Food Manager Certification MN Archives

June 26, 2023June 24, 2023

The Truth About NRFSP Food Manager Certification

Minnesota food manager certification is required by many restaurants and institutional kitchens. However, there is often some confusion as to the differences between NRFSP certification, ServSafe training, and the standard food workers permit classes. At Safe Food Training, we focus on offering the National Registry of Food Safety Professionals -NRFSP food manager certification.

Advantages of NRFSP Food Manager Certification

While we are able to offer other certification classes upon request, we feel that there are certain advantages to the current NRFSP program of study:

National recognition
More in-depth education concerning contaminates
Most courses include allergen awareness.

The Truth About NRFSP Food Manager Certification?

The certification classes that we offer are endorsed by NRFSP and recognized by the MN Department of Health. This dual recognition means the training that meets Minnesota standards will still have value if you move to a different jurisdiction. There may be some states that require you to retake the certification test locally. Even so, many employers will see your training as an attractive asset on your resume.

The next item on our list can be a valuable addition to your knowledge of food-borne illnesses. The training for basic food workers teaches that bacteria causes food-borne illness. During food manager certification training, you’ll learn about different types of contaminants and their origins. This information will help you more fully understand why bacteria spreads in certain food products. It will also give you a better insight into the consequences of improperly prepared food.

With a growing concern for food allergies, preventing cross-contamination is also crucial for the safety of sensitive guests. The current training sessions will cover food allergens and biological toxins that exist in certain foods such as shellfish. This heightened awareness of how to handle common allergy risks will help you keep guests from having a reaction to these food groups.

Two Certification Options Available Through Safe Food Training

In-person NRFSP Food Manager Certification Class

There are two ways that you can gain your certification from Safe Food Training. It’s possible to take an instructor lead class. You’ll have access to an educated and engaging teacher who can answer any questions during the training. Alternatively, you can take online food safety training if you prefer independent study.

With multiple endorsements available, we’d like to know your thoughts as to which certification classes have benefited you the most. Are there any training sessions that you have found to be more informative that others? We’d love to hear your stories.

March 27, 2023March 16, 2023

Hints For Food Managers Considering A Special Bar Menu

In our food manager certification courses, experienced restaurant pros often exchange ideas and discuss strategies. During a recent session, some students debated creating a bar or lounge menu for casual diners with low food costs. We decided to contribute our insights, which food managers might find useful for special menus in bar, lounge, or patio dining areas.

The Ideal Bar Menu for Food Mangers Considering Something Different

Visiting local restaurants, we often notice a mismatch between the bar menu and dining floor dishes. Crafting a bar menu for regular patrons with your establishment’s theme offers many benefits for food managers.

Ingredients should already be in your inventory
Eases the stress on the kitchen staff
Offers an alternative dining option for guests on busy nights

Food managers designing your bar menu with ingredients from your regular menu can cut food costs. This approach leads to less waste and a lower risk of food spoilage. However, don’t merely serve smaller portions of your dinner menu. For instance, a steak house can offer steak sliders made from steak trimmings or other casual dishes, using available ingredients. Be creative while maintaining the same ambiance for returning guests who dined in the main area previously.

This streamlined concept also aids production during service. Line cooks get frustrated when one or two menu items differ significantly from the rest. This issue slows down service and consumes valuable line storage space. Simplifying and maintaining familiarity helps the kitchen staff serve food to guests promptly.

Offer Options To Retain Customers

Finally, a well-designed bar menu attracts guests unwilling to wait for a full-tabled restaurant. Informing guests of unique lounge or patio options can save them from long waits or trying competitor venues.

What strategies do you use for bar menu planning? Is it necessary to offer special lounge selections, or are regular offerings enough?

January 23, 2023January 27, 2023

Expert Guide to First Aid Kits for Food Safety Managers

At Safe Food Training our focus is usually on keeping your food safe and food manager certification in Minnesota, but from time to time, we like to provide useful information on how to keep your employees safe when on the job. Hopefully, you do everything that you can to prevent on-the-job accidents, but there are many hazards in the food service industry, so food safety managers need to make sure that your first aid kit is fully stocked and handy in case of an on-the-job incident.

