FOOD HANDLER

CERTIFICATION COURSE

1
INTRODUCTION

WHY IS FOOD HANDLER TRAINING IMPORTANT?

The Public Health Agency of Canada estimates 1 in 8 Canadians become sick with food-
borne illness each year. Although most fully recover, the burden it places on the lives of its
victims, the health care system and the economy as a whole is substantial. The estimated
annual cost of these illnesses and related deaths is over one billion dollars.

Controlling the problem of food-borne illness is difficult for a number of reasons. Firstly,
harmful micro-organisms may survive food processing steps despite best efforts to control
them (i.e. cooking doesn’t destroy everything). Secondly, some micro-organisms thrive even
at refrigeration temperatures. Thirdly, food-borne illness often goes under-reported to health
authorities contributing to continued transmission of disease.

Cases of Food-borne Illness

Food handler training is fundamentally important as food handler decisions and actions can
affect the health of others. Therefore educating and motivating food handlers to take care of
all aspects of food safety is the key to preventing food-borne illness. The purpose of this food
handler training course is to prevent food-borne illness by ensuring food is safe to eat.