Food safety is an important part of running a food business. The Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care drafted the Health Protection and Promotion Act, a by-law that requires medium and high-risk food facilities to have food safety certified members of the staff. These employees have to be trained in an affiliate training provider, meaning the certification they receive will be valid all over the province, not just in Thunder Bay First Aid.
Thunder Bay First Aid works closely with the local and provincial health authorities in order to provide students with food safety training credentials that will be accepted anywhere in Canada. If you are a food handler and have been asked by your employer to get certified in food safety, you can sign up for a basic course at our Thunder Bay First Aid website. The site has an online application form, as well as contact details should you wish to give us a call or send an e-mail.
If you want to, you can visit the Thunder Bay First Aid location and ask for a short orientation. Our staff will be glad to assist you – just be sure to visit during business hours.
“Food Poisoning”
The term food poisoning is the layman’s term for foodborne illness, the correct term for the condition. A person gets foodborne illness by eating food contaminated by pathogens and chemicals.The most common pathogens identified that cause foodborne illness are the following: (1) Norovirus, (2) Campylobacter, (3) Clostridum perfringens, (4) Salmonella, and (5) Staphylococcus aureus. The Norovirus, though rarely diagnosed, is estimated to cause more than 50 percent of total cases. Because the virus is quite self-limiting, victims don’t usually seek medical help when their first experience symptoms and simply wait it out.
If you have been food poisoned, you may manifest nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, stomach pain and cramps, diarrhea, and the beginning signs of dehydration. If your child or an older adult has been experiencing vomiting and/or diarrhea for several days, be sure to go to the doctor – dehydration is very dangerous for them because they easily lose fluid and have a difficult time replacing the lost fluid and electrolytes.
Safe Food Handling with Thunder Bay First Aid
At Thunder Bay First Aid website, we teach our students about concepts and skills in a “safe” handling process. When food is prepared, cooked, served, and stored, the handler has to practice safe handling – meaning they wash their hands, keep utensils and the area sanitized, cook food thoroughly, and similar concepts. This is the same set of concepts that laypersons have – not just food service workers. If you cook food for yourself or other people, such as family, make sure that you know how to prevent food from becoming contaminated with dangerous bacteria and other substances and microorganisms.
A basic course targets direct food handlers and interested laypersons. An advanced course targets basic (level 1) credential holders and management staff. The certificates for basic and advanced training are different, because the programs are different as well.
You can visit the Thunder Bay website for complete course details, as well as schedules.