The importance of food safety training
Date: Tuesday, 24 May 2016. -
Blog, Courses, Training, Food
In any environment where food is handled, there is no excuse for unsafe practices. When working in a kitchen environment there is a responsibility to do things correctly, as food prepared in an unsafe way can lead to E-Coli, norovirus and salmonella. Staying up to date with the latest food and safety regulations is the best way to avoid risks. It can also have a whole host of other benefits, so it’s well worth ensuring your employees have full awareness of food hygiene standards.
Who is food safety training for?
Food business operators are required by law to ensure their employees receive the appropriate instruction in food handling, and whoever is responsible for maintaining business food safety measures must have had the correct kind of training.
This means that senior members of staff – including middle and upper management, food hygiene trainers and head chefs – should undertake the correct safety training to ensure they relay the right training onto all their staff who handle food.
What are the benefits of food safety training?
There are a variety of reasons you should ensure your staff undertake food safety training, including:
Reducing the risk of food poisoning
Food can become contaminated by improper storage, cross contamination, undercooking and person-to-person contact. Food safety training will ensure that your staff are aware of the ways to prevent these things from happening. A case of food poisoning can be disastrous for any food business - it can lead to bad reviews (which are more damaging than ever in the social media age and with the rise of TripAdvisor), fines, and even closure in some extreme cases.
Cutting down on waste
Food safety training can help with quality control. When staff are properly trained, less food is spilled, contaminated or lost due to poor handling. This will decrease wastage, positively impacting on profits.
Improvements in behaviours
With the correct training and regular application of food safety principles, the way staff members approach food-handling will change and eventually it will simply become second nature.
Employees will gain a better understanding and appreciation of their job
Employees may sometimes wonder why they have to follow long processes in regards to cleaning and handling, and may become resentful. With a knowledge and understanding of practices and procedures and the fact that they are often directly responsible for the health and safety of their customers, they may gain a better appreciation and understanding of their job.
We can help
If you think your employees would benefit from food safety training, here at imperative we offer an intensive one-day TQUK Level 2 Award in Food Safety in Catering (QCF), which has been developed to show management how to take responsibility for food safety and hygiene practices in the workplace.
The topics covered include keeping work areas clean, taking responsibility for food safety, maintaining personal hygiene, and more.
For further information please visit our TQUK Level 2 Award in Food Safety in Catering (QCF) page or call us on 0845 071 0820.