food safety certification MN training sessions Archives

January 16, 2018January 5, 2018

Making the Best Use of Downtime and Food Safety Training

The winter months bring with them a significant amount of downtime for food industry professionals. Some outlets use this time for maintenance projects, menu overhauls, kitchen upgrades or performing deep-cleaning tasks. These efforts go a long way to making your facility better, but we also feel that downtime can be used to update and review food safety training.

Food Safety Training During Slow Business Hours

Most food production facilities should keep food safety training materials on-site for reference or training new employees. The slow weeks at the beginning of the year offer a perfect opportunity for reviewing these materials and making sure that are up to date and reflect the current Minnesota Food Code.

This time of year also grants you the time to allow your staff review these procedures while at work and on the clock. Allocating training time while your staff is on the job will motivate them to actually review the material. If you assign homework to your kitchen staff and ask them to review training materials off of the clock, they may not be motivated to take their review seriously. Granting them access to the materials at work and allow them to get paid for their efforts will ensure that they see that you take their time seriously.

After you and your staff review food safety protocols, it may be a good idea to perform a self-inspection in your kitchen. Involve the entire staff in this process. Different employees have different responsibilities, and they may have ideas that can make your kitchen a safer place. Your line cooks may see aspects of the production line that you don’t see every day and your wait staff can help inspect the front of the house and inform you of any potential hazards they may see.

At Safe Food Training, we feel that involving your entire staff in this review and self-inspection process results in keeping your product as safe as it can be. Do you have any other unique procedures during the slow months of the year?

November 28, 2017November 28, 2017

A Business Case for Food Safety Training

With the costs of goods and labor rising, restaurant owners and managers feel pressure to keep profit margins from evaporating. Many search for a way to cut expenses, whether it’s reducing staff, rewriting menus to reduce food costs or finding suppliers that provide goods at more affordable prices. While it’s tempting to reduce costs by only requiring key staff members to receive food safety training, there are incredible financial risks involved in skimping on employee training.

The Financial Downfall of Neglecting Food Safety Training

When exploring the financial repercussions of lax food safety training standards, one only has to look at the high-profile case of Chipotle Restaurants.

In 2015, the Chipotle chain made the news on a few occasions for sickening its guests with the Norovirus, E.coli and Salmonella on several different occasions. In fact, the CDC reported six outbreaks in a short period of time. The news could be even worse for the company, as attorneys representing Chipotle’s stockholders have discovered several other unreported outbreaks dating back to 2014. These very public events have caused Chipotle stock to plummet, being worth only about a third of what it was before these incidents became public.

Looking at the number of incidents and the variety of pathogens involved, it’s fairly obvious that although these outbreaks have stemmed from the same company, they are too different to be closely connected. It’s our opinion that there must have been significant gaps in food safety training at a corporate level. Investing in proper training may have prevented these outbreaks and saved the company a significant amount of money in lost revenue.

Not every Chipotle restaurant was affected by the outbreak, and the company has survived to remain operational today. However, if a smaller business had suffered from this type of negative publicity, they may not have the means to recover from a significant drop in revenue. Making sure resources are allocated to provide food handling training will not only keep your food safe, it may prevent a financial disaster and keep your doors open.

At Safe Food Training, we offer many different types of safe food training and will gladly tailor a course to effectively teach your staff the proper way to handle the food you prepare.

October 31, 2017October 5, 2017

Types of Food Safety Manager Certification Training

You’ve worked hard and you’ve finally landed your first job as a food service supervisor. Congratulations! Now, the only thing left to do before you take on your new role is to make sure that you have the proper food safety manager certification required by the state of Minnesota.

The Food Safety Manager Certification Training Process

When the time comes to get certified, you have the option to choose between two types of training and exams; an online food safety certification course or an instructor led class and exam. Benefits abound for each type of course, so you have the opportunity to choose which style works best for you.

Online food safety manager certification training offers a high level of convenience and accessibility. These sessions can be viewed from any computer with an internet connection, and they can be taken at your own pace, night or day. When taking an online course, you schedule your own breaks giving you time between sessions if your schedule doesn’t allow you to finish in one sitting.

The biggest advantages to taking an instructor led certification course is that there is a teacher available should you have questions and class interaction to identify issues you may miss when sitting by yourself in front of a screen. If a question occurs during an online session, you’re on your own to clarify topics that you’re unsure about. This sometimes leads to more confusion and frustration if you cannot find the answers that you’re looking for. Classes led by an experienced instructor take place in a low-stress environment with a knowledgeable industry expert who is available to answer any questions that arise.

Safe Food Training offers both online and instructor led food safety manager certification training and examinations. Our 5 star rated classes are held at several convenient locations around the twin cities/central Minnesota. Which style of course do you feel fits the lifestyle of a busy food service supervisor?

September 12, 2017September 7, 2017

Food Safety Training Review of Proper Temperature Control

Temperature Control and Food Safe Training

It’s September, and we’re in the midst of National Food Safety Month. National Food Safety Month gives us the opportunity to look at some of the most important rules that keep our food safe. It also gives restaurateurs and food service supervisors the chance to pass on the knowledge they’ve learned during food safe training to their customers.

Temperature Control and Food Safety Training

Before we talk about ways to introduce food safe cooking practices to your guests, it’s important to quickly review proper temperature control procedures. All food must spend as little time in the danger zone as possible. This means all hot foods must remain over 140 degrees and all chilled foods must remain below 41 degrees. Raw proteins and reheated foods must be fully cooked before serving.

Reheated cooked product: 165 degrees
Raw poultry: 165 degrees
Ground meats and pork: 155 degrees
Eggs that will be held: 155 degrees
Eggs for immediate service: 145 degrees
Beef, fish and game: 145 degrees

When we talk to people who have never worked in the food industry, we find some interesting misconceptions about how temperature affects food safety. Many people know the common pathogens that cause food-borne illness due to media coverage of outbreaks, but they don’t consider how their cooking habits at home can have the same consequences on a smaller scale. While food business operators are not responsible for how their patrons handle food at home, Food Safety Month offers a way to share food safe training practices with their guests.

Including an insert in your menu that explains what Food Safety Month is about is an easy way to pass on food safe training practices. Educating your patrons on proper cooking temperatures for proteins can give them an at home guide to doing it themselves. The Minnesota Food Code provides fact sheets that can be easily adapted to produce a simple instruction guide to enlighten your guests on this key food safety issue.

We think it’s a great idea to pass on food safety tips to those not in the industry. Do you have any ways that you educate your guests?