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Stricter regulations for restaurants and other businesses that prepare food on site will take effect July 1.
By that day, food establishments that handle and prepare temperature-controlled, raw foods must have at least one employee serving in a supervising or managing role who is a certified food protection manager. The Virginia Department of Health adopted the new standard in 2016 (along with others outlined in the Food and Drug Administration's 2013 revised food code) but allowed food establishments two years before the requirement took effect.
Existing law in Virginia does not require a manager or supervisor in such an establish to have a food protection manager certificate in order to prove proficiency in food safety knowledge, said VDH director of food and general environmental services Julie Henderson.
But the change "requires certification proficiency through the exam, but also proficiency through compliance,” Henderson said. “It’s not just that someone has taken a course – it’s that they understand and follow through and comply with the requirements.”
The FDA food code is a model code for states and local jurisdictions to adopt, Henderson said. It therefore allows for jurisdictions to develop their own exemption policies, she said.
“We wrote in there to allow for some exemption, and mainly it was looking at the risk,” Henderson said. “Like a hospital would be a higher risk because they’re serving food to, by definition, a higher-risk community.”
But an establishment at which pre-cooked food is simply being reheated or kept cold, such as a hot dog vendor, is considered low-risk, Henderson said. Under the Virginia law, these establishments will be exempt from the certified food protection manager requirement.
The law also requires that certified managers or supervisors obtain their certifications by passing an exam offered by an accredited program.
The state recognizes five certification programs – among them the ServSafe manager certification – that recognize that a manager or supervisor has sufficient knowledge to protect consumers from foodborne illnesses.
Martin Gravely, owner of RVA Food Safety in Lakeside, recently began administering the ServSafe manager course and exam in order to accommodate an influx of local restaurant staff members who are concerned about the July 1 deadline, he said.
The course covers all facets of food safety, Gravely said, such as hygiene, temperature control and safely purchasing food in order to avoid a foodborne illness outbreak.
Preventing foodborne illness
The state’s decision to adopt the federal guidelines had to do with risk management and prevention of foodborne illnesses, according to Henderson and Gravely.
“The main thing we want is to prevent people from getting sick,” Henderson said.
Gravely was not aware of any specific incident that caused the VDH to act, he said; rather, the decision likely was born from an ongoing concern about foodborne illness outbreak.
“They’ve always recommended that people get this training, but a lot of people don’t, and it’s so easy to get people sick if you don’t handle food safely,” Gravely said. “My guess is that they just decided there needed to be a stricter law to push people in this direction, to try and minimize foodborne illness outbreaks.”
Mitchell Trak, co-owner and general manager of The Grapevine restaurant in western Henrico, has had his ServSafe certification for years, he said. Trak believes that the law will act as an equalizer, mandating that all affected food service establishments receive the same training.
“I feel like it should be fair across the board,” Trak said. “Restaurants will be safer, things will be cleaner, it will just be more awareness throughout.”
Ryan Kreneck, general manager of Red Salt Chophouse and Sushi, expressed a similar sentiment.
“As a whole, I think it’s a positive for the consumer,” Kreneck said, “and then I think it’s a positive for the people in the building because it creates awareness on the back end, and it ensures quality and safety for the services and the food that we provide.”
Red Salt is a part of Eat Restaurant Partners, a privately-owned Virginia restaurant group. That group made its staff members aware of the law sometime between October and December last year, Kreneck said, and took steps thereafter to ensure that the necessary people had received their certifications.
Most food service establishments are prepared with the necessary certifications for the July 1 deadline, said Virginia Restaurant, Travel and Lodging Association President Eric Terry.
Those who are not, however, most likely will face a violation during the next heath inspection, he said.
“Essentially, I think it will become a violation of not having a person on staff,” Terry said. “It’s a demerit on their health inspection score.”
Exact consequences, however, may vary depending on the locality of the health department, Gravely said.
“The Henrico Health Department and the City of Richmond Health Department, for example, may handle it a little bit differently,” he said. “I expect some are going to push harder than others for people to get in compliance quickly.”
Food service establishments that are disorganized may have trouble complying with the new law, Kreneck said. Additionally, establishments with absent owners who are the only certified employees also could face trouble during a health inspection, Trak said.
"It could be the owner’s certified but not the management, and they’re not there,” Trak said. “It’s a blessing because we’re here every day, all day, so we are actually operators. I think the restaurants that will be mostly affected are the ones that are just not operators.”
Delegate weighs in
In January, Del. Tony Wilt (R-Harrisonburg) proposed legislation opposing the law, asking the board of agriculture and consumer services and the board of heath to provide an exemption to food establishments that have not been found in violation of regulations in the immediately preceding five-year period. Wilt also proposed that completing and passing an online training course and exam should be accepted as satisfying the food protection manager certification.
Wilt carried the legislation after various constituents expressed concern about burdens imposed by the regulation, he said. However, Wilt was able to identify solutions to their concerns that did not need legislation, he said.
Additionally, Wilt learned that very few businesses would qualify under the five year exemption language, he said, as most establishments do encounter at least one type of violation within a five-year span.
The subcommittee assigned to the bill recommended striking it from the docket on Feb. 5 after passing a unanimous vote.
“While I still have lingering concerns about the new requirement, for the time being we are working with the respective state agencies to address challenges that may arise,” Wilt said.
Henderson said that the VDH would be able to reexamine their data once the law has gone into effect in order to see if there actually is a difference in compliance. However, there was no negative feedback on the law when it was first passed almost two years ago and posted for public comment, she said.
As a whole, the food industry remains in favor of the change.
“The industry is supportive of any food service requirements,” Terry said, “because I do think that it really keeps our industry safe and the public safe.”
