Inspection regulations are ever-evolving and can be difficult to keep up with. To ensure you remain ahead of the curve, it’s important to take the time to find the best food safety courses available. With a wide array of courses to choose from, it can be difficult to determine which are the best. In this blog post, we’ll discuss the top food safety courses to help you stay ahead of inspection regulations.
Food Safety Management
If you’re looking to become an expert in food safety, it’s crucial to understand the principles of food safety management. These principles focus on identifying potential hazards, preventing contamination, and ensuring that food products are safe for consumption.
Several institutes around the world offer courses in food safety management. Some of the leading institutes in food safety include the
- International Food Safety Training Laboratory
- Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance
- Food Safety Management Institute.
- Michigan State University – Online Mode
International Food Safety Training Laboratory
The International Food Safety Training Laboratory is based in the United States and offers a variety of courses in food safety, including courses in food safety management. These courses are designed for professionals in the food industry who want to enhance their knowledge of food safety principles and regulations.
Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance
The Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance is another leading institute in food safety. It provides a standardized curriculum for food safety professionals to learn about the new regulatory requirements under the Food Safety Modernization Act. Courses include training in hazard analysis, preventive controls, and verification and validation activities.
Food Safety Management Institute
Lastly, the Food Safety Management Institute offers courses in food safety management, focusing on developing an effective food safety plan and maintaining a food safety culture in the workplace. The institute provides customized training programs tailored to meet specific industry needs, ensuring that professionals are equipped with the knowledge and skills to manage food safety in their respective fields.
Michigan State University
The Online Master of Science (MS) in Food Safety Program at Michigan State University was created in response to a need in the food industry, government, and public health to educate their employees on safeguarding our food supply.
Michigan State University (MSU) offers a comprehensive and highly respected graduate program in Food Safety, including a wide range of online master’s programs. With a strong focus on ensuring the safety and quality of our food supply, MSU equips students with the knowledge and skills needed to excel in the field of food safety.
Through online programs, students have the flexibility to pursue their studies from anywhere in the world, allowing for seamless integration of education and professional commitments. The online platform provides a dynamic and engaging learning environment, facilitated by experienced faculty who are experts in the field of food safety.
Food Hygiene Courses
Food hygiene is one of the most crucial aspects of food safety management, as it is essential in preventing the spread of harmful bacteria and diseases. Proper food hygiene practices ensure that the food being prepared and served is safe and free from any contamination.
If you are interested in studying food hygiene, there are many leading institutes. Some of the best institutes that provide hygiene courses include :
- Chartered Institute of Environmental Health
- Royal Society for Public Health
- International Food Safety and Quality Network.
Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH)
The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) is one of the UK’s leading institutes in food safety and offers a range of courses that cover all aspects of food hygiene. They offer qualifications for both entry-level and advanced learners, including the Level 2 Award in Food Safety in Catering, the Level 3 Award in Supervising Food Safety in Catering, and the Level 4 Award in Managing Food Safety.
Royal Society for Public Health
Another excellent UK-based institute for food safety management is the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH). The RSPH offers a range of food safety courses, including the Level 2 Award in Food Safety for Catering, the Level 3 Award in Supervising Food Safety in Catering, and the Level 4 Award in Food Safety Management for Manufacturing.
Food Safety and Quality Network (IFSQN)
Lastly, the International Food Safety and Quality Network (IFSQN) is an online community of food safety professionals that offers a range of training and certification courses. Their courses cover all aspects of food safety management, including food hygiene, HACCP, and food defence. They offer a variety of certification programs, such as the Certified Food Safety Professional (CFSP) program and the Certified HACCP Auditor (CHA) program.
Read more: Primary Job and Career of a Food Safety Officer
How to be a food safety officer?
As stated above, the best eligibility to be an officer is to pursue graduation. But many institutes is providing food safety diplomas. So is it worth applying for a diploma is questionable?
Similarly, a bachelor’s degree and post-graduation in Food science and technology is the best way to become a Food Safety Officer. In fact, certain Food industries hire diploma graduates. Furthermore, pay scale and professional uplift are a subject of concern.
List of Institutes for Food Safety Officer Course
Let’s list some of the diploma courses in Food Safety approved centrally and attested by the concerned Agency. Before many international agencies were listed but national agencies to gaining momentum.
Meanwhile please check the table for further details.
| Course | Type | Institute | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food Safety | Diploma | Greenworld group | One Year |
| Food Safety | Diploma | Redhatsafety | One Year |
| Food Safety | Diploma | BSS (Bharat Sevak Samaj) | One Year |
Which to choose?
Subsequently, there are a few disadvantages to taking a diploma in this field. Most industries prefer graduates and further qualifications in food safety. So if you are taking up the above courses please make sure to update further with certifications in Food Safety.
Recent trends in career graphs as Food Safety Officer shows that a diploma is least preferred compared to graduation. This is because, during a food safety audit in your organization, the auditor prefers higher qualifications.
Simultaneously framing a food safety team prefers higher qualifications. Specifically to gain an outline and food industry knowledge these types of courses are good.
Food safety is an all-time important subject as it reduces hazards and food poisoning. A standard food industry mandatory requires a qualified Food Safety Officer. This is by law under the Food Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
Work and roles of Food Safety Officer
- Responsible for the entire food safety process or operations in the food industry and restaurants or their respective inspection areas.
- Responsible for implementing & updating of FSMS system.
- Overall responsibility to assemble team members periodically for meetings to discuss the issues related to the FSMS system.
- Maintenance of daily quality and food safety reports. Accumulating reports on nonconformances and any deviations, food incidents, etc.
- Planning out training, and arrangements as per the FSMS.
- Overall responsibility for initiating corrective action in the event of product conformance.
- Managing the production staff to ensure a smooth production process.
- Responsible for getting or recovering all the documents required per the company’s specifications from the suppliers.
- Planning and scheduling internal, external and third-party audits.
- Reading and updating about the local regulatory compliance.
- Coordinate and plan local authority inspections.
Salary and benefits of food safety officer
FoodTechSafety recent study on trends in the salary and benefits of food safety officers has a positive graph. During the early 20s when the course started the salary was very low.
You may be surprised as it is less than 5K even for a Multinational company during that period. As years passed, with industry started to acknowledge our food safety and food technology profession benefits increased.
But too food safety officers are less paid in the private sector than compared to food technologists and new product development specialists. Public sector food safety officers are well paid and benefit.
Author: Meera Jacob
A Food Safety Officer and Food Technologist in nature. Auditing and observing food safety systems is a prior interest. Writing and describing my experience is another passion. The food Industry is a diverse area with food safety as its prime focus to flourish. And that makes me more enthusiastic to work on various Non-Conformances and Risk Analysis. Happy Food Safetying to all Food Safety Professionals !!!
