Which Food Hygiene Course is right for me?
Food Hygiene Training
Here at the Training Terminal, we specialise in… yes, you guessed it: food hygiene training! Our dedicated team of food hygiene experts knows a thing or two about which level of training you need in your role, the legal requirements surrounding food safety in the United Kingdom, and how long it takes to complete each level of food hygiene training. This includes our food hygiene course.
In many cases, it’s unlikely you’ll need food hygiene training up to Level 3 unless you work in a managerial or supervisory role. For most food handlers who work in Catering, Retail, and Manufacturing, a Level 2 course should cover your training requirements. However, we always advise you seek advice from your local authority if you’re unsure about which training you need.
The 6 main areas that are covered during a food hygiene training course include.
- Good handling practices
- Hygienic food preparation
- Hygienic food storage
- Controlling food safety hazards
- Personal hygiene
- Keeping the premises clean
Level 1 Food Hygiene Training
Time taken to complete: Typically, around 1 hour for an online course such as Level 1 Food Hygiene Training.
Basic food hygiene training such as our Level 1 course is suitable for staff or volunteers who work in a food-related role but do not handle or prepare raw food. This would include waiting staff, for example, or food delivery drivers and checkout staff.
- Front of house employees
- Checkout staff
- Bar workers
- Food delivery drivers
- Kitchen porters
You can get a Level 1 food hygiene training certificate online in as little as an hour if you take our excellent Level 1 Food Hygiene Training course.
Level 2 Food Hygiene Training
Time taken to complete: Typically, between 1 and 2 hours for an online course such as Level 2 Food Hygiene Training.
If you handle or prepare food in your workplace, you have a legal duty to take Level 2 food hygiene training. This course is suitable for a majority of roles within the Retail, Catering, and Food Manufacturing industries.
- Cafés
- Fast food outlets
- Food trucks
- Schools, Universities, and Colleges
You can get a Level 2 food hygiene training certificate online in as little as 1 to 2 hours if you take our excellent Level 2 Food Hygiene courses.
Level 3 Food Hygiene Training
Time taken to complete: Typically, a 2-day face-to-face course (10+ hours of training).
It is recommended that all food environments should have at least one person trained to Level 3 food hygiene. Due to the in-depth nature of this training, this course must be taken in a face-to-face environment and there is no online option. The job roles that would need to study for Level 3 are those who act as
- Kitchen Managers
- Food Managers
Food Hygiene and Safety Legislation
When it comes to the food hygiene there are 3 main pieces of legislation that you need to focus on. These are:
These pieces of legislation are designed to cover food which is prepared and then sold for human consumption, ensuring that it is not going to put their health at risk. Whilst it is not imperative that every one person understands every piece of the legislation, it is important that they have an understanding of the basics.
What Actually Is Food Health and Safety?
Okay, let’s kick this off by taking a look at what food health and safety actually is, and what it will mean for you.
In a general sense, when we talk about food health and safety, we’re looking at it from a hygiene perspective. It’s all about the preparation, serving, handling and storing of foodstuffs in such a way that contamination, food borne diseases or harm is prevented.
It is important to note that in a lot of circumstances, food hygiene and food safety are used interchangeably. But there are significant differences between the two which make them important to distinguish between. Food safety is an umbrella term. It covers all of the practices which go into making sure that food is fit for consumption.
On the other end of the spectrum, you’ve got food hygiene. This is much more specific, and is all about food safety via the correct handling of food stuffs.
5 Easy Tips For Food Hygiene and Safety
Food hygiene in restaurants is pretty difficult if you don’t know what you’re doing. If you’re somebody who is just taking random guesses at what to do, you’ll probably get it wrong, so let’s take a look at five helpful tips.
1. Food Storage
If you’re going to effectively maintain a high level of food safety, you’re going to have to store food properly. Basically, what you will come to know is that a large amount of contamination happens because there is food storage that is being done without following proper principles.
Food storage should be separate from the kitchen, and there should be restrictions when it comes to getting into the storage rooms themselves. All the ingredients should be kept in clean, airtight, and easy to identify containers.
You should make sure that you wash raw food items before you store them. And you should never use the same storage space for storing foods together like meat and vegetables.
The reason for this is that raw food has a lot of contaminants in it. And if it is exposed to prepared foods, you get cross-contamination which is really bad.
Separate Ingredients
Instead, you should have a separate place for your role food, and a separate place for your prepared food. If you can, make sure that your raw food is stored in the lower areas of the place, because that means that there is no spillage or drippage onto other food items.
You should never fill up your fridge beyond the natural capacity, and have a stock rotation. Rather than storing a high amount of foodstuff, and then actually overstocking, you should utilise everything you have properly and also avoid waste. This is vital for preventing hygiene problems.
2. Temperature
When it comes to serving, storing, and preparing food stuffs, you need to make sure that everything is at the right temperature. By keeping food in the correct temperature, you prevent the buildup of bacteria. Every food item will require a different temperature range, so you should group things according to the same sort of temperature.
Your staff should be properly trained in how to do this – cold food should be stored in locations below 5°C, and frozen foods should be kept in locations that are below 18°C. You should always reheat food before you serve it as well
Checking all of the food regularly, and keeping a log of the temperature is a good way to practice food hygiene. If you want to keep the proper temperature in place as often as possible, it’s a good idea to have set up some kind of schedule for temperature checking, and train your staff on how to do that.
