Food Hygiene Training
The Food Hygiene (England) Regulations 2006 (and Regulation EC No 852/2004 on hygiene of foodstuffs) require a food operator to make sure that any staff who handle food are supervised and instructed and/or trained in food hygiene in a way that is appropriate for the work they do. The person or people responsible for developing and maintaining the business's food safety management procedures, based on Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) principles, must have adequate training to enable them to do this.
As a guide, those food handlers who prepare open, high-risk foods should have formal training. This takes the form of a food hygiene course which is available at basic, intermediate and advanced levels. The minimum requirement is the basic food hygiene course. The basic food hygiene course is of 6 hours' duration. Topics such as food poisoning, micro-organisms, preventing food contamination and pest control are covered. An assessment is carried out at the end of the course which may be multiple choice or a verbal test.
In some larger organisations, in-house training may be used. So long as this is of an appropriate standard, it will satisfy the legal requirement. It is good practice for a business to keep records of training completed by every member of staff.
Where to Get Training
The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health has details of accredited training courses in various languages, and offers a course finder facility which offers routes to all levels of food safety training.
Alternatively, Bracknell Forest Council and various neighbouring local authorities offer food hygiene courses (see the downloads section on the right for more details).
To book a place on a course at Bracknell Forest, please download the application form from the right and return it with a cheque (for the amount shown on the form) to the address shown on the form.
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