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 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 wordpress]

  The secret of finding a job is to impress your potential employer.  This can be done in a number of different ways; your appearance, your attitude, your qualifications and your history.  If you get good marks in all of these areas, then the job is as good as yours!

• When you go for an interview it is vital that you are clean and tidy.  Employers will immediately be put off if you have failed to make an effort.  Dress in clothes that are in keeping with the job and make sure your fingernails are clean!
• There is a fine line between ‘confidence’ and ‘cockiness’.  You do not want to go into your interview making out that you already know everything there is to know!  But you do need to present yourself with an air of quiet confidence.
• Qualifications will play a major role in your interview and it is crucial that you have a properly presented CV.  If you plan to work in a certain industry then there are many online courses to choose from that could go a long way to getting you a job.  For example, if you are interested in a catering position then you can do your food safety training over the net.
• When an interviewer asks about your employment history avoid being vague!  If you don’t go into enough detail then they may think you have something to hide.  Tell the truth (even if some of it is not so good) and try to dwell on the better parts.

In the run-up to the 2012 Olympic Games, Newham Council are starting a new scheme designed to help all hot food outlets and shops become better caterers.  The Healthworks programme will help all outlets comply with EU food hygiene regulations by providing food officers to help workshops, one-to-one coaching and nutritional advice.  The scheme is especially aimed at providing food safety training for those outlets that have had problems with food hygiene in the past.

Being the largest Olympic borough, it’s important that food outlets in Newham provide delicious and safe food to both the local residents and visitors for the Olympic Games.  As part of the Standards Agency’s Safer Food Better Business scheme, over sixty workshops will take place over the next two years to ensure all businesses and staff understand the principles behind food safety and how to implement these principles in the workplace.  Especially high on the priority list will be advice on how to store and serve food correctly, to avoid contamination and food poisoning.

As a country that has been mocked for its food for decades, perhaps the Olympic Games is our chance to show the world what we are really capable of doing!

As anyone who has been following this blog will know, food safety regulations don’t just apply to those people to whom working with food is a fundamental part of their profession; the latest food hygiene legislations cover just about anybody whose job could bring them into contact with food at any time.

Last week, the FSA launched a new guide in their Safer Food, Better Business range; an information pack designed to help childminders comply with the latest food hygiene legislations.  Although it may seem obvious that childminders have a role involving knowledge of food safety, it is not immediately apparent that they are obliged to comply with EU Food Hygiene Legislation.   Specifically designed around the role of the childminder, this guide makes their legislated responsibilities easy and quick to handle, with a minimum of paperwork.  Amongst other things, it includes advice on food allergies, feeding babies and the cleaning, cooking and chilling involved in food preparation.  Like other Safer Food, Better Business packs, the childminder’s pack utilises a system known as reporting by exception; by only writing down problems, or things that go wrong, there is a minimum of extra work involved, yet a simple way of conducting reviews to identify persistent food safety problems!

Safer Food, Better Business is the Food Standards Agency’s approach to ensuring that small businesses fully understand their responsibilities under the EU Food Hygiene Legislation.  In the form of a series of packs and guides, the Safer Food, Better Business approach has been designed to help these small businesses create and manage food safety systems to ensure they are complying with the relevant food hygiene requirements.  Due to the fact that any business involved with food has to comply with the legislation, the packs are specifically designed around a variety of different food businesses, like caterers and restaurants, as well as professions in which food service is a secondary role – childminders and care home employees, for example.

The accompanying DVD, ‘Working with Food?  What you Need to Know before You Start’, helps food businesses provide food safety training to their staff and is available in sixteen different languages – making it as accessible as possible to the majority of the population.  To this extent, there is no excuse for businesses, no matter how small, not to attempt to ensure they are complying with food hygiene legislation.

To help shopkeepers comply with food hygiene legislation, the sixth of a series of guides for the food industry has been published and is available to order from The Stationery Office. The guide sets out recommendations to help retailers meet the legal obligations put in place to maintain levels of food safety. It covers advice and guidance for butchers, grocers, greengrocers, fishmongers, delicatessens and supermarkets, as well as stores that offer food services as part of their overall service; petrol stations, newsagents and department stores for example.

The EU Food Hygiene Legislation is not the most complicated document in the world, but there are enough clauses and requirements to make this is a valuable guide for any company required to comply with the regulations and put in place a food safety management system based on the principles of HACCP.

The Food Standards Agency believes that the guide is a useful way to help retails meet legal obligations, though wants to make clear that the use of the guide is optional; food business operators can comply with the legislation in any other way.

Last time I outlined the fundamental principles behind food competence for young people, from the ages of 7 to 12 years of age. Today I will explain how this basic knowledge develops into practical application over the next 4 years and for the rest of the child’s life.

Age 14:

Children of this age should be able to use healthy eating advice in their choice of diet and physical activities. They should know that food provides energy and nutrients in varying amounts, that these nutrients have important functions in the body and that excess of deficiency of nutrients has implications for health. They should also understand that people need different amounts of nutrients at different times in their life.

Age 16+:

Students of this age should be able to apply their understanding of health and nutrition, together with healthy eating recommendations, to their own diet and the nutritional requirements of other people. They should be able to maintain a healthy weight throughout their life and understand how physical activity works in conjunction with diet to provide a healthy lifestyle.

Hopefully these guides have provided some insight into the practical side of food safety and outlined the basic principles behind food safety training for young people.

There is more to food safety than food hygiene requirements; ignorance about the importance of diet and physical activity is far more dangerous on a large scale than inadequate drainage. In the next two posts I will outline the food competence requirements for young people, in the hope that parents will be able to help their children make educated choices about their diet and lifestyle.

Age 7-9:

Children should be aware of the fact that food and water and fundamental requirements for life and that we need a balanced, varied diet in order to grow and be healthy. They should also be aware that, although variation is important, we should eat more of some kinds of foods than others and that some people choose to eat or not eat some kinds of food. They should also understand that being active is an important part of being healthy.

Age 11-12:

By this point, children should be able to make food choices based on their understanding of the importance of a varied and balance diet. Their understanding should include the knowledge that variation is important because of the different substances that different foods provide. They should understand that people make choices about what do eat based on dietary requirement and religion and also be aware of the importance of being active and having good oral hygiene.