human consumption shall be required
at all times to keep and maintain accurate records of the name and
address of each certified food service manager, date of employment
and the date and number of the certificate issued. All records shall
be made available at all times for inspection by the duly authorized
agents of the Board of Health.
B.
The Board of Health shall maintain a register of certified
food service managers who have been issued certificates by the Health
Officer or have certificates from other approved agencies. The department
shall keep the register current by adding or deleting the names of
certified food service managers.
A food service manager's certificate is not
transferable. No person to whom a food service manager's certificate
is issued or granted shall give, loan, transfer or permit the same
to be used by any other person for any purpose whatsoever.
[Amended 11-22-2010 by Ord. No. 122; 3-24-2014 by Ord. No. 129]
At the time of application for entrance to the
food service manager certification or recertification course, the
applicant shall pay a fee to the Board of Health in the amount of
$175.
Any food processing establishment that violates
the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be
liable to a penalty of not less than $50 nor more than $1,000 for
each violation. Each day a particular violation continues shall constitute
a separate offense. In addition, any food processing establishment
that fails to comply with the requirements of this chapter is subject
to a hearing before the Board of Health to determine whether the establishment's
foodhandling permit be revoked or suspended in accordance with the
requirements of the Sanitary Code of the Borough of Paramus.