This week the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) announced that food businesses are cutting back on food safety and hygiene training, possibly to the detriment of the general public’s health.

The CIEH reported the shocking findings after sending a survey out to over 5,000 food safety trainers and training centres.

The survey was sent out to all CIEH trainers during the fist week of August 2010.

Over half of food safety trainers thought that business was being impacted by the poor economic climate, while 70% of food safety trainers noted that it was likely to be ‘cost cutting’ measures that have caused businesses to stop investing in training.

The CIEH are calling this situation a potential ‘food poisoning time bomb’; they’re worried that the economic downturn, cost saving measures and cuts in expenditure are going to lead to the public being put at risk as it’s more likely that poor food hygiene could lead to outbreaks of food poisoning.

David Kidney of the CIEH says:

“In extreme cases failure to comply with food safety legislation can even result in a prison sentence and/or being prohibited from running a food business in future. In over a quarter of the prosecutions which have led to the business manager being prohibited since January 2009, failure to comply with the legislation on instruction and/or training was one of the offenses.”

If you’re thinking of cutting your expenditure and sacrificing food training certificates for your staff, you should know that there are many cost-effective training programs available online.

The CIEH are reporting that the growth of online food safety training solutions has recently risen, and we’re projecting that this is related to the cost cutting measures!

The CIEH gives some great advice though, if you’re thinking of purchasing food hygiene training online, you should listen to it!

“Make sure the course you choose is fit for your purpose and that you are not wasting your precious resources on cowboy companies.”

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves!

Food Hygiene Training

If you’d like affordable, accredited food hygiene training, contact us today.  We even offer discounts on multiple training courses, so all of your staff can hold a Basic Food Hygiene Certificate.

[reblogged from wordpress]

  Your kitchen is home to a great deal of potential hazards.  Hundreds of accidents are just waiting to happen and you should always keep safety at the forefront of your mind; this is why people in the catering industry will go away for food safety training.

  Here are just a few of the dangers to watch out for in the kitchen…

• Handles on Pans.

If you are using saucepans, then DO NOT leave the handles sticking out!  It only takes a split second to knock something off your cooker, but you could end up being scarred for the rest of your life!

• Small Children.

No-one should need to be told about this!  A kitchen is the most dangerous place in any home and it is the last place for a small child!!!  There are so many hazards for toddlers in a kitchen, that it would be impossible to list them all here.

• Oven Gloves.

The whole purpose of using oven gloves is so that you can move piping hot dishes safely.  If your gloves are beginning to look a little worse for wear then replace them!  This could help to prevent a nasty mishap.

• Pets.

Animals should never be allowed into an environment where food is being prepared.  Not only is it totally unhygienic, but it is also downright dangerous.  Cats and dogs have an annoying habit of rubbing around your legs and this presents a constant tripping hazard!

• Clear Workspaces.

Clutter is not a good thing in a kitchen and it can also cause accidents.  If something is hot and you need to put it down quickly, then you won’t have time to move a load of mess!  Always clean up after yourself when you are working in a kitchen.

[reblogged from rainharvest]

  We use our hands for almost everything that we do; eating, writing, gardening, woodwork, driving, decorating and going to the loo…  So it isn’t difficult to understand why it is important to keep them clean, is it?

  When you are training to be a chef, the very first thing that you will be taught about is cleanliness.  Washing your hands is the most basic part of all when it comes to basic food hygiene!  You would think that hand washing was so blatantly obvious that it would be totally unnecessary to teach people about it. ..

  But, it isn’t just those in the catering industry who should have clean hands; it is every one of us!  Because we come into contact with so many different surfaces each day, we can spread countless germs if our hands are not kept clean.  You would be surprised at just how many people go to the toilet and come back out without washing their hands. Urk! It’s no wonder there are so many nasty illnesses out there!

[reblogged from zimbio]

  If you are thinking about a change of career, then you cannot go far wrong with catering.  There are some very good reasons to give the catering industry some serious thought and here are three of the best ones -

 1.       Job Security.

The past year or so has been a scary reminder for us all of how few jobs are actually safe.  But catering is a necessary industry.  People will always want meals, so there will always be chefs.

Okay, so restaurants may close down from time to time, but others will soon spring up in their place.

 2.       A Personal Challenge.

One of the best things about cookery is there will always be something new to learn!  Just like everything else, it will be necessary to work your way up from the bottom.  You will start off by training in basic food hygiene and straightforward recipes.  After this, there are plenty of advanced courses to consider and you will learn how to create far more impressive dishes.

3.       A Large Variety of Careers.

Having a job in the catering industry could mean a number of different things…

There is cafe work, table waiting, cordon bleu cookery and even television opportunities!

Who knows?  You may even end up being the new Ainsley Harriot…

[reblogged from zazzle]

  The internet is a truly magic place because it just makes everything so easy to do!

