Wednesday, Septembder 5, 2001
|
Wednesday, Septembder 5, 2001 |
|
School cafeteria managers earn certificates in food safety Cafeteria managers in the Fayette County School System have successfully completed a rigorous food-safety training program that has enabled them to become members of the International Food Safety Council. As part of the managers' advanced training, they participated in the ServSafe program, which has become the industry standard in food-safety training and is accepted in almost all United States jurisdictions that require employee certification. The program provides accurate, up-to-date information on all aspects of handling food from receiving and storing to preparing and serving. Through the program, Fayette's managers received training on providing safe food, contamination, food allergies, foodborne illnesses, and safe food handling. Food Services Director Cheryl Calhoun delivered the training to the managers. Calhoun had previously gone through the training so that she could become an instructor. After attending the training sessions, which are 6-8 hours in length, participants must successfully pass a written test before they can become certified in the ServSafe program. The National Restaurant Association grades the test. Individuals must score a grade of 75 or more to pass the exam. Fayette's cafeteria managers passed with flying colors with scores ranging from the high 80s to 90s. "I am very proud of them for achieving this. The certification will be beneficial to our managers because it constantly reminds them of what their job is when they come to work each day," says Calhoun. Although the test is difficult to pass, Calhoun says her managers had been exposed to food safety training before so they were already well versed in certain areas of the exam. "We have always trained our managers and staff in food safety but we have never had a training program that certified them. We felt certification was the next step," adds Calhoun. As a certified ServSafe program participant, each manager is now a member of the International Food Safety Council. The council, a coalition of restaurant and foodservice professionals created by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, is a valuable resource that promotes the importance of food-safety training. The council represents all segments of the restaurant and foodservice industry chain and independent operators, manufacturers, suppliers and distributors, academia, associations and public health professionals. Now that the managers have been certified, they will deliver the training program to their employees, ensuring that every cafeteria worker is up-to-date on the latest techniques and regulations regarding food safety.
|
||