County food service inspectors to teach food safety certification manager class

Fayette County Environmental Health will soon offer two ServSafe Food Manager Safety Certification classes taught by its own team of health inspectors — giving area restaurantsand food service employees a rare chance to learn safety standards straight from the people who enforce them.

The first class is a one-day course for individuals who have previously been certified as food safety managers. It will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, September 22. Here is the September class registration form.

The second class is a two-day course open to anyone seeking manager certification. It will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Monday-Tuesday, November 16-17. Here is the November class registration form.

The inspectors teaching the course are certified ServSafe instructors and proctors. The cost for the full course, exam, and class materials is $200. Individuals also have an option to take the course and the test without materials for $125, or to take a proctored test or re-test for $75.

Textbooks are available in English, Spanish, and Chinese. The exam is available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese. The exam also is available online, in large-print English, and as an instructor-level option (needed if someone will teach ServSafe).

Completion of either of these ServSafe courses, along with a passing score on the exam, satisfies Georgia Department of Public Health requirements that most food establishments must have an owner or at least one manager or supervisor on staff, designated for that one establishment only; must earn their certification through an approved accredited provide; and must renew their credentials every five years.

The comprehensive ServSafe course covers many areas of food safety, including foodborne illnesses, proper food handling, personal hygiene, and facility design and maintenance. The course is a mixture of lectures and discussions that move at a fast pace.

The 90-minute multiple-choice exam is a standardized test developed by the National Restaurant Education Foundation. Find out more at servsafe.com.

Classes are limited, and advance registration is required by completing the appropriate registration form and mailing it with a business check made payable to the Fayette County Health Department, 245 Booker Ave., Suite E, Fayetteville, GA 30215. You also may bring your completed form to the same address along with payment by business check, card, or cash.

There is a one-hour break so participants can have lunch on their own. The building is located about one mile from Fayetteville’s downtown square. For more information, please contact Joseph Addison at (943) 209-8057 or[email protected].