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Common
Questions and Answers about
Food Protection Manager Certification
- Has food
manager certification (training and testing) been proven
effective?
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- "[It was observed that
food manager certification caused] statistically significant
improvements in total inspection scores. Certification has
also reduced the number of violations of critical, procedural
or procedural/structural nature..." Measuring the
effectiveness of a state program, Illinois State
University, Journal of Environmental Health 1990
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- "[The inspection scores
for food service facilities] showed significant improvement
after certification compared to predictions based on
pre-certification trends." Issues regarding evaluating
food service manager certification programs, Western
Carolina University, Proceedings of the North American Food
Safety Education Workshop 1997
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- "Food manager education
increases the likelihood of the implementation of critical
[food safety] controls, such as time/temperature
checks..." Implementation of Hazard Analysis Critical
Control Plan, St. Joseph's University 1998
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- "There seems to be a
positive correlation between food safety training and proper
food handling procedures." Food Safety Certification
and Its Impacts, Journal of Environmental Health, 1999.
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- Why is
mandatory education for food service managers necessary when
inspections are conducted by local or state health
departments?
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- "Inspections alone cannot
guarantee prevention of foodborne outbreaks. Supervision and
education of food service workers and consistent adherence by
food service workers to good hygienic practices are critical
and perhaps neglected elements in the control and prevention
of food borne disease. The responsibility of all persons
involved in food preparation particularly food service
managers, needs to be emphasized." Failure of Routine
Restaurant Inspections, Journal of Environmental Health
1994
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- Why is
training essential to food manager certification programs?
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- Training is necessary to
prepare most candidates to pass the exam. The National
Assessment Institute reports a nearly 70% first-time
failure rate among candidates who do not take some form of
recognized training.
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- Recognized training is also an
opportunity for food service managers to get in-depth
information and ask questions, to find out the
"whys'" and the "hows" of proper food
safety and sanitation.
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- For example, knowing how
to calibrate a thermometer is of little value and won't be
done consistently if the food service manager doesn't know why
it is critical to take the temperatures of food - which
requires explanation of how and under what conditions bacteria
multiplies, time-temperature relationships and more.
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- It has been demonstrated that
behavioral changes occur only after training, and not after
testing alone. And behavioral changes result in fewer critical
violations, which mean less risk of foodborne outbreaks -
which is everyone's goal!
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- What is the
extent of foodborne illness?
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- "Foodborne illness is a
major cause of personal distress, preventable death and an
avoidable economic burden...9,000 needless deaths every year
(US)...the annual cost of foodborne illness in terms of pain
and suffering, reduced productivity and medical costs is
estimated to be between $ 10 and $ 83 million." FDA Food
Code Preface 1997
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- "The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention have consistently stated...most of the
time, the [food] mishandled occurred within the retail segment
of the food service industry [restaurants, markets, schools,
churches, camps, institutions and vending locations] where
ready-to-eat food is prepared and provided to the public for
consumption." FDA Food Code Preface 1997
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- "In his assessment of the
status of foodborne disease problems, Gillespie (1980)
suggested that convincing evidence shows that food protection
programs need to be upgraded because programs have not kept up
with the food industry's extensive changes over the past 50
years. Illness from food-related disease outnumbers
illnesses from all other environmental factors combined.
Even though the United States may have the world's safest food
supply, Snyder (1992) estimated that 25,000,000 foodborne
cases and 16,000 deaths occur each year. Snyder has estimated
that the annual cost of foodborne illness and death in the
United States averages $ 3,000 per individual or approximately
$ 676,377,000 per year." Principles of Food Sanitation,
Chapman & Hall New York 1996.
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- Are the
costs of training (and corresponding improved sanitation) a
burden to the food service industry?
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- "The study consisted of
baseline training and post-training periods to monitor
reprocessing and cleaning expenses...Benefits of improved
sanitation management were evident...the average daily savings
of $ 14.29 (annual savings of $ 5,215.85) to a [grocery store]
department when labor is included. A 5.3 % decrease in
reprocessing loss was calculated." Sanitation doesn't
cost, it pays, Journal of Environmental Health 1988
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- What does
the US Department of Health and Human Services (Public Health
Service/FDA) recommend with regard to mandatory food
protection manager training?
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- "shall ensure that a
person in charge is present at all times at the food
establishment during all hours of operation." FDA Food
Code Section 2-101.11
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- "Based on the risks
inherent to the food operation...the person in charge [food
service manager] shall demonstrate to the regulatory
authority, knowledge of foodborne disease prevention...by
being a certified food protection manager who has shown
proficiency of required information through...an accredited
program. FDA Food Code Section 2-102
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- Which
jurisdictions currently mandate food protection manager
training/certification?
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- According to Prometric,
the major jurisdictions that mandate
food protection manager certification include:
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- State programs:
- California, Connecticut,
Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Idaho, Illinois,
Kentucky*, Louisiana, Maryland*, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ohio
(voluntary with benefits for CFPM), Pennsylvania, South
Dakota, Texas*, Utah, Virginia*, Wisconsin
* local option, some areas exempt
Major County/City programs: Baltimore, Denver, Kansas City,
Los Angeles, Maricopa (Phoenix), New York City, Oklahoma City;
Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, St. Louis (5 county region)-
American Food Safety, 2734 North 5th St, Philadelphia, PA 19133
Phone: 800-723-3873 Fax: 215-634-6184
Copyright ©, 1999 AFSI/Health
Regulation Compliance, Inc. All rights reserved.
This document has been compiled by the American Food Safety
Institute from sources believed to be reliable. The American
Food Safety Institute assumes no liabilities whatsoever for
errors or omissions. For information on food safety training
courses nationwide, please call 800-723-3873. Copies of the FDA
Food Code are available from the National Technical Information
Service at 800-553-6847 or www.ntis.gov. The Journal of
Environmental Health is a publication of the National
Environmental Health Association.
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