Offering consistent training initiatives is an issue for the food services sector. Training is costly; production schedules are demanding; competition is high; the workforce is transitory. Some food operations are unwilling or unable to invest in training because of these realities and obstacles to delivering training. There are operations that try to hire workers who have completed training and are certified, thus reducing the amount of training needed. Ideally being able to recruit from a food safety trained workforce would help ensure food safe practices. However, with recruitment and retention of workers such a big challenge to the industry, this is not always possible. One Canadian province promotes and offers food safety training and certification to entry level individuals for the purpose of giving them an advantage when applying for jobs. Entry level and inexperienced workers are an appropriate target for training since, as mentioned, they are "more teachable and more compliant to learning".

With an escalating diversity in the food industry and a flood of new technologies and food science discoveries, there is a need for continuously informing workers of new food safety concerns. The Food Retail and Foodservices Code (Education and Training) specifies that continual food safety education in all formats and at all locations needs to be promoted by every food operation. The rationale (p. 78) is that:

"Studies have demonstrated the quality of food handling techniques improves for the six months following a formalized training program. However, after that period, food handling practices can deteriorate to pre-education levels."

In addition, the Food Code recommends that certification be valid for five years after completion of the course at which time a refresher or updating course should be taken. The reality and challenge is that shorter refresher courses that deliver current knowledge of food safety skills are not available for the experienced hospitality worker. We can foresee that there will be a greater demand for the development of refresher courses that may include classroom instruction, employee meetings, on-site seminars and on-the-job training. These will have to be user-friendly and relevant to the people in attendance and the work that they do.

Increased Focus on the Need for Food Handling Practices

There is a growing awareness of the inevitability to promote food safety and to communicate that information to all industry stakeholders for the safety of the consumers and the good of the industry. New concerns impinging on food safety have emerged in the foodservices industry: the rapid evolution of micro-organisms, genetically modified food, pesticides, growth hormones, more allergies and internationally supplied foods. New trends result in food safety becoming the environmental issue of the decade and the major concern of the general public.¹ At the heart is the crucial necessity for the food industry to perform due diligence to protect the staff, consumers and the industry by strengthening food safety education and practices.

¹ From the Foodservice and Hospitality Oct 2002