Food Bites
Food Bites is a newsletter that provides information for food service operators. Recent editions may be downloaded from this page.
Online Food Worker Card
Changes ahead!
The online Food Worker Card program has been such a huge success that we have seen a drastic reduction in the number of people who attend our classes onsite. As of Tuesday, January 3, 2012, we are reducing the number of classes we offer at the Health Department. The class is now offered Monday at 9 am, and Thursday evening at 6 pm. We encourage you to take the class online but we still have kiosks available Monday through Friday from 8:30 am-2:30 pm to take the class at the Health Department.
Food Manager
We want you to be the next Food Manager! The accredited Food Managers Training Course is designed to help food establishment managers with the ever changing and complex area of food sanitation. This course helps managers understand Washington State Food Code and gives them a better understanding of the regulation. Successful participants will receive a 5-year Food Safety Managers Certificate from the National Registry of Food Safety Professionals and a 5-year Washington State Food Worker Card. The Food & Community Safety Program offers the Certified Food Manager Course once each quarter. All applications must be turned in at least 30 days before the scheduled session you wish to attend. Study materials must be picked up at our office two weeks before attending the desired session. Call Amanda Peters, Environmental Health Specialist II at (253) 798-7677 with any questions, or visit us on line at the Food Manager Course section to download an application.
Class begins at 8:00 am and ends at 6:00 pm. The fee for the class is $165.00.
Upcoming classes
April 11, 2012
July 11, 2012
October 17, 2012
Food Establishment Permits
The Washington Administrative Code requires the permit holder to post the permit in a location that is conspicuous to consumers in the Food Establishment. Please check your permit to ensure the information is accurate. You will receive your 2012 permit upon payment of outstanding account balances.
The name of the Mobile Food Unit and the valid Food Establishment permit must be posted on the Mobile Food Unit in a place that is easily visible to customers during operation. The name of the unit must be the same as name on the permit.
Operating permits are valid from February 1, through January 31, of each year. Late fees are assessed on February 2. Please remember permits are not transferrable between owners or locations. If your permit is expired or doesn’t have your name, please contact us at (253) 798-6460.
Who’s New?
You may not recognize the person introducing themselves to do an inspection; starting in January 2012 you will see new faces in your facility to conduct food safety inspections. Periodically, staff rotate to different areas of the county. The periodic rotation helps our staff as a group and ensures consistency in applying the Food Code. For your safety and to protect your business always ask for ID prior to allowing anyone access to your food preparation or storage areas. All of our staff display Health Department issued photo ID’s. If you are still unsure if the person is from the Health Department, call (253) 798-6460 to verify their identity. See the Food Program Staff section for a current list of our staff.
Rachel Knight, became the Food Program Coordinator in 2011. We wish Diane Westbrook well in her retirement.
