Restaurant workers and others in the food and beverage industry will make changes in the way they operate starting Jan. 1.
The Jefferson City Council this week approved a new Restaurant and Food Code that requires the changes.
Those workers, from executive chefs to high school-age servers, or their PIC (person in charge), will be expected to know how to prepare 11 kinds of lettuce, the nine occasions on which to wash their hands and that Norovirus is a reportable disease.
The 131-page document is the result of four months of research, writing, rewriting and review by city staff, two open houses for those in the industry and three weeks of scrutiny by the City Council. The bill, sponsored by Fifth Ward Councilman Larry Henry, passed unanimously without comment.
Despite an exhaustive campaign to contact food establishment operators, only seven individuals representing six organizations attended the open houses, Janice McMillan, director of Planning and Protective Services, told the council. No written comments were received regarding the proposed changes. Providing input at the open houses were representatives of Capitol Plaza Hotel, Convenient Food Mart, St. Francis School at Taos, Immaculate Conception School, St. Mary's Hospital and Trinity Lutheran School.
"I don't think it's going to be a problem for us," said Dennis Bahm, the executive chef for Capitol Plaza, which employs up to 80 people in its food service operations. "I'll be the one doing the training of our staff, and I don't see where we are going to have a problem with the new code."
At Immaculate Conception School, food service manager Donna Withouse echoed Bahm's comments. "From what I saw and read, I don't see a problem for us here," she said.
This marks the first update of the oft-cited code in 13 years. It is a clone of the 2013 state Code for the Food Establishments, which sets the industry's regulation standards. The city's current code is based on the 2001 model promulgated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, McMillan said.
Fees for food establishments are set in the code, beginning with $27 for a one-to-three day temporary food permit to $495 for a so-called high-risk provider like daycare centers, hospitals, senior centers and nursing homes. The code includes penalties for violations, each a misdemeanor punishable by a $500 fine or three months imprisonment or both.
The new Jefferson City code addresses dozens of separate segments in five of the eight chapters of the regulation.
Food service managers and rank-and-file workers who delve into the code will find it specific in many areas of their work. For instance, in Chapter 1, it enumerates 11 kinds of cut leafy greens (iceberg, romaine, baby leaf lettuce, escarole, endive, spring mix, spinach, cabbage, kale, arugula and chard) and five ways to prepare them.
In Chapter 2, the new code stipulates food employees "must be trained in food allergy awareness," and Norovirus is added to the existing list of reportable diseases. This section of the code advises employees may not wear fingernail polish or artificial nails "unless wearing intact gloves in good repair." When preparing food, employees may not wear any jewelry other than "plain wedding bands," the code says. It even lists the nine on-the-job events that require an employee to wash his or her hands.
Chapter 3 changes the temperature for hot foods from 135 degrees to 140 degrees and "time as a control methods extended to six hours for food between 41 degrees and 70 degrees."
That chapter also informs, "Consumer advisory now has two components 'Disclosure and Reminder.' Disclosure is the asterisking of an item that if served raw or undercooked may increase your risk of food borne illness. Reminder is a written statement about the health risks of consuming animal foods raw, undercooked or without otherwise being processed to eliminate pathogens."
Wild game, a staple of many events in the Jefferson City area, also is covered in the code: "Any political subdivision, elementary or secondary school or any charitable, religious, fraternal or other not-for-profit organization may prepare or serve wild game provided there is no charge."
Chapter 5 reduces the minimum temperature for hot water at hand sinks from 110 degrees to 100 degrees. Employee hand washing also is regulated: it must occur in sinks separated from any sink which involves food. The code even mandates service sinks, otherwise known as mop sinks, shall "have both hot and cold running water and a floor drain."