2001 SESSION

01-0850

08/01

HOUSE BILL 638

COMMITTEE: Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs

ANALYSIS

This bill:

(1) Requires food service establishments, unless exempted, to assign at least one full-time employee to be a certified food protection manager.

(2) Provides a definition of food protection manager.

(3) Grants the commissioner of health and human services certain rulemaking authority.

(4) Provides that food service establishments shall not be required to have a certified food protection manager until July 1, 2002.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

01-0850

08/01

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand One

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Statement of Purpose. The general court recognizes the risk of food-borne illness caused by the improper preparation and handling of food. Changes in diet, increased consumption of food in commercial establishments, new methods of food production, new infectious agents and larger at-risk populations including the elderly, the very young, and the immune-suppressed makes the risk of food-borne illness even greater. In a state that relies on tourism for much of its economic activity, the general court recognizes the importance of reducing the risk of food-borne illness for its residents and the tourists who provide valued economic activity. Therefore, to ensure that each food establishment shall have at least one food employee who is familiar with the basic protocols of food safety, the general court hereby requires each food service establishment to assign at least one food employee to be certified in food protection management.

2 Food Service Licensure; Certified Food Protection Manager Defined. Amend RSA 143-A:3, I to read as follows:

I. "Certified food protection manager" means a person who has taken and passed a food protection manager certification program that meets the standards of the Conference for Food Protection.

I-a. "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the department of health and human services.

3 New Sections; Food Service Licensure; Requirement of Certain Establishments to Have a Certified Food Protection Manager. Amend RSA 143-A by inserting after section 4 the following new sections:

143-A:4-a Certified Food Protection Manager Requirement.

I. Except as provided in paragraph II, each food service establishment licensed under RSA 143-A serving a potentially hazardous food shall assign at least one food employee to be a certified food protection manager.

II. The following establishments shall not be required to employ a person who is a certified food protection manager:

(a) Food service establishments that serve only commercially pre-packaged foods, beverages, and commercially pre-cooked potentially hazardous foods that are dispensed in a manner that minimizes contamination of the food.

(b) Home food manufacturers and bed and breakfast establishments.

143-A:4-b Certified Food Protection Managers. Each certified food protection manager shall be:

I. At least 18 years of age.

II. Certified pursuant to rules adopted by the commissioner under RSA 143-A:9, I-b.

III. Recertified at least every 5 years.

IV. Assigned to no more than 2 licensed establishments.

4 New Paragraph; Food Service Licensure; Rulemaking. Amend RSA 143-A:9 by inserting after paragraph I-a the following new paragraph:

I-b. The general certification requirements and recertification requirements for certified food protection managers, and administrative fines for violations of provisions of this chapter relative to certified food protection managers.

5 Applicability. Notwithstanding RSA 143-A:4-a, no food service establishment licensed under RSA 143-A which serves potentially hazardous food shall be required to employ a person who is a certified food protection manager until July 1, 2002.

6 Effective Date. This act shall take effect July 1, 2001.