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

26 bars a person from acting as a food handler unless they hold a valid food handler training certificate, or work under the supervision of a certified food service manager and hold a food handler card, with an allowance to work up to 10 calendar days under such a manager without the card first. The food handler training certificate requires successfully completing a health-officer-approved food sanitation course of at least three hours covering microorganisms, foodborne disease sources, contamination pathways, prevention methods, disease control, personal hygiene, utensil and equipment handling, and dishwashing procedures, then passing a proficiency test with at least a 70 percent grade; the certificate is valid for three years.

A food service manager certificate instead requires a 16-hour course and an 85 percent grade on the proficiency test if using academic/experience substitutes, or 70 percent for the standard 16-hour course path, and this manager certificate does not expire. A food handler card issued by a certified manager requires the food handler to pass a sanitary-practices test with at least a 70 percent grade, and it stays valid for three years, or until the employee stops performing food-handling services, or 60 days after the establishment loses its certified food service manager, whichever comes first.

29 requires the establishment's owner or operator to maintain on-site records of every food handler and manager employed, plus copies of their certificates and cards, and to produce those records to the health officer on request whenever the establishment is open.