Training in Food Safety

You must ensure that any member of staff who handles open food has adequate supervision, instruction and/or training in food hygiene for the work they undertake. The purpose for training staff in the principle of food safety is to increase their knowledge and understanding. This will help them understand why certain practices and procedures are in place, their relevance to food safety and the importance of adhering to them.

Short courses are available at three main levels: foundation, intermediate and advanced. The following is an outline of Foundation training. The overall aim is to develop a level of understanding of the basic principles of food hygiene with such a course being about 6 hours duration.

More advanced training courses will deal with food hygiene in more detail and cover management and systems. Typically, Intermediate will involve courses of 12 to 24 hours duration and Advanced will involve courses of 24 to 40 hours duration. Local trainers who are registered to carry out hygiene training include: