Wayne Community College to offer restaurant food code course
By From staff reports
Published in News on September 5, 2012 1:46 PM
Wayne Community College Continuing Education Services plans to offer a class this fall for restaurant workers, in line with the state's recently adopted "food code."
Joyce Hamilton-Fleming, WCC continuing education allied health coordinator, said she was approached by the Environmental Health Section of the Wayne County Health Department about offering the course.
The "ServSafe" course will teach restaurant workers proper food storage, handling, preparation, and service techniques and prepare them for certification. It will also prepare restaurants' employees for the National Restaurant Association's Food Protection Manager Certification examination. Having a certified food protection manager on duty is a requirement of North Carolina's new "food code" for restaurants and other food vendors.
While the bulk of the food code went into effect Sept. 1, the certified food protection manager requirement will be phased in and take effect Jan. 1, 2014.
The food protection manager certification exam must be part of an American National Standards Institute-accredited program and evaluated and listed by a Conference for Food Protection-recognized accrediting agency, which is the case with the ServSafe program.
Other key provisions of the food code are:
*Each food establishment will be required to develop and adhere to an Employee Health Policy to prevent and control the transmission of illnesses.
*Food establishments will be required to refrain from handling exposed, ready-to-eat foods with bare hands.
* Food establishments will be required to decrease the temperature of refrigerated foods and must date-mark opened, ready-to-eat foods.
"We will assist local restaurants in meeting this new mandate," said Ms/ Hamilton-Fleming. "We are pulling together all the components now and intend to offer this class in this (fall) semester."
For more information on the training or to be placed on the waiting list, contact Ms. Hamilton-Fleming at (919) 739-6929 or jhflem ing@waynecc.edu.