07/23/2025
Who's the PIC?
Please Post for All Staff to Read
Who's the PIC? It's the Person in Charge of Food Protection. This is the first question Health Department Inspectors ask when they arrive at a Licensed Food Establishment.
Local laws in the DMV (District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia) require Licensed Food Establishments (restaurants, hotels, bars, fast food, casual dining, cafeterias, convenience stores, coffee shops, food trucks, festival vendors, and more) to be under the direct control of an ANSI-ANAB Certified Food Protection Manager during all operating hours (including hours during closure if food is being prepared). Establishments open 24/7 need a Certified Food Protection Manager on duty around the clock.
While it’s preferable, it’s not required that Certified Food Protection Managers also be Management Level Staff. Given tight operating margins and increasing costs, many Food Establishments have reduced their number of Managers and rely increasingly on Supervisors and even Line Level Staff to serve as Certified Food Protection Managers.
Cuts in Federal, State and Local Budgets are impacting local Health Departments, making it even more difficult for them to effectively serve ever-increasing public health needs. Food Establishments are being required to take on greater responsibility for their own self-regulation through Active Managerial Control (AMC) and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) which both require staff training and monitoring by Certified Food Protection Managers during all operating hours.
Many operators have long considered Food Manager Certification requirements to be a “check the box” type of scenario and they sometimes don’t have enough properly certified managers to cover all their operating hours. This is fraught with risk because failure to comply with this law is a Misdemeanor and the penalty can include time in jail and a monetary penalty if warranted by the circumstances. Local Food Codes allow for immediate closure of Licensed Food Establishments which are found to be without a Certified Food Manager on Duty.
ServSafe® Professional Food Protection Manager Certification
Advance your career! Increase your earnings! Earn professional recognition!
ORS Interactive Food Safety provides public, In-Person ServSafe Exam Preparation Classes in Spanish and English and In-Person Exam Proctoring every week in our facility in Annandale. ORS also provides private food safety classes taught on-site at your location (minimum of 8 persons required) or in the ORS Training and Testing Center in Annandale.
ORS Interactive, Inc. has issued the Northern Virginia Certified Food Manager (NVCFM) Photo ID Card since 2003. To acquire or renew a Northern Virginia Certified Food Manager (NVCFM) Card, it is necessary for everyone to take an ANSI-ANAB Accredited Food Safety Certification Exam in a proctored testing environment and attain a passing score. Food safety certification exams in multiple languages are available (no reservations needed, immediate test scores provided) through ORS Interactive. The fee for a Northern Virginia Certified Food
ORS Interactive Food Safety
4206 Daniels Avenue
American Legion Post 1976
Annandale, VA 22003
