It shall be unlawful for any person to be employed in the handling of unwrapped or unpackaged food unless he or she shall furnish and place on file with the person in charge of such establishment, a food and beverage service worker's permit, as prescribed by the state board of health. Such permit shall be kept on file by the employer or kept by the employee on his or her person and open for inspection at all reasonable hours by authorized public health officials. Such permit shall be returned to the employee upon termination of employment. Initial permits, including limited duty permits, shall be valid for two years from the date of issuance. Subsequent renewal permits shall be valid for three years from the date of issuance, except an employee may be granted a renewal permit that is valid for five years from the date of issuance if the employee demonstrates that he or she has obtained additional food safety training prior to renewal of the permit. Rules establishing minimum training requirements must be adopted by the state board of health and developed by the department of health in conjunction with local health jurisdictions and representatives of the food service industry.

Effective date—1998 c 136 § 1: "Section 1 of this act takes effect July 1, 1999." [ 1998 c 136 § 6.]