(a) No person, firm or corporation shall operate or maintain any food establishment where food or beverages are served or sold to the public in any town, city or borough without obtaining a valid permit or license to operate from the director of health of such town, city or borough, in a form and manner prescribed by the director of health. The director of health shall issue a permit or license to operate a food establishment upon receipt of an application if the food establishment meets the requirements of this section. All food establishments shall comply with the food code.
(b) All food establishments shall be inspected by a certified food inspector in a form and manner prescribed by the commissioner. The Commissioner of Public Health may, in consultation with the Commissioner of Consumer Protection, grant a variance for the requirements of the food code if the Commissioner of Public Health determines that such variance would not result in a health hazard or nuisance.
(c) No permit to operate a food establishment shall be issued by a director of health unless the applicant has provided the director of health with proof of registration with the department and a written application for a permit in a form and manner prescribed by the department. Temporary food establishments and certified farmers' markets, as defined in section 22-6r, shall be exempt from registering with the Department of Public Health.
(d) Each class 2 food establishment, class 3 food establishment and class 4 food establishment shall employ a certified food protection manager. No person shall serve as a certified food protection manager unless such person has satisfactorily passed a test as part of a food protection manager certification program that is evaluated and approved by an accrediting agency recognized by the Conference for Food Protection as conforming to its standards for accreditation of food protection manager certification programs. A certified food inspector shall verify that the food protection manager is certified upon inspection of the food establishment. The owner or manager of the food service establishment shall designate an alternate person or persons to be in charge at all times when the certified food protection manager cannot be present. The alternate person or persons in charge shall be responsible for ensuring the following: (1) All employees are in compliance with the requirements of this section; (2) foods are safely prepared in accordance with the requirements of the food code; (3) emergencies are managed properly; (4) a food inspector is admitted into the food establishment upon request; and (5) he or she receives and signs inspection reports.
(e) The commissioner shall collaborate with the directors of health to develop a process that allows for the reciprocal licensing of an itinerant food vending establishment that has obtained a valid permit or license under subsection (a) of this section and seeks to operate as an itinerant food vending establishment in another town, city or borough. Not later than January 1, 2019, the commissioner shall submit a report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public health, of the process developed pursuant to this subsection. Not later than February 1, 2019, the commissioner and each director of health shall implement such process.
(P.A. 17-93, S. 4; P.A. 18-168, S. 49; 18-169, S. 5; P.A. 19-56, S. 4.)
History: P.A. 18-168 amended Subdiv. (4) by adding provisions re alternate person or persons in charge when certified food protection manager cannot be present, effective July 1, 2018; P.A. 18-169 redesignated existing Subdivs. (1) to (4) as Subsecs. (a) to (d) and added Subsec. (e) re development of process that allows reciprocal licensing of itinerant food vending establishment and submission of report, effective June 14, 2018; P.A. 19-56 amended Subsec. (d) by redesignating existing Subparas. (A) to (E) as Subdivs. (1) to (5), effective June 28, 2019.