How do I become a Certified Food Protection Manager in California?

If you're trying to earn your food manager certification in California, you can easily complete your requirements with Learn2Serve by 360training. Our Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM) exam is ANSI-accredited, and our food safety manager course is designed to help you learn what you need to know to ace the test. Get started today!

What are the California food safety regulations?

Under CA Health & Safety Code §113947, the state of California requires at least one food safety certified owner or employee at each food facility that prepares, handles, or serves non-prepackaged and potentially hazardous food. Temporary food facilities are exempt.

To earn food safety certification, California requires the owner or employee to pass an exam from an ANSI-accredited food protection manager certification program like Learn2Serve by 360training.

A food safety training course isn't specifically required, but we recommend it to ensure you pass your exam. Once you pass the exam, the food manager certification program will issue a certificate. The CFPM's certificate needs to be on file at the food facility at all times.

The Certified Food Protection Manager themselves does not need to be present during all hours of operation. If a facility is new or loses their CFPM, they have 60 days to get back into compliance.

How long is the food manager certification good for? 

California food manager certification is valid for five years. Once the five years is up, to renew your certification, you must re-take the Certified Food Protection Manager exam.  

Can you take the California food manager exam online? 

Yes, your exam will be administered through our online proctor service. The Learn2Serve Food Protection Manager Certification Exam is accredited by the American National Standards Institute and the Conference for Food Protection (ANSI-CFP).

Learn more about the policies and procedures required to successfully complete our online proctored exam.

Who should get their food manager certification? 

California only says that it should be the owner or "an employee." In practice, the "employee" is usually upper management and/or a head chef. 

Even though one individual meets the legal requirement, many restaurants and other foodservice establishments require all their managers and chefs above a certain level to earn certification as a condition of employment.  

What does a food manager do and how can they improve food safety? 

Foodservice managers have many responsibilities, from human resources and team management to customer service to operations. 

Their food safety obligations are also broad. Food managers need to: 

• Understand all food safety regulations and make certain their establishment can ace an inspection 
• Ensure all employees earn a food handler card and keep the training documentation in order 
• Establish, maintain, and enforce food safety procedures, protocols, and policies 
• Confirm that all food vendors and deliveries meet safety standards  
• And more 

Due to the high level of accountability, food managers earn a significantly higher salary than servers and other food employees. According to wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, here is the average amount of money you can expect to make in senior management positions in the California foodservice industry:  

Job Title	Average Hourly Wage	Average Yearly Wage
Food Service Manager	$27.84	$57,920
Chef	$24.71	$51,400

California-approved food safety manager certification is an important qualification for getting one of these jobs. 

Why are food managers in California required to get ANSI certification?  

Foodborne illness is a hazard that every state should take seriously, including California. According to data from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, over a 10-year period (2003-2012), there were a total of 1303 foodborne illness outbreaks. And the two most common pathogens found were Norovirus and Salmonella—both preventable with the right food safety protocols in place. 

Given the food manager's extensive food safety responsibilities and their oversight of food safety compliance, they're often best-positioned to prevent foodborne illness outbreaks in their establishment. To ensure they're qualified to do this, they must demonstrate their knowledge by earning accredited food safety manager certification. 

ANSI-accredited certification programs meet the highest standards in food safety, proven by the fact that the ANSI CFPM program has been endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).