Take the Online Expressway to Food Safety Education

Though the rules vary from state to state—and often in different localities within a state—most jurisdictions require at least one “certified food handler” on the premises of every food establishment at all times; this is a person who has passed a food handling course and can supervise other workers to ensure that the rules are followed. Many jurisdictions have even tighter standards than this minimal one.

Many Delivery Channels

The required certification is available through numerous channels—including local colleges throughout the country, many local health departments, and various commercial outlets. Many of these organizations offer online courses that students can access at home and online testing for certification held in a secured proctored environment. Two of the largest commercial outlets for such courses are ServSafe (Chicago) and Thomson Prometric (Baltimore). Both are widely used and well established.

The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation’s ServSafe e-learning program offers online courses that it bills as the “anytime, anywhere food safety training option.” Students who complete the courses can then take the company’s proctored online exams, held at various test sites. Accredited by the American National Standards Institute-Conference for Food Protection (ANSI-CFP), the tests can be graded immediately to let students know their scores. According to ServSafe, it has certified more than 2.6 million food safety handlers.

Prometric sells its course materials to more than 200 clients, ranging from independent trainers, colleges, technical schools, and hospitals to restaurant chains and grocery stores. Training is traditional, which means classroom-based, with an instructor. Ed Zepeda, the company’s business development manager and team leader for its food safety program, says Prometric will “probably never” take their manual online. “But,” he adds, “some of our partners are taking our materials and putting them online for their students.”

Most of Prometric’s tests are still paper and pencil-based. But over the past 18 months, the company has been “migrating to Internet-based or computer-based testing models,” Zepeda says. ANSI-accredited and securely proctored, the tests can be accessible to students anywhere who have a computer and Internet access.

Both of these companies offer well-known, respected courses, but others are trying to devise courses that are even more accessible. Colleen Thompson, MS, RD, and her colleague Ellen Shanley, MBA, RD,of the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Connecticut (Storrs), have received a USDA research grant to develop a new online food safety course that they believe will minimize the difficulties many students have with current courses. “Certification is daunting,” Thompson says. “The nation’s largest employer is the food service industry, and many who work in it are in lower income and literacy [groups]. It’s tough to ask them to do this. We’re trying to find a way to get them the information in as simple a way as possible.”

Many students who take these courses are foreign-born and not well educated, and they sometimes have trouble with the material’s complexity. “We have instances where folks don’t pass,” Thompson says. “The exam is tough, and language may be a problem.” She is also working on a Spanish version of the course for those whose lack of skill with English is a barrier.

Focus on Fundamentals

Thompson hopes to simplify the learning process by breaking the course into two parts. The introductory course will focus on fundamentals. “We are beginning to pilot test it,” she says. “We hope that if they take this and are successful, they won’t be afraid of the next course.” The researchers also want to incorporate interactive video clips and games. “We are working along those lines to make learning more fun and interactive.” Students who master both courses will be ready to take a national certification test.