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germin8
Raw Master
Hello all.
Does anyone know if a food handlers permit/certificate is needed for someone who volunteers to make food for a public event?
I know people prepare foods for potlucks at church or public events... and pretty sure they don't have permits... so, I guess I don't understand how they work.
Does someone who VOLUNTEERS to make food for the public need one? Is it just for people that SELL food?
I keep searching on the internet, but can't find anything specific! I found lots of stuff... but nothing SPECIFIC.
This is for the state of MD.
Comments
Libraries are a great source of information for questions like this. :-)
However, if you want to do it yourself, try a Google search--for example, "baltimore health department" "montgomery county maryland health department" etc. (Don't know where you live in Maryland). You'll get to the web site of the health department. It may take some dinking around on the site, but what you'll need to find is the department that deals with licensing of food establishments and people who handle food. As an example, here is the info from Montgomery County:
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/hhstmpl.asp?url=/content/hhs/license/fsflicense.asp
Here's Baltimore City:
http://www.baltimorehealth.org/foodshelter.html
The Maryland Code (laws of the state of Maryland) is online, but not the easiest thing to plow through. You'll be much better off contacting the health department of the county or municipality where you live to find out what the regulations are regarding food handling.
Hope this helps.
Oh this is so helpful!
And this IS for Montgomery County. It is exactly what I've been searching for. Thank you... and thank you for telling me which key words you used to conduct your search. I'll need that for other states & counties.
About the library... *hehe* I spend time there too! ...but I needed to know this information ASAP.
Sounds like "food service facility" is anywhere food is prepared ...even if NOT in a kitchen. Hmmm. Interesting.
*correction - actually, people prepare their food at home and take it to potluck... so that is different. But what about raw food chefs that travel and prepare smoothies or other foods in various states... do they have a "permit" for all locations? I'm just trying to find info...
Any more information is always helpful!
Maybe I am confusing this. This is a certificate for the facility ...but what about people preparing food in that facility... what do they need? Do they need a "food handlers permit"?
Glad the info was helpful.
What I would do if I were you is to call the Montgomery County Dept. of Health and talk to someone about this. It doesn't sound like your situation is described on their web site, and talking to a real person at the health dept. would be the fastest way to get an answer.