Background On Why Food Safety Managers Need First Aid Kits In Their Kitchen

According to The US Bureau of Labor Statistics: Private industry workers in full-service restaurants incurred 93,800 nonfatal injuries and illnesses in 2019. About one-third of these cases required at least one day away from work. Another source, Restaurant Technologies’ “Kitchen Safety 101: How to Prevent Costly Restaurant Injuries” reveals the four most common injuries in commercial kitchens are:

Cuts, lacerations, and punctures
Slips and falls
Sprains and strains
Burns and scalds

Items Food Safety Managers Should Include In A Kitchen First Aid Kit

First aid kits are for first aid! They should not be stocked for long-term care. If there is any question that the wound or trauma is anything more than a minor injury, the injured person should be encouraged to seek professional care immediately.

Whenever there is a minor incident in the kitchen, the first place food safety managers or employees look for supplies is the first aid kit. Here are some items that we feel are essential to have on hand in the event of a minor mishap.

Disposable medical gloves
Multiple styles and sizes of Band-Aids/bandages
Individual use antiseptic wipes
Sterile gauze pads/dressings
Various sizes of elastic compression bandages

While this list is far from complete, these five items will come in handy for situations that commonly occur in commercial kitchens. To protect the injured person as well as the caregiver, various sizes of medical-grade gloves should be available and worn before any contact is made.

We do recommend that you have nearly every style of Band-Aid available for your staff. With sharp knives and utensils in use in every kitchen, employees will inevitably cut themselves from time to time, and they’ll need access to the appropriate bandage.

With industrial steamers, ovens, and deep fryers posing a constant burn threat, sterile gauze pads must be stocked in your first aid kit to clean the wound in addition to self-adherent cohesive bandages to hold protective sterile dressings in place.

Finally, stocking different-sized elastic compression bandages to help support sprains and strains is a great idea. Food safety managers can alternate these first aid items with ice packs to control swelling at the site of a soft tissue injury.

Food safety managers, what’s in your first aid kits?

November 7, 2022November 3, 2022

It’s Here- Proven Online Food Manager’s Training Guide To Hand Drying

Food safety training is pretty specific on how handwashing should be done, it’s one of the most effective weapons we have to prevent foodborne illness, yet many food managers are unaware of the options when it comes to appropriate drying implements. Since you may not be aware of all the alternatives, let’s talk about the appropriate food manager’s training on ways to dry your hands after washing them.

Food Manager’s Training for Drying Tools after Hand Washing

The standard food manager’s training tool for hand drying is a simple paper towel dispenser. These are generally the most common due to their ease of use and cost effectiveness, but there are a few alternatives that meet health code requirements and may serve your handwashing stations better. Other approved methods include:

Powered air dryers
A continuous towel system

Some food managers may wish to look into one of these two options as there is less waste than paper towels, and each of these options don’t require as much product to remain operational. With paper towel dispensers, there’s always the need to order paper towels and a good portion of these towels may not go towards their intended purpose.

Another food manager’s training option for hand drying, a powered air dryer. It can be cost effective after the initial investment. Once set up, you simply need to keep the power on for it to do its job. There may be a filter to change occasionally, but other than that no product is needed week in and week out. The one draw back to the air dryer is that they can be powerful enough to blow water droplets onto items in the nearby vicinity, so they are best used away from preparation and storage areas.

A continuous towel system consists of a long towel on a roll that has a clean portion pulled out with each use while soiled portions are spooled inside the housing. This system creates less waste, but the towel must be washed and replaced once it reaches the end of the roll. A continuous towel system also runs the risk of having multiple staff members dry their hands on the same portion if it is not rotated correctly.

Food manager’s training also recommends preventing as much contact with surfaces during the hand washing/ hand drying process. Motion sensor activated paper towel dispensers and blow dryers offer a decreased chance of contaminating hands between washing and drying

What type of drying system do you use in your facility