Every year, one in six Americans suffers from a food borne illness, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Restaurants and other businesses that specialize in handling food regularly might want to consider taking a food safety course in order to do their part in minimizing that number. Taking a food safety course does not require a heavy investment on the part of business owners or employees. As a result, a food protection course is one of the best ways for businesses to make sure that they are keeping their food safe and helping to make sure that people stay healthy.
There are several different diseases that businesses might help spread if they do not take a proper food safety course. The ERS estimates that, every year, the economic cost of illness caused by the E. coli bacteria totals $478 million. On top of that, a food safety course can help prevent the spread of potentially fatal botulism, which prevents lung muscles from functioning properly and can incubate in improperly prepared home canned foods. Earning a food handling certificate is a small step towards stopping the spread of these major illnesses.
Taking a food safety course in order to gain food safety certification can provide lots of information to any individual who needs to properly handle food in order to make sure that nobody gets sick. Those courses can provide lots of food and sanitation advice that is simple and effective. For instance, many might not realize that it can be hard to determine what temperature to cook bacon to because cooked, cured meat might remain pink because of curing agents, even if it has reached a safe temperature. On top of that, a food safety course will show safety methods like washing hands with soap and warm water for 20 seconds both before and after handling foot, and after using the bathroom, in order to prevent the spread of harmful bacteria.
Having employees take a food safety course is one of the best ways for restaurant and other owners to make sure that their facilities are safe for customers. Proper food safety courses can help reduce the amount of Americans who get sick every year because the food they ate was mishandled. Many times, these courses can be simple, which makes them one of the best ways to learn how to safely handle food. Research more here.