Conducting the Research

Terminology in the Report

The terms 'food sanitation and hygiene' along with 'food safety' and 'food safe handling' are used synonymously and interchangeably throughout the report. They refer to a wide range of food safety procedures and practices to prevent food borne illnesses and to handle food hygienically.

Goals and Objectives

The purpose of this study was to gather concrete information on the connection between employees' levels of essential skills and their achieving success in safe food handling training and certification.

A number of goals were formulated:

• Research the relationship between success in food sanitation and hygiene training certification and workers' essential skills.
• Lay the foundation for development of user-friendly, practical, plain language training materials for food sanitation and hygiene certification.
• Increase awareness of the importance of workplace essential skills in the tourism industry.
• Develop a working relationship in the tourism sector between AWES and the Alberta Restaurant and Foodservices Association.

The specific objectives of the research were to:

• identify potential skill gaps and essential skills training needs for workers required to pass food sanitation and hygiene certification.
• review current food safety training materials.
• assess readability and design of food safety training materials considering those with limited essential and language skills.
• recommend practical strategies and solutions for addressing identified needs.

Methodology

Members of ARFA are a large and diverse group, thus, an all-encompassing analysis of the sector would require time and resources beyond the scope of this project. Accordingly, this research project offers a snapshot of the industry relevant to the challenges and actualities of food safety training in a range of contexts. The project team selected a case study process, largely focused on qualitative data, to conduct the research. A major strength of the case study method involves using multiple sources and techniques in the data gathering process. Tools used to collect data include face-to-face interviews, a telephone survey, documentation review, telephone interviews and the observation of a food safety training session.