Food Manager Knowledge
Under the Michigan Food Law of 2000, retail food establishments are required to have a person in charge during all hours of operation.

Demonstration of Knowledge
The Food Code requires a person in charge to demonstrate knowledge of:

1. Foodborne disease prevention,
2. Application of HACCP principles, and
3. The requirements of the Food Code.

Three Ways to Demonstrate Knowledge
The most important way a person in charge may demonstrate the required level of knowledge is by compliance with the Food Code. That is, if during a routine inspection the inspector finds no critical violations, the requirement for manager knowledge is met.

Another way to demonstrate knowledge is by being a certified food protection manager. To become certified, the person in charge must have taken an accredited manager certification course that includes passing a test.

The third way to demonstrate manager knowledge is by correctly responding to an inspector's questions about the food operation. This does not mean an inspector will be going down a list or "quizzing" the person in charge. However, during the course of a routine inspection, the safe food practices and procedures used by the establishment will be discussed between the person in charge and the inspector. The person in charge should be able to show a working knowledge of those areas of the Food Code specific to the practices in place.

Does Each Person in Charge Need to Know Everything in the Food Code?
The level of knowledge required of the person in charge depends on the scope of food operations taking place within the establishment. For example, a night manager at a convenience store does not need to demonstrate knowledge of cooking times and temperatures in the Food Code if the store doesn’t perform any cooking of food. However, the person in charge at a large restaurant may need to know most of the requirements found in the Food Code.

• Download this document as a PDF.
  
  
• See part 2-1 of the Food Code for a complete description of the requirements of the person in charge.
  
  
• Note: This document is for educational purposes only and should not be considered a replacement to reading the Food Code and Michigan Food Law of 2000. Food safety information and additional copies of this and other fact sheets are available from the Michigan Department of Agriculture’s food safety web pages, www.michigan.gov/foodsafety.