Food Hygiene Course | Types and Career Paths

 

A food hygiene course is essential for a number of different food-related career pathways. This article will discuss the different kinds of food hygiene courses that you can take, and the various career paths that they can open the doors to. It will also discuss why these courses may be important for starting your own business and becoming an entrepreneur.

 

Types of Food Hygiene Course 

 

Level 1 Food Safety 

This course focuses on the basics of food hygiene and is needed by those who work in food production and handle low-risk foods. This course is useful to understand how to keep areas clean and ensure that bacteria or other things do not come in contact with food.

 

Level 2 Food Hygiene 

The next level is for those who work in catering settings. This includes cafes, restaurants, hotels, fast food and other catering environments. Training in this is usually required to become a member of a catering team.

 

Level 3 Supervising Food Safety 

As the name suggests, this is a course for managers or supervisors who wish to supervise others with food hygiene. This is important for companies which place a high value on food hygiene and need to have those ensuring everything is as safe as possible. These individuals are then qualified to ensure that all workers abide by regulations.

These are the basic 3 food hygiene courses that you will most commonly find. Now that we know what they broadly are, it is important for us to consider what types of things you may be taught in these courses.

 

What Will You Be Taught?

 

During the beginning of the course, you are often taught about the law surrounding food hygiene and why a good understanding of it is needed as well as the work of many different organisations such as Food Standards Agency.

You will also learn about personal hygiene. Things like washing your hands for a certain amount of time before you come into contact with food or are near food as well as using things such as hair masks. It is likely that you will also learn about the contamination between bacteria and food.

Handling and storing food is also equally important to learn to ensure that food is kept at cool temperatures and stored safely.

In addition, you will often learn how to recognise and reduce food hazards in the workplace.

 

 

How Could They Develop Your Career?

 

Opening Your Own Business 

Many individuals decide to open their own food business. Some examples are bakery businesses, food trucks, restaurants or event catering. When you are just starting out, you need to prove to your customers that you are competent at providing them with safe, nutritious food. You need to show that it has been carefully handled and they will be safe buying from your business.

If you are thinking of starting your own business then it would be ideal to take an entrepreneurship course, as well as a food hygiene course. The College of Contract Management offers an HND in Business Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management. This is considered the equivalent of the first 2 years of university and therefore it can be topped up to a full degree if you would like. However, this qualification on its own can be enough to set you up for starting your own food business.

 

Becoming a Chef 

Food safety and hygiene courses can also allow you to progress your career and become a professional chef. You could take hospitality or cooking qualifications and work for your favourite restaurant or cafe. These hygiene qualifications will prove to the business owner that you are competent to cook and safety serve food to customers. You could work your way up to some of the most popular and high-class restaurants.

 

Food Packing

The food hygiene course can also allow you to work in jobs where you may be packing food or working in a factory where you may come into contact with food.

 

Working in a Hotel

 

Hotel assistants also handle food or come into contact with it. Whether that be breakfast staff and chefs, room service employees or even waiters or waitresses. With a food hygiene course, you are able to be well prepared for any of these roles. Understanding hygiene would also be useful for cleaning staff in the hotel. For example, ensuring surfaces are wiped down and the rooms are cleaned. Therefore, the skills learnt in a food hygiene course can be transferable for other areas of the profession.

 

Importing Food 

 

There are also rules and regulations on the safety of imported foods so that all foods in the UK can be confidently safe.

 

Working in Schools and Hospitals

 

In addition, working in schools and hospitals also require you to have some idea of food hygiene if you are working with food or handling food. In hospitals settings especially, it is very important that food hygiene is adhered to because people may be more susceptible to allergies, or a foodborne illness could have extremely detrimental effects. Therefore, taking a food hygiene course would be one step closer to a dream of working in a hospital or a school in a catering setting.

 

Why Is a Food Hygiene Course Important?

 

Without proper training in food hygiene and safety, food could be very dangerous for people to consume. There are very specific rules for storing food. Furthermore, expiry dates and cleanliness because it can lead to serious food poisoning and leave people feeling very ill. This can affect the reputation and ratings of a business and this would be hugely detrimental for their future growth.

It is also important due to food allergies. If someone was served something contaminated with something they are allergic to, the most severe reaction is death. Therefore, it should be taken very seriously.

Another reason that it is so important is that it reduces the food waste that businesses will have. This will reduce the costs that the business has to incur.

Even things such as leaving bones in fish can be a health hazard. Those who are preparing the food directly should be highly trained in how to prepare food correctly.

 

 

Conclusion

 

This article has explained what a food hygiene course is as well as the types of things you will learn. It also outlines the various career paths that you could take after taking a course. In short, the courses have so many benefits and they can open the door to many different opportunities. As an education provider, here at the College of Contract Management, we want you to find the best career path for you. We also want you to grasp as many opportunities as you can. That is why we provide you with the information you need to progress your career.