Oregon Handwashing Sink Regulations

Oregon’s handwashing sink regulations help keep employees and the public safe. While most of the regulations are modeled on national standards, Oregon has a few state-specific rules you may not find anywhere else.

Here’s everything you need to know about Oregon’s regulations and how a portable sink can help your business.

Handwashing Sink Regulations for Retail Food Establishments in Oregon

Retail food establishments are overseen by the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), and the handwashing sink regulations are outlined in Oregon’s Administrative Rules (OAR), Chapter 333,  Division 150, Food Sanitation Rule. Everything within the Code is adopted from the 2009 version of the FDA Food Code. 

Unlike many state handwashing guidelines, Oregon has some detailed and specific information about what food service employees must do to keep their hands clean at all times. 

For example, the Code specifically states that employees are allowed to use clean paper towels to operate faucet handles or doors to ensure they don’t contaminate their hands after washing them. Oregon also requires food handlers to “double-handwash” in certain situations, including after using the bathroom or coming into contact with human waste. Specifically, they must wash their hands at two different handwashing sinks: one in the bathroom and one in the food prep area. The one exception is when only one handwashing sink is legally required in the business.

Beyond these requirements, food establishments in Oregon must have handwashing sinks that:

• Are only for hands, not food prep or clean up
• Have enough hot and cold water under pressure to serve every handwashing sink during peak usage.
• Provide hot water that’s at least 100 degrees Fahrenheit and comes through a mixing valve or combination faucet.
• Have water that flows for at least 15 seconds if it comes through an automatic faucet
• At a minimum, have one handwashing sink on site. However, businesses may be required to supply more than one handwashing sink to ensure there are enough conveniently located sinks on site for employees to use.

Each handwashing sink or group of two handwashing sinks must supply:

• Hand cleaner: liquid, bar, or powder soap
• A method for drying hands: continuous towel, paper towels, heated air dryer, or air-knife system
• Signs that remind employees to wash their hands before returning to work
• A waste basket, if using paper towels

Does Oregon Allow Food Service Establishments to Use Portable Sinks?

Yes! As outlined in the administrative code OAR 333-150-0000 section 5-203.11(C), portable sinks are acceptable for mobile and temporary food establishments without a permanent water supply and any time there’s an interruption in the water supply. When using a portable sink in place of a traditional sink, it must have:

• At least one closed container with a minimum of five gallons of potable water for hand washing
• A spigot or faucet that can remain open, meaning the water doesn’t stop flowing
• Soap
• Paper towels
• A waste water container that can hold at least five gallons

Though not required, Oregon also strongly recommends that food service establishments choose a sink that’s NSF-certified.

Portable Sink Use for Outdoor Cooking

Some retail food establishments in Oregon also have outdoor kitchens and cooking facilities. This is only allowed when the food prep happens on the premises of the licensed establishment. 

Any food service establishment with outdoor cooking must supply the kitchen staff with a handwashing sink. If the outdoor cooking area is permanent, the handwashing sink must be plumbed and located either in the cooking area or nearby. However, temporary outdoor cooking can use a portable handwashing system that meets the Code’s requirements.

Portable Sink Use for Oregon Mobile Food Units

Oregon mobile food units are anything that is self-propelled (motorized) or that can be pulled or pushed down “a sidewalk, street, highway, or waterway.” Every unit is classified based on what it serves, but any class II, III, or IV unit must have a handwashing sink.

As of 2018, the handwashing sink has to be integrated into the food unit, though older units had until 2023 to comply. Temporary or gravity handwashing stations are no longer allowed, and you cannot use a non-commercial sink, like a unit from a camping company. The integrated handwashing sink must:

• Provide a pump that pressurizes the water to at least 20 psi
• Uses hand or wrist-activated faucets. Foot pump systems are not allowed
• Have hot and cold running water with at least five gallons of water dedicated to handwashing
• Have a waste water tank that’s at least 15% larger than the fresh water tank

Farmers Market Handwashing Sink Guidelines

Farmer’s markets are overseen by the Oregon Department of Agriculture, Food Safety Division.

Any vendor at a farmer’s market must have a handwashing sink if they’re giving out samples or handling unwrapped food products outside of produce and nuts still in the shell. Employees are not allowed to use hand sanitizer in place of handwashing, and while they are allowed to wear gloves, they must wash their hands before putting the gloves on.

Though gravity-fed handwashing stations are acceptable at a farmer’s market, the valve that dispenses water must stay open on its own.

Daycare Handwashing Sink Regulations

The Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care oversees and enforces the handwashing sink regulations for licensed daycare facilities in the state. In addition to posting the handwashing rules at every sink, daycare facilities must have handwashing sinks that:

• Are in every care room and on the same floor where care is provided
• Located in the diaper change area with heated, running water
• Provide pressurized hot and cold running water.
• Have one handwashing sink for every two toilets. Food service sinks do not count toward this ratio.
• Are child height or have a safe platform for children to stand on
• Have liquid soap and paper towels for children’s sinks. Any other hand drying methods must be approved by the local authorities.

Oregon updated some of the rules in 2001. For example, all facilities now must use a mixing faucet. However, any facility that was licensed before July 15, 2001, is not required to retrofit its handwashing sink faucets unless they are remodeling.

Daycare facilities can use portable sinks in place of traditionally plumbed sinks when it’s approved by the local health department. Generally, this is used when traditional plumbing isn’t available, like on the playground.

Oregon Handwashing Sink Regulations for Body Artists and Electrologists

The Oregon Administrative Rules delegates oversight of electrologists and body art practitioners under Chapter 331 to the Board of Electrologists and Body Art Practitioners, which is part of the OHA.

Handwashing sink regulations for tattoo artists, electrologists, and body artists (including ear piercers) are the same. Each of these individuals must have easy access to a handwashing sink with hot and cold running water. This sink must be on the premises and not in a restroom. It can also be a portable sink.

Portable Sinks Allowed

Unlike many states, Oregon specifically calls out portable sinks as a code-compliant alternative to traditionally plumbed sinks, giving you the freedom and flexibility you need to provide handwashing sinks wherever you need them. Ozark River Manufacturing’s portable sink solutions are ready to go right out of the box. Simply plug it in, fill the tanks, and you’ve got code-compliant handwashing stations without an expensive or messy retrofit.

Many of our sinks come with wrist-activated faucets, are NSF-certified, and come in an array of colors and styles. We’ve also got child-height sinks, a diaper change station with an integrated sink, and a ton of accessories that make hand washing fun. Our solutions are perfect for all kinds of industries, including:

Contact us today and discover how we can help your business thrive.