[HISTORY: Adopted by the Municipal Council
of the City of Clifton 12-20-1960 by Ord. No. 3319 as Chapter 26 of
the Revised Ordinances of the City of Clifton, New Jersey, 1960; amended
in its entirety 12-20-2022 by Ord. No. 7782-22[1]. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
A person, firm or corporation who or which provides, distributes
or serves food and drink for consumption in a place other than on
his or its own premises (off-premises consumption) where said food
and drink are prepared in consumable form.
The operator, person in charge, person having supervisory
or management duties, person on the payroll, family member, volunteer,
person performing work under contractual agreement, or other person
working in a retail food establishment.
The Health Officer of the City, or his duly designated and
authorized agent or agents.
A raw, cooked, or processed edible substance, ice, beverage,
or ingredient used or intended for use or for sale in whole or in
part for human consumption, or chewing gum.
Such act or operation wherein any person, firm or corporation,
for purposes of advertising or promotion, prepares, exhibits or displays
and gratuitously or otherwise provides, distributes or serves food
or drink for public consumption.
A certificate for the successful completion of an accredited
food manager's certification program recognized by the Conference
for Food Protection and approved by the Health Officer.
A vehicle, as said term is defined in N.J.S.A. 39:1-1, which
is used for sale, distribution or service of food which has been prepared
and packaged in a commissary, restaurant or kitchen which complies
with the provisions of this chapter.
The Health Department of the City of Clifton.
The Health Officer of the City of Clifton.
Includes food demonstrators, carnivals, sidewalk fairs and
any retail food operation, whether for profit or nonprofit, operating
for a temporary period not exceeding 10 events within a calendar year
and not having a degree of permanence attached to the operation.
A license issued by the City of Clifton that permits the
operation of a food-vending vehicle without restriction.
A license issued by the City of Clifton that permits the
operation of a food-vending vehicle between the hours of 5:00 p.m.
and 10:00 p.m. and is limited to no more than four stops within the
City of Clifton.
Any operation that stores, prepares, packages, serves, vends
or otherwise provides food for human consumption to a consumer, or
indirectly to consumers through a delivery service, such as home delivery
of grocery orders or restaurant takeout orders, or a service that
is provided by common carriers and includes, but is not limited to:
a restaurant; satellite or catered feeding location; catering operation
if the operation provides food directly to a consumer or to a conveyance
used to transport people; market; vending location; conveyance used
to transport people; institution; or food bank.
Any retail food establishment that: 1) serves or sells only
prepackaged, non-potentially hazardous foods; 2) prepares only non-potentially
hazardous foods; or 3) heats only commercially processed, potentially
hazardous foods for hot holding and does not cool potentially hazardous
foods. Such retail establishments may include, but are not limited
to, convenience store operations, hot dog carts, and coffee shops.
Any retail food establishment that has a limited menu and:
1) prepares, cooks, and serves most products immediately; 2) exercises
hot and cold holding of potentially hazardous foods after preparation
or cooking; or 3) limits the complex preparation of potentially hazardous
foods, including the cooking, cooling, and reheating for hot holding,
to two or fewer items. Such retail establishments may include, but
are not limited to, retail food store operations, schools that do
not serve a highly susceptible population, and quick service operations,
depending on the menu and preparation procedures.
Any retail food establishment that: 1) has an extensive menu
which requires the handling of raw ingredients and is involved in
the complex preparation of menu items that includes the cooking, cooling,
and reheating of at least three or more potentially hazardous foods;
or 2) prepares and serves potentially hazardous foods including the
extensive handling of raw ingredients, and whose primary service population
is a highly susceptible population. Such establishments may include,
but are not limited to, full service restaurants, diners, commissaries,
and catering operations; or hospitals, nursing homes, and preschools
preparing and serving potentially hazardous foods.
A retail food establishment that conducts specialized processes
such as smoking, curing, canning, bottling, acidification designed
to control pathogen proliferation, or any reduced oxygen packaging
intended for extended shelf-life where such activities may require
the assistance of a trained food technologist. Such establishments
include those establishments conducting specialized processing at
retail.
A.Â
It shall be unlawful for any person to operate a retail
food establishment in the City without first obtaining a license therefor
granted and issued in the manner hereinafter set forth in this chapter.
Only persons who comply with the requirements of this chapter shall
be entitled to receive and retain such license.
B.Â
All licenses issued under this chapter shall be posted
in a conspicuous place upon the licensed premises.
C.Â
No further Class A licenses shall be issued for food-vending
vehicles unless and until the number of such licenses issued and outstanding
is fewer than 20, it being the intent of this subsection that not
more than 20 Class A licenses shall be issued and outstanding for
food-vending vehicles. The number of Class B licenses for food-vending
vehicles that shall be issued and outstanding at any time shall not
exceed five. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to
renewals of existing licenses.
Licenses under this chapter shall be issued
for a term of one year, commencing on February 1 and expiring January
31 of the year of its issuance, unless sooner revoked.
