By Selena Steele-Clough [1]
BELLEVILLE – Changes have been made to a food-safety training program run by Hastings Prince Edward Public Health [2].
Roberto Almeida, health-protection program manager, talked about the food handler training course [3] at Wednesday’s meeting of the health-unit board.
Almeida said the course now covers topics that weren’t included last year, such as:
- Risk factors linked to food-borne illness
- Introduction to food-safety quality processes
- Allergy awareness
The course provides training to workers in the food industry. There are 33 sessions a year held at the health unit’s Bancroft, Belleville, Picton and Trenton offices.
“The certification for a food handler is good for five years,” Almeida said. After the five years are up, workers have to go back, get certified and take the exam that comes with the course again, he said.
“We have now trained 543 people for this course, and we couldn’t be prouder of that.”
Restaurant owners, daycare workers, hospital staff and anyone who works with food preparation should continue to take the course, he said.
The course costs $35.
Anyone interested in getting certified can visit the Hastings Prince Edward Public Health website [2] or call 613-966-5500.