Food safety training

Everyone who works with food, whether in catering, manufacturing or retail, is responsible for safeguarding the health of anyone who consumes food prepared, processed, stored or sold by their food business. Food handlers have a special responsibility for safeguarding the health of consumers and to ensure that the food they serve, or sell is safe to eat.

By law, food business operators must ensure that food handlers are adequately supervised and instructed or trained in food hygiene, to enable them to handle and prepare food in the safest way.

Food handlers don't necessarily have to hold a food hygiene certificate to prepare or sell food. The skills can also be learned by:

training on-the-job
self-study
prior experience in food hygiene

For food handlers who prepare open, high-risk foods or handle food and have a supervisory role, it is suggested that they are instructed or trained to a level equivalent to the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) Foundation Certificate in Food Safety (Level 2) within three months of starting work. See Chartered Institute of Environmental Health: food safety training for further information.

To book a training course with us, see Courses, workshops and vocational qualifications .

Food Standards Agency free training

The Food Standards Agency also provide online training and video courses. These include:

Contact Community Protection

Email ehcp@durham.gov.uk
Telephone 03000 261 016