Food Safety Training And How It Can Help

Since October 2010, it has become mandatory for food service businesses to appoint and maintain a food safety supervisor.  What this means to food handling establishments is that if you fall into the following group of businesses, you must have a fully trained and certified Food Safety NSW Supervisor:

• Bakeries
• Cafes
• Clubs
• Hotels
• Pubs
• Restaurants
• Supermarkets (with hot food products)

The responsibility is to ensure that your designate has received training from a certified training centre, in the mandatory curriculum as set forth by the NSW Food Authority.

Food safety in the workplace is a key and critical factor to consider when you work in the food service industry.  Food Safety NSW students can learn through online or correspondence training about food service for the retail, hospitality industries, health and community services and food processing industry.  Regardless of which area of food services you choose to work in, the NSW Food Authority mandates specific curriculum to learn before entering into the industry in hopes of avoiding food contamination issues.

Take, for instance, events like the meat recall that occurred in Canada (2012), the organic beef recall in the US (2010) and Mozzarella recall in Germany (2010).  Each one of these food events happened due to the introduction of foreign matter into an otherwise good product causing the food to turn bad or develop dangerous bacterial contaminants.  While specific events may never recur, Food Safety NSW strives to include a well-developed curriculum for students delivering on the mandatory requirements of the NSW Food Authority.

Completion of the Food Safety NSW modules will provide a student with both the “Follow Work Procedures to Maintain Food Safety” accreditation and the “Implement the Food Safety Program Procedures accreditation.”  While each track at Food Safety NSW is designed for the target groups: Retail and Hospitality, Health and Community Services and Food Processing, the core of food service delivery is the Food Safety 1 and 2 courses.

Core courses are taught at nationally recognised training institutes, and certification is only recognised if issued through one of these accredited facilities.  Further information regarding training can be found through the NSW Food Authority website.  Included in the new regulations is the five-year refresher requirement for all food safety supervisors.  Food Safety NSW students can enrol in either online instruction or correspondence courses for all of its food safety courses, and depending on your requirements as an organisation, group training can also be provided.

The Food Safety Supervisor will learn food safety and food hazards in the first sections of the course.  Food legislation, food handler hygiene, handling controls and safety programs are all covered in the second portion of the course.  At the conclusion of the program, students are able to fully demonstrate and implement the food safety requirements as laid out by the NSW Food Authority and as tested by an accredited training facility like Food Safety NSW.

While you must have at least one Food Safety Supervisor per location, all food handlers need to be trained to appropriate levels as the legislation pertains to each food handler’s position.  Food Safety NSW can ensure your training needs are met through their comprehensive training modules.

It is intended through the education of all food service workers to significantly reduce the spread of illness through the delivery of food.  While each area has its specific focus, food processing is the area where illness can be spread most easily to the largest audience, as the food processing plants distribute to retailers country wide, sometimes even internationally.  The food processing modules at Food Safety NSW provide the accreditation required to work at different levels in the food processing industry.

Food safety training is a good idea for anyone handling food, but if you operate a home based business preparing food for sale such as a home based catering business, chocolate maker, or ventures of a similar nature, food safety training applies to you.  Your small home based food business may also require a business certification in cases where food preparation falls into a classification of higher risk or involvement with the food production.  Regardless of your food safety training requirements, Food Safety NSW can meet your needs.