County Supervisors Approve New Food Safety Rules for Businesses

SAN DIEGO -- Starting soon, businesses that use caterers to provide food for customers in San Diego County could need special permits.

On Nov. 16, the County Board of Supervisors adopted new rules to make sure people are safe when they visit the region’s breweries and wineries and decide to have a burger with their brew or more than just a little cheese with their wine.

Supervisors voted 4-0 in favor of an ordinance and two new permits that will apply food-safety rules found in restaurants to caterers hired to serve food at breweries, wineries and other businesses.

The board’s action creates two new types of permits. Breweries, wineries and other businesses who want to use caterers to provide their customers’ food will have to get “host facility” permits that ensure they have readily accessible sinks for food servers to clean utensils, equipment and their hands, as well as electricity, hot water and commercial bathrooms.

Caterers would be allowed to get “direct sales catering” permits that will expand the traditional definition of “catering” from just serving private affairs to being able to sell directly to the public. The permits would require caterers to have refrigeration and hand washing.

The ordinance allows caterers to handle the food-service for wineries, breweries and businesses that don’t have full food-service capabilities — while making sure customers are protected by ensuring foods are heated and refrigerated correctly, and that food preparers and servers have equipment for proper hygiene.

The ordinance isn't final yet, however: it's scheduled to be heard again by the board Dec. 14 for a second reading and public hearing. If the board approves the second reading, the ordinance would then take effect in 30 days.

The County’s Department of Environmental Health recommended the new rules after conducting a three-month pilot study of 25 catering events at 10 wineries, 13 breweries and two private functions. The board approved the study in May after a recommendation by Supervisor Dianne Jacob.

County environmental health staff reported that they saw a few common problems during the study that could increase bacteria and the potential for people to get sick with food-borne illnesses: food servers using ice coolers, which warm up when ice melts, rather than portable refrigerators, to try to keep cold foods safely chilled; and not having ready access to sinks to wash utensils, equipment and food-servers hands.

The study also found that less than one-half of food servers in the study had access to proper sinks.

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