Food safety resources for businesses
Educational resources to help restaurants prevent food-borne illnesses.
Cooking safely
Cooking and pooling of eggs
Contaminated eggs can carry Salmonella enteritidis and can cause the elderly, small children and those with immune-compromised systems to get sick when consuming raw or undercooked eggs.
Safe food handling practices for food establishments
These procedures will help prevent mishandling and contamination of food, and will reduce the risk of foodborne illness at your establishment.
Food code updates
Updates to the Washington State Retail Food Code
The Washington State Retail Food Code was updated on March 1, 2023. To help restaurants and businesses adapt, we’ve created a series of factsheets to help explain the changes.
Food labeling
Labeling raw and undercooked foods
Certain risky foods, often considered delicacies, are traditionally served raw or undercooked, such as Caesar salad dressing, oysters on the half shell, steak tartare, sunny-side-up eggs, medium rare hamburgers and sashimi. There are public health risks associated with eating these foods, including Salmonella, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, Vibrio and other bacterial and viral diseases.
Menu labeling requirements (external site)
Information from the U.S. Dept. of Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Prohibited substances
CBDs (cannabidiol) in food and beverages
In King County, the addition of CBD to food and beverages is prohibited until further guidance and approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Washington State Department of Agriculture, and Washington Department of Health.
Trans fat ban requirements
Learn about the requirements to eliminate artificial trans fat for King County food businesses.
Preparing for emergencies
Protecting foods from power failures (PDF, 571 KB)
When the power goes out, it’s important to consider food safety. Different kinds of food require different safeguards.
- የኃይል መቋረጥ ሲከሰት ምን ማድረግ ያስፈልጋል (አማርኛ / Amharic, 603 KB)
- 发生停电时需要做什么 (简体中文 / Chinese, Simplified, 869 KB)
- 發生停電時需要做什麼 (中文 / Chinese, Traditional, 729 KB)
- 정전 시 해야 할 일 (한국어 / Korean, 641 KB)
- Waxa la sameeyo dhacdada dabka tago (Af Soomaali / Somali, 658 KB)
- Qué hacer en caso de corte de luz (Español / Spanish, 565 KB)
- Cần làm gì trong trường hợp bị mất điện (Tiếng Việt / Vietnamese, 657 KB)
Boil water order
If you are in an area with a boil water order in place, it means that recent tests show that your water system is contaminated with organisms that can cause illness. Boiling is the best way to ensure water is free of illness-causing organisms.
Food-borne disease facts
Many food-borne diseases are reportable conditions in King County. Learn about the disease and how to protect yourself.