Verner Wheelock has an exceptional track record in Level 4 Food Safety. In three out of the past four years, delegates we have trained have achieved the highest examination marks in the UK and received a coveted award from the RSPH.
In 2011, it was won by Wayne Bonadie, at the time with Dairycrest. In 2013 two delegates from Verner Wheelock were Level 4 Food Safety prizewinners – Peter Smith of QSDA and Lianne Davis of Symington’s. (Verner Wheelock delegate Helen Kearney of Nature’s Best also scooped the Level 4 HACCP award that year).
A double-whammy for Symington’s
The award for 2014 went to Lianne’s colleague at Symington’s, Sarah Jolly-Hart, who is a Technical Manager at the company’s largest site in Leeds. She collected the award at the annual RSPH conference in October this year.
Sarah says of the training: “I was Quality Manager at a smaller Symington’s site and I’ve actually been promoted over the last two years to be a Technical Manager at the largest site within the company. The most useful aspect of this qualification for me was the microbiology side. The training gave me a better understanding of microbiological requirements, which I’ve been able to integrate into my HACCP plan.
As a Technical Manager my main role is to provide safe food for the consumers and make sure we are compliant with all retailers Codes of Practice and also any food industry standards that we have to work to. This qualification has helped me in my career and in my workplace.”
Why take Level 4 Food Safety training?
Managers, like Sarah, have ultimate responsibility for ensuring that the food or drink leaving their premises is safe for consumption. It is therefore important that they have a detailed understanding of the latest information relating to food safety theory and practice. As the most advanced qualification, Level 4 Food Safety is the ultimate training programme in this area.
Once you have completed it and passed the examination, you will have the appropriate knowledge and understanding of food safety to develop and implement food safety management systems within your organisation, including:
- How to ensure compliance with relevant food safety legislation
- The operational requirements needed to ensure food safety
- How to establish food safety management procedures
- The controls required for food safety
- How to maintain food safety management procedures
There are six distinct sections, covering the causes and effects of food poisoning and food-borne illness; different types of hazards i.e. physical, chemical and microbiological contamination and cross contamination; methods of eliminating or mitigating food safety hazards; HACCP; current legislation and the application of the principles of food safety from a management perspective.
Become a qualified trainer yourself
As with all our other courses, we make the training sessions as relevant and interactive as possible. It is an intensive 5 day course, so to ensure delegates receive the best possible tuition, we use three different trainers, each with their own area of expertise.
What’s more, if you pass your Level 4 Food Safety examination and also take our Training the Trainer course (leading to the CIEH Level 3 Award in Training – Principles and Practice) you can become a qualified trainer in Food Safety.
Dates for 2016
If you’d like to improve your knowledge and further your career, or perhaps like the idea of becoming a trainer yourself why not book on our Level 4 Food safety course. Just fill out the booking form on our website, or give Karen or Claire a call on 01756 700802.
Who knows? You might just win the RSPH Award for 2016!