Some 8,500 restaurants across the state will be required to have at least one of their workers take a food-handling safety course under a new rule that aims to better protect the public’s health.

The requirement, which technically takes effect Saturday but gives establishments a year to comply, is part of a new set of food safety rules being implemented by the state Department of Health following a series of statewide public hearings.

Peter Oshiro, the department’s Sanitation Branch chief, said the new mandate is designed to ensure a minimum base line of food safety knowledge among all food facility owners and managers.

“We strongly feel it will make a difference,” Oshiro said.

Studies have shown that food establishments with properly trained managers have a lower occurrence of food safety violations linked to food illnesses, he said.

Oshiro said the effort is part of a food safety paradigm shift that started in Hawaii three years ago with the start of the restaurant placard program. Inspectors in the last year issued yellow placards for violations to 18 percent of establishments, down from 34 percent the first year.

The new rule requires at least one employee present at every food establishment during work hours, including during food preparation, to have a food handler’s training certification recognized by the American National Standards Institute.

The two-hour training is available online with certification fees running from $10 to $15. Proof of certification will be required during health inspections after Sept. 2, 2018.

Former food safety company owner Tom Frigge from Kaneohe called the rule “a good first step in the right direction.”

While he said he understands the challenges facing Hawaii, including a substantial number of restaurant workers and owners who speak English as a second language and are from cultures with different food safety standards, Frigge pointed out that the rest of the country mandates a more demanding seven-­hour manager’s food safety course that requires testing for certification.

“I hope we can get to that point soon,” he said.

Another new rule going into effect Saturday requires Department of Health approval before any food establishment can sell wild-harvested mushrooms.

Other changes to the state’s food safety rules include allowing health inspectors to post placards during all types of inspections, including those for general complaints, and allowing them to post a “Closed” red placard at places operating without a valid permit.

Currently inspectors may post placards only during routine inspections, follow-ups and foodborne illness investigations. In addition, if a business is operating without a permit and refuses to shut down, the department would have to go to court.

Under the new rule, the department can fine a business $1,000 for each sale after it is ordered to close.

Another new rule allows the department to refuse permit renewals for food establishments with unpaid fines or stipulated agreements more than 30 days overdue.