3. Cross-Contamination
Cross contamination can be a big problem in the kitchen. Basically, when poisonous or bacteria-filled substances move from one food to another, this is called cross contamination. In places where the kitchen is quite small, or there is a very small storage space, cross contamination is pretty common.
Obviously, cross contamination is dangerous, and will cause a massive health hazard in the restaurant. It’s also a pretty good way to kill your reputation stone cold dead. In this regard, you need to be pretty vigilant to avoid cross contamination. Make sure that there are good hygiene practices, store food in separate places. Ensure that you separate the utensils that you use for preparing different types of foods.
4. Cleanliness
A clean restaurant is a safe restaurant. Cleanliness is one of those things that people have to get right, but very few actually do. Ultimately, cleanliness is all about taking the appropriate steps to protect yourself and other people. The customer experience is also built around how clean and tidy the place is.
Thankfully, being clean is not difficult. You just have to make sure that you put together a checklist to ensure that all of your staff are doing the correct things to keep the place clean. Let’s check them out together.
- Make sure that you wash and disinfect the entire kitchen and dining area with the correct disinfectant. You should provide your staff with adequate training in regards to cleaning and equipment.
- Make sure that there is no instance where food is handled with their hands. Staff should wear gloves when they process food at all times. If you do have to use your hands, proper handwashing procedure should be followed at all times.
- Make sure that you have a proper disposal plan for waste. If you’re going to store waste, never do it anywhere near a food storage area or food preparation area. Sanitise any utensils that are used in handling raw food items, and make sure they are cleaned before using different foods.
- Regularly review, monitor, and make alterations to cleaning procedures as necessary to ensure maximum efficiency.
5. Improvement
Remember that improving is a constant and ongoing process. There will never be a point where you are perfect, you will simply have more to experience. It’s a good idea to ask customers and other people for feedback, because this will help you to improve as a restaurant. Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback, because this is how you learn and grow.
Why Do You Need Training in Food Safety?
The preparation of food is something which requires considerable expertise to do properly. There are many reasons why preparing food is a necessity, especially in the hospitality and accommodation industries. However, we could all stand to benefit from some more knowledge and training in these areas.
Training in food safety is very important, but a lot of people don’t understand or really grasp the true worth of something like this. What we want to do is educate everybody on the merits of training in for safety, so let’s begin.
Proper Education
Having a proper education and food safety will no doubt be of great advantage to anyone who finds themselves in the kitchen. Knowing about the different types of tools, the different health risks which can come from preparing food, and knowing how to mitigate them is incredibly important for people who want to be a competent and conscientious chef.
This information is incredibly important for protecting yourself, protecting people around you, and making sure that nobody is unnecessarily exposed to illness or disease.
Potential Job Opportunities
Part of the joy of a lot of industries these days is that there are plenty of job opportunities for people who want them. If you decided that your career was no longer the optimal path for you, you could change it. Having more qualifications will definitely help with this.
That is, at the end of the day, why a lot of people choose to do Food Safety Level 2. It is a very functional course which gives them access to potential job opportunities, because they have demonstrated that they have the knowledge and practical expertise to thrive.
Personal Growth and Advancement
Personal growth and advancement is quite important when comes to how we look at the workplace and our position within it. Most employers offer opportunities for people to develop and grow if they want to, and so it is important to recognise these opportunities when they are presented.
A reason that you might consider taking a training course in food safety is to enhance your own personal skill set. It helps you to cultivate more pride in the institution you work in, in the industry you specialise in when you are proficient in many things.
Knowing that you can do whatever you want is so important for personal growth, so you really should experiment and find out what it is that’s going to work you.
Food Safety Retail
The second course that we offer is the Food Safety Retail course. This course will teach you how to safely handle and prepare food for retail, whether this is working behind the counter of the butchers or handling fresh fruit and vegetables.
When you are working in retail, there are many customers who are going to come into the store on a regular basis and interact with the product. This means that you have to be able to safely handle things, identify potential hazards like cross contamination, and also be able to safely prepare and deliver food to customers.
Further details on this course can be found at Food Safety & Hygiene Level 2 – Retail.
Food Safety Manufacturing
If you are someone who is thinking about a career in cooking, preparing, packaging, or interacting with food for a manufacturing company, then the Food Safety Manufacturing course is the best one for you.
The factory floor is a busy environment, and you will need to be able to respond quickly to challenges and work well under pressure. This qualification will arm you with the knowledge required to do this with more confidence, as well as teach you about how to safely cook, prepare, and pack food to be delivered to retail providers.
Further details on this course can be found at Food Safety & Hygiene Level 2 – Manufacturing.
In conclusion, you can see that there are a variety of food safety courses for you to experience. We offer both introductory and advanced courses to make sure that you have the best knowledge base possible, and new courses are frequently added. During this period of economic uncertainty and lockdown, it is quite sensible to further your own knowledge base independently, as this will help to increase the chances of you being noticed by an employer. Alternatively, these courses are a good idea for anybody who is attempting to prove that they are worthy of being kept in a period where many industries and companies may have to consider downsizing.
