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What are the required skills and knowledge?
Your staff and their supervisors must be able to do their work in ways that ensure your club produces safe food. They must also be aware of issues associated with food safety and safe food handling practices that are relevant to your club and to the jobs they do for you.
How do I make sure that staff have appropriate skills and knowledge?
Formal training is not required. There are many different things you can do and factors you can take into account to ensure that staff have the skills and knowledge needed for their work. Some examples are:
- ‘In house’ training by other qualified staff or the manager of the club.
- Handing out food safety and food hygiene information for staff to read and be aware of.
- Defining operating rules that set out the responsibilities of food handlers and their supervisors.
- Sending staff to food safety courses run by a qualified organisation
- Hiring a consultant to run a course for the staff.
- Recruiting staff with formal industry based training qualifications.
Clubs can choose the approach that best suits their business, provided they can be confident that their staff have the skills and knowledge needed for the work they do.
How can I comply with the skills and knowledge requirement?
Clubs may find the following questions useful when considering the requirement regarding food handling skills and knowledge:
- Have you identified the food handling and safety risks in your business?
- What food handling tasks do different staff members carry out?
- Have staff been told or shown how to handle food safely within your business?
- Is someone responsible for making sure any set procedures or rules are followed?
- Do you have the equipment and space that staff need to keep work areas clean?
Clubs which ensure that their food handlers have safe food handling skills and knowledge, supervise the work of their staff, and regularly remind them about safe food handling practices, should find it easy to comply with the required skills and knowledge requirements.