RFP 6260 - Amendment 3 - Questions and Answers.pdf

San Bernardino County Public Health Department

Date: October 15, 2026

Request for Proposal Online Food Handler

Training and Assessment

No. DPHE26-FP-6260

Amendment #3: to RFP No. DPHE26-FP-6260 Online Food Handler Training and Assessment

Issued: Wednesday, October 15, 2026

This Amendment is intended to provide additional information and/or to change the requirements in the above referenced RFP. Any information contained herein will be considered part of the RFP.

Amendment Description:

(1) The RFP Question & Answers

Question Answer

Does "American Sign" require ASL video interpretation of the entire training and assessment, or of specific components (for example instructions and login pages)?

Is an ASL-interpreted video track alongside captions acceptable?

The training, assessment, and login pages must be accessible for people who are deaf or hard of hearing according to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Should Chinese (Mandarin) content be provided in Simplified characters, Traditional characters, or both? Is narrated audio required in each listed language, or is translated text with captions acceptable?

Simplified. Audio with translated text.

Must all listed languages be available at go-live, or may some languages follow on an agreed schedule?

All listed languages must be available at Go-live.

Does the 6th-grade reading level requirement apply to translated versions and to the assessment? Is there a readability measure the County would like proposers to use?

For all translated languages, the course and assessment shall be written at no more than a 6th grade reading level.

Does the County expect a minimum seat time to be enforced, or is approximately 2.5 hours a design target?

Approximately as stated.

Does the County require an assessment and item bank developed specifically for the County, or may a proposer's existing assessment that covers the California Health and Safety Code Section 113947.2 topics be used? Will the County review or approve assessment items?

A proposer's existing assessment that covers the California Health and Safety Code Section

113947.2 topics can be used.

Must the food handler training and assessment program be ANAB-accredited (ASTM E2659)? If so, which version of the standard is required?

Yes, version ASTM E2659-09.

8 Please confirm the minimum passing score is 70 percent. Yes, the minimum passing score is 70 percent

After an unsuccessful free retake, must the customer repurchase the course at the ordinance fee? Is there a waiting period between attempts?

The County has no specific requirements regarding a waiting period. Customer will have to repurchase course.

Will the County supply the certificate design and branding? Is a physical wallet card required, or only a printable certificate?

The County will provide branding guidance. No requirements on physical wallet card.

Does the County expect specific identity verification methods for the food handler assessment (for example a photo ID check or remote proctoring), or should the proposer define its controls?

Proposer can define its controls.

Is there an existing County food facility list (facility or permit identifiers) the platform must integrate with or import? Is single sign-on required for County staff?

The County will provide a food facility list. The County requires single sign-on.

Will Food Handler Certificates issued under the current contract be migrated to the new contractor for verification? If so, in what format and volume, and by what date?

Existing certificates will be provided.

Additional details will be defined during contract negotiating process.

If more than one contractor is awarded, how will customers be directed to each contractor, and must each contractor's verification tool recognize certificates issued by the others?

If multiple contractors are awarded, customers will be directed to the contractor that provides the specific service they need. For example, one contractor may handle food-handler certification training only, while another may provide food protection manager certification training and proctoring. In that case, each contractor is responsible only for verifying certificates related to the services they provide. If a single contractor is awarded for all services, then no coordination between contractors is required.

Is the current employer's email address collected from the customer at registration, and is providing it optional for the customer?

The proposer can define these protocols for review by the County and will be finalized if awarded through contract negotiations.

Is there a required format and delivery method for the monthly operational and fiscal reports, and a due date each month? Which web traffic metrics does the County expect?

The proposer can define these protocols for review by the County and the protocols will be finalized if awarded through contract negotiations.

Does "live technical support to customers after hours" mean 24/7 live staff, or extended hours with a defined response time? In which languages must support be offered?

The proposer can define the timeframe, response time and type of live technical support that can be provided after hours for review by the County.

How many new topic-focused trainings does the County expect per year, and will they be offered to customers free or at a fee?

The proposer can define how many additional video training material it can provide.

Customers cannot be charged a fee if it is not in County ordinance.

Are digital formats acceptable in place of physical DVDs?

Given exam-security requirements, may the digital file of the exam be provided under confidentiality terms or held in escrow?

Other digital formats of training are acceptable. The proposer can define protocols for sharing the assessment.

Is the Food Safety Manager certification component mandatory or optional? Must it use an ANAB-accredited Certified Food Protection Manager exam from an approved provider? What volume and frequency of in-person group sessions does the County expect for specialized departments, and at what locations?

The Food Protection Manager Certification component is optional but strongly desired. If included, the County prefers that the certification utilize an ANAB-accredited Certified Food Protection Manager exam from an approved provider. The expected volume and frequency of in-person group sessions for specialized departments will be determined during negotiations with the selected vendor.

The County remains flexible and will consider the proposer’s recommended schedule and potential service locations as part of the overall evaluation.

Is the $22 fee inclusive of the credit card processing fees paid by the contractor? When is the County's portion due each month? For the Food Safety Manager rows in Attachment D, does the proposer set the fee?

