Certification courses on food safety can be found all over Saskatchewan, but none have better quality than Regina First Aid. We have courses for Food Safety Training in Regina through the week, during evenings and weekends as well, when not all the students can be accommodated in the regular schedules. Signing up for a class is quite easy; we have made an enrollment form available on the Regina First Aid website, which you can fill out and submit online. We also encourage prospective students to give us a call, send an e-mail, or visit us in person.
Visit the Regina First Aid website for our contact details and more information about available programs. We also have cardiopulmonary resuscitation and first aid training class as well.
Courses for Food Safety Training in Regina
Food safety training at Regina First Aid has two levels – FoodSafe 1 and FoodSafe 2. Both courses focus on one concept – safe food preparation in order to prevent foodborne illnesses. Level 1 training is a basic course on food safety, introducing concepts of microbiology, pathogenesis, sanitation, personal hygiene, and other factors that affect food and work safety.
Level 2 training is an advanced course that focuses more on management of food facilities, hence, the course targeted managerial and supervisory staff. The curriculum focuses on planning, with topics such as food safety workshops for personnel and facility design. It is longer than the basic course because training program teaches students how to run a food establishment safely – for both the workers and the consumers. Level 2 training takes 2 days to finish, with 12 total class hours.
Upon completion of the program and passing all the exams, we will award you with a training credential for food safety and sanitation (valid all over Saskatchewan).
Looking into foodborne illness
A person gets infected with foodborne illnesses after ingesting contaminated food. Food can become contaminated by dangerous substances because of improper handling, rendering it unsafe for consumption. When contaminated food is consumed, it gives rise to gastrointestinal symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea. The symptoms are typically mild and resolve in less than a week; however, in cases where the symptoms become severe or persist more than a few days, medical management might be needed.
Microorganisms that can cause illness are called pathogens. The most common foodborne pathogens are the following (according to the CDC and WHO):
- Norovirus.
- Campylobacter spp.
- Clostridium perfringens.
- Salmonella.
- Staphylococcus aureus.
In order to properly diagnose these pathogens, victims need to have their blood taken and examined (clinical symptoms are very similar across different illnesses).
Getting started: Workplace sanitation
Housekeeping plays a big part in keeping a food establishment sanitized. During food preparation, the food service workers are responsible for keeping their area sanitized, not just before and after. Most of the time, contamination comes from failing to sanitize the area after handling raw food, which in turn contaminates cooked food prepared on the surface afterwards. Even with proper personal hygiene (e.g. hand hygiene and protective equipment), if the work area is not clean, food can still become contaminated.