Big Bear Lake Municipal Code Ch. 8.12 Food Handling and Public Eating Places

The following words, as used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings:

A. "Food" means any substance eaten or drunk for nourishment or refreshment of the body, whether such food is in storage, in process of preparation or ready to serve.

B. "Food handling place" means and includes every building, room, basement, cellar and bottled water establishment, vehicle, establishment and every place used for the production, preparation for sale, manufacture, packing, storage, sale, transportation or distribution of any food.

C. "Foods readily perishable" means any food or beverage or ingredient thereof consisting in whole or in part of milk, milk products, eggs, meats, fish, poultry or other food capable of supporting rapid and progressive growth of microorganisms which cause spoilage, food infection or food intoxication at a rate of speed comparable to that characteristic of the food products specified herein.

D. "Hawker" means any person who proclaims his/her wares on the street or property adjacent thereto, the articles for sale being contained in a wagon, box or vehicle, or carried by the person.

E. "Mobile unit" means any vehicle, truck, trailer, cart, wagon, dray, conveyance or structure not firmly fixed to a permanent foundation which does not specifically require a license to operate by the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

F. "Operator" means any persons engaged in the dispensing of, or assisting in the preparation of food, or a person otherwise employed in a food handling place.

G. "Original container" means any receptacle into which, under sanitary conditions, food is placed sealed for sale.

H. "Owner" or "owners" means those persons, partnerships or corporations who are financially interested in the operation of a food handling place.

I. "Peddler" means any person who transports food for sale along a route making periodic stops of short duration for the purpose of dispensing the food to buyers.

J. "Processing" means the cooking, blending, compounding or the preparation of food.

The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to soft drinks dispensed from the original container, nor to any off-sale liquor establishment.

K. "Public eating place" means and includes every restaurant, lunchroom, tea room, soda fountain, buffet, grill room, lunch counter, sandwich stand, dining room, coffee shop, boardinghouse, hotel club, beer parlor, cocktail lounge, vehicle, labor or construction camp kitchen and dining room, and every other place where food or drinks are prepared or sold, to be consumed on the premises, and all kitchens, commissaries and other rooms appurtenant thereto or connected therewith. All places where sandwiches, lunches, etc., are prepared for sale to the public shall be classified as public eating places.

L. "Vending machine" means any self-service device which, upon insertion of a coin, coins or token, or by similar means, dispenses unit servings of food or beverage, either in bulk or in package, without the necessity of replenishing the device between each vending operation.

M. "Vending machine headquarters" means any commissary, eating establishment or restaurant where storage or preparation of supplies are stored or prepared to service or supply vending machines.

N. "Vending machine operation" means any person, firm or corporation, owning, installing, servicing, operating or maintaining one or more vending machines.

O. "Vehicle" means any automobile, truck, trailer or other conveyance requiring a license to operate by the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

(Ord. 82-72 § 1(part), 1982)

A. Public Eating Place. It is unlawful to operate or permit to be operated any public eating place or food handling place without an unrevoked permit, issued in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

B. It is unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to lease, install or operate any vending machine device vending perishable foods or drinks without an unrevoked permit, issued in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. Machines dispensing cigars, cigarettes or packages of nonperishable food products are not required to have permits.

(Ord. 82-72 § 1(part), 1982)

It shall be the duty of the operator or owner of all public eating places and food handling places to report as soon as possible to the health officer any illness of a communicable nature of any employee of the establishment.

(Ord. 82-72 § 1(part), 1982)

A. It is unlawful for any person to prepare, dispense or serve food or drink in any public eating place in which any eating or drinking utensils used in such public eating place are not cleaned, washed and sterilized in a manner satisfactory to the health officer.

B. Every public eating establishment shall be equipped with a three-compartment metal sink with metal drain boards on each side, except where single-service eating and drinking utensils are used exclusively. Every food handling establishment shall be equipped with a minimum of one metal sink. All sinks shall be supplied with hot and cold running water under pressure unless otherwise approved by the health officer.

(Ord. 82-72 § 1(part), 1982)

A. Permits. It is unlawful for any hawker to sell food unless he shall have attached to any vehicle, box or container used by him an unrevoked permit card issued in accordance with the provisions of this code.

B. Care of Food. All food handled shall be kept free from dust, flies or other contaminating influence and the vehicle, box or container from which food is sold shall be maintained in a clean and sanitary condition. All food shall be delivered to the buyer in or upon paper containers or other material approved by the health officer unless such article is sold in an original container.

C. Display of Goods. A hawker shall have all wares for sale displayed upon or in the vehicle, box or container used by him to carry his wares.

D. Compliance with Sections 8.12.010 and 8.12.100. Hawkers who sell or dispense food from a vehicle or mobile unit as defined in Section 8.12.010 shall comply with the requirements of Section 8.12.100 if they remain at the same location for more than thirty minutes.

E. Removal of Sale Vehicle From Place of Selling. A hawker, during the nighttime hours between sunset and sunrise, shall not permit any vehicle, box or container from which food is sold to remain at the location from which the sales were made.

