Pasco County, FL Public Health Rules: Food Handler Certification (2026)

Chapter 50, Division 4 of the Pasco County Code sets personnel standards for food service establishments alongside the state's food code. Section 50-121 bars anyone with a communicable disease, an infected wound, a boil or an acute respiratory infection from working in any role where they could contaminate food. Section 50-122 then requires that one high-level management person from each establishment complete a food service management training course and keep a valid certificate on hand; that certificate is valid for whatever period the state sets for equivalent certificates issued for establishments regulated under Florida Statutes chapters 381 and 509, so it tracks the state's renewal cycle rather than setting an independent local one.

The surrounding sections layer on more specific staff duties: § 50-123 requires thorough handwashing with soap and warm water before work, during work as often as necessary, and after smoking, eating, drinking or using the toilet, plus clean, trimmed fingernails; § 50-124 requires clean outer clothing and effective hair restraints; and § 50-125 confines employee eating and tobacco use to designated areas that won't contaminate food, equipment or utensils. The whole chapter operates under the county's health permitting system in §§ 50-26 and 50-27, so a manager-training lapse can factor into a permit review.