Ottawa First Aid and Food Safety
Ottawa First Aid among the best training providers of food handler training in Canada. We beat out competition by keeping our trainees fees very affordable while retaining the high quality of our curricula. We also offer training courses in first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and occupational health and safety. If you need training credentials for these topics, visit us at Ottawa First Aid and sign up for a course.
Food Handler Training
We offer food handler courses in two levels. The first level, Food Safe Level 1 is a basic program for direct food handlers, but we encourage anyone interested in food safety to sign up for this program. It covers all the basic concepts and skills using in food handling. This level is quite popular among trainees because everyone handles food – you don’t have to work in food service to take basic food safety training. It is part of everybody’s responsibility to practice safe food handling for themselves and/or their families.
Food Safe Level 1 course topics include: hand hygiene, personal health, workplace sanitation, foodborne illness
The second level, Food Safe Level 2, is an advanced training program for food business owners and staff members with managerial capacities (e.g. executive chef, line manager, etc.). Before you can sign up for this level of training, you have to take Food Safe Level 1 first and have a valid certificate upon enrollment to Food Safe Level 2. The program focuses on the must-knows for running a food business.
Food Safe Level 2 course topics include: Health permits, staff training, workflow, general housekeeping, emergency response
The Certificate
Food Handler Training credentials are valid for only five years – this is the same throughout Canada, enforced by the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care. Food handlers are required to take food safety refresher courses every five years to update themselves on new concepts and skills as well as receive a new training credential. If you are a holder of an advanced level food safety credential (Food Safe Level 2), you don’t have to take refreshers for both levels; you are just required to take a Food Safe Level 2 refresher to be granted a new credential.
Getting to know Foodborne Illness
Foodborne illnesses or FBIs are caused by ingesting food contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms. It is not a single disease but rather a category for diseases caused by the factor mentioned previously. There are many FBIs are that affect the Canadian population such as salmonellosis and botulism but more often than not, FBIs are very mild and self-limiting.
Symptoms of an FBI can manifest as soon as thirty minutes after ingestion of the contaminated food or as late are six hours. If you have an FBI, you can expect to experience most, of not all of the following symptoms:
- Stomach pain
- Stomach cramps
- Nausea and vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Loss of appetite
To prevent dehydratioon, remember to drink lots of water. If your stomach is upset, eat a bland diet free from dairy products.