An addendum (Amendment No. 1) revising this section was submitted on the day the RFP was released; please see the attached document on ePro. The fee will be a flat rate for the three services listed in Attachment D. There should be no credit card processing fees. Attachment D submission must specify the proposed cost for each listed service, including the portion you will retain and the portion that will be remitted to the County.

Do the ownership and copyright provisions apply to a proposer's pre-existing course content, software platform and assessment items, or only to materials created specifically for the County, with pre-existing materials licensed to the County?

All documents, data, products, graphics, computer programs and reports prepared by Contractor specifically for the County pursuant to the Contract and can be negotiated if awarded a contract.

The affidavit lists Pollution Liability and Sexual Abuse Liability, which are not listed in Section X.B. Are these coverages required, or may they be marked not applicable?

Yes, they can be marked not applicable through contract negotiations if awarded.

Should cloud hosting providers, payment processors and software service providers be listed as subcontractors requiring County approval, or only firms performing services under the contract?

Subcontractors performing services under the contract.

Will the current contractor's service continue until the new service goes live, or is a parallel period expected?

Does the 20-business-day implementation period begin July 1, 2027?

Services are expected to begin on 7/1/2027.

Will the November 9-13 presentation be held in person or virtually, and how much time will each proposer have?

Presentations will be held virtually for a total of 45 minutes. 30 minutes to present your demo and 15 minutes for Questions and Answers.

Please clarify the distinction between "Food Safety Manager" and "Food Safety Manager Proctor" as used in items W. and Y. Specifically: For "Food Safety Manager" fees: are these the fees the provider would charge to conduct in-person training and exam proctoring on the county's behalf, or are they the fees that apply if the county conducts its own training and proctoring? For "Food Safety Manager Proctor" fees: are these the fees the provider would charge to conduct proctoring services only for the county, or are they the fees that apply if the county conducts its own proctoring?

We uploaded an Addendum (Amendment No.

2) to correct the naming and help clarify the distinctions.

Item W. and Y. (page 10): Additionally, how frequently does the county want (a) in-person Food Manager training with exam proctoring, and/or (b) exam proctoring only, to be offered?

The County will determine the frequency of (a) in-person Food Manager training with exam proctoring and (b) exam-only proctoring sessions during negotiations with the selected vendor(s). The County remains flexible and will consider the proposer’s recommended scheduling approach as part of the evaluation and contracting process.

Can we use San Bernardino County DPH as a referral since we are current partners?

Yes, in regards to submitting a proposal to this

RFP.

Mandrin Chinese is a spoken language; for written text on screen in the course, is Simplified Chinese acceptable?

Yes, it is acceptable.

Does the county have detailed guidance for the ASL support requirement relative to login and navigation?

The training, assessment, and login pages must be accessible for people who are deaf or hard of hearing according to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

For ASL "translation" of course material, is the requirement to offer ASL video alongside closed captioning?

The training, assessment, and login pages must be accessible for people who are deaf or hard of hearing according to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Does the County require full ASL video translation of course content as well as assessment content? Would ADA-compliant captions and transcripts satisfy the requirement?

The training, assessment, and login pages must be accessible for people who are deaf or hard of hearing according to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Would sending reminders directly to the certificate holders be acceptable?

The proposer can define these protocols in their proposal & contract if awarded for review by the County.

For the requirement related to video training material and vignettes specific to camps, youth sporting event snack bars, charitable feeding organizations, would material developed specifically for food banks suffice?

The proposer can define these protocols in their proposal & contract if awarded for review by the County.

The RFP requires a platform that allows the County and food facility operators to identify, update, and verify food handler card status and the applicable food facility. Our system allows for anyone to lookup, identify, and verify certificates online, but certificate updates are generally handled through Customer Care by the certificate holders to protect workers and their valid certificate data. Would this functionality satisfy the County requirement?

The proposer can define these protocols in their proposal & contract if awarded for review by the County.

Is the $22 fee to be charged inclusive of all taxes and transaction fees? Can training providers propose alternate food-handler pricing? Given the need to handle potential refunds and disputed transactions, what is the acceptable cadence of remittance payments to the County (e.g. monthly)?

An addendum revising this section was submitted on the day the RFP was released;

please see the attached document on ePro.

The fee will be a flat rate for the three services listed in Attachment D. There should be no credit card processing fees. Attachment D submission must specify the proposed cost for each listed service, including the portion you will retain and the portion that will be remitted to the County. Acceptable cadence of remittance payments to the county can be discussed upon contract negotiations if awarded.

The RFP requires reporting or database access covering web traffic, customer location, record searches, and successful training completions by date range. What is meant by web traffic tracking reporting?

Reports that include number of visitors to URL/websites that provide any type of service for the County under this contract. The proposer can define further metrics it can provide for the County to review.

The RFP calls for ten copies of the training program on DVD. Would providing 10 complimentary online courses and exams meet the requirement to review the online course and exam?

Other digital formats of training that do not expire are acceptable. The proposer can further define these protocols for review by the County.

Please clarify the difference between "technical support" during business hours and "live technical support" after business hours.

“Technical” and “Live technical support” refers to a person being available to customers via phone, email, or online. The proposer can define the timeframe, response time and type of live technical support that can be provided after hours for review by the County.