Section 456 Public Food Service Establishments

The following general requirements and standards shall be met by all food service establishments:

Except as specifically provided in this section, standards for water, plumbing and waste shall be governed by Chapter 5, Food Code, herein adopted by reference.

Grease interceptors shall be designed and installed in accordance with the Florida Building Code, Plumbing.

Food service establishment shall be provided with adequate and conveniently located bathroom facilities for its employees and guests in accordance with provisions of the Florida Building Code, Plumbing. Public access to toilet facilities shall not be permitted through food preparation, storage, or ware washing areas. Bathroom fixtures shall be of readily cleanable sanitary design.

Public bathrooms shall be completely enclosed and shall have tight-fitting, self-closing doors or, in public lodging establishments or bathrooms located outside a public food service, have entrances and exits constructed in such a manner as to ensure privacy of occupants.

Effective control measures shall be taken to protect against the entrance into the establishment, and the breeding or presence on the premises of rodents, flies, roaches and other vermin. All buildings shall be effectively rodentproofed. All windows used for ventilation must be screened, except when effective means of vermin control are used. Screening material shall not be less than 16 mesh to the inch or equivalent, tightfitting and free of breaks.

All fire safety, protection and prevention equipment must be installed, approved, maintained and used in accordance with Chapter 509, Florida Statutes, Chapter 69A-55, Uniform Fire Safety Standards for Public Food Service Establishments, Florida Administrative Codes and the Florida Fire Prevention Code as adopted by the State Fire Marshal.

To prevent fire or injury, defective electrical wiring shall be replaced and wiring shall be kept in good repair. Only a wall switch or approved pull cord shall be permitted in bathrooms. Electrical wiring shall be in accordance with the provisions of Florida Building Code, Building, Chapter 27.

All appliances, including water heaters using gas, shall be properly vented in accordance with the Florida Building Code, Fuel Gas. All appliances shall have a nationally recognized testing laboratory seal such as AGA or UL seal.

Heating appliances shall be properly sized in Btu input for room air space. Proper sizing of heating appliances shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of the Florida Building Code, Fuel Gas.

All bathrooms shall be of easy and convenient access to both patrons and employees and shall be located on the same floor of the premises served. For the purpose of this section, the same floor includes any intermediate levels between the floor and ceiling of any room or space not to exceed a vertical height of 8 feet (2438 mm). Public food service establishments whose occupancy is incidental to another occupancy may utilize public restrooms provided on the same floor. The travel distance may vary where adequate directional signs are provided and the number of fixtures is deemed satisfactory by the applicable plumbing authority. Each public food service establishment shall maintain a minimum of one public bathroom for each sex, properly designated, except as provided herein:

Places serving food or drink on a take-out, carry-out or delivery basis only which provide no seating shall be required to provide a minimum of one bathroom accessible to the public.

Arcades, malls, or flea markets containing public food service establishments which offer no seating within the public food service establishment may have centrally located bathroom facilities accessible to patrons of the establishments in the arcade, mall, or flea market provided such bathroom facilities are within 300 feet (91 440 mm) of each establishment.

Public food service establishments located within theme parks and entertainment complexes may utilize centrally located bathroom facilities accessible to patrons of the establishments in the theme park or entertainment complex provided such bathroom facilities are reasonably accessible. For purposes of this section, reasonably accessible means within 300 feet (91 440 mm) of each establishment.

Public food service establishments which seat 10 persons or less shall be required to provide a minimum of one bathroom accessible to the public.

Public food service establishments located within a public lodging establishment shall be permitted to utilize public bathrooms located within the public lodging establishment, provided such bathrooms are available for use by the patrons of the public food service establishment during all hours of operation, are within 300 feet (91 440 mm) of the public food service establishment, and are located on the same floor as the public food service establishment. For purposes of this section, the same floor includes any intermediate levels between the floor and ceiling of any room or space without restriction as to vertical height.