Free food hygiene course for UK food handlers.
Six short lessons and a free 20-question test, on your phone, with no account. Written for food handlers in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Pass, and download a certificate of completion with a QR check for £9.90, VAT included. You pay only after you pass.
- Pay only if you pass
- Retake the test as often as you like
- No account, no subscription
Try a question from the test
Lesson 4 · Temperature: chilling, cooking, hot holding and reheating
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, above what temperature is it an offence to keep chilled food that can grow harmful bacteria?
Show the answer
Right answer: D, 8°C. It is an offence to keep such food above 8°C on food premises, with set exemptions. [S30] [S43] [S44] Read that part
Six lessons, about 20 minutes.
Each part answers a question from the working day and ends with a summary. Then the test: 20 questions at random, and 15 right is a pass.
- Food hygiene law and your part in itWhat the law asks of you and your employer, how inspections and ratings work, and where the four UK nations differ.
- Personal hygiene and fitness to workWhat to wear, when to wash your hands, which symptoms to report and how long to stay away from open food after being ill.
- Hazards and cross-contaminationThe three kinds of hazard, how bacteria travel from raw food to ready-to-eat food, and how pests, waste and chemicals are kept away.
- Temperature: chilling, cooking, hot holding and reheatingThe numbers that keep food safe: the danger zone, fridge and freezer settings, cooking times, hot holding and the reheating rules.
- Cleaning, records and food safety managementCleaning versus disinfecting, cleaning as you go, HACCP in plain words, and the records your workplace keeps.
- Allergens and food informationThe 14 allergens, what labels must show, how loose food, buffets and deliveries work, and how to stop allergen cross-contamination.
Inside: 6 lessons, 37 parts, 62 practice questions of our own, each explained, and 82 facts, each linked to its source.
Know your sector? Start there.
The law is the same for every food handler. These pages show what is different where you work, answer first.
- CateringHot holding, reheating and allergens on every dish.
- RetailChilled displays, use-by dates and labels for food packed in store.
- ManufacturingThe basics, and what your site’s HACCP training adds.
- Care homesExtra handwashing, fridges and visitors.
- ChildmindersWhen food law applies, and what to report.
- Food deliveryHot or cold to the door, allergens twice.
Your certificate, as soon as you pass.
Type your name, pay and download it straight away as a PDF: the certificate of completion and a record of what you studied, made for your employer’s file.
Certificate of completion
Food Hygiene and Safety for Food Handlers (UK)
This is to certify that
Sample Name
has completed the six-lesson online course from Aptia Skills and passed its final test with 18 out of 20 right (pass mark 15).
- Sector
- Catering
- Study time
- 34 min
- Food hygiene law and your part in it
- Personal hygiene and fitness to work
- Hazards and cross-contamination
- Temperature: chilling, cooking, hot holding and reheating
- Cleaning, records and food safety management
- Allergens and food information
Food hygiene training for food handlers. The legal duty to train: Regulation (EC) No 852/2004, Annex II, Chapter XII, as it applies in each part of the UK.
- Date issued
- 31 October 2026
- Issued and signed by
- Aptia Skills · Opus Vault
What your certificate includes
- A PDF certificate of completion (A4) with a unique number. Download it straight away, to print or send.
- A training record. The six lessons against the FSA’s 4Cs of food hygiene and the laws each lesson cites.
- Your score, your study time and your sector. Taken from your own session, not made-up figures.
- A QR check code. Your employer can check in seconds that it is genuine and still valid.
- A purchase receipt. With the price and what you agreed to before paying.
£9.90VAT included · one payment
You pay only after you pass. By card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. No account, no subscription. If we get something wrong, we fix it or refund you.
Take the test and get itTraining a team? Coming soon: one link per employee and one invoice. Email [email protected].
The law, plainly.
We are a private training provider, not a public body. Tap each answer to see its source.
Do you need a food hygiene certificate to work with food?No. The law asks for supervision and training that fit your job, and food handlers do not have to hold a certificate.
- Food handlers do not have to hold a food hygiene certificate. [S1]
- Food businesses must make sure food handlers are supervised and instructed or trained in food hygiene in a way that matches their work. [S2]
- Food hygiene skills can be learned through courses, training on the job, self-study or relevant previous experience. [S1]
Is this a Level 2 qualification?No. Level 2 is a level in the qualification frameworks. This is a free course with a certificate of completion from a private company.
Who decides whether your training is enough?Your employer, who must be able to show your training, and the inspector, who checks training as part of an inspection.
- A food business must be able to show that its staff have the right skills and up-to-date training for their role. [S1]
- Businesses are told to keep a record of the training staff have completed, so they can show it during an inspection. [S1]
- Inspectors check how hygienically food is handled, the physical condition of the business, and the processes, training and systems used to keep hygiene up. [S8]
Does it cover Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?Yes. The core law is shared, and the lessons point out where the nations differ, such as reheating to 82°C in Scotland.
- In Scotland, food that is reheated before being served or sold must reach at least 82°C. [S31]
- In Scotland, the Food Hygiene Information Scheme gives a Pass when a business meets the legal food hygiene requirements, or Improvement Required when it does not. [S32]
- Displaying the hygiene rating sticker is mandatory in Wales and Northern Ireland and voluntary in England. [S7]