Food safety know-how for business owners
Are you planning on opening a food business? Perhaps a restaurant or even a small convenience store? Any establishment that directly handles, prepares, and sells or serves food are subject to The Food Safety Regulations, under the 1994 Public Health Act of Saskatchewan. Currently, there are approximately 5,000 food establishments in the province – all them have to abide by the act and you will too. You need to have Food Safety certification in Saskatoon.
What exactly does the act require? The Food Safety Regulations are just that – they focus on food safety, making sure that food products sold by establishments are safe to be consumed by the public. This is made possible by a safe food handling process. The regulations require establishments to make sure that their entire staff is trained in food safety (in-house food safety training is acceptable). However, they require a few staff members to train in a course approved by the Saskatoon health authorities and become certified. These staff members have to present at all times in the establishment.
Establishments that are expect from following these regulations are temporary food stalls and social care facilities that have 20 or less clients (e.g. day care, nursing homes).
Food Safety in Saskatoon
Saskatoon First Aid is a training provider approved by Saskatoon health authorities, meaning we meet the training requirements set by The Food Safety Regulations. Food service workers who are asked to get training by their employers or even people simply interested in food safety can sign up for our programs and become certified.
Sign up is quite easy. We have an electronic (online) form on the Saskatoon First Aid website that you can fill up then click ‘submit’ to send us your request. We reply to and confirm all submissions during business hours – so wait for a reply during that time! You can also e-mail or call us to sign up (even a visit in person would be great!).
Training programs
- Food safety level 1 – This is a basic training course that runs for eight hours. You can either take it as a single, 8-hour class or two 4-hour sessions. Since it is a basic course, it will introduce students to microbiology, pathogenesis of foodborne illnesses, personal hygiene, and sanitation in the workplace.
- Food safety level 2 – This is an advanced course targeted towards owners, managers, and supervisors (or supervisory staff members). It runs of 12 hours over two days of training, and focuses on planning and managing a food establishment. We teach students about personnel training, designing the physical aspect and workflow of the facility, and health permits and licenses.
If you plan on taking second level training, you need to complete and pass the first level beforehand. We require students to have their level one training credentials during level two training.
All levels are certification programs. Just finish training with complete attendance and a pass on all exams and we will award you with Saskatchewan training credentials. If you need more information, you can find our contact details on the Saskatoon First Aid website. Don’t hesitate to give us a call or visit us!