Food Safety Market Blog

A blog with articles related to food handler certification and education on food safety related issues.

Posts about food safety (3):

Refrigerated Food Storage Guidelines for Food Handlers

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Kevin Freeborn
Refrigerated Food Storage Guidelines for Food Handlers
food safety storage refrigerated

Whether you're training to become a food handler, managing a busy restaurant team, or guiding others through their food handler certification, you need to know the basics of safe food storage.

One of the best ways to ensure that the food served by your establishment is consistently safe is by knowing how to store it properly. This is especially true for refrigerated food, which can be quickly contaminated by harmful germs when stored improperly or at improper temperatures. Not only can improper storage practices lead to customers developing foodborne illness, but it can also lead to a degradation in food quality, increased food waste, and lost revenue.

New Measures to Reduce Salmonella Cases in Canada

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Kevin Freeborn
New Measures to Reduce Salmonella Cases in Canada
food safety salmonella

The beginning of April 2019 saw the arrival of new food safety regulations for frozen breaded chicken products in Canada. These regulations aim to reduce the amount of salmonella outbreaks in Canada, many of which stem from infected or improperly prepared frozen breaded chicken products, often resulting in mass product recalls. It’s estimated that each year there are around 87,500 cases of salmonella infections around Canada, with more than 550 being directly attributed to frozen breaded chicken products since May 2017.

How the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations Affect You

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Kevin Freeborn
How the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations Affect You
food safety regulations
The Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR),  implemented across the country on January 15, 2019, have brought significant changes for Canadian foodservice business. The new regulations have been put into place with the intention of improving food safety for Canadians, improving consumer confidence in knowing that the food they receive and eat will be safe and from sources they can trust. These regulations bring a variety of benefits for businesses and consumers, as well as some changes your foodservice business will need to take into consideration.

Why is Romaine Lettuce So Commonly Recalled?

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Kevin Freeborn
Why is Romaine Lettuce So Commonly Recalled?
food safety E. coli produce lettuce
Salad lovers rejoice! The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has   recently declared that the romaine lettuce E.coli outbreak  of late 2018 is finally over. The outbreak lasted nearly two months between October and December, affecting dozens of people and hospitalizing at least 25, becoming worldwide news in the process and the subject of many watercooler conversations because of the extremely large scale of the outbreak and the recalls that followed. Even though the outbreak is finally over, the question of why romaine lettuce is so commonly recalled is still on the minds of many people.

Handling gluten allergies and sensitivities

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Kevin Freeborn
Handling gluten allergies and sensitivities
food safety allergens gluten
A great deal has been written about celiac disease, gluten allergies, and gluten sensitivity, though much confusion and misinformation continues to make the rounds. Allergens are a common issue faced by food service experts, bringing their own unique barriers that must be overcome in order to provide your patrons with the high quality of service they deserve.   Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada  estimates that nearly one-third of Canadians (around 10 million) are regularly seeking out gluten-free products. This includes around 2.5 million who require gluten-free food products for medical reasons. The growing demand for gluten-free alternatives has led to many Canadian restaurants adopting gluten-free alternatives to cater to all customers.

Introducing Our Food Handler Certificate Course, Managing Food Safety (MFS)

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Kevin Freeborn
Introducing Our Food Handler Certificate Course, Managing Food Safety (MFS)
food safety food handler certification training virtual learning online training classroom training

Effective food handler training is a must for any foodservice business, but it can be a struggle to find the right safe food handling certificate online. That’s why we developed Managing Food Safety (MFS), our flagship food handler certificate course designed to help food handler trainers access the most up-to-date, relevant, and engaging online course materials. 

A nationally recognized, high quality food handling certification program, MFS introduces a variety of new measures to make food safety training more effective, including things like visual case studies that can help trainers to transcend language barriers, opportunities for experiential learning, and detailed regional information.

Managing Food Safety has been enthusiastically received by health authorities and food safety trainers around the country, who have said that the program makes the job of trainers easier, and makes learning more enjoyable for participants.

Dangerous Food Mistakes

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Kevin Freeborn
Dangerous Food Mistakes
food safety food preparation
It’s all too easy to get careless or overconfident in the kitchen, but even making a simple mistake can have serious long-term consequences, especially for foodservice workers or those cooking for large groups of people. No matter how experienced you feel you are in the kitchen, it’s important to be aware of common food safety guidelines - it could help you avoid contracting or spreading serious foodborne illnesses. Here are some of the most commonly made food safety mistakes in the kitchen:

Ontario's Food Premises Regulations

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Kevin Freeborn
Ontario's Food Premises Regulations
food safety regulations
Ontario’s new   Food Premises Regulation (O. Reg. 493/17), under the Health Protection and Promotion Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.7 came into effect on July 1, 2018, bringing with it some important changes for foodservice businesses across the province. Though the Regulation has been in effect since July, the transition to compliance with the new requirements is still ongoing for many establishments. The modernized Regulation has taken the place of the Food Premises Regulation (O. Reg. 562), which dated all the way back to 1967, and tackles issues like food handler training, energy conservation, and more.

New Ontario Regulation 493/17

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Kevin Freeborn
New Ontario Regulation 493/17
food safety regulations

Working with Ontario's Public Health Units to Support the Implementation of the New Ontario Regulation 493/17 

O. Reg. 493/17, the new Ontario Food Premises Regulation, came into effect on July 1, 2018, modernizing the previous regulation which dated back to 1967. The Food Premises Regulation has removed outdated and redundant food premises requirements that no longer apply to modern foodservice establishments, offering foodservice operators more flexibility in areas like safe food preparation procedures, food handling, and cleaning and sanitizing procedures. The Regulation has also made it mandatory that at least one trained food handler be on premises for every working hour that the establishment is open for in order to minimize the risks of food poisoning and poor food safety practices.