Training for food businesses
This page provides information and guidelines to ensure that food handlers are supervised and instructed or trained in food hygiene matters appropriate to their activities.
Food Business Operator
The Food business operator shall ensure that food handlers engaged in the food business are supervised and instructed or trained in food hygiene matters appropriate to their activities.
Food handler
Although there is no recognised legal definition it should be expected to cover anyone involved in a food business, who by their actions or management or decisions or advice can directly influence the hygiene of any food handled by that business at any stage.
This would encompass anyone who handles and prepares food and their supervisors. Food business operators are to ensure that food handlers responsible for the development and maintenance of the food safety management system or Hazard analysis have adequate training.
General advice
For food handlers, the balance between the amount of supervision and instruction or training required will need to be decided on a case-by-case basis. It will depend on a variety of factors such as the job of the individual and the types of food being handled.
People handling ‘high risk’ foods will need more supervision and instruction or training than those who handle ‘low risk’ foods. It is a good idea to keep a record of the training your staff receive.
All food handlers, before starting work must have written or verbal instruction in the essentials of food hygiene at the very least.
The necessary skills may be obtained in other ways, such as through on-the-job training, self-study or relevant prior experience.
These are some of the questions an inspector may ask during their visit:
Q: Tell me more about the temperatures at which you store/hold/cook the (food) and the temperature monitoring that takes place?
Q: How do you make sure raw and cooked foods are kept apart?
Q: Tell me more about how you protect food on display from contamination?
Q: How do you ensure effective cleaning and disinfection of food contact surfaces (give examples)?
Q: Where areas and/or equipment have dedicated uses, how do you monitor this?
Catering
Level 2 Award in Food Safety in Catering – For all food handlers
Level 3 Award in Supervising Food Safety in Catering
Level 4 Award in Managing Food Safety in Catering
Food retailing
Level 1 Award in Food Safety Awareness for Retail
Level 2 Award in Food Safety for Retail
Level 3 Award in Food Safety Supervision for Retail
Food manufacturing
Level 1 Award in Induction to Food Safety for Manufacturing
Level 2 Award in Food Safety for Manufacturing
Level 3 Award in Food Safety Supervision for Manufacturing
Level 4 Award in Food Safety Management for Manufacturing
Level 3 Award in HACCP for Food Manufacturing
Level 4 Award in HACCP Management for Food Manufacturing
All courses can be found on the CIEH course finder web page.
For details of local courses contact:
- East Surrey College - Tel 01737 772611 - East Surrey College Website
- NESCOT (North East Surrey College of Technology), Ewell - Tel: 020 8394 3038 - NESCOT website
- Crawley College - Tel: 01293 442200 - Crawley College Website
St. Johns Ambulance - Tel: 01483 450000 - St. Johns Ambulance Website
Last updated : 11/04/2011