A.Â
The annual license fee for each retail food establishment, which
shall accompany the application, shall be in accordance with the following
schedule:
|
Type
|
Fee
| |
|---|---|---|
|
Restaurants
| ||
|
Seating capacity of less than 25
|
$145
| |
|
Seating capacity of 26 to 50
|
$225
| |
|
Seating capacity of 51 to 100
|
$360
| |
|
Seating capacity of 101 to 150
|
$450
| |
|
Seating capacity of more than 150
|
$485
| |
|
Caterers
|
$155
| |
|
Food-vending vehicles
| ||
|
Class A license
|
$385
| |
|
Class B license
|
$220
| |
|
Itinerant restaurant and food demonstration
|
$125
| |
|
Supermarket or minimarket; grocery store
| ||
|
Square foot area of 40,000 or more:
|
$960
| |
|
Square foot area of 30,000 to 39,999:
|
$630
| |
|
Square foot area of 20,000 to 29,999:
|
$510
| |
|
Square foot area of 10,000 to 19,999:
|
$360
| |
|
Square foot area of 5,000 to 9,999:
|
$225
| |
|
Square foot area of 2,500 to 4,999:
|
$145
| |
|
Square foot area of less than 2,500:
|
$95
| |
|
Bakery
|
$135
| |
|
Meat market (meat only)
|
$150
| |
|
Fruit and vegetable stand (market and stand)
|
$75
| |
C.Â
For plan review of any retail food establishment as per the enforcing
official: $125. All plan review shall be in accordance with N.J.A.C.
8:24, Chapter 24, Subchapter 9, Review of Plans.
A.Â
Any person desiring a license under this chapter shall
file with the City Health Department an original and four copies of
an application, under oath, in writing, on a form furnished by the
City Health Department.
B.Â
The application shall set forth the following information:
(1)Â
The applicant's name, business name and business address.
(2)Â
Whether the applicant is an individual, a partnership,
a corporation, limited-liability company or another business entity
and, if another business entity, a full explanation and description
thereof.
(3)Â
If the applicant is an individual, the applicant's
residence address and date and place of birth.
(4)Â
If the applicant is a partnership, the full names,
residence addresses, dates and places of birth of each partner.
(5)Â
If the applicant is a corporation, limited-liability
company or other business entity, in the case of a corporation, the
full names, residence addresses, dates and places of birth of each
major officer and each stockholder, the name and address of the registered
agent and the address of the principal office (the term "stockholder,"
as used herein, means and includes any person owning or having an
interest, either legal or equitable, in 10% or more of the stock issued
and outstanding of the applicant corporation); in the case of another
entity, the full names, residence addresses, dates and places of birth
of each person owning or having any interest, either legal or equitable,
aggregating in value 10% or more of the total capital of said entity,
the name and address of the registered agent, if any, and the address
of the principal office.
(6)Â
Whether the applicant or any partners, officers or
stockholders thereof have ever been arrested or convicted of a crime,
and, if so, the name of the person arrested or convicted, the date
of arrest, the crime or charge involved and the disposition thereof.
The term "officers," as used herein, means and includes the president,
vice presidents, secretary and treasurer of a corporate applicant.
(7)Â
A description of the premises or vehicles sought to
be licensed.
(8)Â
If the applicant is not the owner of the premises
or vehicle sought to be licensed, the interest of the applicant shall
be stated.
(9)Â
If the premises proposed to be licensed are used wholly
or partially for purposes other than a restaurant, such use and whether
it is licensed shall be stated.
A.Â
Upon receipt of such application, the Health Department
shall submit an application for preliminary approval, while conducting
its own inspections and investigations, and shall submit copies of
said application to the Police Department, Fire Public Safety Department
and Building Department for reports with reference to the compliance
or noncompliance of the proposed establishment and/or licensee with
municipal and state rules, regulations, statutes and ordinances; the
truth of the matters contained in the application; a copy of any police
record which the applicant, any partner, officer or stockholder thereof
may have; such other facts as may apply to the applicant's character
and business responsibility; and said facts concerning the application
as may relate to the good government, order and protection of persons
and property and the preservation of the public health, safety and
welfare of the City of Clifton and its inhabitants.
B.Â
Upon receipt of such application and reports, together
with the results of its own inspection and investigation, the Health
Department shall submit the same to the Municipal Council for its
consent and final approval to the issuance of the license for which
application is made.
C.Â
Upon the consent and approval of the Municipal Council
to the issuance of such license, the City Health Department shall
issue the same.
D.Â
All license investigations and any corrected violations
shall be completed within 90 days from preliminary approval by the
City Council.
In accordance with N.J.S.A. 26:3-69.2, the provisions of N.J.A.C.
