Health Department: 419-352-8402 | Health Center: 419-354-9049
Health Department: 419-352-8402 | Health Center: 419-354-9049
The Wood County Health Department is responsible for enforcing Ohio rules regarding food preparation and sales.
Food service operation means a place, location, site, or separate area where food intended to be served in individual portions is prepared or served for a charge or required donation. As used in this division, “served” means a response made to an order for one or more individual portions of food in a form that is edible without washing, cooking, or additional preparation and “prepared” means any action that affects a food other than receiving or maintaining it at the temperature at which it was received.
Except when expressly provided otherwise, “food service operation” includes a catering food service operation, food delivery sales operation, mobile food service operation, seasonal food service operation, temporary food service operation, and vending machine location.
A Retail Food Establishment means a premises or part of a premises where food is stored, processed, prepared, manufactured, or otherwise held or handled for retail sale.
Except when expressly provided otherwise, “retail food establishment” includes a mobile retail food establishment, seasonal retail food establishment, and temporary retail food establishment.
A Temporary Retail Food Establishment is one that is operated at an event for not more than five consecutive days, except when operated for more than five consecutive days pursuant to division (E)(2) of section 3717.23 of the Revised Code.
A Mobile Food Service Operation is one that is operated from a movable vehicle, portable structure, or watercraft and that routinely changes location, except that if the operation remains at any one location for more than forty consecutive days, the operation is no longer a mobile food service operation.
“Mobile food service operation” includes a food service operation that does not remain at any one location for more than forty consecutive days and serves, in a manner consistent with division (F) of this section, only frozen desserts; beverages, nuts, popcorn, candy, or similar confections; bakery products identified in section 911.01 of the Revised Code; or any combination of those items.
A Catering Food Service Operation is defined in section 3717.01 of the Ohio Revised Code as one where food is prepared for serving at a function or event held at an off-premise site, for a charge determined on a per-function or per-event basis. The charge is contracted for on the basis of the entire luncheon, banquet, or event and not on the basis of an individual meal or lunch.
Concession stands at baseball, softball, football and other sporting events offer a great opportunity for athletic groups to raise money. They can also present a food safety risk. Some of the largest problems seen at these stands include no handwashing areas and food not being kept hot or cold enough. The Health Department wants to help you make your concession sales profitable and safe. Please contact us if you have any questions.
A person who wishes to serve or sell food for a charge or required donation to the public is required by law to first obtain a license from their local health department. These licenses are issued following a facility review to ensure the design of the facility is in compliance with Ohio’s Food Safety Regulations. Licensed food establishments can contact their Environmental Health Specialist for a Food Safety Tool Kit or to learn more about locally available trainings.
Risk levels are determined by the types of food preparation that take place, including reheating and hot holding. The risk level assigned to an establishment determines the license fee. Click below to expand the description of Risk Levels in Food Service Operations/Retail Food Establishments.
Main concerns are general sanitation, labeling, source of food, storage temperature control, and expiration dates.
Includes level 1 main concerns plus hand contact and employee health. Permits handling of potentially hazardous foods in situations where there is little or no potential for pathogen growth resulting in foodborne disease should bacteria contamination occur.
Includes main concerns of level 1 and 2 plus proper cooking temperatures, proper cooling procedures, proper holding temperatures, contamination issues and/or improper heat treatment in association with longer holding times before consumption, or processing a raw food product to sell as ready-to-eat that requires bacterial load reduction procedures.
Includes main concerns of level 1, 2, and 3 plus concerns associated with food or ingredients going through several preparation steps where temperature control is needed to preclude bacterial growth; offering as ready-to-eat raw TCS meats, poultry products, fish, or shellfish or foods with these raw TCS items as ingredients; or the use of freezing as a means of parasite destruction.