Starting December 8th 2023, food service, catering, and associated retail sectors in Australia must adhere to updated food handler training regulations.
Training Requirements Explained: Under Standard 3.2.2A – 10, every food handler dealing with unpackaged, potentially risky ready-to-eat food must before such handling, ‘Finish a designated food safety training course.’
Furthermore, businesses must have a certified food safety supervisor overseeing these food handlers.
This directive stems from the vulnerability of unpackaged hazardous foods to contamination by detrimental microorganisms or other threats right before being served and consumed.
Who Requires this Training? Both category one and two business food handlers must fulfil these standards, as described in Standard 3.2.2A – Overview. Businesses must ascertain that their food handlers either complete a food safety training course.
Content of Training: A food safety training program should encompass (ServoSkills):
- Safe food handling,
- Knowledge on food contamination,
- Procedures on cleaning and sanitizing food spaces and tools, and
- Guidelines on personal hygiene.
Frequency of Training: While there’s no established timeline or renewal duration, businesses need to ensure that their food handlers’ expertise remains relevant and current. Regular refresher training sessions are recommended, which is included in the ServoSkills 12-month refresher course.
For details on food safety supervisor training, refer to the Food safety supervisor section of the Standard 3.2.2A – Overview
ServoPro’s training platform: ServoSkills, includes a unit on Food Safety. By having staff complete the ServoSkills training in particular the Food Safety unit, you will fully comply with this new requirement. For more information on how to enrol your employees in the ServoSkills training course, you can contact Dan Armes on 0490 415 063 or [email protected].
ServoPro members are reminded they can access ServoSkills for free through the ServoPro members area.
To access the ServoSkills training course and join ServoPro you can click here for further information.