Care home staff who work with food handling should have up to date knowledge of food hygiene and should be able to demonstrate this with certificates as evidence of having taken a food hygiene training course.
The General Food Hygiene Regulations 1995 which are in place state that care home staff who are food handlers must be ‘trained in food hygiene matters commensurate with their work activities‘.
Gaining Food Hygiene Certification
There are three levels of food hygiene certification:
- Level 1 food safety awareness which provides awareness of risks associated with low risk food.
- Level 2 food hygiene and safety which provides certification for those staff working where food is cooked or prepared.
- Level 3 food hygiene relates to supervising of food preparation and for managers.
Legal duty dictates that all food handlers have are required to ensure food safety. Including making ensuring they maintain good personal hygiene, so that bacteria issues are minimised and the risk of cross contamination is reduced. Also ensuring all allergens are catered for ensuring someone that has an allergy doesn’t eat something that they are allergic to.
So How Long Do Food Hygiene Certificates Last?
Food hygiene certificates should ideally be renewed every three years.
This is best practice in the UK, although certificates don’t have an expiry date.
Undertake A Food Hygiene Certificate Today
For those interested in undertaking the food hygiene certificate then take a look at our online course here.
Alternatively, you can train via paper-based distance learning.
