It shall be unlawful for any person owning, operating, directing, or managing any food service establishment, catering operation, or any place or vehicle regulated by the city food service sanitation ordinance where food or drink is manufactured, produced, processed, prepared, or otherwise manipulated, within the city, to fail to keep in his employ a manager, assistant manager, supervisor, or other person in charge of said establishment who has a valid and current food service manager's [certification] from an accredited program approved by the Texas Department of State Health Services.
(Ordinance 84-32, sec. 8, adopted 2/14/84; 1978 Code, sec. 11-82; Ordinance 23-013 adopted 2/14/2023)
(a) 
Food manager certificates will not be required for the following:
(1) 
Food service establishments providing only beverages, popcorn, prepackaged foods, or commercially prepared candy or nuts;
(2) 
Nonprofit organizations except those operating schools, day cares, nursing homes, halfway houses or boarding homes;
(3) 
Food service establishments inspected at least once in each week by state or federal food sanitation inspectors;
(4) 
Temporary or special event food service establishments; and/or
(5) 
Supplying food to vending machines. Per §228.221 of the 2021 Food Establishment Rules persons operating a mobile food unit must obtain a food managers certification.
(b) 
For the purposes of this division, a nonprofit organization shall mean an organization which has been granted an exemption or is exempt from the payment of federal income taxes.
(Ordinance 84-32, sec. 8, adopted 2/14/84; Ordinance 84-146, sec. 5, adopted 11/13/84; 1978 Code, sec. 11-83; Ordinance 23-013 adopted 2/14/2023)
A food service manager’s certificate shall be issued to any person who submits the required issuance fee, and:
(1) 
Completes food service manager's certification course or shows evidence of completion, within the past five (5) years, of a course of study which is listed in the department of state health services worker's training program course registry, and achieves the required minimum score of seventy-five (75) points out of a possible one hundred (100) points on a written examination administered or approved by the regulatory authority. An applicant who fails to achieve a minimum score of seventy-five (75) on the written examination may repeat the examination one (1) time without repetition of the food sanitation course of study; the city no longer offers the food managers certification course;
(2) 
Provides evidence of certification within the past five (5) years by an agency which administers a national examination determined by the department of state health services and/or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to be content valid and legally reliable; or
(3) 
Provides an associate’s or bachelor’s degree, or the equivalent, awarded within the past five (5) years, in restaurant or hotel and restaurant management from an accredited college or university.
(Ordinance 84-32, sec. 8, adopted 2/14/84; Ordinance 91-6, sec. 2, adopted 1/15/91; 1978 Code, sec. 11-84; Ordinance 07-025, sec. 7, adopted 3/20/07; Ordinance 23-013 adopted 2/14/2023)
A food service manager's certificate shall be valid for five (5) years from the date of issuance. The expiration date will be written on each certificate issued. No certificate shall be transferable from one person to another person.
(Ordinance 84-32, sec. 8, adopted 2/14/84; Ordinance 91-6, sec. 2, adopted 1/15/91; 1978 Code, sec. 11-85; Ordinance 23-013 adopted 2/14/2023)
Per the Texas Department of State Health Services, the food manager certification examination may be taken at any accredited examination provider or training program. Certification is valid for five years.
(Ordinance 84-32, sec. 8, adopted 2/14/84; 1978 Code, sec. 11-86; Ordinance 23-013 adopted 2/14/2023)
(a) 
A food service manager’s certificate may be revoked by the regulatory authority on a finding that any of the following grounds exist:
(1) 
That the food service manager interfered with an inspection of the food service establishment by agents of the regulatory authority;
(2) 
That violations of the city’s food service sanitation ordinance exist in the food service establishment;
(3) 
That the certified food manager knowingly falsified any information supplied on an application for certification issued under this division;
(4) 
That the certified food manager or any employee of the food service establishment has made use of a food service manager’s certificate which has not been duly issued by the regulatory authority.
(b) 
Prior to revocation of a food service manager’s certificate, the regulatory authority shall give written notice to the holder of the certificate and to the owner of the food service establishment in which the food service manager is employed. Such notice shall state:
(1) 
The grounds upon which the city will seek revocation of the certificate;
(2) 
That revocation becomes final ten (10) days after notice unless a written request for hearing is filed with the regulatory authority before expiration of the ten-day period.
(c) 
The notice required by this division is considered served when it is delivered to the holder of the certificate, and the owner of the food service establishment, or when it is sent by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, to the last known address of the holder of the certificate and the owner of the food service establishment. A copy of the notice shall be filed in the records of the regulatory authority.
(d) 
The hearing provided for in this division shall be conducted by the regulatory authority at a time and place designated by the regulatory authority. After completion of the hearing, the officer designated by the regulatory authority to conduct the hearing shall make written findings as to whether or not the certificate is to be revoked. If the hearing officer revokes the certificate, written notice of such revocation shall be served on the food service manager and the owner of the establishment with a copy of the findings. Upon receiving written notice that the food service manager’s certificate has been revoked, the food service manager shall surrender the certificate to the regulatory authority.
(e) 
If the food service manager fails to appear at the hearing at the time, place, and date specified, the city shall present sufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case showing that an act or acts have been committed which constitute grounds for revocation of the certificate.
(f) 
In the event a certificate is revoked, the city shall not be liable for any refund of any part of the fee paid for the certificate.
(g) 
A person whose food service manager’s certificate has been revoked shall not be granted a new certificate until such person has attended a course of training and passed the required examination subsequent to the revocation, and met all requirements of an initial applicant.
(h) 
Food service manager’s certificates remain the property of the city environmental health division and must be surrendered to the regulatory authority to be voided when the permit has been revoked.
(Ordinance 84-32, sec. 8, adopted 2/14/84; Ordinance 91-6, sec. 2, adopted 1/15/91; 1978 Code, sec. 11-87; Ordinance 23-013 adopted 2/14/2023)
Food service manager certificates shall be prominently posted in the establishment in a place acceptable to the regulatory authority.
(Ordinance 84-32, sec. 8, adopted 2/14/84; 1978 Code, sec. 11-89; Ordinance 23-013 adopted 2/14/2023)