The Vineland Health Department will be awarding 42 retail food establishments that have received a 2019 Vineland Five Star Award. The recipients will be recognized at the upcoming Vineland City Council meeting on March 25, at 6:30 p.m.

This is the 27th year that the Vineland Health Department has recognized retail food establishments that go above and beyond in food safety through this specially created Five Star Award Program.

This is not an easy accomplishment to achieve and each recipient should be highly commended for their efforts in food safety. A complete list of the retail food establishments receiving the awards will be available after the ceremony.

Vineland’s Five Star Award is recognition of those food establishments that go beyond minimal code requirements and exhibit exceptional efforts in sanitation and food safety techniques. We believe it is important to publicly thank those outstanding facilities for their hard work.

Who is eligible for the award? The criteria are as follows:

1. The facility must have received only “Satisfactory” ratings during the past year. The facility must excel in those areas of food safety practices that have proven to directly reduce the occurrence of foodborne illnesses such as in cooking, cooling, reheating, and personal hygiene.

2. No confirmed foodborne illness has occurred at your establishment during the past year.

3. At least one extra manager or employee must be a currently “certified foodhandler” by the

Vineland Health Department or a similar agency. Vineland certifications are good for three years. All risk type 3 establishments are now required to have one Person-in-Charge certified by a Nationally recognized course. All risk type 2 establishments are required to have one Person-in-charge certified by a 6-hour food safety course.

4. An extra effort must be made towards food safety. Records must be available to document these efforts.

Note: The Health Dept. Inspector will nominate your establishment if you qualify.