How Does the Requirement for a Certified Food Handler Affect Me?

Sandra Lapajne, BASc, CPHI(C) Public Health Inspector, Program Coordinator - Environmental Health

As of July 1st, 2018, the new Ontario Regulation 493: Food Premises (O. Reg. 493) came into effect. The new regulation revokes and replaces Ontario Regulation 562 and contains several changes.

One of these changes is the requirement that there is at least one certified food handler or supervisor per shift on the premises. This is a significant change as previously only certain municipalities in Ontario had requirements related to food handler training.

Section 32 of Ontario Regulation 493 states: “Every operator of a food service premise shall ensure that there is at least one food handler or supervisor on the premise who has completed food handler training during every hour in which the premise is operating”.

A food service premise is defined as “any food premise where meals or meal portions are prepared for immediate consumption or sold or served in a form that will permit immediate consumption on the premises or elsewhere” (Ontario Regulation 493 Section 1(1)). Although not an exhaustive list, examples of food service premises include restaurants, cafeterias, bars, take-out food shop, soup kitchens, and food caterers.

There are several options available to obtain your food handler training, including both one-day classroom sessions and online self-study courses. To see the various options, please visit our website at https://phu.fyi/food-handlers.

The overall goal of Ontario Regulation 493 is to make sure food is kept safe to prevent foodborne illness. The regulation sets out the requirements that food premise owners and operators must follow, and covers safe food handling, cleaning and sanitizing, operations, and maintenance. I would encourage every owner and operator to review the new regulation at https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/170493.