In order to operate a food establishment, at least one of your employees must have a Food Manager Certificate issued by the State of Texas OR the City of Austin. As the owner of the business, you must post the food manager certificate in a prominent location in your food establishment. 

Exceptions to this rule apply if your business is:

• A food service establishment that provides only beverages or prepackaged food that is not a potentially hazardous food.
  
• A nonprofit organization that serves food only to members of the organization.
  
• A food processing plant that is inspected at least once each week by a state or federal food sanitation inspector or that only stores prepackaged food that is not potentially hazardous.
  
• A vending machine that offers only prepackaged food, if a certified food manager is in charge at the central preparation facility that supplies the products for the vending machine.

The Food Manager Certificate can be obtained by completing the steps listed on the Texas Department of State Health Services website. The employee must pass a DSHS or ANSI-CFP approved food manager certification examination. The examination may be taken at any accredited examination provider or training program. Certification is valid for five years.

More information can be found in the City of Manor's Code of Ordinances.

If you operate a food establishment, The State of Texas requires that any employee who prepares or handles food must complete a Food Handler training course (classroom or online) accredited either through the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) or the State of Texas. This is required for every employee who is not certified as a Food Manager within 60 days of employment.

Exceptions are made for employees who are: 

• Individuals with an Intellectual Disability.
• Persons in a rehabilitation or correctional facility that work with food or food-related items as part of their rehabilitation.
  
• Persons who aid in activities of daily living (ADLs) (such as but not limited to certified nurse assistants, nurses, etc.)
• Persons who distribute pre-portioned food items in settings such as but not limited to classrooms, daycare, and similar facilities.
• Volunteers, those individuals that work with food or food related items but are not employed by the food establishment.

Accredited Food Handler Classroom training programs can be found on the Texas Department of State Health Services website. They also provide a list of accredited online training programs.