Ohio Person-In-Charge (Level One) Certification in Food Protection

Course Description
The course course covers basic principles of food protection including: cleaning and sanitizing, hand washing and personal hygiene, employee health, person - in - charge responsibilities, time and temperature, storage and food sources.

Mandated training for the person in charge per shift of a risk level I, II, III, and IV food service operation or retail food establishment.

Course Requirements: Ohio Admistrative Code. OAC 3701-21-25 Appendix A - Person in Charge Certification Courses of Study (PDF)

Course Topics

Lesson 1: Introduction to Food Safety
Lesson 2: Biohazards, Foodborne Disease, and Food Spoilage
Lesson 3: Contamination
Lesson 4: Food and Temperature Control
Lesson 5: Preventing Food Contamination
Lesson 6: Food Receiving and Storage
Lesson 7: Sanitizing
Lesson 8: Pest Control

Course Objectives
After completing this course, the learner should be able to:

• Define food safety and its goals, benefits, impact, proper adherence, critical control points, and recall requirements.
• Recall biohazards, symptoms and causes of common foodborne illnesses, identify spoilage signs and causes.
• Identify three types of contamination, explain how food becomes hazardous, and recognize how to preserve food.
• Understand time, temperature, and control with relation to food handling and how to properly take the temperature of food and maintain the temperature while storing food.
• Discuss personal hygiene importance and practices, and food handling practices and techniques.
• Understand procedures for acquiring and receiving food, considerations for meat and poultry, and proper food storage.
• Identify both proper and improper cleaning and sanitizing procedures and implications.
• Identify signs and eradication procedures for pest infestation.

Course Completion
After completing this course you will receive a certificate of completion. It will be sent via email and will also be available on your learner account under "Print Certificates". Send your certificate to your manager and keep a copy on you at work. This course does not have a final exam.

Ohio Food Safety State Requirements

Ohio's food safety certification program consists of two levels: Person-In-Charge Certification in Food Protection (formerly "Level One") and Manager Certification in Food Protection (formerly "Level Two").

Ohio Food Safety Certification
OAC Chapter 3701-21-25 Certification in food protection. Food Safety Certification Program consists of two levels of training:

1. Ohio Person-In-Charge Certification in Food Protection
   Mandated training for the person-in-charge per shift - of a Risk Level I, II, III, and IV - of a food service operation or retail food establishment.
   Course Requirements: Ohio Admistrative Code. OAC 3701-21-25 Appendix A - Person in Charge Certification Courses of Study (PDF)
2. Ohio Manager Certification in Food Protection
   Mandated extensive training for the food manager and meets the requirement for demonstration of knowledge in OAC 3717-1-02.4 (B).
   Course Requirements: Ohio Admistrative Code. OAC 3701-21-25 Appendix B - Manager Certification in Food Protection Courses of Study (PDF)

Ohio Health Department Approved: Learn2Serve Food Safety Management Principles (360Training.com)
Reference: Ohio Department of Health

 

Ohio Food Safety State Regulations

• Ohio Uniform Food Code 2019 (PDF)
• Ohio Department of Health – Food Safety Certification

Ohio Administrative Code (3707 Department of Health)

• OAC Chapter 3701-21 Food Service Operations
• OAC Chapter 3701-21-02.3 Risk level of food service operations
• OAC Chapter 3701-21-25 Certification in food protection
• OAC 3717-1 Ohio Uniform Food Safety Code
• OAC 3717-1-02.4 Management and personnel: supervision (B) Person in charge - demonstration of knowledge

Food Truck and Food Vendor:

• Mobile Food Service (305 KB) - Minimum Requirements to Operate a Mobile FSO
• Ohio Mobile Food Vendor Requirements (PDF)
• Street East Columbus – Mobile Food Vendors
• Columbus Mobile Food Vendors – Facebook
• Franklin County – Mobile Food Licenses
• Central Ohio Food Truck Association
• Greene County – Mobile Food Operations
• Warren County – Mobile Food Vendors
• City of Centerville – Mobile Food Vendors
• City of Toledo – Food Truck Vendors
• Dayton Food Trucks
• Dayton Food Trucks Association – Facebook
• Yellow Cab Food Truck Rally – Dayton

 

Ohio Levels of Risk of Food Service Operations/Retail Food Establishments

A person who wishes to prepare, serve or sell food to the public for a charge is required by law to first obtain a license from the local health department. These licenses are issued following a review and approval of facility plans/menu to assure compliance with Ohio’s Uniform Food Safety Code.

Upon the review, the highest risk level activity of the food service operation is determined in accordance with OAC 3701-21-02.3 Risk level of food service operations.

