August 2017
Food Digest is a quarterly newsletter written by inspectors from your local health department to support and educate Hennepin County food facility owners and managers about food safety as recommended by the Minnesota Food Code 4626.
 Practicing good hygiene
While working in a food or beverage stand at a community event or farmers' market, remember to practice good hygiene. This includes:
- Washing hands often
- No bare hand contact with ready-to-eat foods
- Wearing hair restraints to keep hair, skin, and debris out of food
- Wearing clean clothes
- No smoking in the stand
- No eating or drinking (from open drink containers) in the stand
- No nail polish, fake nails, or large pieces of jewelry
Of course, practicing good hygiene is also a requirement for permanent food establishments. But at special events, things can tend to get a little more relaxed so reminders can be helpful. Food safety always needs to be a priority in any setting and practicing good hygiene is a part of that.
Special event guidelines and a checklist that are part of our applications for special events can be found on our website under the 'Short-term food event licensing' tab.
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We welcome comments or ideas about our newsletter.
Hannah Marschinke
612-543-5255
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 We are excited to introduce our newest inspector, Hannah Young! Hannah has been with Hennepin County Environmental Health since last summer when she started as an intern; in May she joined us as an environmentalist. Hannah’s current assigned areas are Brooklyn
Center, Osseo, Champlin and Dayton; her primary duties include food, pool, and lodging inspections. Hannah graduated in 2016 with bachelor degrees in biology
and public health with a concentration in health sciences from St.
Catherine University in St. Paul. She is currently working on getting her
Masters of Public Health from St. Catherine's with an emphasis on global health. In her free time she enjoys hiking, yoga, reading, and
traveling the world.
Welcome, Hannah!
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 We all love our furry friends and many of us want to take them places that we like to frequent. While service animals are allowed to accompany their person in any public establishment as described on the Minnesota Department of Human Rights webpage, non-service animals cannot enter food establishments. If a restaurant wants to allow animals on their patio or deck, they need to first check with the city to see if there is a city ordinance allowing this.
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Hennepin County Public Health Department (PHD) will be offering a basic food safety class on Wednesday 9/27/17 from 1-4:30 pm. It will be held at our office located at 1011 South 1st Street, Hopkins, MN 55343, on the second floor in room 233.
Section 7 K. from the Hennepin County food ordinance states that food establishments exempt from needing a Certified Food Manager (4626.2010 lists the exemptions) still need a person in charge, trained in basic food safety, during all hours of operation. This training can be accomplished by attending an approved basic food safety course such as this one offered in September.
The flyer with further information can be found on our website under the Basic food safety class tab. Questions can be answered by calling our office at 612-543-5200.
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Section 7 A. from the food ordinance points out that in addition to having a designated person in charge during all hours of operation (a requirement from the Minnesota Food Code 4626.0025), the person in charge must also have passed an approved food safety exam.
The Minnesota Department of Health has a website that you can visit to search for approved food safety courses.
See below for exact wording from Ordinance 3 Food Protection regarding person in charge and food safety training:
Section 7: STANDARDS FOR HEALTH, SAFETY, AND NUISANCE PREVENTION
A. Minnesota Rules, Chapter 4626.0030 DEMONSTRATION. Based on the risks of foodborne illness inherent to the food operation, during inspections and upon request by the regulatory authority, the person in charge shall demonstrate to the regulatory authority knowledge of foodborne disease prevention, application of the hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) principles when a HACCP plan is required under part 4626.1730, and the requirements of the Food Code by passing an approved exam for Food Manager Certification or other means acceptable to the Health Authority.
Section 7 K. from the food ordinance states that food establishments exempt from needing a Certified Food Manager (4626.2010 lists the exemptions) still need a person in charge who is trained in basic food safety during all hours of operation. This training can be accomplished by attending an approved basic food safety course. As noted in the previous article, Hennepin County PHD is offering a 3-1/2 hour basic food safety training for $35 per person. The flyer with further information can be found on our website under the Basic food safety class tab.
See below for exact wording from Ordinance 3 Food Protection regarding person in charge and basic food safety training:
Section 7: STANDARDS FOR HEALTH, SAFETY, AND NUISANCE PREVENTION
K. Minnesota Rules, Chapter 4626.2010 CERTIFIED FOOD MANAGER REQUIREMENTS FOR FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS. Subpart 4. Exemptions. These exempted food establishments are not required to have a certified food manager, but the person in charge required by 4626.0025 in these food establishments must be trained in basic food sanitation as determined by the Health Authority.
If there are any questions regarding these requirements or anything from the Minnesota Food Code or Hennepin County Ordinances, please feel free to contact us at 612-543-5200.
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 Web resources
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Visit www.hennepin.us/envhealth for information on:
- General environmental health
- Basic food safety classes
- Temporary food stand licensing
- Food license information, categories, and fee schedule
- New construction or remodeling application
Radon information and test kits
www.hennepin.us/radon
Septic system requirements and procedures
www.hennepin.us/septic
Body art licensing information (tattooing and piercing)
www.hennepin.us/bodyart
Beaches in Hennepin County
www.hennepin.us/beaches
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Visit www.hennepin.us/envhealth to subscribe to our e-newsletter.
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