What must the person in charge do when a food handler has been diagnosed with a disease caused by enterohemorrhagic and Shiga toxin?

Revised 1/2019

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Person in Charge (PIC) responsibilities:
Employee responsibilities
Report customer illness complaints

MDH Foodborne Illness Hotline: 1-877-FOOD-ILL (1-877-366-3455)

Person in Charge (PIC) responsibilities:

The PIC must exclude all ill employees from the establishment while they have:

Employees with diarrhea or vomiting cannot return to work for at least 24 hours after symptoms end.

Record all employee reports of diarrhea and vomiting including onset date in an Employee Illness Log.

The PIC must notify your local health department or MDH of any employee diagnosed with any of these illnesses:

Norovirus
Salmonella
Shigella
Hepatitis A virus
Shiga toxin-producing E. coli
Infection with another bacterial, viral or parasitic pathogen

Exclusions and restrictions may apply if an employee has been diagnosed with any of the illness listed above.

Employee responsibilities

Some illnesses can be transmitted through food from employees to customers. Therefore, employees cannot work if they have:

Employees with diarrhea or vomiting cannot return to work for at least 24 hours after symptoms end.

Employees must report to the PIC if they have any of the following symptoms:

Diarrhea
Vomiting
Jaundice (yellowing of skin or whites of eyes)
Sore throat with fever
Open, infected wound

Employees must report to the PIC if they have any of the following infections:

Norovirus
Salmonella
Shigella
Hepatitis A virus
Shiga toxin–producing E. coli
Infection with another enteric bacteria, viral or parasitic pathogen

Employees must report to the PIC if they have been exposed to, or are a suspected source of a disease outbreak in the last 30 days.

Report customer illness complaints

The PIC is required to notify your local health department or MDH of complaints from a customer who:

Reports becoming ill with diarrhea or vomiting after eating at the establishment.
OR
Reports having or is suspected of having norovirus, hepatitis A virus, Salmonella, Shigella, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, or another enteric bacterial, viral or parasitic pathogen after eating at the establishment.

Customer complaints may also be reported directly to the MDH Foodborne Illness Hotline: 1-877-FOOD-ILL (1-877-366-3455) or fill out the online Minnesota Foodborne & Waterborne Illness Report.