Food Handler Certification Course: What To Expect During The Assessment Process

Food Handler Certification training has an essential role to play in the prevention of food-borne illness and allergic reactions.

Approximately four million cases of food-borne illness are reported each year in Canada, largely due to improper handling of food. While most affected individuals experience relatively minor symptoms, some cases can indeed be severe, resulting in hospitalizations and, in rare instances, death.

Additionally, Health Canada estimates that around 1 in 16 Canadians have some sort of food allergy, making effective allergen management another key consideration for food establishments throughout the country.

The statistics outlined above clearly indicate why Food Handler Certification is a leg/al requirement for many food workers in Canada.

In this blog, we will take a closer look at the Food Handler Certification Course delivered by the Canadian Institute of Food Safety (CIFS), focusing on the assessment activities that must be completed in order to obtain certification.

Before we explore the assessment process in more detail, let’s begin with a summary of the topics covered in the course.

Food Handler Certification Course curriculum

The Food Handler Certification Course is split into three distinct learning modules, each featuring a number of interactive lessons designed to provide you with a thorough understanding of food safety and how to apply responsible food handling practices in the workplace.

Read on to learn what you can expect from each section of the course, or enroll now to find out firsthand.

Module One: Understanding Food Safety

Topics include:

• Causes of food-borne illness and food contamination
• Biological contamination
• Viruses
• Parasites
• Protozoa
• Fungi
• Prions
• Perishable foods
• Chemical contamination
• Physical contamination
• Cross-contamination
• High-risk customer groups
• Food allergies and how to handle food allergy incidents

Module Two: Preventing Food-Borne Illness

Topics include:

• Food safety laws
• Personal hygiene including rules around uniforms and hair care
• Temperature zones
• Time control
• Thermometers
• Cleaning and sanitizing
• Maintaining food premises and equipment
• Pest control
• Waste disposal

Module Three: Working With Food Safely

Topics include:

• Checking food deliveries
• Storing food safely in a refrigerator, freezer or dry storage area
• Freezing, defrosting, preparing, cooking, cooling and reheating food safely
• Safety rules for serving and storing displayed foods
• General guidelines for minimizing the risk of causing a food-borne illness outbreak
• Creating a Food Safety Plan based on Hazard Awareness and Critical Control Points (HACCP) principles.

Module Four: Managing Your Food Safety Plan

The final module of the course is designed to give you a better understanding of Food Safety Plans and HACCP principles.

Assessment Activities

The Food Handler Certification Course includes numerous assessment activities designed to confirm your understanding of the topics covered throughout the course.

Lesson Quizzes

After each lesson, you will be presented with a quiz to complete based on information covered during the lesson. The questions are multiple choice and all of them must be answered correctly before moving onto the next lesson.

The purpose of these quizzes is to test your knowledge of each topic as you make your way through the course.

Final Exam

Once all three of the modules above have been completed, you must pass a final exam to demonstrate your knowledge and competency in the following areas:

• Understanding food safety
• Recognizing elements that cause food contamination to reduce the risk of causing a food-borne illness outbreak
• Identifying common food allergens and food allergy symptoms to reduce the risk of a customer having a food allergy reaction  
• Preventing food-borne illnesses
• Maintaining high standards personal hygiene at all times to minimize cross-contamination and ensure food safety.
• Continuously recalling correct time and temperature controls for all food types to ensure food safety
• Performing proper cleaning and sanitizing practices at all times to keep premises and food safe
• Demonstrating proper maintenance of all food equipment to ensure it operates as designed
• Working with food safely
• Implementing proper practices for purchasing, receiving and storing food to ensure safety and prevent food-borne incidents
• Demonstrating correct preparation techniques at all times to keep food safe to avoid a food-borne illness outbreak 
• Consistently applying proper serving and dispensing protocols to keep food safe and avoid a food-borne illness outbreak 

The exam has a time limit of 60 minutes, within which you must answer 50 multiple-choice questions and achieve a minimum score of 70 percent*. You have an unlimited number of attempts to pass the exam during your 30-day course access period.

*Final exam pass rates vary from state to state. The above is the minimum, but can scale higher as dictated by a respective state’s regulatory requirements.

By law, the exam must be monitored by an approved third-party; this process is known as proctoring. A proctor is a person who observes you via a webcam in real-time while you participate in the exam. The proctors used by CIFS are available 24/7 hours a day, enabling you to complete your exam at a time that suits you.

Food Handler Certification

CIFS Food Handler Certification is accepted by every province and territory in Canada, making it possible for you to work anywhere in the country without needing to recertify.

The entire course is structured to maximize efficiency, allowing you to meet your food safety training requirements as quickly as possible. You can enroll online or by phone, and upon registration, you'll have round-the-clock access to the course for 30 days, giving you the flexibility to fit your training in with the rest of your schedule.

The entire course, including the 60-minute exam, can be completed in just a few hours. After passing the final exam, you can request your Food Handler Certificate, which is typically delivered electronically within an hour.

Become a Certified Food Handler

The CIFS Food Handler Certification Course fulfills the specific requirements set out by Canadian food safety legislation and is recognized by every province and territory. After successfully completing the course, you will possess the knowledge and skills needed to understand food safety hazards, how they occur and how to prevent them from impacting consumer safety.

Begin your certification journey by enrolling today, or get in touch with our team to discover all the benefits this course has to offer!