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Why food safety training is important for Australian businesses

If your organisation has anything to do with food, it's absolutely crucial to have appropriate measures in place to deal with hygiene and general compliance. Not only do the right food safety measures provide the best level of service and protection for your customers, they're also a vital and essential component of remaining on side with the various laws and regulations associated with serving food. 

This is important for any organisation that operates within the culinary space but is particularly critical within hospitality and retail, where reputational damage and financial repercussions are just two of the possible consequences of improper food safety standards. 

To ensure your organisation is protected, it's key to provide staff with all of the tools they need, and food safety training sits comfortably at the top of this list. Barringtons provides food safety training for an enormous range of businesses, with flexible delivery options making sure that there's no excuse for failing to be prepared. 

Barringtons provides food safety training for an enormous range of businesses.

Why food safety training is important

When it comes to the 'whys' of food safety training, the most important point to make is that having the right expertise on your side reduces the potential for contamination via poor hygiene practices. There are all sorts of different ways that this can happen, including sick employees, bacteria from raw products, and chemicals used throughout the kitchen. 

In worst-case scenarios, contamination can lead to serious illness for customers, particularly in vulnerable groups such as children and the elderly. Even with mild cases of food poisoning, the reputational damage associated with being known for low standards of food safety can have serious repercussions on an organisation's reputation. These include everything from reduced business to difficulty securing the best employees.

Are your kitchen staff equipped with the expertise they need to ensure food safety? The right safety training goes a long way towards reducing cross-contamination in commercial kitchens.

Of course, food safety training isn't just about understanding what practices best protect the consumer. It can also have some significant benefits to your business, with the first being a better understanding of what products are suitable for use in the kitchen. A great example of how this can benefit a business is with food wastage, where training can play a key role in reducing non-essential spend on items that don't need to be restocked, but are frequently replaced due to a lack of expertise surrounding food safety.

Food safety training helps create a culture of accountability within a business.

In addition, food safety training helps create a culture of accountability within a business, setting out an appropriate framework in the event of any mishaps. Keeping accurate and up-to-date record sheets of what products have been used also makes it far easier to identify the offending item and quickly eliminate it from the kitchen.

It's impossible to completely eliminate the risk of contamination when dealing with food, as certain factors such as pesticides used on crops are difficult to control. Even so, trained staff will be far better placed to deal with these issues as they arise, reducing the negative impact on your organisation.

Food safety training for employees

After considering all of the risks associated with a lack of food safety training, it's clear that employees must be equipped with the essential information they need to protect consumers as well as their organisations. Barringtons' food safety training course encompasses all of this, covering:

  • Hygiene regulations and laws
  • Cleaning and sanitising best practices
  • Use of raw eggs
  • Allergen management
  • Types of food hazards and how to prevent them
  • Identifying and controlling bacteria, viruses and fungi
  • Implementing a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) approach to food safety
  • Hygiene procedures and personal hygiene requirements
  • Proper storage and preparation of food and beverages
  • The importance of pest control
  • Appropriate waste storage and disposal

However, there are also legal requirements to take into consideration. After a legislative change in 2009, most businesses that serve food are now required to have at least one food safety supervisor. Ignoring this requirement can result in hefty fines, and possibly a conviction. 

Accordingly, it's vital for retail and hospitality businesses to have staff that don't just know what they're doing when it comes to food safety but have the qualification to prove it. After completing Barringtons' food safety training course, graduates will receive: 

  • The NSW Food Authority Food Safety Supervisor's Certificate
  • A statement of attainment for SITHIND001: Use hygienic practices for food safety
  • A statement of attainment for SITXFSA002: Participate in safe food handling practices

These qualifications protect your business by proving to the relevant authorities that there are staff on-site who have undergone the necessary training and are qualified to monitor food safety in your kitchen. Best of all, it's possible to take Barringtons' food safety course online. In an industry where time is incredibly precious, it's often difficult to arrange time off for staff to travel to and attend a training course. Online training eliminates this hurdle, making it simple to secure the essential qualifications necessary without having to take extensive time off. 

For more information, get in touch with the Barringtons team today.

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