Food Safety Training for Cafés, Restaurants and Takeaways in Ireland

What does the law ask of the business?

Supervise every food handler and instruct and/or train them for their job, starting before they handle food.
Keep training going: no law sets how often, so review each person's needs regularly.
Primary responsibility for safe food sits with the business, not with the new starter.

Sources for this section

EU Regulation 852/2004 (Annex II, Chapter XII) says food businesses must make sure food handlers are supervised and instructed and/or trained in food hygiene, in line with their work. [S8]
Food safety training should happen before an employee handles food, and keep going after that. [S3]
No law sets how often training must happen; the FSAI advises businesses to review staff training needs regularly. [S2]
Legally, the primary responsibility for food safety lies with the food business operator. [S3]

Which kitchen numbers should every starter know?
Task	The number
Cooking	Core reaches 75 °C (or 70 °C for two minutes)
Hot holding	Above 63 °C
Reheating	Once only, to 70 °C or more at the core
Chilled storage	Between 0 °C and 5 °C
Back to work after vomiting or diarrhoea	At least 48 hours free of symptoms

Sources for this section

Cook food so the core reaches 75 °C, or an equivalent such as 70 °C for two minutes. [S4]
Keep hot food above 63 °C, outside the danger zone of 5 °C to 63 °C. [S4]
Reheat food only once, until piping hot: 70 °C or more at the core. [S4]
Fridges should keep food between 0 °C and 5 °C; a fridge set at 3 °C or 4 °C generally does this. [S4]
Do not return to work until you have been free of vomiting or diarrhoea for at least 48 hours. [S3] [S6]

Show allergens in writing for every dish that isn't prepacked, before the customer orders.
Name the exact dish: 'Our food contains...' is not acceptable.
Update the information each time a special changes, and include drinks such as wine by the glass and draught beer.

Sources for this section

For food that is not prepacked, allergens must be shown in writing where the food is presented, sold or supplied. [S5]
The information must name the exact food: 'Our food contains...' is not acceptable. [S5]
For specials on a board, the allergen information must be updated each time the food changes. [S5]
Drinks count too: wine by the glass, draught beer or cider, juices and smoothies. [S5]

Sources for this section

Inspectors may watch how food is handled, check staff knowledge, and ask for training records or training certificates. [S3]
The FSAI says an enforcement officer will not necessarily want to see a certificate from a particular training course. [S2]
A Level 1 skill: give inspectors all reasonable assistance and accurate, truthful information. [S3]

It covers the knowledge behind the Level 1 skills in the FSAI guide: hygiene, hazards, temperatures, allergens, cleaning and deliveries.
Your manager still has to see each skill done properly at work, for example with the FSAI competency checklists.

Sources for this section

In the FSAI Guide to Food Safety Skills, Level 1 Stage 1 describes the skills employees need before they handle food. [S3]
Level 1 Stage 2 describes what food handlers need to know after they have been working for about a month. [S3]
The FSAI guide expects training to be assessed at work, for example with its competency checklists. [S3]