St. Clair County, IL Public Health Rules: Food Handler Certification (2026)

Sec. 19-4-4(E)(4) ties certification to the Plan Review every new or remodeled food service establishment must clear before it opens. The operator submits the proposed menu, hours, HACCP plans, current Food Protection Manager Certificates, and current ANSI-approved Allergen Training for every required Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM), and the Health Department holds those certificates and allergen-training records before it will even accept a permit application. Sec. 19-4-4(E)(6), Terms of Permit, extends the requirement to temporary and event vendors: any event that serves food to the public, festivals, street fairs, homecomings, grand openings, fundraisers, or a food truck, trailer, cart or tent set up at one, has to register with the Regulatory Authority, and each individual vendor at that event has to show completed, pre-approved education before working it.

The Regulatory Authority decides, based on what the vendor is cooking, whether that means a Food Protection Manager Certificate, a Food Handler Certificate, or another training course it specifies. The county's registration form for one- and two-day events (Attachment A) collects the Food Protection Manager's name and a copy of the certificate, plus the allergen-training certificate when the menu requires it, alongside the event's name, date, and location. Sec. 19-4-4(B)(1) separately sets inspection frequency by risk category, three times a year for Category I, twice for Category II, once for Category III, and the Health Department can order any food handler whose work habits look unsafe into an immediate retraining course, billing the vendor for the class.