Environmental Health

The Food and Drug Safety Program regulates food, drug, and cosmetic safety and provides information to consumers and the regulated industry. Major activities include:

• License and inspect wholesale food, milk, and shellfish establishments
• Enforce food safety laws
• Provide consumer information
• Issue Public Health Advisories
• Assist in the investigation of foodborne outbreaks
• Issue export certificates
• Register wholesalers and manufacturers of prescription/non-prescription drugs, medical devices, and medical gases

Recently the Department has received numerous inquiries from local health authorities and wedding venue operators regarding the limits for indoor gatherings, specifically as applied to wedding ceremonies and wedding receptions. 

For clarification, the Department is sharing the following interpretations of Executive Order (EO) 196, 11-16-2020.

Paragraph 1. of EO 196 rescinds paragraph 4 of EO 183 and limits indoor gatherings that are not religious services or celebrations, political activities, wedding ceremonies, funerals, or memorial services to 10 persons. Indoor gatherings that are religious services or celebrations, political activities, wedding ceremonies, funerals, or memorial services are limited to 25% of the maximum room capacity but shall not exceed 150 persons.  

Therefore, all venues hosting wedding ceremonies and wedding receptions must adhere to the following requirements:

• Indoor wedding ceremonies are limited to 150 persons or 25% of the room capacity of the venue, whichever is less.
• Indoor wedding receptions are limited to 10 persons.
• If the wedding ceremony and reception are held in the same venue, the ceremony is limited to 150 persons or 25% of the room capacity; and the reception is limited to 10 persons.
• If the venue hosts multiple simultaneous indoor wedding receptions, each individual reception may not exceed 10 persons; and the total number of persons of all receptions may not exceed 25% of the maximum capacity of the venue.
• Wedding receptions held in retail food establishments (restaurants) are limited to 10 persons.
• In addition to the above gatherings limits, all venues must follow the most current Indoor Dining guidance as specified under the Department’s Executive Directive  (ED) 20-030.

If you have any further questions, please contact the Public Health and Food Protection Program at William.Manley@doh.nj.gov or Loel.Muetter@doh.nj.gov

The NJDOH has recently been advised by the NJ Department of Community Affairs (DCA) that NJ’s Uniform Construction Code (UCC) requires that a permit be acquired from the local code enforcement official(s) whenever tents are used after November 30^th of each year.  The permit is required so that code enforcement officials can evaluate the tent(s) for structural stability when encountering stress from wind, rain, and snow.

Therefore, as of December 1, 2020, retail food establishment operators, seeking to use tents, plastic domes or igloos to continue offering outdoor dining, may be required to obtain a permit from the local code enforcement official(s).

For further guidance, see the following webpage: Department of Community Affairs COVID-19 Information and DCA news release for Outdoor Dining

On April 9, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued information and best practices for retail food stores, restaurants, and pick-up and delivery services during the pandemic to protect workers and customers.

The first is a factsheet on Best Practices for Retail Food Stores, Restaurants, and Food Pick-Up and Delivery Services During the COVID 19 Pandemic. This information addresses key considerations for how foods offered at retail can be prepared safely and delivered to the public, as well as key best practices for employee health and personal hygiene, cleaning and sanitizing.  

The companion to the factsheet is a summary infographic that offers at-a-glance information on how to: Be Healthy, Be Clean; Clean & Disinfect; Social Distance and Pick-Up & Delivery.

Many of the above noted FDA Best Practices are now mandatory in New Jersey under Governor Murphy’s Executive Order #122.

A business that meets the definition of a “qualified facility” is subject to modified requirements of the preventive controls rules. These modified requirements can be met by submitting a form to FDA, attesting to the business’s status as a qualified facility and attesting that the facility is implementing preventive controls to address hazards associated with its food or is in compliance with non-Federal food safety laws and regulations. Starting October 1, 2018, facilities will be able to submit the qualified facility attestation forms electronically at https://www.access.fda.gov/ via the Qualified Facility Attestation Module. Please note that facilities must have a valid food facility registration to submit their attestation. Visit the FDA website for additional information.