F. Processing of Food in Vehicles Prohibited. The processing or preparation of food for human consumption in any vehicle or other mobile unit is prohibited. This provision shall not apply to vehicles used as itinerant food concessions at fairs, circuses, carnivals or other similar type of celebrations which have been approved by the city council, and nonprofit organized recreational events where the vehicle or mobile unit is used for participants and spectators.

(Ord. 82-72 § 1(part), 1982)

Every meat market in which meat for human consumption is preserved, cured, canned or otherwise prepared or sold shall be so constructed and maintained as to prevent any insects, vermin or rodents from entering therein. Every such establishment shall be kept at all times in a clean sanitary condition. The refrigerators shall be kept at forty-five degrees Fahrenheit or below. Each walk-in box or refrigerator shall be equipped with a thermometer. All meat or meat products cured or otherwise shall at all times be kept under refrigeration. Refrigerators or walk-in boxes wherein fresh meats are stored shall be kept clean and no decomposed or decaying matter shall be allowed to remain therein. All hooks, receptacles, containers and implements used for holding or preparing fresh meat shall be kept clean and in good repair. All tables, blocks, counters, shelves, etc., used in the preparation and handling of meats shall be constructed of a material which is smooth, washable and nonabsorbent and shall be kept clean and free of cracks or crevices. Every meat market shall be equipped with a sink or sinks with hot and cold running water under pressure.

(Ord. 82-72 § 1(part), 1982)

All fruits and vegetables shall be stored at least eighteen inches off the floor. No person shall keep or maintain any market or other place in which fruit or vegetables are sold or kept for sale unless the floor is of an impervious material and shall at all times be kept clean.

(Ord. 82-72 § 1(part), 1982)

A. Each vending machine shall have attached a decal or tag furnished by the owner or lessor attached to the device showing the number of the machine. All machines shall be kept clean and all parts that come in contact with food or beverages shall be cleaned and sanitized in a manner approved by the health officer. All machines shall be protected from wind, rain and dust and other conditions which would constitute a public health hazard.

B. The owners or corporation servicing these machines shall provide a service man or other personnel to accompany the health officer or sanitarian at any time inspections are being made of equipment by the health department. The owner or corporation shall furnish the health department with a list and location of all machines in use and shall attach to each machine a sticker or check sheet approved by the health officer showing date, time, condition and work done at time the machine was last serviced.

(Ord. 82-72 § 1(part), 1982)

No owner or operator of any food establishment shall provide or use on the floor, any sawdust, wood shavings, hulls or similar material except that meat markets may use an approved type sawdust or wood shavings on the floor in a cooler or in other meat processing areas.

(Ord. 82-72 § 1(part), 1982)

At least one toilet and one lavatory with soap and individual towels shall be provided by the owner or operator of each food handling place for the use of employees, operator and owner which shall be adjacent to, in connection with and convenient to such food handling place and maintained by the owner and operator thereof.

A. Exemption. Provided, however, the provisions of this section shall not apply to any food handling place where food is sold or delivered to the buyer or receiver in an original container, and is not at any time removed from such container, or exposed to the air or to possible contamination, nor to any food handling place which transports food along a fixed route, making periodic stops of short duration for the purpose of dispensing the food to buyers.

(Ord. 82-72 § 1(part), 1982)

Every public eating place and food handling place shall at all times meet the requirements of the Food Sanitation Act of the State of California as well as all other applicable ordinances, statutes, rules and regulations.

(Ord. 82-72 § 1(part), 1982)

All persons claiming to be hawkers, but vending food or food products from a fixed location, shall comply with all the laws and ordinances pertaining to food handling places or public eating places.

(Ord. 82-72 § 1(part), 1982)

All readily perishable food shall be refrigerated at or below fifty degrees Fahrenheit.

(Ord. 82-72 § 1(part), 1982)

All equipment for use in the cleansing and the bactericidal treatment of food service utensils and in the preparation, storing and handling, serving or vending of food or drink shall be of the type approved by the health officer.

(Ord. 82-72 § 1(part), 1982)

A. At least once every six months the health officer shall inspect and grade the sanitary condition in every public eating place located within the unincorporated area of the city. Such grading shall be done on the standard grading form for public eating places used by the health department.

B. Posting of Inspection Grading. One copy of the inspection grading form shall be posted by the health officer upon an inside wall or other conspicuous place within the public eating place, and the grading form shall not be defaced or removed by any person except the health officer. Another copy of the grading form shall be filed with the record of the health department.

(Ord. 82-72 § 1(part), 1982)

It is unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to sell, barter or exchange, for human consumption, any beef, veal, mutton or pork without having such beef, veal, mutton or pork first inspected by the State Meat Inspector or an inspector authorized by the Director of Agriculture of the State of California, as defined by Chapter 732 of the 1921 Statutes of the State of California, and bearing the stamp upon such beef, veal, mutton or pork the words "California, inspected and passed," or inspected by the United States Inspector and bearing the stamp "U.S. inspected and passed."

(Ord. 82-72 § 1(part), 1982)

Any person, firm, association or corporation violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not exceeding three hundred dollars or by imprisonment in the city jail not exceeding three months, or by both such fine or imprisonment. Each separate day or any portion thereof during which any violation occurs or continues shall constitute a separate offense and upon conviction thereof shall be punishable as herein provided.

(Ord. 82-72 § 1(part), 1982)