Learn safe food-handling practices required for the catering industry with this free online food hygiene course.

Not only does following good food safety and hygiene practices help create a positive image for you and your business (whether event catering or a restaurant) but it is required by law. ‘Food safety’ is the practice of protecting food from anything that could harm a consumer’s health while ‘food hygiene’ means ensuring that food is free from contamination, wholesome and fit for consumption. This course will ground you in the fundamentals of good food production processes and teach you how to avoid contamination, and show you why a key point to remember is that contamination can occur at any stage of the food-production process. The three different types of contamination and their causes will also be covered in-depth throughout this course.

The first thing that usually comes to mind when stomach problems appear is what our last meal consisted of and when it was consumed. This is very common because contaminated food is not always easy to spot, and sometimes it may look, taste or smell just like it should. When food does cause illness or injury, it is imperative to find the cause of the problem. The course material will look at the main causes of spoiled food and cover ways to prevent spoilage happening in the first place. The crucial method is ‘prevention and control’. You will see how, by controlling each of the four critical steps in the food production process, the risk of contamination is kept to a minimum.

If these methods are applied, chef, cooks and owners can prevent a damaged reputation, fines, pest infestation and the loss of a business or livelihood. To maintain a safe and hygienic workplace, all food production areas and handling must be closely monitored. The course breaks down the finer points of temperature control, HACCP (or hazard analysis critical and control points), environmental control, and personal hygiene and development for staff. It carefully examines these four vital categories. Food law is a significant part of everyday work in the food industry. It may seem daunting – with numerous facts and figures to remember, and plenty of paperwork to complete – but this course will convey it in easy-to-understand sections so that you can easily incorporate high food standards into your everyday routine. The material will be beneficial to anyone working in the food industry, and will be of use to home cooks, carers and even childminders who want improve their overall knowledge of food hygiene.