Do I Need to Take a Food Course?

Anyone who is planning to work in the food industry has to take at least one food course. The reason for this is that since 2006 anyone who works with food that is to be sold to the public must have a basic understanding of food hygiene. All employers are required to demonstrate that their staff has this understanding. Most choose to do so by showing food inspectors each member of staff’s food hygiene certificates. In order to obtain that certificate you have to have successfully completed at least one food hygiene course.

The Right Food Course For You

There are several kinds of food courses available. In the past there was one course that everyone took regardless of the sector of the food industry they worked in. This was called the basic food hygiene certificate. However, it has recently been replaced by three alternative level II courses.

These level II courses are broken down into three sectors. The sectors are catering, retail and manufacturing. If you already work in one of these sectors the chances are you will have already taken the relevant food course and gained the relevant qualification.

If you wish to work in the food industry holding the relevant food certificates can significantly improve your chances of getting a job. You can take the approach of completing all three courses or completing just the course, which is relevant to the sector you wish to work in.

Fortunately, none of the courses are difficult to pass and all of them are relatively short. Most people can complete each course in just a few hours. In addition, the best course providers do not charge the earth for training you. This makes it viable for most people to take all three courses thus giving themselves the flexibility to work in any sector of the food industry.

If you choose to take a food course yourself, double-check to make sure that the qualification you get following completion of the course will be recognised. The best way to do this is to take only a CPD accredited course and one that follows the RSPH and CIEH syllabuses.

High Speed Training has the right food course for you. They run level 2 courses for the catering, food retail and food manufacturing industries.