Food Safe and Handling training courses are very popular at Victoria First Aid. Our trainees are taught by rescuers certified in food safety. You have a choice of enrolling one of two levels in food safety, or refresher training. We want to have the widest range of food safety courses available to students so we make these classes available all week, sometimes during evenings and weekends. If you need food safety training certification, you can visit our Victoria First Aid website for a list of available classes, schedules, and training fees.
How Do I Register For a Course?
To sign up for in-class or on-line training in Food Safe use the following details:
- Website Details: Click here to register on-line for a food safe course in Victoria
- Email: info@firstaidcourses.ca
Tell me about FOODSAFE training.
The FOODSAFE program was created through the funding by the Ministry of Advanced Education and Labor Development. It is managed provincially by the BC Center for Disease Control (BCCDC) and Victoria’s local health authorities. The name ‘FOODSAFE’ is used throughout British Columbia by food safety training providers.
There are two kinds of food safety programs, specifically levels. The first level in FOODSAFE is meant for direct food handlers. It covers skills and concepts in safe food handling. The same topics are covered in the second level, but focus is shifted from skills to planning. This makes the second level tailored for management staff such as owners and managers.
How much is food safety training?
FOODSAFE 1 is eight hours long with training fees amounting to 110 dollars. FOODSAFE 2 is twelve hours long with training fees amounting to 165 dollars. If you want to get second level training, you have to take the first level as a prerequisite. Refresher courses are shorter (running for three hours) while correspondence training has a limit of six months, worth 85 dollars.
Are there other options for training?
FOODSAFE programs can be taken face-to-face in a traditional classroom set-up or online through a virtual classroom. Another type of program is called training by correspondence. This is targeted towards working students who do not have time for classroom-type learning. They are given six months to finish the coursework (or eight months with an extension, worth an additional 25 dollars).
The importance of Food Safe and Handling Courses
Preventing foodborne illness is the goal of food safety or FOODSAFE training. The training program trains people in safe food handling to prevent the contamination of food and food products bought and eaten by consumers. If food is prepared, stored, and handled correctly, there is a decreased risk that they will contain pathogens and poisonous substances. Pathogens are microorganisms that can cause infection in the human body. Poisonous substances are chemicals like pesticides that can be very dangerous when ingested in certain amounts.
There is no specific set of symptoms that characterize a foodborne illness. Most of the symptoms are the same for different conditions – particularly vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. The main problem that victims experience is dehydration. Typically, in mild cases, dehydration can be managed at home. For more severe cases of dehydration and foodborne illness, the person has to be managed in the hospital with intravenous fluids and antibiotics.
Pathogens that can cause foodborne illness are: Salmonella, Norovirus, E.coli, Staphyloccocus aureus, and Clostridium botulinum.