8:24 et seq., commonly known as the regulations entitled "Sanitation
in Retail Food Establishments and Food and Beverage Vending Machines
(2007)" are hereby incorporated by reference into this chapter. Three
copies of the regulations have been placed on file in the office of
the Health Department and will remain on file for use and examination
by the public. A copy of the regulations can also be accessed at the
following link: https://www.state.nj.us/health/ceohs/documents/food-drug-safety/chapter24_effective_1207.pdf
Any license issued under this chapter may be
temporarily suspended pending a hearing by the Health Department upon
the violation by the licensee or any of his agents or servants of
any of the terms of this chapter or N.J.A.C. 8:24 et seq. Every such
suspension shall be reported forthwith to the City Clerk. A license
may be revoked by the Council, after an opportunity for a hearing
before the Council, for the violation of any of the terms of this
chapter or N.J.A.C. 8:24 et seq.
A.Â
Certification
program. The Health Department shall provide a food manager's certification
program accredited by the Conference for Food Protection at a minimum
of once per year in both English and Spanish. The Health Officer shall
also grant reciprocity to other accredited food safety protection
training courses determined to be equivalent to the course given by
the Health Department. The fee for the food manager's certification
program shall be $150.
B.Â
Certification
requirements.
(1)Â
All
retail food establishments shall have in their employ at least one
full-time employee that has successfully completed an accredited food
manager's certification program and is a certified food manager.
(2)Â
No
new retail food establishment or existing retail food establishment
which has changed ownership shall operate for more than 60 days without
an employee employed in that retail food establishment successfully
completing an accredited food manager's certification program.
(3)Â
All
retail food establishments must notify the Health Officer within 60
days when the employment of a certified food manager is terminated
and, at the same time, indicate what measures are being taken to comply
with this chapter.
(4)Â
No
person to whom a food manager's certificate is issued shall give,
load, transfer or permit the same to be used by any other person for
any purpose whatsoever.
(5)Â
All
Retail Food Establishments Risk 2, 3, and 4 are required to have at
least one certified food manager.
C.Â
Certification
procedures. A valid food manager's certificate shall be posted, along
with the latest inspection placard, in a conspicuous location near
the entrance of each retail food establishment. Certificates which
have become expired, suspended or revoked shall not be posted in the
retail food service establishment.
D.Â
Exemption.
(1)Â
The
Health Department finds that certain food services pose a minimal
risk due to the lack of a certified food manager, due to the unique
or limited nature of the food handling and preparation or the infrequency
of said events. Exemptions include, but not limited to: agricultural
markets; public or semipublic covered dish suppers; and routine meal
functions of religious, nonprofit or charitable institutions.
(2)Â
Organizations
holding exempt functions as defined in this section shall notify the
Health Department about planned exempt functions at least one week
prior to the event.
(3)Â
The
Health Officer may exempt categories of retail food service establishments
from the certification requirements if the Health Officer determines
that such exemption will not jeopardize the public health.
E.Â
Training
course.
(1)Â
On or subsequent to the effective date of this chapter, all retail food establishments making a renewal application to the Health Department shall be required to have one responsible, managerial or supervisory person from each establishment attend a food-handler's training course. The course shall be approved by the Health Officer of the City or the Clifton Senior Registered Environmental Health Specialist. In all cases where establishments have not received satisfactory inspection certificates for a period of one full year, attendance at the food-handler's training course on a yearly basis shall be mandatory. This course will be offered in English and Spanish. Failure to attend this course shall make the establishment liable to penalties as contained in § 367-13.
(2)Â
The
fee to be paid to the City of Clifton for the training course shall
be $30 per individual.
A.Â
No person
who holds a license in accordance with the provisions of this chapter
shall park a food-vending vehicle upon a public roadway or street
for the purpose of or during the process of soliciting sales or business,
displaying food for sale or selling or offering to sell or deliver
food to buyers, consumers or other persons who are occupants of vehicles
standing or moving on the public streets or highways or pedestrians
on said public streets or highways.
B.Â
Food-vending
vehicles shall not be permitted to remain at any site for the purposes
of preparing and vending foods for more than 30 minutes, said sites
being upon private property.
No license shall be issued in accordance with
the provisions of this chapter for a food vending vehicle unless such
vehicle, in all respects, complies with the provisions of this chapter
and the Sanitation in Retail Food Establishments regulations that
are set forth in N.J.A.C. 8:24-1.1 et seq., including, but not limited
to, N.J.A.C. 8:24-1. 5, N.J.A.C. 8:24-5.3, N.J.A.C. 8:24-5.4, and
N.J.A.C. 8:24-6.1.
A.Â
Every
retail food establishment must post the most current evaluation placard
issued by the Health Department according to the following requirements:
(1)Â
The
evaluation placard must be posted conspicuously in one of the following
prominent locations, clearly visible to the patron entering the retail
food establishment: a) the main entrance door, from four feet to six
feet of the ground or floor; b) a front window within three feet of
the main entrance; c) a display case mounted on the outside wall within
three feet of the main entrance; or d) if there is no main entrance
door, front window or a display case mounted on the outside wall within
three feet of the main entrance, directly below a wall-mounted menu.
(2)Â
The
placard shall not be defaced, marred, camouflaged, or hidden from
public view.
Any person who violates any provision of this
chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine not
exceeding $1,250 or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days,
or both. A separate offense shall be deemed committed on each day
during or on which a violation occurs or continues.
