Food safety training is an educational initiative to help businesses protect their customers from food poisoning, allergic reactions and other health risks that could occur from eating contaminated food. While it might seem tantamount to practicing common sense, basic protective measures that work at home are simply not good enough when you’re providing food to the public. A requirement for food businesses in most countries, food safety training helps employees understand the different types of food contamination and how food can become contaminated, know about potentially hazardous foods, understand the causes of food-borne illness (bacteria, toxins, viruses), know how to safely store, thaw, prepare, cook and serve food, know how to effectively clean and sanitize surfaces, equipment, dishes and utensils, and understand the importance of personal hygiene and appropriate behaviour in the workplace.
In addition the basics, employees also learn preparation and food handling best practices like how to handle food correctly (from delivery through to serving customers), how to store food correctly to avoid spoilage and contamination, and how to prepare foods safely and the importance of temperature control. Complete food safety modules also encompass allergy prevention training. This ensures that your employees understand that food allergies can be life-threatening and must be taken seriously, know the most common food allergens (and understand that any food can be an allergen), understand the importance of communicating with the customer, other employees and management to ensure all measures are taken to prepare a safe meal, know how to recognize the signs and symptoms of an allergic reaction and what to do in an emergency, and understand how chemical and physical cross-contamination can occur and how to prevent it.
Additionally, food safety training can also cover personal hygiene, water quality, product contamination control, food hazards, incident management, and pest control. Certified employees should be well-versed in knowing the important factors that need to be considered when managing personal hygiene, the requirements needed to ensure water is of good quality, how to control product contamination that might compromise the health of consumers. The lessons also cover the control and management steps that need to be taken in regard to pest control, prevention, and monitoring. You will also learn about the product quarantine and complaint handling processes that are essential for Incident Management.
Most accreditations start with an introductory module that explores why food safety is so important, what risks are associated with poor food safety and hygiene standards, the legal requirements of food handlers, as well as the consequences of breaking food safety law. Subsequent modules cover the plethora of subcategories that constitute overall food safety. Participants will learn about the importance of personal hygiene, how food handlers are potentially the biggest hazard in a food business and how they can ensure that they do not contaminate food with pathogenic bacteria or foreign body hazards. They'll also learn about the different types of food hazards and how they can be avoided, while gaining a thorough understanding of bacteria, how cross contamination can occur and the various techniques you can use to prevent the spread of potentially harmful bacteria in your place of work.
Investing in food safety training ensures that you're doing your best to protect your brand and reputation, prevent negative online reviews, customer complaints or media scandals, reduce operational costs related to food waste, meal comps or pest eradication, and avoid costly fines or business closure, while gaining valuable knowledge to help you run your fast food outlet, restaurant, hotel, kitchen, bar, cafe, pop up space, or catering service legally and professionally.