  We all know about downloading music, movies or shopping online, but do you realise just how many qualifications can be gained by sitting in front of a computer?  And if you are an employer this is very good news indeed…

  Remember the time when staff training unleashed all kinds of other problems?  It effectively meant being short-staffed!  And this would have a worse effect on some industries than others.  If you were the owner of a cafe or restaurant then it could often mean that your other workers would be rushed off their feet.  But thankfully that has now changed.

  These days it is possible to do much of your necessary training online.  Merely sitting at a computer for a short time to get a food hygiene certificate has made life so much easier for numerous amounts of restaurants!  It all makes you wonder how anyone ever coped whilst staff went away for their training!

[reblogged from flickr]

  Food may be an essential component to us all, but it goes far beyond that.  Most of us get a huge amount of pleasure from the act of eating and we will shape many of our activities around it; picnics, romantic dinners and buffets for example.  We even incorporate food into party games such as ‘bobbing for apples’ or seeing how many cream crackers we can get in our mouths at once!

  But food is also a massive global industry.  Every single day, hundreds of thousands of meals are being cooked or prepared by chefs and handed over to hungry customers.  And most of our colleges will run their own food hygiene course for the Jamie Olivers’ and Delia Smiths of tomorrow.

  The past couple of years have taught us all that many careers are not as safe as we once thought, but catering will always be a thriving industry.  That is, until eating goes out of fashion!

[reblogged from wunderground]

  I wonder why it is that our society is so preoccupied with age?  Many advertisements are aimed at a younger audience and such a great amount of importance is placed on how we look.  From the way things are we can feel decidedly old and wrinkled by the time we reach our thirties!

  No-one is going to remain young forever and getting older is no big deal.  Life is rich with new experiences and most of us will get older and wiser as we go along.  These days, many more people are shrugging off social preconceptions and going back to college to re-train.  And this may be the first step towards a far more interesting career! 

  Some of us may have dreamed of working in a particular field, but we did not do anything about it when we were younger.  Well, why not get your training now?  You are never too old and there are all sorts of possibilities out there!  Engineering, food hygiene, joinery or forestry; whatever trade you are interested in, there is bound to be a course just for you.

[reblogged from absoluteradio.co.uk]

  Finding a new job can be quite a challenge and it is easy to get disheartened.  Many employers will not even send out letters of refusal these days because of the sheer amount of applicants and getting to the interview stage will often seem downright impossible.

  So what more can you do to improve your chances of employment?  You’ve got a good work history and you have all of the basic qualifications.  Well, why not think about doing some other training courses in the meantime?  The more certificates you have, the better your CV will look!  And it will certainly impress any potential employers if you are doing something constructive whilst you are out of work.

  Many training courses are free of charge if you are unemployed and you could get a substantial discount on any that you do have to pay for.  Maybe there is a particular line of work that you are interested in?  Why not see what courses are available which would be useful for a job in that same industry.  It may be bricklaying, art and design, engineering or food safety training.

  Instead of getting despondent, see this period of temporary unemployment as a time to improve your skills.  It is all about getting ready for something you really want to do!

[reblogged from panacheprivee.com]

  The catering industry can be a wonderful place to work.  And it isn’t all about cooking food correctly either.  The presentation of a meal is also very important and you will learn all about this on a relevant training course. 

  Knowing how to present a meal correctly can actually be seen as quite an art.  There are some beautiful coloured meals and setting them out in a particular way on a plate can make them taste even better!  Think about some of the wonderful dark greens of leafy vegetables sprinkled atop the orange-brown of a spicy homemade sauce; or the gorgeous oily shades of yellow and amber that you will find in a good quality biryani.  Getting hungry yet? 

  Training to be a chef involves all manner of different things.  You must learn about basic food hygiene methods, how to use knives correctly and what desserts are best suited to a particular main course.  If you thought it was all just about cooking then think again.  And you will even understand why it is so important to get the washing-up done!

[reblogged from scienceblogs.com]

  If you take pride in what you do, then your work will always be a very rewarding experience.  This applies to all industries in the world and makes any job far more enjoyable.  Going into work intent on doing your very best each day is a very healthy attitude to have.  It will rub off on your colleagues and most employers will respond by treating you with a good deal of respect.

  But having pride in your work is not restricted to your daily output.  If you are sent on a training course then it should always be seen as a way of bettering yourself.  Learning new skills means that you are increasing your knowledge and any certificates you receive are evidence of this.  Many people will be genuinely proud to be awarded a certificate and it will give them a real sense of personal achievement. 

  You may have passed a course in biochemistry or you might have completed your food hygiene training.  It doesn’t matter what sector you are working in, you will still feel great about furthering your knowledge and ability.