In 2024, when applying for a health certificate, hepatitis B surface antigen will no longer be used as an examination item. This means that hepatitis B virus carriers can apply for the health certificate of catering industry normally. This change is based on the "Regulations on the Implementation of the Food Safety Law", which explicitly cancels the requirement that chefs, restaurant waiters and other catering industry employees must carry out hepatitis B project testing before taking up their posts. Therefore, the physical examination items of health certificate will not include the detection of hepatitis B surface antigen, but focus on the evaluation of other health conditions, such as general examination (nutrition, development, blood pressure, height, weight, etc. ), chest X-ray, medical and surgical examination, necessary laboratory tests (liver function, hepatitis A antibody, hepatitis E antibody, stool culture, etc. ). This adjustment will help to eliminate employment discrimination against HBV carriers and ensure public health and safety.
Health certificate application conditions:
1. Submit the applicant's own identity certificate for identity verification;
2. Provide two recent bareheaded one-inch color photos, one for physical examination, and one for pasting when receiving the health certificate;
3. Fill in the physical examination form with complete personal basic information;
4. Carry out preventive health examination through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or health institutions approved by the Ministry of Health;
5. Citizens can apply without providing business license or professional certificate, and there is no distinction between local accounts and foreign accounts.
To sum up, from 2024 onwards, hepatitis B surface antigen will no longer be checked when handling health certificates, which means that hepatitis B virus carriers can normally handle health certificates in the catering industry. According to the "Regulations on the Implementation of the Food Safety Law", the requirements for hepatitis B project testing for employees in the catering industry were cancelled. The physical examination project of health certificate will focus on evaluating other health conditions in order to eliminate employment discrimination against HBV carriers and ensure public health and safety. The conditions for applying for a health certificate include identity verification, providing photos, filling in a complete physical examination form, and conducting preventive health examination through a health institution. No business license or professional certificate is required, and citizens can apply, regardless of household registration.
Legal basis:
People's Republic of China (PRC) Food Safety Law
Article 45
Food producers and business operators shall establish and implement the health management system for employees. Persons suffering from diseases that hinder food safety as stipulated by the administrative department of health of the State Council shall not engage in direct contact with imported food. Food production and marketing personnel engaged in direct contact with imported food shall undergo annual health examination and obtain health certificates before taking up their posts.
Regulations on health management in public places
Article 7
Personnel who directly serve customers in public places can only engage in their own work with the Health Certificate. Persons suffering from dysentery, typhoid fever, viral hepatitis, active tuberculosis, purulent or exudative skin diseases and other diseases that hinder public health shall not engage in direct customer service before they are cured.