Food Safety Courses

Food safety courses focus on processing, preparing, handling and serving food safely. Some courses, such as FOODSAFE Level 1, are compulsory for many people working in the food service industry in British Columbia. People of all ages who handle, process and/or serve food are recommended to take food safety courses.

FOODSAFE^TM

The FOODSAFE^TM  program is a comprehensive food-safety training program for the food industry. An initiative of the Province of British Columbia, FOODSAFE^TM is managed by the BC FOODSAFE Secretariat in partnership with the BC Centre for Disease Control, regional health authorities, BC Restaurant and Food Services Association, and WorkSafe BC.

FOODSAFE Level 1

FOODSAFE Level 1 is a food-handling, sanitation and work safety course designed for frontline foodservice workers such as cooks, servers, bus-persons, dishwashers and deli workers. The course covers important food safety and worker safety information on foodborne illness, receiving and storing food, preparing food, serving food, cleaning and sanitizing.

Under the Food Premises Regulation, every operator of a food service establishment, and at least one employee in the absence of the operator, must hold a FOODSAFE Level 1 certificate, or a certificate from a course recognized as equivalent to FOODSAFE Level 1.

To find out about equivalent courses, see Food Handlers Training Courses Equivalent to BC FOODSAFE Level 1 (PDF, 234KB)

FOODSAFE Level 2

FOODSAFE Level 2 is designed for food service owners and managers, kitchen managers, executive chefs and others who are responsible for managing food safety in the food service environment. The course has a short review of FOODSAFE Level 1 and modules on managing for food safety and writing a food safety plan. FOODSAFE Level 1 is a prerequisite for FOODSAFE Level 2.

MarketSafe^TM

The MarketSafe ^TM program is designed to increase awareness and knowledge of food safety and safe food-handling procedures for farmers' market vendors, market managers, farm-gate vendors and others who make, bake or produce food products for public consumption outside regulated food service establishments.

ProcessSafe^TM

ProcessSafe^TM is a new course designed for workers at food processing facilities; specifically micro - and small-scale food processors. The course covers important topics such as employee health and hygiene, receiving, storing, shipping, processing and packaging. It will be launched in spring 2020.

Caring About Food Safety

Caring About Food Safety is a short, self-guided course about the safe preparation and handling of food. Offered at no cost by the Ministry of Health, it is designed to raise awareness about protecting public health by preventing the spread of food-borne illness.

Caring About Food Safety is for anyone who buys, prepares, handles or serves food to family and friends, and people in workplaces where there are no mandated food-safety training requirements. It is useful for people whose clients are more susceptible to food-borne illness. These include operators of child daycares and of small, residential care facilities.

Click on the image below get started on the Caring About Food Safety course.