Abilene, TX Public Health Rules: Food Handler Certification (2026)

Abilene doesn't run its own food handler training or certification program. Instead, § 11-3 of the Code of Ordinances adopts by reference the food-service rules of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission found at 25 Texas Administrative Code Chapter 228, plus the food manager and food handler accreditation and certification rules at 25 TAC Chapter 229, Subchapter K, 'as amended,' meaning the state standard updates automatically inside the city without a separate ordinance change. Copies of both rule sets are kept on file with the Administrator, the City Manager or the Manager's designee who enforces Chapter 11 under § 11-1.

A food establishment operator who lets an uncertified handler work, or otherwise falls out of compliance with the adopted state rules, is guilty of a misdemeanor under § 11-2, with each day of the violation a separate offense, and, if the operator is a corporation, the officers and agents actively running the business share the liability. Anyone unhappy with an order from an Environmental Health Inspector can request an administrative review from the Administrator under § 11-4, and a person still dissatisfied after that review can appeal further to the Texas Department of State Health Services, Bureau of Food and Drugs, Retail Food Division, at 1100 West 49th Street in Austin.

That written appeal has to reach the Administrator's office within fifteen days of the ruling being appealed, or the order becomes final and can no longer be challenged; while the state appeal is pending, the Administrator can issue a provisional permit good for sixty days, extendable for another sixty.