Food and allergen training
Why is allergen and food safety training important?
Anyone working with food has a responsibility to make sure that the food they serve, or sell, is safe to eat. All food handlers must receive suitable supervision, food safety training, and allergen training.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) estimates there are over 2 million people living with a diagnosed food allergy in the UK. Many customers will inform you about their allergies or intolerances, but not all.
Trading Standards and Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) will check that businesses have:
- food safety controls to reduce the risk of cross contamination
- accurate and consistent allergen information for the food served
- a Food Safety Management System (FSMS)
- awareness of the key 14 allergens
- fully trained staff
Compliance will help you gain a good Food Hygiene Rating score.
How can allergen and food safety training help you and your business?
Training can help your business by:
- achieving compliance
- protecting your customers from harm
- gaining a good Food Hygiene Rating score
- improving your customer reputation
Allergen and food safety training available
View our course calendar for dates and booking details.
Level 2 Award in Allergen Awareness and Control
This qualification is ideal for food handlers and staff involved in food preparation.
This half day training covers:
- food allergens and intolerance
- legislation around allergens and what you need to do to be compliant
- the importance of communicating allergen information to customers
Allergy UK considers this training suitable for food businesses that wish to apply for their Allergy Aware Scheme.
Level 1 Award in Food Safety Awareness in Catering, Retail or Manufacturing
This basic food safety training is for cashiers, warehouse staff, or low-risk food workers.
It covers:
- personal cleanliness and the importance of hygiene
- how to keep work areas clean
- key food safety issues
Level 2 Award in Food Safety for Catering, Retail or Manufacturing
This training is for anyone working in catering who prepares, cooks, and handles food.
It covers:
- the principles of cleanliness and hygiene and its impact on food safety
- an in-depth understanding of food safety risks
- the 4C's cleaning, chilling, cooking, and cross contamination risks
- the National Food Hygiene Rating Scheme and how to achieve the best rating score
Level 3 Award in Managing Food Safety for Catering, Retail or Manufacturing
We recommend this training for managers and supervisors of food businesses.
It covers:
- Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS)
- the application and monitoring of good practice around contamination, microbiology, and temperature control
-
Q and A session with an Environmental Health Officers to give insight to the inspection process
AllergyPAL
AllergyPAL is a training tool, aimed at small, medium-sized enterprises.
AllergyPAL provides users with training through real-life scenarios in a game set-up. There are 5 business models to choose from.
These are:
- coffee shop
- takeaway
- farm shop
- sandwich shop
- restaurant
The user answers questions and collects trophy tokens for each correct answer.
Extra information
All our courses are available online or as blended learning, and tutor-led option.
We work hard to link up our training with our EHOs and food safety laws. We include tips about the Food Hygiene Rating score and ‘may contain' labelling. We also provide practical tools such as menu planning and the allergen matrix.
You should refresh your Allergen and Food Safety training every three years. This ensures knowledge and skills are up-to-date.
To discuss alternative dates, bespoke training, or group bookings, please get in touch. You can email our team at business@wakefield.gov.uk or ring us 01924 305971.
Our Food Safety and Allergen Safety training courses are accredited by Highfield Qualifications.
