CIEH launches innovative farm food safety training in partnership with food safety specialists Fresh Produce Training & Development

The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) has partnered with food safety training consultancy Fresh Produce Training & Development to launch a new food safety training course for farm workers.

This new Level 2 Food Safety training for Fresh Produce Field Workers expands on CIEH’s Level 2 Food Safety training, focusing on individuals in field work who are responsible for fresh produce and harvesting crops for human consumption.

Extending our food safety training all the way from farm-to-fork, this course helps farm workers understand how to minimise the risk of contamination as soon as produce leaves the ground and considers best practice recommendations for a range of potential food safety hazards encountered in fresh produce production.

By the time field workers complete this module, they will be able to:

• Understand the importance of food safety and its impact
• Define the term "Farm-to-Fork" and their responsibility in this process
• Understand the consequences for the consumer and the business if things go wrong
• Understand food safety when working with fresh produce out in the field
• Learn the laws concerning food safety, their legal responsibilities and the importance of keeping accurate records as well as the concept of "due diligence"
• State the consequences of poor standards of food hygiene and the benefits of good standards
• Define the terms food safety, food poisoning, food-borne illness, food allergy, contamination, hazard and HACCP

Liam McCarthy, CIEH Key Account Manager, said:

“We are delighted to launch this innovative new training product which is the first of its kind.

There is currently a lack of food safety training for fresh produce workers, making it difficult for primary producers to train their staff. By leveraging the expertise of food safety training consultancy Fresh Produce Training & Development, with over 60 years of experience in the food industry, alongside our expertise in delivering food safety training, we are confident that this training will contribute to maintaining and improving food standards at a critical juncture of the food supply chain.

We hope that primary producers will leverage this opportunity to train their staff to the highest standards with CIEH-accredited training, demonstrating their commitment to upholding food safety standards.”

Malcolm Laidlaw, Specialist Food Safety Consultant at Fresh Produce Training & Development, said:

“Fresh Produce Training & Development was set up to help develop the next generation of fresh produce technical staff. We recognised that there was no specific training for the fresh produce supply chain as that’s where we have our experience. We want to develop training solutions that are applicable and beneficial to fresh producer growers, packers, processors and users and tailor our courses to their needs. For example, in our food safety courses, we won’t talk about making prawn sandwiches, or roasting chickens, we talk about soil, manure and irrigation water.”