Risk level of food establishments:

• Risk level I poses potential risk to the public in terms of sanitation, food labeling, sources of food, storage practices, or expiration dates. Examples of risk level I activities include, but are not limited to: an operation that offers for sale or sells commercially prepackaged non-potentially hazardous foods and beverages.
• Risk level II poses a higher potential risk to the public than risk level I because of hand contact or employee health concerns but minimal possibility of pathogenic growth exists. Examples of risk level II activities include, but are not limited to: cooking or baking non-potentially hazardous foods and beverages.
• Risk level III poses a higher potential risk to the public than risk level II because of the following concerns: proper cooking temperatures, proper cooling procedures, proper holding temperatures, contamination issues or improper heat treatment in association with longer holding times before consumption, or processing a raw food product requiring bacterial load reduction procedures in order to sell it as ready-to-eat.
• Risk level IV poses a higher potential risk to the public than risk level III because of concerns associated with: handling or preparing food using a procedure with several preparation steps that includes reheating of a product or ingredient of a product where multiple temperature controls are needed to preclude bacterial growth; offering as ready-to-eat a raw potentially hazardous meat, poultry product, fish, or shellfish or a food with these raw potentially hazardous items as ingredients; using freezing as a means to achieve parasite destruction; serving a primarily high risk clientele including immunocompromised or elderly individuals in a facility that provides either health care or assisted living; or using time in lieu of temperature as a public health control for time/temperature controlled for safety food, or performs a food handling process that is not addressed, deviates, or otherwise requires a variance for the process.
  

Ohio Departments of Health

Ohio Department of Health - Provides assistance in all aspects of food safety to local health department staff, the food service industry and the general public. Technical experts are available to provide current info on food safety as it applies to licensable food service operations

Ohio Department of Health
Bureau of Environmental Health and Radiation Protection
Food Safety Program
246 North High Street
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (614) 644-7416
Web: https://odh.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/odh/know-our-programs/food-safety-program

Ohio Department of Agriculture - Provides guidance to local health departments, industry and to the general public. Technical experts are available to provide current information on food safety as it applies to licensable retail food service operations.

Major cities served:
Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Toledo, Akron, Dayton, Parma, Canton, Youngstown, Lorain, Hamilton, Springfield, Kettering, Elyria, Lakewood, Cuyahoga Falls, Dublin, Powell, Canfield, and many more!

Local Health Departments:
To find a local Ohio Health Department, click here.

Adams County Health Department
Allen County Public Health
Alliance City Health Department
Ashland County-City Health Department
Ashtabula City Health Department
Ashtabula County Health Department
Athens County Health Department
Auglaize County Health Department

Belmont County General Health District
Brown County Health Department
Butler County Health Department

Cambridge Guernsey County Health Department
Canton City Public Health
Carroll County General Health District
Champaign Health District
Cincinnati Health Department
City of Hamilton Health Department
City of Kent Health Department
Clark County Combined Health District
Clermont County Health District
Cleveland Department of Public Health
Clinton County Health District
Columbiana County General Health District
Columbus Public Health
Conneaut City Health Department
Coshocton City Health Department
Coshocton County Health Department
Crawford County Public Health
Cuyahoga County Board of Health

Darke County General Health District
Defiance County General Health District
Delaware General Health District

East Liverpool City Health District
Erie County Health Department

Fairfield Department of Health
Fayette County Public Health
Franklin County Public Health
Fulton County Health Department

Galion City Health Department
Gallia County Health Department
Geauga County Health District
Greene County Public Health

Hamilton County Public Health
Hancock Public Health
Harrison County Health Department
Henry County Health Department
Highland County Health Department
Hocking County Health Department
Holmes County General Health District
Huron County Public Health

Jackson County Health Department
Jefferson County General Health District

Kenton-Hardin Health Department
Knox County Health Department

Lake County General Health District
Lawrence County Health Department
Licking County Health Department
Logan County Health District

Lorain County Public Health

Madison County Public Health
Mahoning County District Board of Health
Marietta City Health Department
Marion Public Health
Massillon City Health Department
Medina County Health Department
Meigs County Health Department
Mercer County Health District
Miami County Public Health
Middletown City Health District
Monroe County Health Department
Morgan County Health Department
Morrow County Health District

New Philadelphia City Health Department
Noble County Health Department
Norwood City Health Department

Oakwood City Health Department
Ottawa County Health Department

Paulding County Health Department
Perry County Health Department
Pickaway County General Health District
Pike County General Health District
Piqua City Health Department
Portage County Combined General Health District
Portsmouth City Health Department
Preble County Public Health
Public Health - Dayton and Montgomery County
Putnam County Health Department

Richland Public Health
Ross County Health District

Salem City Health District
Sandusky County Health Department
Scioto County Health Department
Seneca County General Health District
Shelby City Health Department
Sidney-Shelby County Health Department
Springdale City Health Department
Stark County Combined General Health District
Summit County Public Health

Toledo-Lucas County Health Department
Trumbull County Combined Health District
Tuscarawas County Health Department

Union County Health Department

Van Wert County Health Department
Vinton County Health Department

Warren City Health District
Warren County Health District
Washington County Health Department
Wayne County Health Department
Williams County Health District
Wood County Health Department
Wyandot County Public Health

Youngstown City Health District

Zanesville-Muskingum County Health Department