Beaumont, CA Public Health Rules: Food Handler Certification (2026)

Chapter 8.04 of the Beaumont Municipal Code states its purpose in § 8.04.010: to prevent the spread of infections and disease by requiring all food handlers in the City to show through examination that they know sanitary principles and practice. Section 8.04.030 bars anyone from working in an occupation that involves handling food, liquid or material intended for food or drink for human consumption unless they hold or produce a food worker's certificate within 14 days after starting. It also bars any owner, manager, agent or person in charge from keeping such a person on the job past the 14 days without one. Under § 8.04.020 the certificate is a statement issued by the City's Health Officer certifying that the person is free from active communicable tuberculosis and has shown competency in food sanitation principles and practices.

To qualify, § 8.04.060 requires passing an examination conducted by the health officer, based on the Food Worker's Manual. The application to the Health Officer carries a nonrefundable $5.00 fee, and students 16 or older in school food operations are exempt from it (§ 8.04.050). The certificate lists a certificate number, name, home address, expiration date and signature, and expires two years after issue (§ 8.04.070). A duplicate costs $1.00 (§ 8.04.080). The Health Officer can revoke a certificate for repeated or continuing violations of accepted food practices or for falsified information (§ 8.04.090), and a denied or revoked worker has ten days to appeal to the City Clerk for a City Council hearing (§ 8.04.100). Employers must keep every worker's certificate on continuous display at the workplace with a current list of those employed (§ 8.04.110). Section 8.04.040 exempts household work, occasional functions of religious, charitable and public service groups, and students under 16 in school food operations.