Training & Recruitment: food safety
With 70,000 food poisoning incidents in the UK every year*, and outbreaks in restaurants at a nine year high**, safe food practices to protect customers are essential.
Equipping staff with up to date, relevant knowledge is key to maintaining that hard-won business reputation. Yet training in food safety can take a back seat when the challenges of running a business - often with a high staff turnover - take priority.
That's where online training can come in useful, and Learndirect Business, one of the leaders in the field, has launched what it claims is the first RIPH Royal Institute of Public Health (RIPH) accredited Food Safety exam online, giving businesses in the fast-paced pub industry the opportunity to qualify their staff instantly.
"Online training is a fast and efficient way for staff to learn and fits easily in and around the working day at a time, place and pace to suit both the employee and the business owner," explains Kirstie Donnelly, director of products and marketing at Learndirect Business.
The exam can be taken at a number of RIPH-approved Learndirect centres around the country and provides an immediate result. There are two different qualifications available - the level two Award in Food Safety in Catering and the Foundation Certificate in Food Hygiene.
Learndirect Business has simultaneously launched a new Basic Food Hygiene eCourse that can be accessed through the internet and provides the knowledge required to take the RIPH exam.
Introduced by James Martin, chef and host of BBC TV's Saturday Kitchen, the course guides learners through subjects such as micro-organisms and how they can cause illness, the importance of personal hygiene, cleaning and disinfection, pest control, hazards and current legal obligations.
The format is interactive and visual and question and answer sessions test understanding throughout the course. "Accessed online the course is designed to provide a flexible way of training that can be completed in easy to manage modules and fitted in around the working day," says Kirstie.
"With this new approach to learning about the legislation through the course and the online exam we hope to provide a valuable service to the thousands of businesses across the UK who deal with food, making it really easy to access the learning online and get that all-important proof of understanding through the certificate.
"There is no doubt that training staff properly in food hygiene is an excellent way of increasing customer trust, enhancing and protecting the pub's reputation and contributing to a more efficient business. Helping staff to be food safety aware and appropriately qualified can also increase their motivation and commitment to the business."
The course is available from www.learndirect-business.co.uk and is priced at £29.99 + VAT. Or for more information call the helpline on 08000 150 750.
* Source: Food Standards Agency
** 41 separate outbreaks during 2005. Source GSURV Outbreak database, February 23, 2007
