The Food Handler Training Requirement.
It’s our job at Serve It Up Safe! to properly train Food Safety Managers in our 5-hour ServSafe exam prep class, and we have 147 classes a year in Florida. Then you take the ServSafe Managers exam, and when you pass, you get a Food Managers certification that is valid for 5 years. Then it’s your job to properly train your staff, called “food handlers”. How do you accomplish that? To that end, there are 130 DBPR Div. of Hotels/Restaurant Approved Programs that can satisfy Fl. S~ 509.049 (the Food Handler training requirement). 125 of them are privately owned programs that are owned by, and for the exclusive use of, a particular corporate chain, like McDonalds, Burger King or Taco Bell for example. That leaves about 5 other DBPR Approved Programs I have access to. The materials used to train and subsequently certify 1 employee (and their certificate is then valid for 3 years) ranges in price from $6 to $20, and you have good options:
1) Food Safety First is the program that is least expensive and easiest to use and fully complies with FL. S~ 509.049. Let’s start with the best part- the required training guide book is FREE! You will download and print it from our website www.serveitupsafe.com under the Food Handler Training tab (on the left). Then you need the individual paper certificates, and every food handler needs one, and we mail them to you (USPS). If you buy 1-49 individual certifies they are $7.00 each or if you buy 50+ they are $6.00 each. Awesome deal and very uncomplicated! DO NOT lose your training guide book; you have to have 1 on the premises at all times!
2) Food Safety Principals by the National Registry of Food Safety is a combination book & certificate all-in-one, and it is $10 per book. This is best for smaller establishments with only a few employees. Shipping is cheap & there are no handling costs.
3) On-line option is $9.95 each by going to www.serveitupsafe.com. At the top of my homepage is the ‘Food Handler Certificate Online’. It takes about an hour and is self-paced. The employee prints their certificate at the completion of the on-line training module.
4) SafeStaff is a combination book & certificate all-in-one, and is $10 per book. This is best for smaller establishments with only a few employees. BEWARE: they gouge on shipping & handling, and the shipping is a pass-thru cost thus the expensive part. What is “handling” anyway?
— ORDERING IS EASY —
Simply reach out to us on our Contact Page and tell us your name, the business name, your full address and which program you want including your quantity! Payment is via a check CC after they’ve shipped. That’s uncomplicated!