Under food hygiene law in the UK, food handlers must receive adequate supervision, instruction and/or training in food hygiene for the work they do. This applies to all food businesses and the proprietor of each business is responsible for ensuring that their business complies with the law.
Before they start any work involving the handling of food, staff should receive induction training in the workplace to make them aware of food hygiene issues. They will need either written or verbal instruction in the essentials of food hygiene, which should cover:
Fitness to work
Temperature control
Cross contamination
Cleaning procedures, labelling and other safety instructions
Staff will also need further instruction suited to the type of work they do. You and your staff might all have different training needs, so you should consider each member of staff individually. For instance, someone who just makes tea and coffee will require a lower level of training than someone who prepares and cooks a chicken casserole. You might also need to make special arrangements for staff whose first language is not English and those who have learning difficulties or literacy problems.
Within 4 weeks of starting work, staff that handle any food must have hygiene awareness instruction from a competent person. The overall aim of hygiene awareness Instruction is to develop knowledge of the basic principles of food hygiene. The topics covered may include:
Food poisoning
Personal health and hygiene
Cross contamination
Food storage
Waste disposal
Foreign body contamination
Awareness of pests
Staff must also be instructed on any control or monitoring points identified by your Hazard Analysis.
Finally, within 3 months of starting work, staff that prepare open high-risk foods or handle food and have a supervisory role must have training to a level equivalent to the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) Foundation Certificate in Food Hygiene. There are other accredited bodies that offer such training such as the Royal Society of Health and the Royal Society of Public Health and Hygiene.
Details of the full range of courses and training providers offering CIEH accredited training can be found by clicking this link.
Local Providers of training
Basingstoke College of Technology offer the Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced level food hygiene courses accredited by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health. For details of course dates, go to the website below and look for the part time courses under Hospitality and Catering:
Basingstoke College of Technology Website
Alternatively contact the College on 01256 306484 between 10.00 am – 4.00 pm.
There are plenty of other local providers offering a wide range of accredited courses, including Farnborough College of Technology and Alton College.