Food Handler Card Requirements in Massachusetts

Massachusetts issues no food handler card and requires none of ordinary food employees. Two credentials sit above the line employee and both attach to the person in charge rather than to staff generally. (1) Food protection manager certification: 105 CMR 590.003(A)(2) requires the person in charge to have 'shown proficiency of required information through passing a test that is part of an accredited program recognized by the Department' - in practice an ANAB-CFP accredited food protection manager examination. As with the national standard, accreditation attaches to the examination rather than to any particular course, so any preparation route may be used. (2) Allergen awareness training: 105 CMR 590.011 requires the establishment to have on staff a certified food protection manager who has been issued a Massachusetts certificate of allergen awareness training from a programme recognised by the Department. Ordinary food employees must be trained in allergen awareness by that certified manager 'as it relates to their assigned duties,' but they are not required to hold any certificate of their own - the training obligation runs through the employer, not through a card the worker buys. Many Massachusetts employers nonetheless ask staff to complete a voluntary ANAB-accredited food handler course.

Yes, with defined exemptions, and Massachusetts layers an allergen requirement on top that no other state in this set imposes. Under 105 CMR 590.003(A)(1) the permit holder must be the person in charge or designate one present during all hours of operation, and must designate an alternate to be in charge when they cannot be present; the alternate carries the FC 2-103.11 duties and must be adequately trained. Under 105 CMR 590.003(A)(2) each food establishment must employ at least one full-time-equivalent person in charge who is an on-site manager or supervisor, at least 18 years of age, and a certified food protection manager who has passed a test that is part of a Department-recognised accredited programme. Documentation that at least one FTE person in charge has demonstrated this knowledge must be prominently posted in the establishment. Exemptions under 105 CMR 590.003(A)(3): temporary food establishments operated by non-profit organisations such as school sporting events, firemen's picnics, grange and church suppers and fairs; daycare operations serving only snacks; establishments restricted to the sale of pre-packaged food and limited preparation of non-potentially hazardous food and USDA-processed meat and poultry meeting stated nitrite and brine levels; and satellite feeding sites receiving prepared meals from commissaries for immediate service. If a person in charge fails the certification examination after two attempts following a training programme, the permit holder may request a variance based on signed instructor documentation that the person participated in a food safety training programme meeting the Department's Massachusetts Guideline for Training and Testing, and the facility being in full compliance with 105 CMR 590.000. Separately, M.G.L. c. 140, s. 6B(c) requires that a person in charge and certified food protection manager, in order to obtain certification, view a Department-approved video concerning food allergies as part of an otherwise approved food protection manager course, and requires an alternate person-in-charge to be knowledgeable regarding food allergy issues as they relate to food preparation; 105 CMR 590.011 implements this by requiring a CFPM holding a Massachusetts allergen awareness certificate (valid five years), display of that certificate, a Department-approved allergen poster of at least 8.5 by 11 inches in the staff area, and a menu notice telling customers to inform their server of any food allergy.