Food hygiene certificate and Certificate in Food Safety in Catering

Firefly_777

Hi there :j... I possibly have another stupid question (full of them these days lol)...

I currently possess a Level 2 Award in Food Safety in Catering... However many jobs seemed to require a Basic Food Hygiene Certificate...

What is the difference? Is one better than the other? Am I eligible to apply for these jobs that require a Basic Food Hygiene Certificate?

Thanks in advance. :beer:

LittleVoice

Firefly_777 wrote: »

Hi there :j... I possibly have another stupid question (full of them these days lol)...

I currently possess a Level 2 Award in Food Safety in Catering... However many jobs seemed to require a Basic Food Hygiene Certificate...

What is the difference? Is one better than the other? Am I eligible to apply for these jobs that require a Basic Food Hygiene Certificate?

Thanks in advance. :beer:

I did "think" the basic certificate was Level 1. However, it now appears that the basic certificate is Level 2 and, if you have "Level 2 Award in Food Hygiene & Safety for Catering", then that will cover the UK/EU requirements. Looks like you have what they want.

Firefly_777

That's good news Thank you LittleVoice.

GothicStirling

Is your qualification certified by the Institute for Environmental Health?

That's the big clincher. A lot of companies to internal training which means squat when moving jobs.

go_cat

Level 1 is very very basic e.g what colour plasters should you use in catering
Level 2 is more indepth improtance of cleaning HACCP food poisoning and how to avoid cross contamination etc

Firefly_777

GothicStirling - Yes the qualification I have is certificated by the Institute of Environmental Health... Well funny you say that, I did my training with the NHS, and this job I wanted to apply for is again with the NHS but a different trust... Hence why I was a bit worried, I thought I might be missing something vital.

Go cat - Ok so Level 1 is basic basic. I'll just have to arm myself with the knowledge I gained from the course, just in case they question it.

paulwf

It used to be called "basic food hygiene certificate" and then there was an intermediate and advanced for managers (very rarely required). These days the names have been dropped and replaced with numbers so level 2 = basic, level 3 = intermediate, 4 = advanced. I've never seen level 1 actually used.

Anyone that has been in catering for a while might still call it a basic certificate when they mean level 2, and 99% of the time if there is a requirement it will be for level 2. I've never heard of anyone with a level 1, though in theory low level food handlers such as shelf fillers in supermarkets should have this but they tend to just use internal training.

BTW these days a level 2 certificate isn't a big deal, I wouldn't even put it on a job requirement as I can train my staff online in 2 1/2 hours and it is only £25 ex VAT. The certificate is then posted immediately. Gone are the days of 8 hours at college, £80 and waiting 6 weeks to see if you've passed. Although level 2 does give some useful info I doubt an employer would test you on it, they just want the certificate to tick their compliance box.

LittleVoice

paulwf wrote: »

It used to be called "basic food hygiene certificate" and then there was an intermediate and advanced for managers (very rarely required). These days the names have been dropped and replaced with numbers so level 2 = basic, level 3 = intermediate, 4 = advanced. I've never seen level 1 actually used.

Thanks for the background. I had thought basic equalled Level 1 until I found that Googling "basic food hygiene certificate" produced information about the Level 2 and nothing about Level 1 in the websites I then visited.

GothicStirling

paulwf wrote: »

It used to be called "basic food hygiene certificate" and then there was an intermediate and advanced for managers (very rarely required). These days the names have been dropped and replaced with numbers so level 2 = basic, level 3 = intermediate, 4 = advanced. I've never seen level 1 actually used.

Anyone that has been in catering for a while might still call it a basic certificate when they mean level 2, and 99% of the time if there is a requirement it will be for level 2. I've never heard of anyone with a level 1, though in theory low level food handlers such as shelf fillers in supermarkets should have this but they tend to just use internal training.

BTW these days a level 2 certificate isn't a big deal, I wouldn't even put it on a job requirement as I can train my staff online in 2 1/2 hours and it is only £25 ex VAT. The certificate is then posted immediately. Gone are the days of 8 hours at college, £80 and waiting 6 weeks to see if you've passed. Although level 2 does give some useful info I doubt an employer would test you on it, they just want the certificate to tick their compliance box.

Up here in Scotland a 'basic' is referred to as 'foundation.' The qualification does vary up here, requiring more emphasis on e-coli than when I did my basic down in England.

janb5

Actually I did mine level 2 award in food safety in catering in March - an all day course with external examiners and cost £75 and yes we waited six weeks for the results! One poor lady arrived without photographic ID and had to wait the whole day before she was told by the external examiner that she couldnt do the test.....

saintjammyswine

Hi, they are the same thing. All an employer needs to do is prove that the employees handling food have been trained to do so at the required level. They dont need a certificate even but proof of attendance at a course is enough. This is usually in the form of a certificate but you could go to, for example, a college course with the same content but not take the exam at the end. This knocks about £10 of the cost and the college will provide a certificate of attendance which satisfies the Env. Health regulations.