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

3608 sets the operating requirements for commercial cannabis manufacturing, both non-volatile Level 1 and volatile Level 2 facilities, permitted under Hayward's Zoning Ordinance. Subsection E, titled Food Handler Certification, requires that all owners, employees, volunteers or other individuals that participate in the production of edible cannabis products must be state certified food handlers, and further requires that the valid certificate number of each such owner, employee, volunteer or other individual must be on record at the cannabis manufacturer's facility where that individual participates in the production of edible cannabis products.

This certification duty applies specifically to cannabis edible manufacturing; Hayward's Municipal Code does not impose a separate, general food handler certification mandate for other food businesses citywide, since routine restaurant and food-facility permitting in Hayward runs through the Alameda County Public Health Department rather than a city ordinance. Subsection F of the same section reinforces the county's role for cannabis edibles specifically, requiring that commercial cannabis businesses that sell or manufacture edible cannabis products shall obtain a permit from the Alameda County Public Health Department and comply with state and county health permit requirements covering food safety and employee health.

Read together, a cannabis edibles operator in Hayward needs both the city-mandated, on-file food handler certificates for every person touching production and a county health permit before selling any edible product, and must keep both current to remain in compliance with its City of Hayward commercial cannabis permit.