Safefood Launches Free E-Learning Food Safety Education Tool For SMEs Working In Food Production And Catering

Safefood has launched a free e-learning food safety education tool for SMEs working in food production and catering.

Details

Safefood stated, "safefood has launched 'safefood for Business', a new free e-learning programme on the fundamentals of food safety for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) operating in the food production sector. This includes SMEs working in food production, food processing, retail, catering, and food services.

"Industry workshops previously hosted by safefood revealed that many staff working in small food businesses don't have a high level of food safety knowledge. These businesses acknowledge that they struggle to prioritise food safety due to competitive pressures. With many food businesses now hiring new staff to deal with post-pandemic increases in demand, 'safefood for Business' is ideally placed to help train these staff as part of their induction process and get them started in the basics of food safety.

"Introducing the new e-learning tool, Ray Dolan, CEO of safefood, said, 'Building a culture of good food safety benefits both the public and those food businesses that supply them. There are approximately 50,000 business producing food across the island of Ireland and around 80% of these are small food producers. Having met many small food business owners through our Knowledge Network, we understand the pressures they face and how they have a lot on their plate, including food safety training. Our aim is to provide business owners with a free and practical food safety training tool that fits their needs.'

"Dr Linda Gordon, Chief Specialist in Microbiology with safefood, continued 'We designed 'safefood for Business' to be practical for small food businesses so it uses short training modules with real-life scenarios. Because managers and small-business owners can track staff progress while training, it is ideal both for new staff as part of their induction process, as well as re-training staff returning to the industry.'

'"safefood for Business' covers eight key areas and has been designed in an easy-to-understand, multi-media format to engage the participants with interactive, online modules. Based on safefood's collective experience and the latest research available, the topics include:

1. "The importance of food safety
2. "Food microbiology
3. "Temperature control
4. "Personal hygiene
5. "Cleaning essentials
6. "Allergens in food
7. "Pest control
8. "HACCP."

Sign Up Information

Safefood added, "To sign up for 'safefood for Business' visit https://www.safefood.net/professional/food-safety/safefood-for-business".

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